Fertility, including reproduction and rearing, is an important link in the continuation of human history and the survival and reproduction of human beings. Throughout the ages, a kind of fertility culture has been formed, that is, fertility culture. There are many definitions of fertility culture, including broad and narrow definitions. Fertility culture is the product of economic, cultural, social, psychological and other factors, the synthesis of various factors that affect the fertility behavior of the fertility subject, and a comprehensive force on the fertility behavior under the joint action of various factors, which can determine the rationality of the fertility subject. Different times, different countries and different nationalities can have completely different or even contradictory fertility cultures. The key to evaluating a fertility culture is to see whether the fertility behavior under the guidance of this fertility culture meets the requirements of the development of social productive forces at that time and whether it can promote the development of productive forces and social progress at that time, regardless of having more children. On the basis of fertility culture, people have formed a fundamental view on the purpose, essence and significance of fertility behavior, that is, the concept of fertility. As a concept, the concept of fertility belongs to the category of social consciousness, which shows people's outlook on life and world, and is also restricted by fertility culture and various factors affecting fertility culture. People of different times and nationalities have different views on fertility, which is mainly determined by the local productivity level and material living conditions at that time. The concept of fertility changes with the changes of various social factors. The changing trend and reasons of the concept of fertility in rural areas in China are as follows:
Second, China's traditional concepts of "having more children is more blessed", "having three unfilial children, being childless is the greatest", "preferring sons over daughters" and "raising children to guard against old age" have undergone great changes.
Man is the creator of social material wealth. Without a certain minimum population, it is impossible to create social material life, especially in the feudal society of China, where production is based on individual labor and takes individual families as units, so population growth is more sensitively reflected in social production [1]. Men are the representatives of ancient productive forces, and daughters are married and belong to others. Only sons can maintain and expand the family business. As a result, in ancient China, various concepts such as "many children are blessed" and "raising children to prevent old age" came into being. Although the traditional agricultural economy and industrial economy pay attention to the quantity and structure of population, today's knowledge economy era pays attention to the quality of population, that is, human capital. It can be said that the comprehensive national strength of a country in the future depends on its production efficiency and technological innovation ability, and technological innovation depends on the quality of people.
With the development of economy, the traditional extended family with several generations living under one roof has become the so-called "atomic family" today. There are more and more one-child families, as shown in figure 1:
1971-1995 rural only child ratio (%)
Year of birth
woman
man
197 1— 1975
0.48
1.06
1976— 1980
2.00
4.74
198 1— 1985
5. 19
10.54
1986— 1990
9.58
13. 18
199 1— 1995
7.34
1 1.92
Source: Based on the data provided by Zhang Erli and Chen Li of the National Family Planning Commission.
Urbanization and rural population urbanization, especially the household registration reform (in essence, it is to admit that a large number of people who work and live in cities and towns are no longer farmers, so as to promote rural urbanization. In addition, with the development of township enterprises, township industries have replaced state-owned enterprises and become an integral part of China industry, and the number of employees has also increased greatly. The social security system in rural areas has been further improved, greatly reducing the necessity of raising children to prevent old age.
The understanding of China's three generations of leading collective on China's population problem has been deepened and summarized. Family planning has been carried out in an all-round way, and the Law of the People's Republic of China on Population and Family Planning has been formulated. A set of systematic administrative organizations with supporting policies and measures, strong leadership, clear goals and comprehensive services have been formed, and administrative, legal and economic means have been fully utilized, and brilliant achievements have been made.
With the development of science, technology and education, women's educational level and productivity have improved. On the one hand, this makes the cost of childbirth rise; On the other hand, the further development of rural culture may change the consumption attributes of children in the family, because one of the reasons for giving birth in some areas is that women have nothing to do. Having a baby is like keeping a dog and a cat as a pet in the city.
The birth cost is a relatively real thing for rural birth subjects. People often look at the economic benefits of children, that is, the comparison between the cost of giving birth to a child and the benefits that children may bring when they grow up. The result of this comparison is an important factor affecting the reproductive behavior of rural fertility subjects. Nowadays, the high birth cost in Bi Ran leads to fewer children and fewer "super guerrillas".
