第三篇 Passage 4
Changes have taken place in Chinese family life. In an old style Chinese family, all the brothers lived together even after they got married, while the girls had to leave the family for marriage. Richer families tended to have more children. It was believed the greater the number of children, the happier the life of a family. So it was common to see a family of 20-30 people.
After 1950, such a kind of family was rarely seen, and now there are none. At present, the average size of a Chinese family is 3.63. But, the Chinese have not changed their high regard for their families, nor have the family members weakened their sense of responsibility for their families. The decline in the average family size is related to family planning encouraged by the Chinese Government. China’s current population growth rate is 9.5 per thousand, and some large cities have registered a negative population growth.
Along with the development and progress of the times, the Chinese have also changed their concept of love and marriage. In the past, arranged marriages were very common, leading to numerous romantic tragedies. Now, people make their own decision about whom they will marry. Matchmaking through TV, ads, special agencies and other forms had become popular. More than 20 years ago, mixed marriages were inconceivable. In 1977, when a Chinese student wanted to marry a French girl studying in China, the local civil affairs bureau refused to grant permission. Later, with the consent of Mr. Deng Xiaoping, the two lovers eventually got married. Now, China has special provisions on transnational marriages to protect marriages between Chinese and overseas citizens.
In addition, the Chinese now have a growing demand on the quality of marriage. For a long time, traditional concepts, such as that the wife should be faithful to her husband until death, strongly maintained millions of Chinese families. Since reform and opening, however, people’s lifestyle has become diversified, and the consciousness of independence has increased. Now, when serious differences occur between the husband and wife in concepts, pursuits and lifestyles, they will unhesitatingly get divorced.
During the so-called “cultural revolution”(1966-76), China’s educational undertakings were disrupted in an unprecedented way. All Chinese universities even suspended enrolling students for six years. Chinese families, however, never cast aside their tradition of attaching importance to education. Parents who had no chance to go to university during the “cultural revolution” now show a strong desire to send their children to university. The defect of China’s educational system lies in its over emphasis on examination results. To let more students enter famous universities and middle schools, the principals of many secondary and primary schools do not hesitate to add classes during the students’ spare time. China’s current teaching system can be traced back to the imperial examination system that existed for hundreds of years. Emphasizing mechanical memorizing, it cannot motivate the students in an all-round way. The Chinese Government is making endeavors to transform this examination-oriented educational system into one focusing on the all–round improvement of the students’ quality, with special emphasis on fostering the students’ creative capacity.
In 1900, there were only 10 small-sized universities in China. Now there are 1,022. Chinese parents are very concerned about whether their children will be able to go to university. Each summer vacation is the crucial moment for families with children taking the national university entrance examination. Given the increasing pressure on higher education, this year the Government called on universities to increase their enrollment. At present, most Chinese universities are state-owned. At the same time, privately funded universities are developing rapidly.
Before reform and opening-up, most Chinese students favored natural sciences, and there were a small number of students majoring in economics, law and management. Now, the number of students choosing these specialties has increased significantly. The young people have also changed their concept of employment, a result of the development of a market economy. The classics of the Confucian school stress, “A gentleman values friendship while a low brute stresses profit”. In the past, China’s social strata were ranked according to the order of official, peasant, worker and merchant. Businessmen were of the lowest class. The despite of commerce and businessmen led to an underdeveloped market economy in China for a long time, stemming the development and progress of society. At present, with the development of a market economy, the Chinese no longer look down upon commerce and businessmen. Many talented people are now engaged in business.
