Changing Patterns of Sexuality in China

Longquan Village, Communism in Action

In June of 2005 a team of five graduate students from Cal State Fullerton embarked upon a visit to a small rural village in China named Longquan. Located in "Huabei", The North China Plain, Longquan represents an advanced model rural village in terms of economic progress and the effectiveness of Collective leadership serving rural China. This report is presented as a synopsis of my more detailed academic study dealing more specifically with the changing patterns of Sexuality and Moral Attitudes resident in the people` living there.

Having received many awards from the provincial and national governments, the village of Longquan is recognized as being among more monetarily prosperous, socially advanced and cohesive village communities in China. Xinju Li (Pictured left) works as a team leader in the collective farming unit at the village's party headquarters. She says "Life is very good in Longquan Village today compared with "the old days.' We have plenty of food to eat and a happy life, and we owe this good life to our leaders. The local government supports the villagers and is very good to all of us."

The term "good life and modernity is more or less relative however, when compared with more advanced or developed nations or even to the more cosmopolitan centers of China itself. But for the one billion or so people who are almost totally dependant upon their government for everyday life needs, Longquan has become an example of a "happy" rural village where citizen's expectations are modest and one's lifetime goals are conservatively egalitarian. While all of China has become an economic dichotomy, I suppose that the simple life here is a necessity for most citizens of this country. In the image on the right is pictured the government housing structures with 600 sq foot apartments that are mada available to the elders of the community.

While I would have loved to interview this sweet little old lady, I was without my interpreter at the time and therefore could not inquire about how she lived, where she came from, etc. But she is quite typical of the people in this community who would not survive outside the socialistic confines of the village. Here she is, sitting all day outside of her children's store reminiscing about her younger days I'm sure. Most of China is still largely influenced by the teaching of Confucius (551-479B.C). Accordingly , his philosophy of "filial piety" prevails especially in the rural areas. Today, filial piety primarily means taking care of one's parents in their old age.

The warm reception we received as we arrived in the village was very nice and after a few toasts to each other, the Leaders began to describe the way they had developed their very successful industrial base. As a matter of fact we were told that we would have the opportunity to visit some of their finest factories and observe their operations first hand. Not knowing what to expect, I was a little taken back when they escorted us through a copper wire plant that by any measure of modern technology was still back in the early 20th century. After touring more than a dozen additional factories, it became clear that the objective was to provide employment not necessarily to operate at the highest level of productivity.

Copper Factory Manual Labor.JPG (203113 bytes)

Susan & Marylinn Paper Factory.JPG (149674 bytes)

Allie, my partner in the group, and I pose for the camera in front of roles of paper manufactured in this factory. The best one could say about this company was that the floor was very clean. This is another of the factories that the village leaders are so proud of.. It was suggested that the leaders of this village were hoping to interest outside investment so they could add to the capacity as well as create some additional jobs for the people of the village. In some parts of China, I suspect that there will always be these inefficient labor intensive factories utilizing their ability to employ people for low wages to enable the setting of product prices at or near competitive levels of other countries using better educated labor and investing in greater technology so as to make each employee more productive.

My specific topic to report on after returning from China is an examination of the changing patterns and attitudes regarding matchmaking, courtship, love, marriage and family by the people of various ages living in Longquan. I undertook thirteen interviews principally with women but I was successful in getting an interview with two men. At first, those that I interviewed were reluctant to speak to an issue so personal but with the help from a village leader, I did get them to open up and discovered much interesting information. When the match was agreed to by the parents and the wedding day set, the groom would fetch the bride on a sedan chair.

A large banquet would be served to guests and family and special foods are provided that retain special significance. A dowry presented by the wife's parents and gift giving signified important concepts and allegiance to superstitions. Once the groom took his wife to live with her new family in his home village, she severed relationships with her nuclear family and security became contingent on the directions demands of the mother in-law. The interviews examined village women's views on both traditional and contemporary behaviors they deem acceptable during the courtship process. The findings indicate that many young women today unequivocally resist the practice of matchmaking. But for some it continues. In 1950 the government passed the Marriage Law, the Labor and land Legislation that gave new freedoms to women including rights to choose their own husband and to divorce freely and share in family property rights. This virtually caused the death to traditional matchmaking .

The display of behavior in public during courtship has changed over the past seventy years. Jinfeng Chen, a seventy three year old self proclaimed "peasant woman" grew up in West Village, however, she joined her husband in Longquan in the 1950s. She asserts "My husband and I never touched each other before marriage nor did we hold hands, even when alone. We displayed affection through games and we played jokes on each other. When asked about the qualities she desired in a husband, Jenfeng's answer was, "He must be hardworking (industrious) kind, honest, reliable and diligent, and he must not talk too much" By industrious, Jinfeng meant a man who works hard and provides economic security, i.e., enough food to eat and a roof over one's head.

Fenggin Song (pictured left), a fifty-year old team leader in one of Longquan's collective farming units described the conditions she lived in as a child. "Life was hard," she recalled, 'We never had enough food to eat." When asked about her dreams for her future as she worked long hours in the field, Fenggin replied, "All I wanted was enough food to eat and a big house; we lived in a mud hut without water or a bathroom; our water came from a well. She and her betrothed, introduced by a classmate who proclaimed herself as matchmaker, courted for two years before they married. "We never kissed, and we did not hold hands," she said. Kissing was not allowed, and private or public displays of affection were still not appropriate during the "Cultural Revolution". She added/,"I was taught that moral virtue included kindness goodness and tolerance of others. She also said that pregnancy before marriage or engaging in public affection before or even after marriage would create loss of face, an important concept in China.

My research revealed that in Longquan as well as other similar villages, women and men regardless of age still do not touch each other in public, however, open displays of affection and even pre-marital sex run rampant on Chinese college campuses and urban cultures in contemporary Chinese society. "College settings usually in metropolitan centers provide environments away from the scrutiny of village leaders, parents and community residents. Xiochen Wang (Pictured at right), a Twenty-One year old young girl in the Village said "Living here is like living in a fishbowl, I just want to go to college located in a city where I will have more freedom to do what I want". Xiochen vehemently rejects matchmaking as an option for finding a husband. She met her current boyfriend on the internet and by a strange coincidence, he happened to know someone in her family. She further states "My mother and father will respect my wishes, they want me to find my own husband.

In Summary, while a relatively small component of the Chinese economy, Longquan Village reflects a fiscally successful and socially advancing environment that both community members and Village leaders hope to promote as a "Model Village" in the spirit of China's semi free market economic socialism. The community wants to attract foreign investment, tourism and propel their village economically into the mainstream of China's current modernization process. These hopes combined with above average economic expansion, greater educational opportunities, and exposure to a wider spectrum of cultures through the worldwide Internet are moving this Nation of 1.5 million people into the modern world. identification with Confucian ethics continue to represent an important element of tradition that remains alive and well in Longquan Village. The young people (Pictured at left with your's truly) currently are taught that filial piety is an important responsibility. Caring for parents in their old age reflects both the experiences of older narrators and future objectives of the young despite modern or rapidly changing and more liberal social and courtship practices.