With the introduction of western culture into China, the western concepts of fertility and individual independence have also risen quietly in rural China. People who have grown up under the conditions of market economy have absolutely different views on fertility issues from any previous generation. In addition, the intervention of western culture and people's tolerance for premarital sex and homosexuality, in a sense, also reduced people's desire for childbirth and expectations for future children. Based on the above factors, the traditional concept of "raising children to prevent old age" and "having more children is more happy" has finally changed, and the birth rate of children has also declined, as shown in Figure 2:
Changes of Birth Rate and Natural Growth Rate in China (‰)
age
1952
1962
1970
1975
1980
1985
1990
199 1
1992
1993
1994
1995
1996
1997
birth rate
37.0
37.0 1
33.43
23.0 1
18.2 1
2 1.04
2 1.09
19.08
18.24
18.09
17.7
17. 12
16.98
16.57
natural growth rate
20.0
26.99
25.83
15.69
1 1.87
14.26
14.39
12.98
1 1.60
1 1.45
1 1.2 1
10.55
10.42
10.06
Source: China Statistical Yearbook 1998, China Statistical Publishing House 1998 September.
Thirdly, the tradition of giving preference to boys in China has been greatly improved, but the ratio of male to female is still high.
In the feudal society of China, "the man is the master outside, and the woman is the master inside". The quantity and quality of male labor force is directly related to the economic situation of individual families and even the prosperity of the whole family. Women are in a subordinate position, with low social status, and some even have no social status. Nowadays, with the development of economy and social progress, the important role of women in social, economic and political life has gradually emerged. Therefore, with the development of women's liberation movement, men and women participate in work and competition equally. Especially today, with the improvement of education and women's knowledge, the status of men and women is further equal. Therefore, when building a socialist concept of fertility with China characteristics, daughters are also passed on to future generations.
However, due to the huge gender preference formed in China for thousands of years, that is, the preference for boys over girls has formed a stereotype and a habit. It will take a long time to change this habitual mindset. There are still many people in the countryside now. In their eyes, they still think that "having no children" makes them lose face in front of others, "being ashamed of their ancestors", and still think that "there are three unfilial things, and no posterity is great" is a wise saying and golden rule. This is the traditional heritage of China and has become an ideological issue. It is impossible to change them casually by artificial power, but only through education and influence, which takes a long time. At the same time, due to the implementation of the family planning policy to limit the number of childbearing population, the narrow space of childbearing choice conflicts with the traditional "preference for sons over daughters", and the appearance of modern high-tech testing equipment such as B-ultrasound makes people predict the sex of babies very early, resulting in a high sex ratio between men and women in China today. In addition, as shown in Figure 3, the phenomenon that the sex ratio of babies born has increased since1980s continued in1990s.
Figure 3 Sex ratio of babies born in 1990s
Family planning report
Investigation by National Bureau of Statistics 1998
age
Ratio of male to female population
Ratio of male to female population
age
199 1
1 14
1 12.93
seven
1992
1 14
1 12.7 1
six
1993
1 13
1 18.2 1
five
1994
1 12
120.54
four
1995
1 13
120.66
three
1996
1 13
1 15.89
2
1997
1 13
12 1. 19
1
1998
1 13
1 17.03
Source: National Bureau of Statistics 1998 survey data, quoted from Population and Social Science and Technology Statistics Department of National Bureau of Statistics' 98 China Population.
At present, although most farmers in rural areas of China have given up the idea of having more children, their preference for male children has not changed much.
