The Individual and Transformation of Bridewealth in Rural North China

Bibliographic Data

ID2266567
AuthorsY Yan (0000-0002-0124-925X, University of California, Los Angeles, corresponding author)
Year2005
Volume11
Issue4
Pages637-658
Publication date2005-12-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueJournal of the Royal Anthropological Institute (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1359-0987 • E-ISSN: 1467-9655
PublisherWiley (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1111/j.1467-9655.2005.00255.x
OpenAlexW2075321198
LanguageEN
Citations received30
References cited33

Drawing on data collected from longitudinal fieldwork, this article explores how the practice of bridewealth in a north China village has been transformed into a new form of property division within the groom's family and how the bride has replaced her parents as the recipient of bridewealth. At the individual level, this transformation has evolved through a long process during which individual brides and grooms negotiated with their parents over control of bridewealth. A misunderstanding about Western individualism provides village youths with a new ideological tool to justify their relentless extraction of money from their parents. At the level of family life, the changing norm of bridewealth has shaped and in turn has helped to re-shape mate choice, family division, and support for the elderly. These family changes occurred within the context of other social changes at the macro level and are closely linked to the role of the powerful state. While emphasizing the active role of the individual in transforming the practice of bridewealth, an important phenomenon that by and large has been overlooked in most studies of marriage transactions, the article also examines the specific strategies by which individuals exercise their agency, choosing to take advantage of the custom of bridewealth instead of abandoning it when it affords them greater autonomy in mate choice and marriage negotiations

Agency (philosophy · Autonomy · Context (archaeology · Geography · Patriarchy · Political science · Social science · Sociology · China's Socioeconomic Reforms and Governance · Demographic Trends and Gender Preferences · Gender Studies · Intergenerational Family Dynamics and Caregiving · Law

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