Proceedings of the 8th International Conference On Humanities, Psychology and Social Science
Year: 2018
DOI: http://www.doi.org/10.33422/8hps.2018.10.119
A Study on the Impact of the PRC’s Economic and Marriage Policies after the 1980s on the Marriage Culture of the Chinese Muslims in China
Normeanne Joyce A. Sison
ABSTRACT:
During the 1980s, the government of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) introduced marriage reform laws as a way to produce a homogenous society to integrate 56 different ethnic groups, including the Hui minzu or the Chinese Muslims. The PRC also implemented economic reforms that pushed for modernization. The reform of both marriage laws and the economy has had profound social ramifications, especially on the Hui minzu’s perceptions of marriage. This paper at its core, explores whether the Huis’ compliance to the State policies of marriage denote an inherent shift in their identity as Muslims. To address this issue, representative factors such as wedding couture decisions, composition of wedding portraits, kinship practices, and matrimonial ritual are assessed through personal interviews with Huis and visits to wedding photography studios and wedding couture rental stores in six different cities in China. The fieldwork and study reveal that Huis who reside in cities where the majority of the population is of another ethnic group have become less ‘Islamic’ in the aspect of marriage and weddings.
Keywords: Chinese muslims, marriage, modernization, Islam.