Fourth, advocate "good birth and excellent education", attach importance to the "quality" of babies, and reduce the phenomenon of "reproductive worship"
In ancient China, the living standard was low, and the medical facilities were poor or there was no medical equipment at all. In addition, people, especially people in rural areas, pay little attention to babies (there is still a saying in rural Anhui today: children are like puppies, just give them food and clothes), which leads to high infant mortality (which is also a reason for too many births in ancient times) and low "quality" of babies. At present, the level of productivity has been greatly improved, and the progress of science and technology has provided a large number of advanced medical equipment and facilities for the society, which can check and treat infants and even fetuses as soon as possible, thus greatly improving the survival rate of infants and ensuring the quality of infants. According to "Analysis and Forecast of Social Situation in China in 2002", the national maternal mortality rate dropped from165438+56.2/65438+ 10,000 in 1995 to 53.0/65438+ 10,000 in 2000.
As early as 1996, Jiang Zemin emphasized that the issue of eugenics is a major event related to the prosperity of the Chinese nation. He said: "Only when the babies born are healthy and smart can there be hope for the future development of our nation and country." It can be seen that the state not only provides advanced facilities for "prenatal and postnatal care", but also participates in attaching importance to prenatal and postnatal care.
In addition, with the improvement of education level, people's ideas have also changed. People realize that in the era of knowledge economy, the emphasis is on people's "quality" rather than quantity. Not only should we have children, but more importantly, we should educate them well and make them become talents. The cost of childbirth is getting higher and higher, and it is often necessary to pay various fees to train a child. The high cost of childbirth makes parents inevitably give up quantity and pay attention to "quality", so they tend to have good children. In rural areas, the emphasis on prenatal and postnatal care mainly focuses on premarital examination, prenatal education, fetal health care and women's health care, as shown in Figures 4 and 5:
Figure 4: Prenatal check-up rate in different years (%)
age
1990
199 1
1992
1993
1994
1995
1996
Inspection rate
36.3
4 1.3
4 1.0
4 1.5
4 1.6
37.0
46.0
Source: Xiao et al.' s analysis of rural prenatal care in Population Research, the first issue 1998.
Figure 5: Married women participate in organized wedding knowledge learning.
year
Number of marriages
Take part in organized knowledge study for newlyweds.
number of people
%
1963—
272
2
0.8
1970—
2 194
28
1.2
1980—
4086
187
4.6
1990— 1997
2590
498
19.2
Source: Gao, Reproductive Health Knowledge and Health Education for Women of Childbearing Age, Population Research, No.5, 2000.
The above two tables show that rural areas pay more and more attention to prenatal and postnatal care, premarital examination and women's health care.
In ancient China, the level of science and technology was low, and people's cognitive ability was low. They believe that there is a mysterious force manipulating all kinds of incomprehensible phenomena. The phenomenon of reproduction is incomprehensible, so it comes from reproductive worship. Especially in the vast minority areas, reproductive worship is more serious, and there are still some remnants. Reproductive worship refers to the worship of female or male genitals and fertility. For example, ethnic minorities in China often worship their virgins with symbolic stones, caves and depressions, while Bai women in Yunnan worship their children with the stone carving "A Ang Bai" symbolizing virgins in Jianchuan Grottoes. [3] But in today's social life, scientific and technological knowledge is widely popularized, and reproduction is no longer mysterious to people. Except for a few areas, there is basically no colonial worship in the country.
Five, early marriage and early childbearing, the phenomenon of consanguineous marriage decreased, and the proportion of unwanted births decreased.
With the development of knowledge economy and the improvement of education level, on the one hand, people hope to use their great youth to increase their knowledge and improve themselves so as to live a happier life in the future; On the other hand, people have a clearer understanding of the significance of fertility and the various stages and characteristics of human development. People, especially women, understand that early marriage and childbearing (especially before 17 years old) have both disadvantages for girls' body and mind, and may also lead to a substantial increase in maternal and infant morbidity and mortality. Because although girls can get pregnant and have children, they are not fully developed physically and mentally, and they do not have the ability to have healthy children and raise offspring, which also affects their studies and future career choices and employment, and affects the "quality" of giving birth to babies (including physical strength, intelligence, reaction ability, etc. At the same time, people also realize the advantages of late marriage and late childbearing and the importance of self-development and perfection (including body and mind, knowledge and ability, etc.). Influenced by western culture, people also pursue a self-reliant life, which also makes it possible to marry late and have children late.
