3.1　Definitions of marriage and family

3.1　Definitions of marriage and family

Marriage and the family are often seen as the fundamental social unit in the history of mankind.They have played a critical role in reproduction and social development(Ye et al.,1998) and are recognised as an important research topic in sociology(Deng &Xu,2001).Marriage is a relationship between wives and husbands,which involves both sexuality and mutual responsibility (Allan,1999).The family is an important social institution and social group (Murdock,1949;Wilson,1995).Although this is an area of study,which has received a great deal of attention,it still provides a focus of interest because of,as Weeks (1986) explained,persistent problems such as domestic violence occurring between couples or family members.

Marriage and family are interrelated.However,what is marriage? What is family? How do they relate to each other? I will examine British and Chinese definitions of marriage and family below.

3.1.1　What is marriage?

In the UK,academics such as Giddens (2005),Finch et al.(1999) and Therborn(2004) have noted that marriage is intended to regulate sexuality and thus they see it in terms of the 'sex-marriage complex',a bond between two people living together in a socially approved sexual relationship (although single parent families and also cohabiting couples are common in the UK).Their definitions place emphasis on the fact that marriage is the interface between sexuality and 'normal' social life.Sexuality is thus an important dimension of marriage (Finch et al.,1999).

Hoggett (2003) and Therborn (2004) stress that marriage is an arrangement for procreation,in effect giving people a licence to beget children.It also requires married couples to look after their children.Marriage,conceived in these terms,implies that children are at the heart of marriage (Herring,2004).

Herring (2004) and Therborn (2004) address the fact that marriage,throughout history,has been a vehicle of both social integration and social division.It can also be seen as a legal form of labour relations between women and men.Traditionally,the essence of marriage is the subjugation of women.Women pledge their labour,sexuality and reproductive capacity for life,and in return,may receive protection,upkeep and certain rights for their children (Leonard,1980).It therefore appears that women and men are unequal within marriage,while men may achieve their own kingdom within the State (Lawrence,1961).

However,marriage is not always seen as a conservative institution.Indeed it may be considered subversive,protecting individuals from the power of the State and the church (Mount,1982).For example,divorce may be seen as subversion or a rebellion against the 'Institution/Establishment' (Mount,1982) through putting an end to the hypocrisy of an unhappy marriage or family life.Divorce no longer carries the social stigma it once did and it is gradually becoming acknowledged as a social development (Guo,2006).As Mount (1982) points out,the society people live in has usually been shaped by a series of power relationships,for example by religion,politics,social movements or social institutions.

Lewis (2001) suggests that marriage is one such social institution.From her research into the various forms of marriage over time,she concludes that,today marriage has become more complex and differs from previous generations,representing a social development.For example,in the UK today,many couples now cohabit before marriage or indeed cohabit for life.Those who go on to marry may divorce subsequently and may go on to cohabit again with another partner and/or marry and possibly divorce again.This suggests that marriage has become a discretionary role for adults (Lewis,2001),and that the emotional relationship between a couple has become the first consideration within it.

Turning to Chinese definitions of marriage,ancient Chinese scholars defined marriage separately as hun and yin.'Hun' meant that two people (a bride and groom) performed the marriage ceremony,while 'yin' was a woman (a bride) who became a married woman because of her husband (Deng &Xu,2001).This definition again suggests that there is a gender difference between a woman and a man in marriage.Other ancient scholars defined marriage as the joining of two people (a woman and man) for the benefit of their ancestors and for continuing the family line (Deng &Xu,2001).This definition places emphasis on the production of a male heir and the continuation of the family line.

More recently,Deng and Xu,(2001),Dong (2004) and Meng (1991) have pointed out that in marriage a woman and a man are joined as a couple by social institution or by law.Fei (1981) notes that marriage is a man-made ceremony,and consummated by sex between a woman and a man.These modern definitions focus on the socially acknowledged sexual relationship between a woman and a man.In addition,Pan (1998) points out that marriage is a social behaviour and plays a role in society.Through this social institution,couples take responsibility for rearing their children (Fei,1981).Marriage therefore confers the social responsibility for the procreation and rearing of children (Deng &Xu,2001).

