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Traditionally, Chinese marriage is a pre-arrangement between two families (marriage customs). It reflects the economic interests - characterized by agricultural and handicraft concerns - within a patriarchal society (family). In the late 19th century, industrialization efforts led to the development of national-patriotic ideas on the formation of a national state. The quest for social and individual emancipation was expressed in the May Fourth Movement. It also called for a "socialization of marriage" by means of regulating marriage. The state was considered a body indep…

1. 1860-1918 During the "long" 19th century until World War I, the structures and changes in international politics largely shaped the German-Chinese relations. The rivalry between the European colonial powers and China's increasing loss of territorial and economic self-determination were the dominant factors. Although German missionaries and merchants occasionally came in contact with China since the 17th century (Christianity), German countries established formal relations with China only at a relatively late date in comparison to othe…

1. Women in Ancient China Early sources point to the existence of a society based on matriarchal law in archaic, pre-Confucian China, within which women possessed a high social status due to matrilineal succession and matrilocal families. This appreciation still persists today and is reflected in the myth of Nügua, the goddess that saved the world, as well as in the cultic worship of the queen mother of the west, of Guanyin, or of Mazu. The female principle (yin) and the male principle (yang) have been understood as complimentary and hence as equally important in philosophical…