The development of science and technology shows that too close blood relationship can easily lead to mental retardation and even dementia of infants, and the morbidity and mortality of infants are also high. Therefore, the marriage law stipulates that it is forbidden to marry lineal blood relatives or collateral blood relatives within three generations. But now even if there is no law, the traditional view of "pro-family plus pro-family" has been denied in people's consciousness.
The so-called involuntary birth (or unplanned birth) refers to the pregnancy and birth caused by improper measures taken by the birth subject without intention. In the ancient society of China and when New China was just founded, due to the lack of technical equipment such as economy, science and technology, medical care, and the ignorant sexual behavior of teenagers (especially after the reform and opening up), the fertility subjects could not get effective contraceptive measures, which led to involuntary childbirth. In modern society, the emergence of various high-tech contraceptive methods and devices, coupled with various means such as "induced abortion" and "painless abortion", has greatly reduced the proportion of unwanted births.
Six, about premarital childbirth, illegitimate childbirth (unmarried childbirth) and single (pro) families.
Premarital childbirth refers to cohabitation without marriage registration, only holding a wedding or "confirming the relationship" through "red people" Premarital childbirth has a long history, but it seems to be increasing in modern rural areas. This is actually an opportunistic method of family planning. If you want to have a husband before marriage, you can have one more chance to have a boy. Some even gave birth to multiple children before marriage (often all girls or only one boy). This has resulted in many unplanned births, namely "black households" and "black heads". This phenomenon is a deformed product under the high pressure of family planning in China, and it is also another reason for the imbalance of "ecological ratio" between men and women in China.
Illegitimate childbirth includes the premarital childbirth mentioned above, and the childbirth of unmarried, unwilling to get married or divorced or widowed women who have reached the legal childbearing age. Chapter 4, Article 30 of the Regulations on Population and Family Planning in Jilin Province, which was passed on June165438+1October 65438, 2002, clearly stipulates: "A woman who has reached the legal age of marriage and decides not to get married and has no children can have a child by legal medical assistance." Of course, because it involves ethics, science and technology, women's reproductive rights, men's reproductive rights and even human rights, it has caused widespread controversy. However, unmarried childbearing, as one of the most basic rights of human beings, should be understood and supported on the premise of not violating the family planning law and various national laws.
With the reform and opening up and the development of market economy, people's thoughts have also undergone tremendous changes. With the introduction of western ideas, the traditional concept of "single-mindedness" of women in China has faded or even disappeared. Therefore, divorce and remarriage are also accepted by the broad masses of the people. Divorce seems to be a "common thing", and there are many single (pro) families. Of course, another reason for the emergence of single families is that some people have made a career-only view of fertility when their careers and families cannot be balanced. With industrialization, urbanization and people's tolerance for premarital sex and homosexuality, single families are on the rise.
VII. About the phenomenon of adoption
Adoption is another deformed product of the conflict between the high-handed family planning policy and the traditional concept of son preference. On the one hand, the proportion of men and women has been reconciled; On the other hand, infant drowning and abandonment have been greatly reduced. But it also caused an increase in the population of "blackheads" in China. However, these "blackheads" have been registered in the fifth census. Now the concept of family planning has been deeply rooted in people's hearts. What people care about is not passing on "generations", but how to live well, not to mention that girls are also successors. Adoption was just a fad, but it has changed now.
Eight. abstract
Marxism tells us that population production should adapt to material production. When population production adapts to material production, it can promote the development of material production, on the contrary, it will hinder the development of material production.
At present, China is facing a severe population situation, and we must adhere to both material production and family planning. At the same time, we should also realize that population growth is cyclical, strengthen moral suppression of population, and make family planning a human self-discipline behavior with little pain and low cost.
To sum up, the lag of China's traditional culture has restricted the formation and perfection of Socialism with Chinese characteristics's fertility culture, so we use scientific viewpoints and methods to understand and deal with the fertility problem, combine fertility with the future of the country and the production goal of * * *, publicize Marxist population theory, and help the broad masses to establish the proletarian fertility view according to the population law and the specific situation of China.