Masculinity, Marriage and Rural Men in Urban China: Modest Expectations.
This book examines the intertwined crises of marriage, masculinity, and social mobility among rural-origin single men in Xi'an, China, focusing on their navigation of class differences and cultural expectations in the urban marriage market. It highlights how economic, social, and political transform...
| Published in: | China Journal Vol. 96; no. 1; pp. 193 - 196 |
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| Format: | Book Review |
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University of Chicago Press
Jul2026
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| Online Access: | View this record in EBSCOhost |
| fields | @attributes: recordID: 1 pdfLink: plink: https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ssf&AN=195345397&site=ehost-live header: @attributes: shortDbName: ssf uiTerm: 195345397 longDbName: Social Sciences Full Text (H.W. Wilson) uiTag: AN controlInfo: bkinfo: jinfo: jid: 13249347 U7C jtl: China Journal issn: 13249347 maglogo: N pubinfo: dt: Jul2026 vid: 96 iid: 1 pid: 415 pub: University of Chicago Press artinfo: ui: 195345397 10.1086/740747 ppf: 193 ppct: 3 formats: tig: atl: Masculinity, Marriage and Rural Men in Urban China: Modest Expectations. aug: au: Eklund, Lisa affil: Lund University, Sweden su: China Xi'an Shi (China) Marriage Masculinity Social norms Social mobility Courtship Class differences sug: subj: Marriage Masculinity Social norms Social mobility Courtship Class differences China Xi'an Shi (China) ab: This book examines the intertwined crises of marriage, masculinity, and social mobility among rural-origin single men in Xi'an, China, focusing on their navigation of class differences and cultural expectations in the urban marriage market. It highlights how economic, social, and political transformations have commodified marriage, raising material and cultural demands—such as owning a house and car—and emphasizing romantic love, which together shape dating practices and exacerbate rural men’s marginalization. The study contrasts migrant delivery workers with white-collar professionals of rural origin, revealing persistent rural-urban divides and stereotypes, including the figure of the "Phoenix man" (fenghuangnan 凤凰男), a rural man with higher education still stigmatized in urban middle-class contexts. The book also explores how these men recraft hybrid masculinities combining rural and urban traits to improve their marriage prospects, while addressing issues of distrust in dating and the state’s role in framing a "marriage crisis." This ethnographic work contributes to understanding how class, gender, and precarity influence contemporary Chinese marriage markets. pubtype: Review doctype: Book Review src: R language: English refInfo: copyright: @attributes: flag: N holdings: @attributes: islocal: N |
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