Author(s)

Taotao Cheng ¹, Liangjie Yang ¹, Yunhao Qi ¹, Siru Liu ¹

Affiliation(s)

¹ College of Geography and Environmental Science, Northwest Normal University, Lanzhou, China

Corresponding Author

Liangjie Yang

ABSTRACT

Driven by modernization and population mobility since China's reform and opening-up, rural marriage patterns have undergone profound changes. Based on survey data from the southwestern Loess Plateau, this paper examines the spatio-temporal evolution of rural marital attitudes and behaviors. Temporally, marriage has shifted toward individual autonomy, free love, delayed first marriage, the pursuit of personal happiness, and egalitarian gender roles. Spatially, the marriage radius has expanded cross-regionally, wedding venues have shifted from homes to commercial restaurants, and living arrangements have transitioned from multi-generational co-residence to independent nuclear families. Together, these shifts reflect a broader transformation from clan dependence to individual autonomy, revealing how macro-social changes restructure private life.

KEYWORDS

Rural residents; Marriage concepts; Marriage scope; Spatiotemporal evolution; Loess plateau

CITE THIS PAPER

Taotao Cheng, Liangjie Yang, Yunhao Qi, Siru Liu. The Spatio-Temporal Evolution of Marriage Attitudes and Behaviors among Rural Residents in China: An Empirical Study Based on Typical Villages in the Southwestern Loess Plateau. Journal of Sociology and Ethnology (2026). Vol. 8, No. 2, 95-102. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.23977/jsoce.2026.080213.

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