"Plenty Xu," the former vice mayor of Hangzhou, reportedly had dozens of affairs. An official in Shaanxi found himself accused of corruption by his eleven mistresses.  Every few months, a new high-profile figure shocks China with revelations of an affair. This had led to self-reflection and analysis, as citizens struggle to explain their society’s rising trend of infidelity.

China is certainly not the only country dealing with infidelity scandals. Italy’s former Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi battled accusations of infidelity. Movie star and former California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger recently revealed that he had fathered a child out of wedlock. Given the cross-cultural correlation between power and infidelity, China’s revelations aren’t unusual. But their prevalence, and the volume of publicity they receive, indicates a growing fascination with cheating’s modern manifestations in Chinese society.

Infidelity’s Effect on Chinese Society

Growing concerns about infidelity have led to legal and social changes in China. Divorce rates have risen meteorically: 17% over the first three months of 2011, according to Forbes. Shu Xin, director of the China Marriage and Family Affairs Consulting and Research Center, estimated to China Daily that 70% of divorces stem from infidelity. His high estimate illustrates the magnitude of the problem in the Chinese psyche.

The upsurge in cheating has also led China to consider revisions to the legal system.  Changes have made it easier for couples to obtain a divorce, allowing for greater ease of separation if a spouse is unfaithful. The New York Times reports that the Supreme People’s Court has decided to clarify property rights in cases of love triangles – either where a wronged spouse wishes to reclaim money spent on an affair, or to prevent third parties from laying claim to marital property.

Infidelity can cause a culture of mistrust. The BBC writes that paternity testing in China increased dramatically in the early 2000s, a direct result of suspicions of cheating among couples. For a country where family stability is a core value, infidelity – and the resulting changes to family structure – is causing earthquakes.

Potential causes and influences

Many argue that China’s re-emergent mistress culture is more about power than lust. The Guardian quoted a report from Beijing Daily, which found that "14 of the 16 most senior officials found guilty of gambling, illegal property deals and money laundering also had mistresses." With excess money to spend and an inflated sense of entitlement, perhaps some of China’s nouveau riche see affairs as affordable luxuries. "Keeping a mistress is just like playing golf," a Shenzhen property developer told The New York Times in August. "Both are expensive hobbies." Ernai, or second wives, are often kept as status symbols, provided with apartments, salaries and expensive gifts. Shu Xin told China Daily, "Nowadays, many people think an extramarital affair is a symbol of success."

China’s rising affluence is a contributing factor. Dr. David Schmitt is the head of the International Sexuality Description Project (ISDP), a psychology research project designed to study human sexuality characteristics across cultures. Dr. Schmitt collaborated with colleagues around the world to administer surveys, including in culturally Chinese Taiwan and Hong Kong. He found that as living conditions in a nation improve, the level of sociosexuality (a person’s willingness to engage in more promiscuous behaviour) rises. China’s rising standard of living may be a key factor in its new abundance of short-term relationships, casual hook-ups and mistress-toting mayors.

Women’s role in society also alters sexual behaviour. Most of China’s media attention has been on male officials. However, a 2001 study by the All-China Women’s Federation, cited in the New York Times, noted that 30% of divorced women had been unfaithful. Dr. Schmitt hypothesizes that women’s economic independence changes their sexual behaviour. In more traditional societies, women tend to focus on long-term mating strategies: monogamous relationships and childbearing. However, "when women gain financial independence they are more able to follow their short-term mating desires," Dr. Schmitt wrote in an email. This may include short-term affairs and casual relationships.

China’s shift from rural to urban may also have an effect. Dr. Schmitt notes that urban settings increase risky sexual behaviour. "As more people move into cities, short-term mating is going to become more prevalent," he wrote. Urbanisation in China has increased drastically in the last few decades. "The annual influx of rural migrants to China's cities increased from 9 million in 1989, to nearly 30 million a decade later," writes Thomas Campanella, author of The Concrete Dragon: China's Urban Revolution and What it Means for the World. A rapidly increasingly urban population may contribute to changing sexual habits.

Some blame the influence of popular culture – everything from K-Pop to K-Fed. Provocative entertainment may challenge traditional mores. Today’s Chinese are "richer, freer and more independent-minded," Victor Lee, a film producer, told CNN. "These social changes are reflected in recent movies and television series, which depict love triangles and other marital problems." Films can often glamorise adultery. Amanda Xie, a high school teacher from Kunming, said, "Films teach us how to act. Those kinds of movies glitter the betrayal."

Another possible influence on modern infidelity is China’s history of second wives.  In 1950, the Communist party outlawed concubinage. But before that time, concubines had been integrated into society, serving as companions to high-ranking persons. China’s emperors continued to take concubines up until the last emperor, Puyi, whose consort eventually divorced him in 1931. As a result, the historical connection to concubines is relatively recent in Chinese cultural memory.

Concubines have played important roles in China’s history. The Empress Wu, a former concubine to the Emperor, worked her way up to become the ruler of all China during the Tang Dynasty. The life of Yang Guifei, the favourite consort of Emperor Xuanzong, has been dramatised in plays, films, novels and even a television show. Often romanticised, concubines have lived on as figures of fantasy and imagination. While no longer a formal part of Chinese society, their historical influence remains.

A Growing Concern

China is re-examining its expectations about marriage. Modernisation has led to greater flexibility with traditional values, both for better and worse. While infidelity is hardly exclusive to China, it is, for the moment, a major source of self-reflection and worry for many Chinese people.
 

Related links
The 8 Degrading Ways Chinese Police Battled Prostitution in 2010
China’s Marriage Crisis: 5000 Divorces a Day!
Marriage is a Grave: Attitudes to Love in Modern China

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