Female Infanticide In China
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China has a history of
female infanticide Female infanticide is the deliberate killing of newborn female children. In countries with a history of female infanticide, the modern practice of gender-selective abortion is often discussed as a closely related issue. Female infanticide is a ma ...
spanning 2,000 years. When
Christian missionaries A Christian mission is an organized effort for the propagation of the Christian faith. Missions involve sending individuals and groups across boundaries, most commonly geographical boundaries, to carry on evangelism or other activities, such as ...
arrived in China in the late sixteenth century, they witnessed newborns being thrown into rivers or onto rubbish piles. In the seventeenth century
Matteo Ricci Matteo Ricci, SJ (; la, Mattheus Riccius; 6 October 1552 – 11 May 1610), was an Italians, Italian Society of Jesus, Jesuit Priesthood in the Catholic Church, priest and one of the founding figures of the Jesuit China missions. He create ...
documented that the practice occurred in several of China's provinces and said that the primary reason for the practice was
poverty Poverty is the state of having few material possessions or little income. Poverty can have diverse social, economic, and political causes and effects. When evaluating poverty in ...
. The practice continued into the 19th century and declined precipitously during the Communist era, but has reemerged as an issue since the introduction of the
one-child policy The term one-child policy () refers to a population planning initiative in China implemented between 1980 and 2015 to curb the country's population growth by restricting many families to a single child. That initiative was part of a much bro ...
in the early 1980s. The 2020 census showed a male-to-female ratio of 105.07 for mainland China, a record low since the People's Republic of China began conducting censuses.


History


19th century

During the 19th century the practice was widespread. Readings from
Qing The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing,, was a Manchu-led imperial dynasty of China and the last orthodox dynasty in Chinese history. It emerged from the Later Jin dynasty founded by the Jianzhou Jurchens, a Tungusic-speaki ...
texts show a prevalence of the term ''ni nü'' (to drown girls), and drowning was the most common method used to kill female children. Other methods used were suffocation and starvation. Exposure to the elements was another method: the child would be placed in a basket which was then placed in a tree. Buddhist nunneries created "baby towers" for people to leave a child. In 1845 in the province of
Jiangxi Jiangxi (; ; formerly romanized as Kiangsi or Chianghsi) is a landlocked province in the east of the People's Republic of China. Its major cities include Nanchang and Jiujiang. Spanning from the banks of the Yangtze river in the north int ...
, a missionary wrote that these children survived for up to two days while exposed to the elements, and that those passing by would ignore the screaming child. Missionary
David Abeel David Abeel (June 12, 1804 – September 4, 1846) was a missionary of the Dutch Reformed Church with the American Reformed Mission. Biography Abeel was born in New Brunswick, New Jersey on June 12, 1804 to Captain David and Jane Hassert ...
reported in 1844 that between one fourth and one third of all female children were killed at birth or soon after. In 1878 French
Jesuit , image = Ihs-logo.svg , image_size = 175px , caption = ChristogramOfficial seal of the Jesuits , abbreviation = SJ , nickname = Jesuits , formation = , founders ...
missionary,
Gabriel Palatre Gabriel Palâtre (1830-1878) was a Jesuit missionary in Shanghai, China and campaigner against the practice of female infanticide Female infanticide is the deliberate killing of newborn female children. In countries with a history of female inf ...
, collated documents from 13 provinces and the '' Annales de la Sainte-Enfance'' (Annals of the Holy Childhood), also found evidence of infanticide in
Shanxi Shanxi (; ; formerly romanised as Shansi) is a landlocked province of the People's Republic of China and is part of the North China region. The capital and largest city of the province is Taiyuan, while its next most populated prefecture-lev ...
and
Sichuan Sichuan (; zh, c=, labels=no, ; zh, p=Sìchuān; alternatively romanized as Szechuan or Szechwan; formerly also referred to as "West China" or "Western China" by Protestant missions) is a province in Southwest China occupying most of the ...
. According to the information collected by Palatre the practice was more widespread in the southeastern provinces and the Lower Yangzi River region.


20th century

In 1930,
Rou Shi Rou Shi (; 28 September 1902 – 7 February 1931) was a prominent left-wing Chinese writer and member of the May Fourth Movement. Executed on either 7 or 8 February 1931 by the Kuomintang government in Shanghai for his pro-Communist activities, ...
, a noted member of the
May Fourth Movement The May Fourth Movement was a Chinese anti-imperialist, cultural, and political movement which grew out of student protests in Beijing on May 4, 1919. Students gathered in front of Tiananmen (The Gate of Heavenly Peace) to protest the Chinese ...
, wrote the short story ''A Slave-Mother''. In it he portrayed the extreme poverty in rural communities that was a direct cause of female infanticide. A
white paper A white paper is a report or guide that informs readers concisely about a complex issue and presents the issuing body's philosophy on the matter. It is meant to help readers understand an issue, solve a problem, or make a decision. A white paper ...
published by the
Chinese government The Government of the People's Republic of China () is an authoritarian political system in the People's Republic of China under the exclusive political leadership of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). It consists of legislative, executive, mili ...
in 1980 stated that the practice of female infanticide was a "feudalistic evil". The state officially considers the practice a carryover from feudal times, not a result of the state's
one-child policy The term one-child policy () refers to a population planning initiative in China implemented between 1980 and 2015 to curb the country's population growth by restricting many families to a single child. That initiative was part of a much bro ...
. According to Jing-Bao Nie, it would be "inconceivable" to believe there is "no link" between the state's
family planning Family planning is the consideration of the number of children a person wishes to have, including the choice to have no children, and the age at which they wish to have them. Things that may play a role on family planning decisions include marita ...
policies and female infanticide. On September 25, 1980, in an "open letter", the
Politburo of the Chinese Communist Party The Politburo of the Chinese Communist Party, formally known as the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and known as the Central Bureau before 1927, is the decision-making body of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). ...
requested that members of the
party A party is a gathering of people who have been invited by a host for the purposes of socializing, conversation, recreation, or as part of a festival or other commemoration or celebration of a special occasion. A party will often feature f ...
, and those in the
Communist Youth League The Communist Youth League of China (CYLC), also known as the Young Communist League of China or simply the Communist Youth League (CYL), is a youth movement of the People's Republic of China for youth between the ages of 14 and 28, run by the ...
, lead by example and have only one child. From the beginning of the
one-child policy The term one-child policy () refers to a population planning initiative in China implemented between 1980 and 2015 to curb the country's population growth by restricting many families to a single child. That initiative was part of a much bro ...
, there were concerns that it would lead to an imbalance in the sex ratio. Early in the 1980s, senior officials became increasingly concerned with reports of abandonment and female infanticide by parents desperate for a son. In 1984, the government attempted to address the issue by adjusting the one-child policy. Couples whose first child is a girl are allowed to have a second child.


