Marriage Consent and Psychological Pressure: A Study of Cui Hun in China

Abstract

Fully and freely consenting to marriage is recognised as a fundamental right within China’s legal system today. However, the prevalence of the cui hun phenomenon raises important questions about the validity of consent when individuals are pressured by third parties in their relationship decisions, including: when and to whom to marry, whether to have children when married, and whether to remain married. Cui hun refers to a social pressure phenomenon in Chinese society. Cui hun is characterised by intense intergenerational conflicts between unmarried adult children and their parents regarding the children’s marriage decisions. In these situations, parents often exert a variety of tactics to pressure their children to marry. To explore the validity of consent in the context of this cui hun pressure, this thesis proposes a model that distinguishes the impacts of different forms of pressure. While not all tactics associated with cui hun invalidate an individual’s consent, this thesis argues that severe forms of cui hun pressure can significantly influence decision-making and, subsequently vitiate their consent. This thesis examines xiao-based pressure and family honour-based pressure as examples that illustrate why and how an individual’s consent can be vitiated under psychological and emotional pressure. It is crucial to distinguish between permissible and impermissible cui hun practices to assess the validity of consent in these cases. This distinction will also guide future discussions on cui hun and encourage a much more nuanced debate about the relationship between coercion and genuine consent in the context of marriage in China.