Marriage is one of the oldest social institutions that regulate interpersonal and sexual relations, a society recognized by the union between spouses to create a family, giving rise to a married couple’s mutual rights and obligations. Marriage and family relationships are one of the cornerstones on which Chinese society is built. People think about marriage in China at a young age. Moreover, marriage is an essential step toward social success. Marriage is concluded as an agreement between two families and has specific rules. Typically, marriage occurs at a young age in China, and the man pays for his marriage. Typically, families in China discuss all property issues before marriage. At the same time, the groom must be ready to provide his family with a decent life, including housing, a car, and appropriate financial capabilities.
It is becoming increasingly challenging to negotiate a marriage because not every Chinese person has the necessary resources. The Chinese media sometimes write about the money spent on gifts for Chinese women and then the refusals received. And it still often happens that the girl’s family decides not to accept her husband, despite mutual feelings (Ma and Rizzi 1233). Thus, on the one hand, marriage is a universal cultural heritage since it is a union of two people and is a whole system of traditions and values. As in many modern countries, husband and wife are equal in marriage and have the same rights and responsibilities.
On the other hand, there are still doubts when considering marriage in terms of universal cultural heritage. When entering into marriage, people in different countries lead by various needs and use additional attributes that are incomprehensible to residents of other countries. Moreover, sometimes it is not required to formalize the marriage legally. Thus, the question of defining marriage as a universal cultural heritage remains open since marriage is different in different countries, despite the formal similarity of ceremonies.
Work Cited
Ma, Li and Rizzi, Ester. “Entry into first marriage in China”. Demographic Research, vol. 37, no. 36, 2017. pp. 1231-1244.