Current situation

Many Chinese couples desire to have sons because they provide support and security to their aging parents later in life.Chan, C. L. W., Yip, P. S. F., Ng, E. H. Y., Ho, P. C., Chan, C. H. Y., & Au, J. S. K. (2002). Gender selection in China: It’s meanings and implications. ''Journal of Assisted Reproduction and Genetics, 19''(9), 426-430. Conversely, a daughter is expected to leave her parents upon marriage to join and care for her husband's family (parents-in-law). In rural households, which as of 2014 constitute almost half the Chinese population, males are additionally valuable for performing agricultural work and manual labor. A 2005 intercensus survey demonstrated pronounced differences in sex ratio across provinces, ranging from 1.04 in
Tibet Tibet (; ''Böd''; ) is a region in East Asia, covering much of the Tibetan Plateau and spanning about . It is the traditional homeland of the Tibetan people. Also resident on the plateau are some other ethnic groups such as Monpa people, ...
to 1.43 in
Jiangxi Jiangxi (; ; formerly romanized as Kiangsi or Chianghsi) is a landlocked province in the east of the People's Republic of China. Its major cities include Nanchang and Jiujiang. Spanning from the banks of the Yangtze river in the north int ...
.Zhu, W. X., Lu, L., & Hesketh, T. (2009). China’s excess males, sex selective abortion, and one child policy: Analysis of data from 2005 national intercensus survey. ''BMJ: British Medical Journal, 338''(7700) Banister (2004), in her literature review on China's shortage of girls, suggested that there has been a resurgence in the prevalence of female infanticide following the introduction of the one-child policy.Banister, J. (2004). Shortage of girls in China today. ''Journal of Population Research, 21''(1), 19-45. On the other hand, many researchers have argued that female infanticide is rare in China today, especially since the government has outlawed the practice. Zeng and colleagues (1993), for example, contended that at least half of the nation's gender imbalance arises from the underreporting of female births.Zeng, Y., Tu, P., Gu, B., Xu, Y., Li, B., & Li, Y. (1993). Causes and implications of the recent increase in the reported sex ratio at birth in China. ''Population and Development Review, 19''(2), 283-302. According to the
Geneva Centre for the Democratic Control of Armed Forces DCAF - ; Geneva Centre for Security Sector Governance ( French: ''Centre pour la gouvernance du secteur de la sécurité, Genève,'' German: ''Das Genfer Zentrum für die Gouvernanz des Sicherheitssektors'') is an intergovernmental foundation-b ...
(DCAF), the demographic shortfall of female babies who have died for gender related issues is in the same range as the 191 million estimated dead accounting for all conflicts in the twentieth century. In 2012, the documentary '' It's a Girl: The Three Deadliest Words in the World'' was released. It focused on
female infanticide in India Female infanticide in India has a history spanning centuries. Poverty, the dowry system, births to unmarried women, deformed infants, famine, lack of support services, and maternal illnesses such as postpartum depression are among the causes ...
and China. According to China's 2020 census ( the Seventh National Population Census of the People's Republic of China), the gender ratio of mainland China has improved, with the male-to-female ratio reaching a new record low of 105.07. This is the most balanced gender ratio since the PRC began conducting a census in 1953.


See also

* '' It's a Girl: The Three Deadliest Words in the World'' * List of administrative divisions in China by infant mortality *
List of Chinese administrative divisions by gender ratio The sex ratio of the different administrative divisions of China has been the subject of academic study because of a high imbalance in births since the 1990s and female infanticide further worsening the imbalanced sex ratios at birth. Gender r ...
*
Missing women of China In China, there are significantly fewer women than men, leading to an imbalanced population sex ratio resulting from cultural influences and government policy. This phenomenon is sometimes referred to as the missing women or missing girls of China ...
*


Footnotes


References


Bibliography

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Further reading


Female infanticide by Websters
{{Family planning policies of China
Infanticide Infanticide (or infant homicide) is the intentional killing of infants or offspring. Infanticide was a widespread practice throughout human history that was mainly used to dispose of unwanted children, its main purpose is the prevention of reso ...
Sexism in China Violence against women in China Crime in China Female infanticide Childhood in China