The Research Of Rural Phenomenon"Double Single Double Habitat"Marriage Habitat

The one-child policy, which started from nineteen-eighties, has brought rapid changes to Chinese society in politics, economics, culture and so forth. Changes in rural society are especially in the centre of attention which will inevitably influence Chinese rural families in every aspect. With the increasing number of single-child families in rural areas in recent years, a special kind of marriage habitat sprouts out in northwestern Hunan which we call " double single double habitat ". In this kind of marriage, both the men and women from one-child families live on both sides. By carrying out a few field surveys in several villages of X town in Hunan Province and holding case interviews with the parties, this paper tries to introduce the features, analysis the causes guided by culture transition theory and discuss its effects on traditional culture in marriage, household power structures, inter-generational relations and so on. In addition, this article strives to discuss the financial strains on young couples, the life care of old parents, the spiritual consolation and the name issues in-depth exploration.This paper consists of five chapters. Chapter one is an introduction that explain the beginning and meaning of this research, sort out existing research findings and introduce the methods used in this article. Chapter two sets the tone, introduce the theoretical basis of this research——culture transition theory and functionalism theory. And also make a scientific definition of the core in this research. Chapter three summarizes the general situation of "double single double habitat". Including the emergence and development, its characteristics. Chapter four goes into the causes and social effects of "double single double habitat". There are also analyses about the reasons from political, economical and cultural factors. The main influences are challenging the traditional marriage culture, reconstructing the power structure and adjusting the inter-generational relations within the families. Beyond that, this part will also explore the negative effect of some problems such as the great economic pressure on young couples, lack of life care and spiritual consolation for old parents, the grandchildren’s name issues. Chapter five is the conclusion part. Through research that the marriage habitat of "double single double habitat" has great value to challenge the traditional marriage habitat culture, adjust and restructure the power structure within families and also defuse risks on providing for the aged in rural single-child families. But this phenomenon also reflect the dilemma of supporting aged parents for one-child families in rural areas and their family conflict. Only when government, society and families work together can these matters be improved.