河南潢川农民的婚姻行为研究

A Study of Peasants's Matrimonial Behaviour in Huangchuan, Henan Province

一、调查研究的理论前提和实施过程(一)婚姻行为的社会性本质婚姻行为从形式上讲是男女两性间的结合,但这种结合所具有的意义却是社会性的.《礼记》中说"婚姻者合二姓之好,上以事宗庙,下以继后世",从这两句最古老的,同时也是最典型的婚姻定义里,我们不难看出,人们之所以要通过婚姻行为把两个家族联合在一起,为的是强化单个家族的势力,为单个家族构筑一道牢靠的安全保障樊篱,保证其家系的绵延. 费孝通在《生育制度》中表述了婚姻行为社会性本质的另一种观点.在他看来。

Marriage behaviour lies in the process of courting a mate of different sex, getting betrothed and married. It is a human act with a special social significance. A research project was conducted in Huangchuan, Henan Province, which focused on how the reform of rural production system had affected peasants's marriage behaviour. The analysis shows that the traditional marriage etiquette of local peasants remains almost unaffected by the transformation taking place in the systems of production and mar- riage. This is most clearly shown in the matrimonial taboos between people with the same surnames or from the same villages, the custom of early marriage, the tole- rance with unlawful marriage, and the seeking of material interests. The author argues that the decisive factor affecting the marriage behaviour of peasants is the mode of production, not the system alone. It is the backward mode of production that supports the traditional marriage etiquette. The only way to change the marriage norm in rural areas is to introduce and develop commodity production.