Transformations in the primary life cycle: the origins and nature of China’s sexual revolution

This chapter discusses the origins and nature of China’s sexual revolution with reference to the results of a nationwide survey on sexual behaviours and relationships in the People’s Republic of China (PRC), which was conducted by the Institute for Research on Sexuality and Gender at the Renmin (People’s) University in Beijing between August 1999 and August 2000 (Pan et al. 2004). The survey involved 36 investigators and was supported by the Social Science Fund of China; the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, USA; the Population Research Center NORC, University of Chicago, USA; and the Fogarty International Center of the National Institutes of Health, University of North Carolina, USA. During the course of this survey, we interviewed 3,824 subjects from urban and rural China, including members of the transient labour force who have left their original places of residence (usually rural) to find work in other parts of China (usually urban). Survey results were obtained using procedures adopted in the PRC’s National Census. Seventy-six per cent of the 3,824 interviewees responded.