Using data from a survey in Songzi county of Hubei province, this paper studies the influence of children's marriage form and individual factors on the division from their natal parents after marriage in rural China. The results reveal that among children with a brother, sons in virilocal marriages are more likely to undertake family division and it will occur earlier than for daughters in uxorilocal marriages. However, among children without a brother, behaviours in family division are not significantly different between sons and daughters. The majority of family division occurs in the first five years after marriage for sons and is distributed more or less equally over the first five years after marriage for daughters. Some children's individual factors including number of siblings also affect their likelihood of family division. Demographic, socioeconomic and cultural causes underlying this phenomenon as well as its social implications are also discussed.

Using data from a survey in Songzi County of Hubei Province, this article analyzes the relationship between children's gender and marriage form and their provision of old-age support to their noncoresiding parents in rural China. The results show that children's gender and marriage form have significant influence on their likelihood of giving financial and housework support to their parents, but no significant influence on the amount of financial support or their likelihood of supporting their parents with agricultural labor in peak agricultural seasons. Thus, the authors find that in Songzi, where both virilocal and uxorilocal marriages have been historically accepted and commonly practiced, sons and daughters play basically the same role in providing old-age support for their noncoresiding parents, as do virilocal and uxorilocal couples. The article discusses how these findings relate to current and future problems of old-age security and son preference in rural China.

Using data from a survey of deaths of children less than 5 years old conducted in 1997 in a county in Shaanxi Province, China, this paper examines gender differences in child survival in contemporary rural China. First, excess female child mortality in the county in 1994-96 is described, followed by an analysis of the mechanisms whereby the excess mortality takes place, and the underlying social, economic and cultural factors behind it. Excess female child mortality in this county is probably caused primarily by discrimination against girls in curative health care rather than in preventive health care or food and nutrition. Although discrimination occurs in all kinds of families and communities, discrimination itself is highly selective, and is primarily against girls with some specific characteristics. It is argued that the excess mortality of girls is caused fundamentally by the strong son preference in traditional Chinese culture, but exacerbated by the government-guided family planning programme and regulations. This suggests that it is crucial to raise the status of girls within the family and community so as to mitigate the pressures to discriminate against girls in China’s low fertility regime. Finally, the possible policy options to improve female child survival in contemporary rural China are discussed.

本文介绍了作者在陕西省略阳县进行的招赘婚姻典型个案调查的结果，并通过个案从招赘婚姻的原因、做法、途径、社区环境、文化传播和功能六个方面对招赘婚姻进行了分析，结果对于我们完整和深入地认识略阳县招赘婚姻的形成和作用有一定意义。

本文应用湖北省松滋县的调查数据，对婚姻形式和与父母共居时间的关系进行了研究。结果表明，在控制了其他重要的影响因素后，夫妻的婚姻形式对婚后保持与父母共居关系的时间有显著的影响。嫁娶婚姻夫妻，制度变化型和应时变化型“招赘”婚姻夫妻在婚后与父母共居时间上呈现递增的关系，婚后5年内是最可能改变与父母共居关系的时期。本文最后讨论了出现这种现象的原因及其社会意义。