Piece Description

In the post-Mao era, Chinese family life has once again undergone radical change. The one-child policy has created a generation of young people without siblings, who have college educations and money to spend. Some of them will not be able to find partners because the one-child policy, combined with reproductive technology and the traditional preference for sons, has resulted in a sex ratio imbalance of 120 boys to every 100 girls. However, in the cities, the young educated professionals have different worries: finding a job, getting a good education and paying for an apartment. Many have close warm relations with their parents and grandparents, and the age-old principle of filial piety is still strong, though for different reasons. These children will have to take care of their parents in old age. Their rural counterparts are often part of a vast floating population of migrant laborers who are split from their spouses and families. There is a growing acceptance of divorce and of singlehood. New types of relationships and networks are taking the place of some of the old family bonds.