A Sociological Analysis Of High Bride Price In Rural Areas

With the rapid development of China’s economy since the reform and opening up,economic logic has penetrated into all aspects of rural society,profoundly changing villagers’ individual behavior,family reproduction,social communication and inner order.However,it should be noted that despite the erosion of market force,traditional customs still remain,and refrain from embedding into the market society.Under the wave of modernization,social phenomenon has emerged: customs and consumerism mixed together.These "abnormal" events,which cannot be interpreted by perceptual or rational perspective,are not only obstacles to the process of rural modernization,but also the key to rural governance.Bride price in the rural society provides a perfect case to observe the interplay of traditional custom and market economy.On one hand,getting married bears the sanctity of family line in tradition,and all kinds of rules on this matter are deeply rooted in rural society.On the other hand,conspicuous consumption made by people that returned home gloriously,spreads in the countryside and spills into the marriage customs.Rivalry between these two forces makes bride price evolving in a special way,criticized by both traditional customs and modern civilization.This paper takes a village in Hebei province as the investigation site,compares bride price from different economic households,analyzes the standard chosen by different class through qualitative interviews and field observation,so as to describe the bride price in change and summarize its deep impact on rural society.First,the form of bride price is increasingly diversified,from simple betrothal gifts to "three gold","gift gold",house,car and so on.Second,the amount is constantly rising,from two or three thousand in 2000 to about 100,000 nowadays,not including the traditional "three gold",house,car for these things have become basic accessories.This trend is certainly reasonable,but the fundamental driving force comes from the two-way shaping of traditional customs and modern market.For one thing,consumerism has formed a tangled structural network in marriage customs,and the parties involved in the network can’t help buying bride price according to its rules;for the other,bride price,as a representative of marriage etiquette,is not an empty shell,but traditional family ethics that against those forces trying to dissolve the existing reproduction order.The practice of bride price brings some negative effects,like increasing the villagers’ economic and psychological burden,hindering the process of rural modernization.Therefore,this paper attempts to analyze the problems existing in the rural society through bride price,and puts forward targeted solutions,so as to remove some obstacles for the construction of rural civilization.