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- Title
A Historical and Demographical Analysis of Uxorilocal Marriage in Hsinchu, Taiwan Under Japanese Colonial Rule.
- Authors
Ying-chang Chuang; Meng-zhu Zhang; Wen-shan Yang
- Abstract
This study examines the socio-demographic characteristics of uxorilocal marriages between inhabitants of the same village residing in proximity. Household register data for the Japanese colonial era were accessed for Chupei, Beipu, and Ermei townships in Hsinchu County. These data make it possible to reconstruct the life histories of husbands who lived continuously in their wife's native township. Ninety-two couples met these requirements, and they reveal several unique socio-demographic features. First, it was very common that the "called-in" husband married a wife of a higher household socio-economic status. There were also other corresponding contrasts in the respective circumstances of the two households, such as sibling order and parent background, that matched socio-economic status differences. Second, although uxorilocal unions had higher rates of divorce than major marriages (living virilocally with the husband's family), uxorilocal marriages were as fertile as major marriages. As a consequence, a "called-in" husband often had more male heirs (sons) than his father-in-law. Third, initially uxorilocal couples could eventually separate from the wife's family. When setting up a new household, the residential status of the "called-in" husband normally changed from uxorilocal to neolocal. In sum, although the disadvantages of a uxorilocal marriage were very real, these marriages offered other compensations. On the one hand, they provided "called in" husbands with the possibility of upward social mobility while still maintaining his patrilineal descent line. On the other hand, they appealed to the wife's natal family by providing a male heir, labor, or both.
- Subjects
HSINCHU City (Taiwan); TAIWAN; MATRILOCAL residence; JAPANESE colonies; DEMOGRAPHY; MARRIAGE; HOUSEHOLDS; SOCIAL status; TWENTIETH century; HISTORY; SOCIAL history
- Publication
New History / Xin Shixue, 2013, Vol 24, Issue 3, p1
- ISSN
1023-2249
- Publication type
Article