Prioritizing Self over Successors: Exploring Fertility Perspectives in Modern China
In May 2022, the term "the last generation" blew up on Chinese social media. Tons of young Chinese folks were saying they don't want kids. This took me by surprise for a few reasons. First off, it goes against what the Chinese government is pushing for - they want people to have more babies. Second, earlier research showed that even with the strict birth control policies in the past, Chinese people still wanted kids. And third, having kids is a huge Confucian value that's deeply rooted in Chinese culture. So what gives? It seems like something is shifting here. The government wants one thing, tradition says another, but young people are saying "no thanks" to having children. I wonder, when people talk about having kids these days, what are they talking about? The findings reported below are currently submitted to an academic journal and under review. So, I will just briefly summarize the interesting findings here for a preview. In August last year, settled ...