The "Poor - bare branch - poorer" cycle
The upset in demographical population in China has a great effect on rural areas, especially in terms of rural poverty. Unmarried men in China are almost always poor and uneducated, with 74% do not have a high school diploma (Jiang; Jesus; 2012). This is because they are trapped in the "poor - bare branch - poorer" cycle.
In the rural areas, the tradition , which is presented in the form of a set of regulation, of paying bride prices by the males to the brides is crucial in determining the success of marriages (Jiang; Jesus; 2012). Due to the upset in demographical population in China since the 1980s (Recap on Current demographic population where there is a shortage of females to become wives for all males in China), bride prices have been on the rise. Those poorer males living in the rural areas in China are unable to keep up with the inflation of bride prices and thus have to spend more time saving up for them, delaying marriages. As time passes, they gradually turned into bare branches - a term commonly used for males who are still single at a certain age, usually mid 30s. This term put them in a more disadvantaged position (Jiang; Jesus; 2012) and in order for young brides to marry someone much older, they will demand for higher bride prices. A lot of the bare branches in rural China are unable to provide brides with the desired bride prices hence they ended up being bachelors. With no wife and children to support them as they get older, they ended up becoming poorer than they were before, hence completing the "poor - bare branch - poorer" cycle.
As the demographic population in China becomes more upset, the frequency of the "poor - bare branch - poorer" cycle will increase and rural poverty will be worsened due to the increase in male farmers living in poverty.
In the rural areas, the tradition , which is presented in the form of a set of regulation, of paying bride prices by the males to the brides is crucial in determining the success of marriages (Jiang; Jesus; 2012). Due to the upset in demographical population in China since the 1980s (Recap on Current demographic population where there is a shortage of females to become wives for all males in China), bride prices have been on the rise. Those poorer males living in the rural areas in China are unable to keep up with the inflation of bride prices and thus have to spend more time saving up for them, delaying marriages. As time passes, they gradually turned into bare branches - a term commonly used for males who are still single at a certain age, usually mid 30s. This term put them in a more disadvantaged position (Jiang; Jesus; 2012) and in order for young brides to marry someone much older, they will demand for higher bride prices. A lot of the bare branches in rural China are unable to provide brides with the desired bride prices hence they ended up being bachelors. With no wife and children to support them as they get older, they ended up becoming poorer than they were before, hence completing the "poor - bare branch - poorer" cycle.
As the demographic population in China becomes more upset, the frequency of the "poor - bare branch - poorer" cycle will increase and rural poverty will be worsened due to the increase in male farmers living in poverty.
Increase in illiteracy rate in women in rural China
The increasing male sex ratios in China since the 1980s is also causing an increase in the illiteracy rate of females in rural China (Anonymous, n.d). Due to the fact that rural villages are now facing a scarcity of females in the village when being compared the men in the village, females are cherished greatly even if they are married. As the difficulty of finding a wife increase due to the increasing male sex ratios throughout China, married men are afraid to lose their wives hence they will lower the agricultural workload of women and just let them take care of the house chores. The decrease in workforce participation over the past two decades has made more women think that education is unnecessary since they are going to stay at home in the future anyway. As a result, lesser females attend schools in rural villages, leading to an increase of female illiteracy.
This increase of female illiteracy started to cause problems and worsen rural poverty when it came into contact with the "hollow" villages phenomenon.
Read more on "hollow" villages phenomenon and High illiteracy rate in rural China.
Females who initially thought they could lead their lives in good quality without education and literacy were left stranded in villages, having to attend to their agricultural production, while their husbands move to the urban cities to work. The lack of education and absence of literacy caused an decrease in agricultural production in many of those households which were left in the hands of illiterate females. As a result, the increase in illiteracy rate due to the upset of demographic population coincides with the "hollow" villages phenomenon and worsens rural poverty.
This increase of female illiteracy started to cause problems and worsen rural poverty when it came into contact with the "hollow" villages phenomenon.
Read more on "hollow" villages phenomenon and High illiteracy rate in rural China.
Females who initially thought they could lead their lives in good quality without education and literacy were left stranded in villages, having to attend to their agricultural production, while their husbands move to the urban cities to work. The lack of education and absence of literacy caused an decrease in agricultural production in many of those households which were left in the hands of illiterate females. As a result, the increase in illiteracy rate due to the upset of demographic population coincides with the "hollow" villages phenomenon and worsens rural poverty.
Bibliography
Anonymous. (n.d). Gender imbalance in China. [on-line]. URL: http://www.allgirlsallowed.org/gender-imbalance-china-statistics. (19 March 2014)
Jiang, QB.; Jesus, J. (2012). Bride price in China: the obstacle to ‘Bare Branches’ seeking marriage. The History of the Family, 17(1), pp.2-15
Jiang, QB.; Jesus, J. (2012). Bride price in China: the obstacle to ‘Bare Branches’ seeking marriage. The History of the Family, 17(1), pp.2-15