Robert Marquand of The Christian Science Monitor published an article on how family ties take new shape in prosperous China. (Excerpts)

Pang Rongchang was ready to join Mao Zedong's revolutionary army in the late 1940s. But before he left his Hubei town, his father did what generations of men did for their sons: secured a wife for him. There was no discussion. The bride was hand-carried to the groom's doorstep from the next village; the marriage was that day. The two had never met before - then lived 50-plus years together.
By contrast, Pang's son, Liping, married, divorced, then fell in love with Wang Zhe, who works at a Japanese joint venture. They met at Ditan Park by the gate, set up by three layers of friends. She saw Liping was "a good one." It started raining, they went inside for tea, and it became a second marriage for them both
The cultural distance traveled in a single generation - from marriage by a father's dictate to a second marriage by choice - points to profound changes in China's family life. Now a diverse range of family types is found in urban China, altering the old social order in the world's fastest rising power. There are: single-parent families, double-income families with no kids, "singles" by choice, cohabitating couples, and second marriages. Gays and lesbians are more tolerated, though they are not recognized. The most common emerging type is the "nuclear family," husband, wife, and child living apart from elders.
Family size in the world's most populous nation has shrunk steadily for 50 years. In 1980, the figure was 4.2, today it is below 3.4. More than half of all Chinese families are now three persons. Men and women in the city are marrying later. Men often wait until 30. Women wait until their mid-20s. Couples tying the knot in their early or mid-20s get odd stares by peers.
In 21st century urban China, having even one child is expensive and takes time. Many parents plan for college and good jobs even for small tykes. Parents rich and poor spend, and overspend, on extra classes and weekend classes for kids. Math, English, dance, music, science - are all subjects for Saturday and Sunday. Every parent wants, as the saying goes, a son who is a "dragon" or a daughter who is a "phoenix" - that is, a dominant character who is a success. The energy spent is significant for both parents and kids; some Chinese couples say they don't want to get into what, in American terms, would be a "rat race" for their kids, since many feel their own jobs and lives are tough enough.
Gays are more accommodated in cities, and have begun a thriving subculture. Cohabitation, for example, once considered risqué and taboo, is now viewed with virtual nonchalance. In fact, not only younger couples, but now many older, retired couples, opt for shared living. The elderly are joining together to counter loneliness and absent offspring. Many don't opt for marriage because it has created serious friction over inheritance.

For a full article click here, http://www.csmonitor.com/2004/1216/p10s01-woap.html

Robert Marquand of The Christian Science Monitor published an article on how love and money are reshaping Chinese society. (Excerpts)

Bright and earnest, Zhu Zi and Gao Yanping fill out a wedding application in neat Chinese characters at a marriage registry above a bakery. Zhu waited years to find a husband like Gao. It was Zhu, a little saucy, who first phoned Gao, a little quiet. They hit it off: Both are under 30, engineers, smart, living in Beijing, and, most crucial, they are from the same province, Shaanxi, which means annual visits home together. They lived together unmarried for 14 months, something illegal until last year, before Zhu, tired of waiting, proposed. Gao right away said OK
The couple took a number, waited in line, and said "I do" in just over an hour. The certificate costs about $1.15. Marriage forms no longer ask frightening questions about parents' history or Communist Party affiliations. Nor must couples seek permission from their "work unit" boss, a major shift from last year.
"It is easier to meet people now, but it is harder to find the right one," says a young female junior exec as she sips from her water bottle. "We never had cellphones or text messages before, and we can meet many new people every day. But our expectations for a partner are so high that few can match them."
Along with this, a discourse of "feeling" and "emotion" that used to exist mainly in elite circles is now heard at all levels, from tycoons to taxi drivers. Shops advertise "passion styles" for cars and kitchens. Romance novels are a rage. Divorce was discouraged and nearly non-existent. Marriages were arranged among families or inside "work units;" a main criterion was the communist or "revolutionary" credentials of the spouse's family.
Wealth, it turns out, has caused many urban Chinese to think and behave in ways that don't always include families. Boarding schools have tripled in the past decade. Extramarital relations have skyrocketed. As the cost of living increases in urban China, many young women, often from outside the city, are subsidized by men.
Typical is Yu Weijing, 25, who stays in Beijing by being enrolled in graduate school. Her boyfriend is 40, divorced, has a son, and owns a pharmacy. They stay together five days a month. He pays her rent. She is now dating another businessman, and wonders if she should change income sources, since she hears the pharmacist is also dating. She wants a "short cut" to financial security and a good life, and repeats a saying here that "a good date is better than a good job." Officials are considering transparency laws requiring husbands to show family earnings to wives; many divorce cases exist now where wives are suddenly left only with the furniture.
Before, one never talked about a "boy- friend" or "girlfriend." A special friend was a "partner," and it implied an impending marriage. No longer. In the city, females will ask males out. Young Chinese want to get to know one another. The American "eight-minute date" has just hit Beijing.
The new craving for "feeling" has brought new experimentation - not always with happy results. The most popular film in China last year, "Shouji (Cellphone)", centered on a man who cleverly used his cellphone to shield his lovers from his wife. The film introduced the phrase "aesthetic fatigue," which describes a culture of too many overripe relationships. The pace is often so intense that the passion burns out quickly; too many relationships are based on sex alone, Chinese complain.
"Singles aren't talking about marriage, lovers aren't talking about the future," as one put it. A saying among high school and college students describes a weariness with a growing pattern of "one-week" relationships: "On Monday, you send out vibes. Tuesday, you express true desire. Wednesday, you hold hands. Thursday, you sleep together. Friday, a feeling of distance sets in. Saturday, you want out. On Sunday, you start searching again."

For full article click here, http://www.csmonitor.com/2004/1215/p01s04-woap.html?s=spworld

From Qipao to mini skirts, from mantou to burgers, from Mao's slogans to Karoke, and from opera to pop music, Chinese youth have transformed China into ways that was unimaginable 30 years back. No one among the younger lot is interested in listening to ideological brain washing and all those calls for democracy movement making waves in 1989 have been dumbed in history books. What is now instilled in the younger generation is a new pop culture, where money rules all games and sex is the bottomline. Today's new generation is a bit reluctant to take things the way they are and a new revolution is changing China. Hu Jintao's 'Honour and Disgrace' are not what the present generation is interested, but shows more love for Da Vinci code. Is it that China is taking on a western culture? The answer is surely "NO". Chinese youth are making their own brand of culture with a tinch of Chinese characteristics.

Reforms in China have reshaped the whole society. Many are enjoying its benefits and reaping the fruits of wealth accumulation. But the bigger question looming large over China now is reforms at what cost and for whom. Is it that the 70 per cent of the rural population having the piece of larger cake? Is it the people at the lower levels of urban society the beneficiares? Or is it just a handful of those at the upper layers or the Party cadres the main beneficiaries? Corruption is taking unprecendent heights, poverty is increasing, inequality expanding, and diseases spreading. Is this the picture of new China reforms was meant for or it still has a long way to go?