The Phenomenon of Late Marriage among Chinese Professional Women | Article Review

In China, the state traditionally pays special attention to the functioning and strengthening of the institution of the family, treating it as the basis of stability and prosperity. In the philosophical heritage of Confucius, the family and state act as the main and interconnected pillars of society. The power of the state, its stability and prosperity directly depend on what happens inside each family, which is also a small state. The whole state, in turn, is likened to one large family. Thus, Sandy To discusses very significant problems concerning marriage and family values in the article “Understanding Sheng Nu (“Leftover Women”): the Phenomenon of Late Marriage among Chinese Professional Women”.

The article explores the phenomenon of presence of unmarried Chinese women who gained the title sheng nu, presenting the idea that the Chinese patriarchal structure is the leading cause of the emergence of this phenomenon. The main concepts that are discussed in the article are sheng nu (“leftover women”), individualization, late marriage, male superior norms, patriarchy, parental influences, interactionist grounded theory method, and traditional gender roles. The author of the article presents in-depth discussion of the ways Chinese professional women consider their future marital perspectives, mentioning that Chinese society has a discriminatory and controlling function towards “leftover” women.

Observing the meaning of the term “leftover” woman, it can be said that it is highly educated professional who achieves marriageable age and is still unmarried. This word has a disparaging meaning in attempts to blame Chinese professional woman for the absence of the desire to create a family. Having made a thorough study of the issue, and basing the own research on a big variety of interviews, the author of the article proves that the roots of the problem are not in the status of professionally competent women, but also in society’s inability to allow women to realize their potential in a full degree.

On the one hand, Chinese society blames women for their “overly high expectations for marriage partners”, on the other hand, extremely developed patriarchal culture of Chinese society, promotes the idea of the “male-as-superior” (To, 2013). It becomes understandable that the decline and delay of marriage is part of the global trend in China, but it is also an absolute truth that a man (who is a breadwinner) must conform to his status. In such a way, a woman (who knows her own future career and social perspectives, as well as the level of own development) has a right to look for a worthy candidate for creating a good family. Moreover, the study presented in the article also shows that not only woman has a choice of their future marriage partner because many male romantic partners and suitors had rejected many of the Chinese professional women for their professional development, economic accomplishments and ability to follow their own dreams, showing independence in different areas of life.  

An issue that needs additional mentioning is a presence of parental influences because it is not the main problem that single women are not interested in love, many really want to get married, but too much is put at stake. It means that parents are highly interested in making their daughters happy in their traditional understanding of the concept. To explain, many parents focus their close attention on the economic status of the women’s partners, as well as the ethnicity of future breadwinners. It becomes understandable that parents prefer to choose those partners for their daughters who have higher economic status, mentioning the presence of good education and other specific characteristics. Thus, parents’ expectations also greatly influence on the way women choose their partners or stay alone.

In summary, the article explores the phenomenon of late marriage among Chinese professional women from various perspectives, and proves the idea that the desire of a woman to marry or not is not dominant because regulation of intra-family relations practically throughout the entire state existence in China is an important factor in the survival and progressive development of Chinese civilization. In a country, where gender equality has stalled, if not worsened, over the past decade, women have faced persistent discrimination in many areas, and the problem of marriage is of a great importance too. Young people who marry tend to find happiness, by which they understand harmonious family relationships, providing opportunities for individual development and allowing to satisfy psychological, economic and sexual needs. Love is now recognized as a necessary condition for the creation of a family. These new values are becoming part of the worldview of young Chinese, while existing traditional prejudices influence the way young people consider their future marriage and look for future partners, being under the pressure of social norms, parental indications and other factors.

Work Cited

To, S. “Understanding Sheng Nu (“Leftover Women”): the Phenomenon of Late Marriage among Chinese Professional Women”. Symbolic Interaction, Vol. 36, Issue 1, 2013, pp. 1–20

The terms offer and acceptance. (2016, May 17). Retrieved from

[Accessed: March 28, 2024]

"The terms offer and acceptance." freeessays.club, 17 May 2016.

[Accessed: March 28, 2024]

freeessays.club (2016) The terms offer and acceptance [Online].
Available at:

[Accessed: March 28, 2024]

"The terms offer and acceptance." freeessays.club, 17 May 2016

[Accessed: March 28, 2024]

"The terms offer and acceptance." freeessays.club, 17 May 2016

[Accessed: March 28, 2024]

"The terms offer and acceptance." freeessays.club, 17 May 2016

[Accessed: March 28, 2024]

"The terms offer and acceptance." freeessays.club, 17 May 2016

[Accessed: March 28, 2024]
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