The Contemporary Situation and Future Choices of Traditional Mosuo Marriage and Family Culture: A Field Investigation Based on the Muli and Lugu Lake Regions
This article, based on field investigations in the Muli and Lugu Lake areas, examines the contemporary transformation of the Mosuo people's distinctive matriarchal family and "walking marriage" (zouhun) traditions under the impact of modernization. The authors find notable changes in marriage practices—including greater emphasis on practical/material factors in spouse selection, expansion of geographic and ethnic scope in mate choice, and relaxed adherence to traditional walking-marriage norms—alongside shifts in family structure, such as shrinking matriarchal households, weakening interdependence among family members, and increasing market-driven gendered division of labor. These changes are attributed to diversified livelihoods, intensified bidirectional population mobility, and improved transportation. The authors argue that preserving this culture requires respecting Mosuo agency, fostering conscious cultural transmission through education, and integrating matriarchal family preservation with improved living standards, enabling rational, sustainable evolution of this unique marriage and family culture.
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