Sorry I'm a little late checking in, but yeah I think it would be interesting to look at how dating/courtship is different in the past and now from Western culture. Not only that dating starts later than here, but what a typical date is and how that has changed as going out and clubs and bars have become more popular for people of that age group. Birth control and divorce might be related to this, especially since birth control applies to married life as well as the dating scene I wonder if it's encouraged or if chastity is still valued, and then maybe some ideas relating to the acceptability of abortion and respect for life and how that ties in to the child being kind of a part of the parent. Then with divorce I'd wonder if the one-child law would still apply, or if there's any difference in the husband/wife being allowed to have another child in the future of they remarry.
With regard to gender, it might be interesting to see what is expected of men and what makes them attractive or ideal suitors, and what they had to do to pursue a girl and what the differences are between classes. Were people who lived in an ancient village more free to marry who they wanted, or was there some kind of separation of genders so they wouldn't meet socially? If men are supposed to be the head of the household and make all of those decisions, is there some kind of training or special reading that is supposed to guide them to do what's right, or do they just look to their belief system for guidance, or do they depend on their parents if the whole family unit lives together? I'd be interested to see if there was a male side to foot-binding, and what kind of personality traits were valued in each gender.
It might be interesting to look at how grandparents and young children fit into the family, at what point grandparents stop working and kind of retire into the family, and what are common things parents do with or teach their children. Would very young children traditionally stay home and be taken care of by their mothers, or would wealthier families hire someone to raise the children? Looking into the tradition of respect for elders would also be pretty cool, I'd be interested to know how much of a role ancestors are thought to be involved in their living relatives' lives, like if they can influence the course of events or something.
Sorry I'm a little late checking in, but yeah I think it would be interesting to look at how dating/courtship is different in the past and now from Western culture. Not only that dating starts later than here, but what a typical date is and how that has changed as going out and clubs and bars have become more popular for people of that age group. Birth control and divorce might be related to this, especially since birth control applies to married life as well as the dating scene I wonder if it's encouraged or if chastity is still valued, and then maybe some ideas relating to the acceptability of abortion and respect for life and how that ties in to the child being kind of a part of the parent. Then with divorce I'd wonder if the one-child law would still apply, or if there's any difference in the husband/wife being allowed to have another child in the future of they remarry.
With regard to gender, it might be interesting to see what is expected of men and what makes them attractive or ideal suitors, and what they had to do to pursue a girl and what the differences are between classes. Were people who lived in an ancient village more free to marry who they wanted, or was there some kind of separation of genders so they wouldn't meet socially? If men are supposed to be the head of the household and make all of those decisions, is there some kind of training or special reading that is supposed to guide them to do what's right, or do they just look to their belief system for guidance, or do they depend on their parents if the whole family unit lives together? I'd be interested to see if there was a male side to foot-binding, and what kind of personality traits were valued in each gender.
It might be interesting to look at how grandparents and young children fit into the family, at what point grandparents stop working and kind of retire into the family, and what are common things parents do with or teach their children. Would very young children traditionally stay home and be taken care of by their mothers, or would wealthier families hire someone to raise the children?
Looking into the tradition of respect for elders would also be pretty cool, I'd be interested to know how much of a role ancestors are thought to be involved in their living relatives' lives, like if they can influence the course of events or something.
-Sara