After examining the British and Chinese conceptualisations of marriage over time,we can see that both British and Chinese definitions demonstrate that marriage cannot be separated from the sexual relationship between the married couple.They also suggest that marriage is approved by society and may involve procreation and the rearing of children.However,the essence of marriage is to facilitate social integration.As Fei (1997) has commented,society does not need to have marriage and the family just to satisfy the relationship of love and sexuality between women and men.It is for society,however,that marriage and family is guaranteed by law and standardised by ethics.In other words,marriage is regulated by morality and ethics,institutions and law but is associated within a special social structure (Deng&Xu,2001).The biological basis of marriage originates from nature but its social basis embodies its essence.Marriage has a social function.In this aspect,British and Chinese definitions are similar.

However,in comparing the definitions from Britain and China,we can see some differences between them.Firstly,British definitions focus on the sexuality of a couple but do not emphasise that they are female and male.The couple may therefore be heterosexual or homosexual.While 'marriage' is defined as a heterosexual relationship,same sex partnerships are legalised by the 'Civil Partnerships Act of 2005^[4].However,Chinese definitions clearly state that the married couple will be a woman and a man,that is,a heterosexual couple.This distinction may have arisen because historically research has developed differently in the UK and China.In the UK,academics have been exploring the issue of homosexuality for more than thirty years,and there is general awareness of this vulnerable group of lesbians and gay men.Sexual relations between persons of the same sex have been decriminalised in the UK since the 1970s (Bamforth,1997) though legal recognition of same sex partnerships only came with the Civil Partnership Act in 2005.However,in China,'homosexuality' is not commonly understood or accepted (Cao,2004;Yi,2003) and only a few academics are begining to acknowledge and to study it.Therefore,homosexuals who are essentially no different from heterosexuals (Moore,2003) are not protected by law in China.Accordingly,marriage as a heterosexual combination in China remains the only legal form of sexual partnership.

Secondly,the late twentieth and early twenty-first century British governments explicitly state that marriage is the best situation in which to bring up children and children should be at the heart of marriage (Herring,2004).Ideally,child rearing should be the responsibility of couples.Chinese definitions however focus on marriage as behaviour for the continuation of the family line (Deng &Xu,2001).Therefore responsibility for children is implicit.

The differences between the two countries' definitions may result from their different cultures.In China,for example,Confucianism has a history of thousands of years and still influences attitudes towards marriage and sexuality (Pan,1987).As an old Chinese saying goes:'marriage [is] by the order of parents (fengzhi chenghun)' and the majority of those of marriageable age in modern China still feel under an obligation to marry in order to produce another generation to carry on the family line.Marriage is in effect therefore an act of filial and ancestral piety.

While,gender issues are reflected in both British and Chinese definitions,in UK definitions,we can see that marriage can involve a division of labour.Women have the ability to bear children,and this may lead to differing roles for women and men,domestic and sexual,within the home.However,in Chinese definitions,there seems to be a more fixed gender specific role for wives and husbands and the role of men is deemed superior to that of women.This difference between definitions in the UK and China is reflected in the development of research.In UK definitions,countering the gender inequality concerning the division of labour in marriage has been part of feminist movements,whereas in Chinese definitions,such gender issues more simply link to sexuality.

Marriage in the UK has been changing over time and cohabitation is now very common,while in China marriage is still the norm and cohabitation is still unusual(Chen,2000).This difference may be explained by the different cultures and social systems.For example,in Britain people may be more concerned with their emotions rather than the social convention of marriage,so that many of them choose to cohabit.UK law now protects cohabitants to some extent.Under the Family Law Act 1996^[5],for example,a cohabitant or former cohabitant is deemed to have a beneficial interest in occupying a dwelling-house by virtue of a beneficial estate or interest.But,in China,marriage is still very much the norm.Few people choose cohabitation.Nothing in Chinese law protects cohabitants as such behaviour is not generally socially acceptable.Prior to the recent phase of economic development,there was almost no cohabitation in China,however,this is now less uncommon.Cohabitation may therefore need to be protected by Chinese law in the future,and Chinese academics are debating the form this should take (Song,2004)

3.1.2　What is family?

Murdock (1949) points out that:

[Family] is a social group characterised by common residence,economic cooperation,and reproduction.The family includes adults of both sexes,at least two of whom a socially approached sexual relationship,and one or more children,own or adopted,of the sexually cohabiting adults.

