Two-sided Marriage: Intergenerational Bilateralism and Egalitarian Family Practices in China

Deeply rooted in the demographic legacy of China's One-Child Policy, a distinctive marital arrangement known as Two-Sided Marriage has emerged in contemporary China, particularly in the economically affluent Jiang-Zhe-Hu region. TSM is defined by a bilateral kinship structure that explicitly rejects traditional patrilocality and patrilineality. Instead of a bride "marrying out," families practicing TSM establish symmetrical relationships wherein both the bride's and groom's families equally contribute resources and caregiving responsibilities to the young conjugal unit. TSM's bilateral structure enables both sets of parents to retain lineage continuity, as couples are expected to have two children, each carrying one family's surname. Consequently, TSM has generated new forms of intergenerational bilateralism: rather than blending two lineages into one, it maintains dual lines of descent and inheritance within a single household, challenging traditional gendered expectations of inheritance and caregiving. Daughters, historically marginalized in patrilineal inheritance practices, become central figures who inherit family property and bear explicit responsibilities for elder care. However, maintaining equilibrium between two equally invested natal families requires continuous negotiation and what this study terms "balance work"—deliberate relational labor to manage familial expectations, resources, and intimacy. Although structurally symmetrical, TSM also reveals persistent asymmetries and gendered dynamics, particularly evident in the division of reproduction and caregiving labor. Drawing on interactive interviews, digital ethnography of Chinese social media, and autoethnographic reflection, this thesis provides an exploration of how contemporary Chinese families creatively navigate changing demographic realities and evolving kinship norms through the practice of two-sided marriage.