Want China Times
Date: 2015-05-22
By: Chen Yi-chun and Staff Reporter

China’s National Health and Family Planning Commission (NHFPC) has found that

single men aged 30 and over in China mostly live in rural areas, while single women aged 27 and over reside mainly in towns. The situation reflects a phenomenon the agency calls “marriage system exclusion,” according to a report released May 13.

In modern society, the pressure on single men and women to get married comes mostly from the expectation of their families. However, in ancient China, they would not just be subject to punitive fines but also possible imprisonment that could involve all their family members.

During the reign of Emperor Hui in the Han Dynasty (195-188BC), parents would be fined if they failed to have their daughter married before she was 20.

The leftover Han women could be sold to the emperor’s palace as servants, while leftover men would be castrated so that they could enter the palace for a chance to shake off poverty and get rich.     [FULL  STORY]