What’s the Problem with Loneliness in China?
One Child per Family Policy
The one child policy was part of China’s child planning policy which was introduced in 1979. This policy was instated by the government to control population growth. China’s government was concerned about the adverse effects of a growing population and the strain this growth would have on its economy and national resources. This was a strictly enforced government rule which was horrific for families and especially mothers. There was basically no planned parenthood, just a government rule. The Chinese government estimates that this rule prevented 400 million births, but unfortunately for the families’ or women who became pregnant, if this was their second child, the consequences were heartbreaking and terrifying.
If a second pregnancy occurred, a woman would either have to abort the pregnancy or give the child up after birth for adoption. A male child has historically been very desirable so if you gave birth to a girl, that child may have been given up for adoption with hopes the next child would be male. If a woman or family decided to keep their second child, it would have to be kept secret, as serious consequences would occur if you were caught:
- Sometimes family members unrelated to the incident would be jailed until the offending woman would submit to “forced sterilization”
- An accused offenders family could have education, health care and property privileges revoked
- The child would forcibly be taken from you and put up for adoption
- If you were caught in the pregnancy stage a forced abortion may be performed
China’s Family Planning Bureau lead a task force designed to catch rule breakers or members of their family and use them as bargaining chips to force the woman in to sterilization. The Chinese government viewed this as a necessity to control and preserve economic growth. This control process was labeled the “Iron Fist Campaign”
This is tragic, but beyond the physical issues created, there were absolutely feelings of shame, fear, guilt and loneliness for the entire family and the others which were either affected by this policy or forced to enforce this policy. Imagine being forced by a government to “apply” for permission in order to have a child. Most children that were born during the one-child policy were part of an only child family and felt lonely without brothers or sisters.
Leftover Woman (Sheng nu)
There is a term in China describing unmarried woman over the age of about 27 and beyond who are not married. Traditionally in past generations, like in most societies, marriage occurred at younger ages. Let’s give that a range of age between 18 and 25 years old. Marriage and families were traditionally started earlier than they are today. While “Leftover Woman” may be overly used term by mainstream media, there are also concerned parents that exasperate the situation with their own worry for their children. Both men and woman may be scrutinized and constantly reminded by their parents that it is time to “settle down before it is too late” but there are a number of reasons for this delay.
- Woman are better educated today than in past. The current generation of women focuses on education before relationship
- Woman contribute significantly more to today’s pool of skilled workers and are climbing the corporate ladder in higher percentages than ever before
- Woman seek better educated male earners to complement their achievements and contributions
There is a gender imbalance in China that has contributed significantly to the “One Child Policy”. Because of a few decades of enforced population control, there is an imbalanced ratio of men and woman. Women were largely discarded during this policy because traditional China preferred males and unfortunately this has created an unnaturally skewed ratio of males compared to females. There are more men in China than there are woman.
Combine this ratio with the other highlights from the “Leftover Woman” contributing factors and you have delayed marriages and delayed family creation which may also contribute to loneliness.
Leftover Man
Traditional media has coined the popular phrase “Leftover Woman” but maybe this is more of an issue for men? Males in china are feeling the pressure to get married and create families too. One might say this is more an issue for men because as we just discussed there are more men in China compared to woman. Couple this with the fact that woman desire more qualified males and this makes for stiff competition.
Chinese tradition has promoted 3 other factors that make this more problematic.
- Traditional Chinese families preferred children that were male because men were stronger and could help on the farm
- Traditional China usually had men in a position where they owned land or property prior to marriage
- Traditional and current Chinese men are particular about the physical traits of their wife
Traditional Chinese families preferred male children to help maintain their farm. Males are typically stronger than woman and could produce more physical work. Unfortunately the traditional farm is disappearing and because of this, farms are less of a status symbol and less lucrative. In rural areas, there are plenty of men and fewer women. Less woman because of population control and the fact that woman are becoming better educated and not gravitating to rural areas.
We already discussed that modern woman are better educated and looking for men with similar qualities. Unfortunately this requirement (or desirable trait) excludes a number of men in rural areas.
Traditionally, before marriage in China, the male would either need to own property or be in a good position that would allow for property ownership in the immediate future. The cost of property ownership has skyrocketed in major Chinese cities making ownership much more difficult and less likely. Also, just as the modern woman is continuing her education so are the males. There is stiff competition for jobs and education which delays the courtship process too. This is also detrimental to the rural male who is typically less educated and therefore less desirable.
Lastly, we have a universal issue where men are “picky” about the physical characteristics of a potential mate. There is a preference hierarchy for potential mates:
- Certain height and weight
- Older men are looking for younger woman
There is already ridiculously intense competition in this courtship dilemma and men choose to exasperate their circumstances with picky physical requirements.
Trust
There are trust issues related to government and corporate activities. We have reviewed a single but substantial issue with governance related to family control. This has created a significant trust issue between the government and its people by controlling fundamental rights with human procreation. This control issue has had a huge effect on loneliness in china that is hard to quantify but some facts regarding this issue are:
- Skewed the natural population ratio
- 336 million abortions were performed during this time according to China’s Health ministry
- During the one-child policy era, fertility disobedience was reported by members of your community. Surely trust issues within local communities arose because of this scrutiny.
- Single child homes are a direct result of the one-child policy
There is also a recognized trust issue among corporations in China. Money sometimes is the major driving factor of business. Money trumps all other criteria. Profit at any cost. Some despicable business examples:
- Purposely producing and selling tainted baby formula
- Selling fake, toxic or dyed meat, eggs and fish
- Toxic waste dumping
- Product counterfeiting
These tactics are not specific to China but this is just another generalized issue related to trust.
Elderly Crisis
Like other countries, there is a crisis with the elderly in China. The elderly population is growing at an alarming rate that will continue to strain the Economy.
The world’s most populous country is getting old. Plummeting birthrates, the result of the much-loathed one-child policy, and dramatically improved life expectancy mean that by 2050 more than a quarter of China’s population – almost 500 million people – will be over 65.
Caring for the elderly in China has traditionally been a duty of the family and as a direct result of the one-child policy; the family size has been drastically reduced. It is not uncommon to now have a single child that must care for aging parents. When families were larger, this helped spread the responsibility among many children. One child families are dealing with loneliness and financial burden.
What’s the Solution?
We tend to over analyze situations and make dire predictions. Part of the solution has been addressed, this being the “one-child” policy. This was tragic but with time, the population numbers will start to realign and normalize now that the policy is no longer in place.
There will always be different ways in which men and woman compete for each other and while it’s interesting that we are able to identify some of these issues which effect that competition, nature tends to evolve itself out of one problem in to another. So evolution will continue to work as it always has and work itself out.
The same evolutionary process will work out the elderly issues too. The elderly population will continue to increase then normalize again in a few decades.
Just like the Spanish Flu of 1918 and the Bubonic Plague where 100’s of millions died, the population eventually normalized again.
The “Trust” and “Government Policy” issues are the only items that need serious work. We have the ability to control and influence these factors and the best way to do this is through “Better” choices and crating “Better versions of ourselves”. If everyone was in the habit of making better choices and creating better versions of themselves, eventually “Trust” and “Government Policy” would automatically figure themselves out.