Flowering at Sunset

Through an examination of remarriage and repartnering among the elderly, this chapter explores the occurrence of later-life cohabitation, the issues it raises for participants, and the intergenerational considerations it generates. Whereas the mainstream literature tends to treat remarriage or cohabitation among older persons as a private matter between the couples, the Chinese cases discussed in the chapter provide a contrasting perspective, in which the attitudes and expectations of adult children, especially regarding inheritance, but also in terms of the provision of eldercare, impact the cohabitation and remarriage decisions of the elderly. The chapter also identifies otherwise neglected aspects of social relationships, including concerns about the face of the persons directly involved, as well as more distant others.

Divorce

Divorce in China involves not only a disengaging couple but also their children, parents, and other relatives, who all play a significant role in the process. This chapter shows that a decision to divorce, the timing of its occurrence, and the terms on which it is based, are not simply matters for the couple involved, but also affect their broader families. The responsibilities for a child’s education, eldercare for aging parents, and ongoing concern about the feelings and face of kin qualify the terms of the separation in contemporary China. The chapter also examines the surprisingly underresearched issue of the division of family property at the end of a marriage. Even though the rising rate of divorce in China has introduced a new fluidity in family structures, family ties, even after divorce, persist because persons cannot easily relinquish long-term familial commitments and responsibilities.

Surnaming

The conjunction in China of market reform and the one-child policy underlies new child-surnaming practices, discussed here for the first time. For a number of reasons, wives from daughter-only families are disrupting an established practice by giving their own surnames, rather than the husband’s, to their child(ren). Through development of the concept of “veiled patriarchy,” the chapter makes an original contribution to understanding child surnaming and inheritance practices in contemporary China. Veiled patriarchy relates to an obscuration of continuing patriarchal control, amid conditions of growing women’s rights. The chapter also addresses the emotional aspect of surnaming, which, incidentally, is the least researched element in this sparsely examined sociological topic. More generally, in demonstrating how surnaming is connected to intergenerational relations, gender contestation, and economic power asymmetry, the chapter realigns surnaming theory and the theory of gender through empirical investigation and conceptual innovation.

Introduction

The introduction discusses the reasons for writing this book and provides an overview of the interview material it draws upon and the issues it deals with. It also provides detailed summaries of each of the book’s five chapters. By reporting some of the information provided by respondents in interviews, drawing on a broader background than is indicated in publicly available statistical data, as well as on findings and theories presented in the literature, the introduction details the substantive issues that are the focus of each chapter. It also provides an account of the research method employed in the study reported in the book.

Intimacy

This chapter makes an original contribution to the study of intimacy by showing how third elements unavoidably impact spousal relations. Intimacy between Chinese spouses occurs in the context of an active involvement by third parties in terms of both the permissibility or possibility of intimacy and its complexion. The third element that influences spousal intimacy may take different forms. Three are considered. First, intimacy between a couple is necessarily impacted by family members, through cohabitation or expressive intervention. Second, an extramarital factor impacts the intimacy of spouses differently. Third, an ideological element, typically but not necessarily in the form of religion, may change the dynamics of relations between a couple and the intimacy they share. These third elements may play an ambivalent role, a transformative role, or a supportive role in spousal intimacy.

Conclusion

The conclusion highlights how an examination of emerging family practices in China challenges the conventional approaches. Core expectations involving family obligation, marital intimacy, and intergenerational exchange depart from current conventional representations. The idea that descending familism characterizes a new norm is shown to overlook the ways in which private property shapes the consciousness of entitlement. Patriarchal elements inform relations between family members in ways that have not previously been encountered. Traditionally, only males could access family wealth; today, females have equal rights to shared property, as both spouses and daughters, and they may generate property through their own efforts that is theirs to deploy in their own terms. The conclusion expresses the hope that this book will stimulate and encourage further research on erstwhile neglected aspects of family life, as well as the development of new theoretical frameworks for understanding family dynamics, not only in China but more generally.

Floating Grandparents

The chapter supplements the conventional image of vulnerable “left behind” children and elderly in the villages and towns in China from which mobile young adults depart to seek employment in urban areas. By showing an increasing propensity of aged parents to provide childcare in the cities where their adult children are employed, it identifies an intergenerational dimension of the floating population of migratory workers. The chapter provides a more complete representation of internal migration and urbanization in contemporary China by examining the childcare provided by grandparents as a form of reproductive labor that enables the labor-force participation of their adult children and thus contributes to social reproduction. The change in the notions of family obligation initiated by young people has received much research attention; the chapter shows, however, that grandparents frequently initiate renegotiations of filial obligation. The chapter reconceptualizes intergenerational support by considering the importance of pre-exchange obligation, emotional attachment, and symbolic values in intergenerational interactions, factors conventional approaches typically ignore.