Chinese “Bachelor Society”

Abstract

Chinese “bachelor society” in the United States was a peculiar phenomenon in the history of human beings. At the same time, in Guangdong province, there were thousands of “widowed wives.” This distorted marriage which lasted for nearly a century originated from special political, economic, cultural, and historical environments. Taking well-known Chinese American novels, Eat a Bowl of Tea, The Woman Warrior and China Men as cases, this article makes a brief analysis of the “split households” life of these “bachelors” and their “widowed wives,” and concludes that both husbands and wives were victims of Chinese Exclusions Acts. However, traditionally Chinese male-female relationship undertook some changes under special circumstances.