Being a single man in rural China

Abstract

Those who are single in rural China are almost exclusively men. The presence of excess men in the population combines with internal migration and women’s quest for upward social mobility through marriage to explain this phenomenon. The DefiChine survey sheds light on the situation of single men in three rural districts of Shaanxi. One of its findings is that, although the shortage of women does create competition between men looking for a wife, the social and economic dimensions of male singlehood cannot be ignored.