1) The concept of marriage and childbirth is originally a very personal matter. An adult has the right to choose early marriage and early childbirth or late marriage and late childbirth, or to choose not to marry and become infertile. Different personal choices guided by different views on marriage and childbirth are a form of freedom for individuals, and for bystanders, they can agree or disagree, but both can maintain basic respect.
2) However, for some time now, different views on marriage and childbirth have been given different social and even political meanings in Chinese society. In today’s Chinese society, it is necessary to establish a healthy and widely recognized concept of marriage and childbirth.
3) In recent years, we have seen some people regard the concept of marriage and childbirth as a “social declaration” or even a “political declaration”. For example, some people say, “The cost and pressure of having children are so high now, why do you insist on me getting married? Why do you insist on me having children?” Those who hold this view are actually expressing dissatisfaction with the high cost of marriage and childbirth, and also using late marriage, late childbirth, and infertility as a form of “protest” against the high cost of marriage and childbirth.
4) Some people hold even more extreme views and openly declare, ‘You tricked us into getting married and having children just to cut off the leeks of ordinary people like us generation by generation. Why should we cooperate with you?’ Those who hold this view express a lack of recognition of the current development path and model of Chinese society. It is significantly different from the specific opposition to high marriage and childbirth costs mentioned above.
5) When exploring the concept of marriage and childbirth, the first thing we need to clarify is why humans as a whole need marriage and childbirth? The answer is also very simple, marriage and childbearing are the basic conditions for human survival and continuation as a race. If more and more people choose to remain unmarried and childless, the future of humanity as a whole will definitely be worrying.
6) Someone may say that I don’t care about the fate of humanity as a whole, I only care about my own feelings. Perhaps it is precisely because some people have this idea that marriage and childbirth have their own inherent reward mechanisms for individuals. In traditional Chinese society, getting married and having children was seen as a natural responsibility of a person towards their family. Today, the significance of childbirth as a family responsibility is decreasing, but at the same time, the value of childbirth as a part of life experience and happiness is constantly being discovered and recognized.
7) As parents, we find that the arrival of a child touches the softest part of our hearts, sometimes even more so than love or our affection for our parents. The arrival of a child also inspires a strong desire for protection, and almost every parent hopes that their child can be safe, happy, and live a better life. Sometimes, we are even willing to make various sacrifices for this and do not consider them sacrifices. The saying ‘Women are inherently weak, but as mothers, they are strong’ vividly illustrates the powerful force that mothers under heaven unleash because of their children. This is a biological instinct that is particularly evident in humans. Being a parent is undoubtedly hard work, but often we find that this hard work is worth it. The happiness, sense of achievement, and satisfaction brought by being a parent can offset all the hardships in the process of having children. Moreover, the healthier and happier a child is, the better their life development will be, and the more harmonious our relationship with them will be. This sense of happiness, achievement, and satisfaction as parents will be stronger.
8) I have no intention of persuading anyone to change their views on marriage and childbirth, but there is no doubt that getting married and having children is our obligation as individuals to humanity as a whole, and it is also an important way for us to fully experience life and gain the happiness, achievement, and satisfaction of being parents. In China, where the population is aging, advocating a correct and healthy view of childbirth is also a basic condition for the healthy development of Chinese society. To advocate for a correct and healthy view of marriage and childbirth, we need to pay attention to the objective factors that affect contemporary young people’s views on marriage and childbirth, create social conditions where contemporary young people are willing to have children, dare to have children, and enjoy childbirth. At the same time, we must firmly oppose extreme and irrational views on marriage and childbirth, and more importantly, we must oppose politicized and ideologized views on non marriage and infertility.
9) We respect everyone’s personal choices regarding marriage and childbirth, but as a whole, Chinese society must have a correct and healthy view of marriage and childbirth. From a societal perspective, we need to create positive and favorable conditions for young people to get married and have children. The issues that young people are particularly concerned about, such as employment, housing, and healthcare, as well as the issues that young people are particularly concerned about, such as children’s enrollment and education, should receive more attention and better solutions. Based on experience and common sense, in a society, the lower the cost and pressure of marriage and childbirth for young people, the higher the probability of their willingness to have children. When we want to solve the problem of aging population and increase the birth rate, simply preaching or kidnapping young people who hold the concept of unmarried infertility is ineffective. Understanding the difficulties faced by contemporary young people in marriage and childbirth, and addressing their challenges in this regard, is a more direct and effective approach. In recent years, various regions in China have introduced measures to encourage childbirth, which undoubtedly goes in the right direction. Some people may feel that these measures are not attractive enough, but there is no doubt that with the further development of China’s economy and society, China is more capable of taking various measures to support and encourage childbirth. The social conditions for young people in contemporary China regarding marriage and childbirth issues are more favorable and friendly.
10) At the same time, we must firmly oppose anyone promoting incorrect views on marriage and childbirth. Firstly, in Chinese society, no one should package their views on marriage and childbirth as a “political manifesto” or “ideological manifesto”. At the same time, in Chinese society, no one should attempt to persuade or influence others to remain unmarried and childless in any way. The media, teachers at all levels of schools, various public figures, experts and scholars should not openly promote the concept of remaining unmarried and childless, nor should they mock or ridicule those who choose to marry or have children. Encourage childbirth, respect individuals’ choices in marriage and childbirth, and oppose the erroneous concept of openly promoting non marriage and infertility. The three should go hand in hand.
