Skip to Main Content
 

Global Search Box

 
 
 
 

Files

File List


Y. Chen Dissertation .pdf (1.16 MB)

ETD Abstract Container

Abstract Header

The Revival of "Visiting Marriage"--Family Change and Intergenerational Relations among Matrilineal Tibetans in Southwestern China

Chen, Yunzhu
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=case1544207449090513

Abstract Details

2019, Doctor of Philosophy, Case Western Reserve University, Anthropology.
This dissertation examines how a matrilineal Tibetan society has reacted to the political, economic, and socio-cultural changes in China. The Zhaba region of Ganzi Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture in Sichuan province was chosen as the overall field site because of its matrilineal kinship system and "visiting marriage" tradition, in which partners live in their natal matrilineal households while children belong to the mothers' family. Based on eleven months of anthropological fieldwork, this dissertation is the first ethnography on marriage, family, and intergenerational relations among matrilineal Tibetans in Southwestern China. This dissertation discusses how the changing ideals of marriage and family formations influence people of different generations. A major argument of this dissertation is that the interplay of state policies including birth planning policy, household registration policy, marriage certification rules, and socio-economic developments over the past few decades, have contributed to changes in the "visiting marriage" tradition and family ideals among the matrilineal Zhaba Tibetans. This has led to the sense of exclusiveness between the visiting partners, an increase of the father's contribution in childrearing, and the emergence of neolocal nuclear families. However, this dissertation shows that there has been a revival of the traditional "visiting marriage" among the majority of young people in their twenties (63.64%) who still chose to practice "visiting marriage" and live with their natal matrilineal households. Using ethnographic data, this dissertation brings to the forefront how a matrilineal society in the cultural context of China, structures the life course of different generations and affects the well-being of the elderly. Moreover, this in-depth, on-the-ground ethnography of Tibetans residing in Sichuan province, demonstrates the diverse manner that ethnic Tibetans are adapting to change and development in China. By comparing family changes between the Zhaba Tibetans and both rural Han Chinese families and Tibetan families in the literature, it reveals how the locals reacted differently to the same set of political, economic, and social cultural forces in China, and it emphasizes the complexities and shaping forces of the social cultural traditions and the importance of ethnographic research in understanding family transformations in today's rapidly changing China.
Melvyn Goldstein (Committee Chair)
Lihong Shi (Committee Member)
Vanessa Hildebrand (Committee Member)
Peter Yang (Committee Member)
220 p.
Cultural Anthropology
family; marriage; intergenerational relations; aging; elderly support; matrilineality; Tibet; China

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Chen, Y. (2019). The Revival of "Visiting Marriage"--Family Change and Intergenerational Relations among Matrilineal Tibetans in Southwestern China [Doctoral dissertation, Case Western Reserve University]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=case1544207449090513

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Chen, Yunzhu. The Revival of "Visiting Marriage"--Family Change and Intergenerational Relations among Matrilineal Tibetans in Southwestern China . 2019. Case Western Reserve University, Doctoral dissertation. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=case1544207449090513.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Chen, Yunzhu. "The Revival of "Visiting Marriage"--Family Change and Intergenerational Relations among Matrilineal Tibetans in Southwestern China ." Doctoral dissertation, Case Western Reserve University, 2019. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=case1544207449090513

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)

case1544207449090513
1,071
© 2018, all rights reserved.
This open access ETD is published by Case Western Reserve University School of Graduate Studies and OhioLINK.