Dear cecil,
I read somewhere that in some countries girls as young as 8 years - 12 years are married off to men who are as old as their grand fathers. What about China? Are child marriages legal in China? Thanks.

Dear Anon,
In the past, before the communist rule in China, arranged marriages are common.
But for the Chinese, arranged marriages are usually between young children and not to elderly grand fathers. The exception is during the dynasty periods e.g. Ching, Ming dyansties where the emperor has many concubines.
Today, there are fewer arranged marriages in China. And more parents have taken a modern approach in letting their children choose a partner.
One interesting thing to note is that if one looks at the population profile of China especially those below 25 years old, one can see a noticable imbalance i.e. that there are more Males than Females in the population.
This is most probably attributed to the one child policy and many Chinese want a male child. Thus it would be harder for Chinese girls to get married.
This may account for them wanting to marry overseas Chinese. Perhaps, the overseas Chinese are more well off and they have a chance to migrate with their husband for a `better' life.
Warmest Regards,
Cecil

Quote

On 8/6/00 9:38:00 AM, Anonymous wrote:
Dear cecil,
I read somewhere that in some
countries girls as young as 8
years - 12 years are married
off to men who are as old as
their grand fathers. What
about China? Are child
marriages legal in China?
Thanks.