Surname problem for single-child families

时间：2007-04-11 00:31:11

（单词翻译:单击）

Chinanews, Beijing, Apr. 10 – The Yuhang District People's Court in Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province, recently handled the divorce1 case of a young couple. The reason for their divorce was pretty simple: the couple couldn't agree on whose surname2 should their daughter take, the Economic Information Daily reported.

 

According3 to Chinese marriage law, children can take their surname either from the mother side or from the father side. However, in China, it has become a tradition that a child is usually given the father's surname.

 

At present, the single-child generation, who were born during the 1980s, are at their marriageable age now. Since most of them are the only child in their families, their babies now face a new problem: whose surname should these babies take, the father's or the mother's? This might not seem like a big issue4; however, the issue does bother many young couples.

 

Should China change its tradition of following father's surname? In a random5 survey, this reporter found that most fathers were usually conservative6 on this issue. They said that their children should take their surnames7.

 

Ms. Zhou is a public servant. In her mind, women and men have a fair chance on this issue.

 

“In China, women go out to earn money, just like men do. If this is the case, why shouldn't women have the same rights as men? On the whole, people who have the same obligations8 should also enjoy the same rights. Otherwise, it wouldn’t be fair. I think the old tradition should be changed now,” she said, adding that when she plans to marry, she will first raise this question to her future husband.

 

As the single-child generation now start to give birth to babies, they will soon encounter9 some problems that their parents have never met before. This only shows that the old tradition, which has existed in China for thousands of years with the male taking a dominant role in the family, is now being challenged in a changing society, some experts said
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1 divorce m8dyq     
n.离婚；分离；vi.离婚；vt.离婚；脱离
参考例句：
  • Did he divorce his wife or did she divorce him?是他要和妻子离婚，还是妻子要和他离婚？
  • None of us like the divorce of word and deed.我们都不喜欢言行不一。
2 surname Krvwg     
n.姓；vt.冠姓
参考例句：
  • Her first name is Sheila and her surname is Kane.她姓凯恩，名叫希拉。
  • Wang is a very common Chinese surname.王是一个很常见的中国姓。
3 according YzQztq     
adj.按照，根据
参考例句：
  • According to the Bible we are all the seed of Adam.根据《圣经》所说的，我们都是亚当的后裔。
  • We must cut our coat according to our cloth this year.今年我们必须学会量入为出。
4 issue r3dxs     
n.出版，发行，（报刊等）期、号，论点，问题，结果， （水，血等的）流出；vt.使流出，放出，发行（钞票等），发布（命令），出版（书等）发给；vi.发行，流出，造成...结果，进行辩护，传下
参考例句：
  • I bought the book the day after its issue.这书出版后的第一天，我就去买了它。
  • I'll support her down the line on that issue.在那个问题上我将全力支持她。
5 random HT9xd     
adj.随机的；任意的；n.偶然的(或随便的)行动
参考例句：
  • The list is arranged in a random order.名单排列不分先后。
  • On random inspection the meat was found to be bad.经抽查，发现肉变质了。
6 conservative jprzC     
adj.保守的，守旧的；n.保守的人，保守派
参考例句：
  • He is a conservative member of the church.他是一个守旧教会教友。
  • The young man is very conservative.这个年轻人很守旧。
7 surnames 620c8c6e564e545c317a50cbec6fd47b     
n.姓( surname的名词复数 )
参考例句：
  • Everybody called each other by their surnames. 大家相互之间都以姓氏相称。 来自辞典例句
  • The author index has entries arranged in alphabetical order of author's surnames. 著者索引中有按著者姓氏字母顺序排列的著录。 来自辞典例句
8 obligations 8ad227215390a63934abc20fed39722f     
n.债务( obligation的名词复数 )；义务；[法律]债券；合约
参考例句：
  • Belgium replied that she had always been faithful to her international obligations. 比利时政府答复说，比利时一贯忠实履行其国际义务。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • It would never do to neglect official obligations. 玩忽职守是绝对不行的。 来自《简明英汉词典》
9 encounter Mj8zB     
v.遇到，偶然碰到；遭遇；n.遭遇；意外的相见
参考例句：
  • It was a bloody encounter between the two armies. 这是那两军之间的一次激烈的遭遇战。
  • A fortunate encounter brought the two friends together after a long separation.两位老朋友长期分离这次才有幸相遇。

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