Courtship.pdfVIP

Contemporary China Center, Australian National University Courtship, Love and Premarital Sex in a North China Village Author(s): Yunxiang Yan Source: The China Journal, No. 48 (Jul., 2002), pp. 29-53 Published by: Contemporary China Center, Australian National University Stable URL: /stable/3182440 . Accessed: 08/08/2011 06:38 Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of the Terms Conditions of Use, available at . /page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of content in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms of scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact support@. Contemporary China Center, Australian National University is collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend access to The China Journal. COURTSHIP,LOVE AND PREMARITAL SEX IN A NORTH CHINA VILLAGE* YunxiangYan Because the union of a young couple affects the institution of the family, establishes an alliance between two kin groups and can have repercussionson social standing, in many traditional societies parents control their childrens marriagechoices, and romantic love normally plays only an indirect role, if at all. In the modem age, as is well known, there has been a worldwide shift away from arrangedmarriages. New patterns of courtship based on free choice by have as a of social and economic young couples emerged consequence changes that encompass formal education, urbanization, migration, non-family and individualaccess to incomes. The