For Better or Worse: Case Study in Changes in Chinese Marriages in the 20th Century

As a young Chinese bride readies herself for the wedding in a nice hotel room, a barrage of young men arrive trying to force their way into the room. Her girlfriends attempt to prevent the crowd from "abducting" the young bride. Yet they succumb in the end as the young men tantalize them with little red envelopes filled with money. The groom escorts the bride back to his car, where she is taken to his home. Strange though this custom may sound, such traditional Chinese wedding rites, although with a twist of modernity, still exists today. In fact, this particular rite was practiced in the wedding of a couple in 1978. Customs such as this create a framework within which the new couple begins their marriage and influences their relationship with one another. The history of family life, especially of marriage and wedding rituals, is a relatively recent and sometimes neglected area of research. Social history, including family history, is a large field. Yet in some ways, family life affects individuals and, consequently, history in profound and intimate ways. Especially during childhood, family life shapes an individual because he or she cannot help but interact routinely with his or her family. While historic events move governments to action that affects populations either directly or indirectly, changing family structures and processes influence people in a more latent and constant manner throughout their lives