(Murdock,1949:1)

According to Murdock's definition,family means a group of people who live together and cooperate in managing their household.In particular,he emphasises that within the family there are at least two adults in a sexual relationship.Thus the 'family' is based on a sexually active couple,normally a female and a male,legally married or cohabiting.These 'parents' are the core of the family and usually maintain its livelihood,with the other family members sharing in a common purse earned by the parents.As Tufo (1995:18) suggests,the family is an economic unit,purchasing items in order to keep itself going and to raise children.

Cretney (2000) comments that the legal systems of western democracies are generally supportive of the family as a social institution.He notes that:

[The family] is the 'natural primary and fundamental' unit of society,possessing'inalienable and imprescriptible rights',that the family is the 'necessary basis of social order' and that it is 'indispensable to the welfare of the Nation and State'.The family provides emotional support.It also instills values in their members.

(Cretney,2000:1)

Cretney's definition suggests that the family is a social institution,the oldest and the most widespread of social institutions (Therborn,2004) and with certain inalienable rights.However,while according to law,individuals have the right to be treated with respect in private and in family life,in reality,some suffer domestic violence,and their rights in their home are thereby infringed or indeed,destroyed by the perpetrators of such violence.In addition,the definition suggests that the family,which is so fundamental to the social order,should be protected by the Nation and the State.The family as a unit of society relates closely to society and links individuals to the wider social structure (Goode,1964).If problems such as domestic violence,unemployment and so on occur within the 'family',these inevitably impact on wider society and also impact on the State.

At the same time,Cretney (2000) also defines the family at a psychological level.The family is a place for emotional exchange,including romantic love,care and understanding.Family members spend as much as 50 per cent of their leisuretime together for example,watching television or talking together,and enjoying emotional and social interaction with their family members in the home.Family members may support and comfort each other when they have problems,and may also encourage each other to overcome difficulties.The family therefore can be a medium for the exchange of emotions and of love between its various members,in particular between the wife and the husband and the parents and the children.A wife and a husband therefore build a family together within which they can express their emotions through verbal or non-verbal means.The emotional dimension has therefore become of central importance within the 'family'.

Therborn (2004) states that:

[The family] is an enclosure in the open battlefields of sex and power,delimiting the free-for-all by staking out boundaries,between members and non-members,substituting rights and obligations for free trade and perpetual combat.The family is suspended between sex and power,as biological and social forces.

(Therborn,2004:1)

Therborn's definition of the family differs from those which precede it in highlighting power and also including sex and their links to the family.Sex is a basic driving force of human biology,while power is a key feature of human sociology(Therborn,2004) and a family is an outcome of sexual relations,either past or current.The family regulates sexual relations within it,determining who may,who must,and who must not,have sexual relations with whom.The family also controls power relations within the family conferring rights and obligations on the various family members.All family members are required to make a commitment to contribute to the family unit.

The Chinese socialist Sun (1935) noted that:

[The family] means a group composed of a couple with their children and kinsfolk.Therefore,there are three conditions for establishing the family:one is kinsfolk living together,another is that family includes two or more generations,and the third is that the family members live together permanently.

(Sun,1935:441)

In Sun's definition,we can see that he places emphasis on the family members living together with the focus mainly on the consanguinity of the family group.The definition reflects the culture of the Chinese family before the 1990s when typically a family consisting of two or more generations (Deng &Xu,2001),epitomised Chinese family culture (Ding,1994).

Deng and Xu (2001),Meng (1991),Xie (2001) and Yi (2003) all point out that family is the core relationship in society because it is its fundamental unit.The family,with its combination of marriage and consanguinity,is a fundamental unit of society.According to the definition of marriage,the marital relationship of two people provides the basis of a family.The family,by providing a context for creating life,forges a relationship between nature and society.This relationship has existed since remote antiquity and incorporates economic,legal,moral,ideological and emotional drivers,which dominate and control the 'natural' form of the family.

