Male marriage and Social reproduction in Ming–Qing Chinese lineages: evidence from seven genealogies

This article examines male marriage outcomes and social reproduction in Chinese lineages during the Ming–Qing period (1368–1911). Using individual-level genealogical data from seven lineages in southeastern China, it analyses three dimensions of men’s marriage outcomes: access to marriage, timing of family formation, and status-based marital matching. Descriptive evidence shows a clear gender asymmetry: 75.7 per cent of surviving men married, compared with 91.6 per cent of surviving daughters with available marital information. Male marriage varied across lineages and birth cohorts, with non-marriage more common among men born after 1800. The regression results reveal different patterns across the three outcomes. Men who held keju degrees or offices, and men whose fathers or grandfathers held such status, enjoyed more favourable marriage prospects. Larger male sibships were also associated with a higher likelihood of marriage, but not systematically with earlier family formation or high-status matching. Comparing these outcomes within the same lineage populations distinguishes the individual and family circumstances accompanying marriage access, timing, and marital alliances, contributing to a more differentiated understanding of marriage and social reproduction.