Chinanews, Beijing, Apr. 10 – The Yuhang District People's Court in Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province, recently handled the divorce case of a young couple. The reason for their divorce was pretty simple: the couple couldn't agree on whose surname should their daughter take, the Economic Information Daily reported.

 

According to Chinese marriage law, children can take their surname either from the mother side or from the father side. However, in China, it has become a tradition that a child is usually given the father's surname.

 

At present, the single-child generation, who were born during the 1980s, are at their marriageable age now. Since most of them are the only child in their families, their babies now face a new problem: whose surname should these babies take, the father's or the mother's? This might not seem like a big issue; however, the issue does bother many young couples.

 

Should China change its tradition of following father's surname? In a random survey, this reporter found that most fathers were usually conservative on this issue. They said that their children should take their surnames.

 

Ms. Zhou is a public servant. In her mind, women and men have a fair chance on this issue.

 

“In China, women go out to earn money, just like men do. If this is the case, why shouldn't women have the same rights as men? On the whole, people who have the same obligations should also enjoy the same rights. Otherwise, it wouldn’t be fair. I think the old tradition should be changed now,” she said, adding that when she plans to marry, she will first raise this question to her future husband.

 

As the single-child generation now start to give birth to babies, they will soon encounter some problems that their parents have never met before. This only shows that the old tradition, which has existed in China for thousands of years with the male taking a dominant role in the family, is now being challenged in a changing society, some experts said