Proposing in Chinese; meeting the family

[-葛亚辉-]

Hi all. I'm writing an article about this topic for the magazine The World of Chinese (汉语世界) and was wondering if anyone would be willing to comment on their own experience with their Chinese fiance/fiancee or spouse. I've left some guiding questions below, but feel free to pick and choose what you answer or just tell your story. The more character and detail I can get into this piece, the better. Thank you!

1) Demographic info: Where are you from? Where is your fiancee/wife from? What (nuclear) family does she have and what is their economic situation?

2) Proposal: How long had you been dating when you proposed? What, exactly, did you say (and was it in English or Chinese) and where were you when you said it? Did you give her a ring? Had you already spoken with her parents about marriage before proposing? How did she respond? Please feel free to share your story in detail; details make for better reading.

3) Meeting the parents: When was the first time your fiancee/wife told her parents she was dating a foreigner? How did they respond? Before or after proposing, did you have any kind of formal "meet" or stay with her family? If so, what questions did they ask you? What was discussed? How did you feel it went, and how did she feel it went? Again, detail and stories are great!

4) How is your relationship now? How is your relationship with her family? How has it changed since the time you proposed?

5) Are you willing to allow your name to be used in a magazine story about marriage proposal or do you prefer to remain anonymous (note: there is a much greater chance you'll appear in the story if I can use your name; anonymous sources look fake and I'm not sure how my editor will feel about that.)

You can leave a reply here and I will see it, but if you'd rather not post your real name on here, you can also send your answers to me via email: custerc @ gmail.com Quick responses would be great...the story is due April 8th, but I need to get this background research stuff done well before then.

THANK YOU