Research Paper on Pakistan

Research Paper on Pakistan The textile sector needs massive investments in the value added sector to face the challenges of the post 2005 qouta free regime. Common belief in Pakistan is that the sector is quite vibrant and is investing heavily. While it is true that there have been substantial investments in the sector as a whole, bulk of the investments are in the spinning and weaving sectors and not enough is being invested in the value added sectors of finishing and stitching. In the following brief presentation the impediments will be highlighted but a general structure of the industry as it stands today needs to be understood before the problems can be understood. The spinning sector is a very mature and competitive sector. Pakistan today is a net importer of raw cotton. Every thing from Australian cotton, Egyptian cotton to US Pima is imported. In fact Pakistan today is the second largest importer of US Pima long staple cotton. This goes to show how competitive this industry has become. The weaving sector is broken up in two segments, the cottage industry comprising second hand sulzers and the shuttle looms and the organized weaving sector comprising the most modern air jet weaving sector. The unorganized sector continues to grow since it is considered a cottage industry and free from all regulations like levy of sales tax etc. These produce lower quality products. While investment requirement in the new weaving machines is high, these are the future and produce specialty and high quality products. The capital requirement is very high. Over the years many spinning mills have moved into this sector and have  integrated their units to this ne xt step. This sector is also quite competitive and moving in the right direction. The pace of investment in this sector remains slow, despite being profitable. In the last 2 years China is believed to have invested in 14000 looms compared to about 1000 in Pakistan. There can be no 2 views about the fact that the future in the industry belongs to vertically  integrated units rather than development of the cottage industry. So why is the spinning industry slow in integrating vertically? The next requirement is for setting up of finishing mills both in the knits sector and wovens sector. Many of the projects set up in the knits sector are not world scale, with not the state of the art machinery and their cost of productions are not competitive. In the woven apparel sector there is in fact a shortage of quality finishing plants. Many people are bringing in used machinery which has literally been discarded by the developed world. It is a matter of fact that Levis does not approve any finishing plant for woven apparel products made for them. The fabrics need to be imported. Tommy also does not approve a single dyeing mill which meets its quality requirements. The exception to the rule is the home textiles where the organized sector has invested heavily and has a significant share of the global market. What does this say for the future of the textile industry of Pakistan particularly when countries like China are investing and gearing themselves massively for the quota f ree regime. China is aiming at 25% global share of the textile market by year 2005. Pakistan on the other hand is fast developing its unorganized sector and picks up every piece of junk machinery available in the developed world. So the question is why is the organized sector moving in natural direction. What are the impediments to its investments, particularly when the spinning sector seems saturated and the interest rates are low and there is ample credit availability. The following paragraphs will briefly discuss the impediments in growth of the textile sector. 1) Unimaginable amounts of stuck up refunds of sales tax refunds due to shortage of funds. The sales tax refund rules provide for 50% of the refund within 15 days of filing for the refund in a certain format. The balance refund is payable within 40 days. Can one imagine that refunds, at the time of writing this report are being processed for refund applications received in end October. That means that at best the refunds due in September, refund applications for which are filed in October are under process. Pakistan is the 4th largest producer of raw cotton in the world and the bulk of the cotton comes in the months from September to December during which time the industry purchases its requirements for the bulk of the industry. The pretext of the delayed refunds are scarcity of funds. When the government withholds huge payments of its industry, how can the industry invest. The refund rules provide for refund in a certain time frame the government should follow the laws made by itself. The wisdom of imposing sales tax on raw cotton is not understandable. The government mobilizes huge resources to collect billions of rupees of tax in lieu of sales tax on raw cotton only then to mobilize even more resources to refund these and in the process squeezing the industry out of liquidity which it badly needs to gear itself for the future. In fact, perhaps the BOI can get the figures from the CBR as to what is the gravity of the issue. Also the government should analyze what the net collection from the textile sector is. This would demonstrate net collection of sales tax from the textile industry. Given the fast growth of the cottage industry, it would not come as a surprise if the sales refund claimed exceeds the sales tax collected after accounting for the administrative expences for collections and refunds. Since writing of this report, the CBR has agreed to expedite refunds of sales tax for the spinning sector. This will provide a lot of relief to this sector, but what is needed is a long term clear policy and a policy under which sales tax is not with held unnecessarily. Furthermore a long term policy is required for the whole sector. Suggestion for resolution of this problem As a first step the BOI must make sure that refunds are made within the time frame provided in the exisiting laws. The BOI must together analyze together with the CBR and take the textile industry in confidence in analyzing what is the net collection of the sales tax from the textile industry and if it is necessary to go through the process of collecting such amounts only to refund the amounts. 2) Cumbersome requirements and frequent changes in reporting requirements for the of reporting for sales tax. There are frequent changes in the sales tax rules which require submission of Additional details and unnecessary details. An example is section 73 of the sales tax act, whereby the seller has to make sure that the payments received by him against sales is from the business account of the buyer. The seller needs to have the account number of the buyer. In cases of payments made by pay order/bank drafts also the seller needs to prove payments through the business account of the buyer. The same section requires that payment must be received with 120 days of date of invoice. The CBR should be concerned with collection of its taxes and should not be allowed to force business decisions and levy penalties which may occur due to a bad market or circumstances beyond the control of the buyer and seller. Also new refund rules vide SRO 575 have been made applicable since August 2002, whereby not only have rules been changed, the language is vague And complicated but also the data was to be submi tted in a certain computerized Programmed supplied by the CBR. The programme was untested and had to be Modified resulting in delayed submission of returns. The real issue is that instead Businesses working on their business plans their main focus and time is spent on Their businesses the business men today spend time on meeting the sales tax Requirement for this is the most important task as an inefficient sales tax Management can drive a business out of business. Suggestion Remove unnecessary reporting requirements of sales tax. Simplify the sales tax With consultation of the stake holders and then freeze new changes. 