Family Planning: Son and Daughter in China

The Chinese have been discussing this topic for thousands of years, and presumably will always be a topic - why do Chinese people prefer sons over daughters.

Today, in the 21 century, China is already at the initial stage of socialism. The idea of patriarchy should not appear in the modern society. But in reality, the idea of a son is above daughter are still ubiquitous. In this rapidly developing economy, demands on children, students, and social workers are also on the rise. It is also increasingly important to educate them in moral education. However, the remnants of patriarchy old ideology still exist in the family, schools, and society; which, has had a significant impact on the moral education of members of society. Patriarchy must be removed from any aspects of people’s thinking.

Parents treats their son and daughter differently, especially in China. They believe that male has the ability to inherit their parents’ career; thus, it is an honor to have a son. The son is more masculine, and daughter is gentler. Since Chinese people established an image of the masculine indomitable spirit of man; therefore, having a daughter to a certain extent will affect the creation of this image. China has always been an agricultural country, and farm work is a more labor-intensive activity.

However, women are obviously weaker than men muscle-wise. Therefore, give birth to a son will defiantly help farming instead of daughters.

The impact of the entire social environment also plays a role. The real man is being admired, versus strong woman is being feared and uncertain. Due to this environment, men should be stronger and better than women with no doubt. This explained why there were only five women emperors in the past over five thousand years of history, and currently with no premise of women president in China. Another reason is the inheritance of surnames. Everyone will face dying someday in their lives, but the only thing that can be passed on is their surname. In fact, due to Chinese tradition, the next generation’s surname follows the father. Therefore, for the sake of the family's growth, the reproduction of the offspring will also lead to the preference of sons over daughters.

There are still some countryside families with three of four children in their family. If there is only one boy and all the rest are girls, they will be given heavy household tasks with no position at home. Girls cannot enjoy the same treatment as boys, this results in fighting over each other; furthermore, became hated. The elderly will leave their entire estate to their son, with nothing to their daughter. Similarly, in families who lives in the city, if there is only one son in a family, this boy will most likely become self-centered because everyone will never oppose his argument at home; moreover, became arrogant. Parents are obsessed with the wish of their son’s future success, if their son failed to have a good grade in school, parents are likely to spank and scold him. Which caused their child to become unsociable and dark. Obviously, patriarchy will not only affect girls' development, but also affected the boys' growth as well. Due to China’s childbirth restrictions, each family can only have a maximum of two children. 

Family planning allows parents to choose boys and give up girls by using B-scan ultrasonography. As a result, areas with large male infant birth will have a large amount of female infant deaths by drowning, abandon, or illegally selling. China has not completely ruled out the idea of patriarchy. Fundamentally, there is no benefit of believing sons are better than daughters. It will restrict the formation of the fine morality of the children of the family, and constrain the community to carry out such moral education as legal education for its members. Patriarchy affects all aspects of moral education and must be excluded.