On Marriage Custom Reformation Of Shanbei Region In The Republic Of China Period

As a most important event in one's life, marriage has been high lightened by all peoples of different civilizations. Deeply influenced by culture, geographical and other elements, marriage custom in different civilization differs from each other. Marriage custom has the character of stability unless there comes an up down change in a society. This thesis focuses on the marriage custom reformation of Shanbei region during the Republic of China period. By a thoroughly exploration of this study not only can we get an outline of the society transition of Shanbei region of this period, but also an clear cut of the transition of modern China of this period.Shanbei region, once an melt pot of agricultural civilization and nomadic civilization of ancient China, had formed a set of marriage custom differing from the typical ancient China marriage custom. Highly detailed, engaged and married when he or she was still a child, parents played an important role in his or her marriage, wealthy was not the only important elements when an marriage came into being, these were the main characters of traditional marriage custom in Shanbei region. These characters in marriage custom had lasted until the foundation of the Republic of China. Shanbei region got more information of outside world after the revolution in 1911. With the help of these modern information, more and more youth began their seeking for freely will marriage engagement and marriage customs of western character. This also made people more tolerating to the widow's remarriage activities. But the change also had brought some retrogrades like marriage engagement for wealthy and others. There came an thoroughly change in politics, economy, ideology and other fields in Shanbei region after the Communist Party of China established its regime. The reflection of this in the marriage customs were the followings: freely will engagement, simplified marriage customs, high rising divorce rate of unwilling marriage and others.Based on the thoroughly changes of politics, economy, culture and others, marriage custom had an up down transformation. We know that the transformation of marriage custom related with the change of time, and has characters of protraction, complexity. Political mobilization became the core propeller for the reformation of marriage custom in Shanbei region after the foundation of the red regime. This also based the foundational background for the marriage custom of modern China after 1949.