From this definition,we can see that emphasis is placed on the relationship between family and society,with marriage and consanguinity linking the family members.In other words,family cannot be separated from marriage (Dong,2000) and is a consequence of marriage (Deng &Xu,2001).At the same time,this definition also suggests that the family unit links to the wider society economically,legally,morally and emotionally.Thus,family institutions are not arbitrary,but exist within a framework of standards and norms.For example,the sexual relationship between couples is condoned by law.However,should marriage partners have sexual relationships with others outside the marriage bond,it may be outside the law,which suggests that emotions and natural desires must be controlled by morality and law.The family as a social unit may be a fundamental to society(Deng &Xu,2001),but,paradoxically,it can also be restricted by society.

The Chinese encyclopaedia (1991:102) offers this definition:

[The family] is a basic unit of society.It consists of marriage and consanguinity and may include adopted children.

Deng (1998) points out that:

[Family],with its basis in marriage and consanguinity,is a fundamental unit of society and is formed through marriage,consanguinity or adoption,which is seen as a social community.

(Deng,1998:105)

These definitions again emphasise the relationship between family and society,but also indicate that a family may be instituted not only by marriage and consanguinity but sometimes also by adoption.This extends the scope of the definition of the family to include adopted children where no consanguinity exists.If such a family is indeed a family the definitions suggest that this phenomenon exists objectively and can do so without biological ties.

Dong (2000) emphasises that the family,in modern society,has gradually come to be seen as a private place where individuals' love and intimate emotions are mingled and where many social responsibilities are undertaken.Dong's definition also highlights the family's role in supporting its individual members,which role is reflected both privately and publicly.This definition differs from other Chinese definitions because of its specific focus on individuals.

Through the examination of these British and Chinese definitions of the family,we can see that there are substantial similarities in these definitions.For example,all emphasise that family is a fundamental unit of society and usually comprises at least two adults who are married or,in the UK,cohabiting although lone parent families are increasing in number.Family is a place where family members live communally,sharing emotions and sharing resources.

However,some differences are also apparent.For example,while British definitions focus mainly on family content,form,role and rights,etc.,Chinese definitions are more concerned with the relationship between family members across generations going beyond the single married couples and their children and between the family and society.For example,Murdock's (1949) definition,reveals the family members in a common residence,cooperating economically and reproducing.Family rights are reflected in Cretney's definition as well as contests between sex and power,as also reflected in Therborn's definition.With the exception of Therborn,however,the definitions principally emphasise the relationship between the family members,created through marriage and consanguinity.UK definitions also acknowledge the sexual element more openly than the Chinese ones.

Cretney (2000) discusses the rights of families,whereas these are not mentioned in Chinese definitions.Finally,sex and power as biological and social forces have been pointed out by Therborn (2004),whose definition highlights the relationship between sexes,power and gender inequality in the family.Chinese researchers are only just beginning to explore these issues.

In considering the relationship between family and society,the traditional and valued concept of the family is still firmly rooted in the minds of many Chinese people.Accordingly,a series of norms has been established:for example,'the three cardinal guides and the five constant virtues' and 'the three obediences and four virtues' (Meng,1991).Thus,in China,individuals subordinate themselves to their family and,in turn,families subordinate themselves to society or the State.In the more egotistical West,the interests of individuals are sometimes viewed as greater than those of the family (Ding,1994).

The idea of power,including sexual power,within the family features prominently in the British sociological definitions of family,but is not mentioned in Chinese definitions.This may be attributable to the different social systems and cultures of the two countries.For example,the UK may be said to pay more attention to 'humanity',while China emphasises the value of the State.In the UK the idea of family rights as a form of human rights is specifically identified in some definitions and this has been the case for a relatively long period of time.However,in China,family right as human rights is not specifically mentioned,although such rights are starting to gain attention among academics (Chen,2005;Wu,2004).At the cultural level,the Chinese have long been influenced by Confucian ideology.'The three obediences and four virtues' suggest that men are superior to women and that women are subordinate to men.This concept has persisted into modern times.

In China over 90 per cent of the perpetrators of domestic violence are men(usually husbands) (Wang,2006),who may make use of violence as a means of maintaining their position of power and to control their wives and children in the home (Fei,1997).It is apparent that power and gender inequalities exist between family members,in particular between wives and husbands.Why do these inequalities arise? In considering this we first need to look at gender.