Introduction to Patterns of Chinese-Western Intermarriages in Modern China (1840—1949)

摘要

This paper reviews the Chinese-Western marriage in modern China from 1840-1949, and it finds the earliest Chinese married Westerners in the begging of China's open. More Chinese men married Western wives at first, and then Chinese wives-Western husbands outnumbered much more. Both Western and Chinese governments' policies and attitude towards ChineseWestern marriages in this period were also studied. It concluded that marriages between China and Western countries at this period were the result of free choice of both sides. Compared with the prevailing marriages arranged by the parents in China at that time, they could be regarded as models of free marriages in the early times. These marriages happened in the particular settings, thus they have particular characteristics in different types. Both of Chinese and Western countries were revolting intercultural marrying with each other from the government side. At last, this paper also pays attention to Chinese men married Western women, and it pointed out that Western countries even had more severe policies on restraining Western women to marry Chinese men. The Chinese men were particularly treated by policies unequally in this setting. The traditional researches only emphasized Chinese women's inferior position, but they almost neglected Chinese men's berefted position which more or less led to Chinese men's very negative emasculated and effeminate positions.