3) Import Duties on machinery and equipment When machinery is imported there is a duty leviable. Duty exemption is available under various SROs which require undertakings that a certain percentage of the production is exported in the next 5years. It has to be understood that machinery imported by any segment of the textile industry is ultimately exported in one form or the other. When an undertaking is given that the production from that unit will directly be exported, it may be depriving the local industry of the required raw material. An example is that finished woven fabrics. These are projects which require huge investments and there is a shortage of much required quality finished fabric in the country. There have been only a few projects set up in the last few years. The production from these would feed the local industry. In order to get the required duty exemptions, the investors commit themselves to export the fabrics themselves rather than supply to the local garment factories. It is needed that this requirement of di rect exports be dispensed with and the project is also allowed to supply to local garment factories for ultimate exports. If quality fabric is available locally, it would encourage setting up of stitching factories. Finishing projects specially have a rather long gestation period. Certain projects set up in the last 2 years valued in excess of a billion rupees have taken more than 2 years to come to even break even levels. Pakistan does not have the necessary know how and there fore these type of projects need to be encouraged instead of levying taxes on import of machinery. What this law does not consider is that it is forcing the mill to export the fabric to another country rather than making the finished fabric available of the domestic industry. The local stitching industry does not have availability of good quality fabric while the fabric maker is forced to export the fabric in order to meet the requirement of export to be elegible for duty free import of machinery. Suggestion Machinery imported for any segment of the textile should be completely duty free without any compulsion of exports. Machinery imported by the textile sector is in one way or the other imported for the purposes of ultimate export and the industry should be freed from all the record keeping and periodic audits. For the projects already set up, the present requirements of duty free import under SRO 554 should be amended to allow indirect exports 4) Income tax Presently on exports a withholding tax is deducted as full and final settlement of tax liability. If a unit exports more than 80% the assessee can pay the withholding tax on the local portion and is not required to file returns. If the tax laws are amended so that a withholding tax at the same rate as export, is deducted on local sales also becomes the full and final settlement. This law actually already exists but the procedure is for indirect exports and payment is made through a SPO ( Special Purchase Order). The procedure is quite cumbersome and difficult to comply with. The difference between the organized sector and unorganized sector will be removed. But the real benefit would be that the producers would be free from tax issues and can concentrate on what they should be spending time on, i.e their business development. It is my opinion that even the tax revenue will increase. 5) Need for making a strategy at the National level to encourage more mills in the organized sector to integerate vertically. The BOI and the ministry of Commerce should clearly define and develop a strategy for the era of quota free regime. A goal should be made to encourage an X number of mills in the organized sector to move upstream into manufacture of made ups. This may involve review of the present quota policy. It should be stressed that in the quota free regime it is the  integrated mills that will be able to gear themselves for the new competitive regime. Unless the industry readies itself now, there will be a lot of difficulties in the future. Unfortunately the quota policy has discouraged vertical integeration since quota has been given on performance and apart from a small qnty available through auction, qouta can only be bought with cash payments at exhorbitant rates. This has discouraged much of the organized textile sector to do busiess in the value added sector. 6) A clearly defined policy to fight anti dumping cases, and a permanent team is required to be set up for negotiation of better terms of trade. In future there will be a lot of actions against exports from Pakistan, such as anti dumping duties. The industry finds itself in a panic when ever a new action is initiated. A permanent body needs to be set up comprising prominent lawyers, government officials as well as business who are well conversent with dumping laws. It should also be clearly defined that when an action is initiated who will bear the legal costs. A case in point is the recent dumping investigation initiated by the EU. First, at the beginning of 2002, EU removed all duties on made up exports from Pakistan. The advantage was fully taken by the industry through increasing exports, of course through investments. However the surge in exports was not welcome by producers in the importing countries. There was an apprehension of dumping investigations, however Pakistan made no attempt, diplomatic or otherwise, so that the dumping complaint not be entertained by the EU. Instead one fine day the exporters received intima tion that the complaint was filed and accepted for investigation. After this, there were discussion within the industry as to who will pay the expences for the investigation, with the government refusing to pay any thing. It is suggested that a very strong permanent panel be formed to face these matters. In addition, the more competitive Pakistan’s exports are the more the industry will grow through investments. A permanent team needs to be created which develops strategies for better market access and better terms of access for our products into imported countries. Various international treaties signed by various countries have brought tremendous benefits to even non textile based countries. Exoorts from Jordan to the US are duty free into the US. This has brought tremendous investments in Jordan. Investments in textiles made ups in African states is booming, due to the African Tearty signed by them with the US which allows duty free imports into US goods which are manufactu red in the African states. Pakistan needs to organize and see if it can improve the terms of trade. A permanent body, again comprising competent lawyers, government officials and  knowledge and capable business men. There are many issues on which the exporting country can negotiate with the importing country. For example, Pakistan today is the second largest importer of US PIMA cotton. The products made from this go to the US after processing. Can Pakistan not develop a strategy to build up a lobby within the US comprising cotton exporters that products made with US cotton in the US can come in duty free to the US. Pakistan is sure to invest in some massive infrastructure projects in the future. Can this not be linked with again some better terms of trade benefits for its textile exports. Steps such as these can be part of Pakistans over all investment and export strategy. In summary, the textile industry is perhaps on of the few industries in the country which does not depend on any government subsidy or tariff protection to survive. Unfortunately, instead of making itself ready for the quota free regime, the industry is too involved in the day to day issues of taxation, whether it is sales tax refunds, import duty, DTRE rules income tax assessments etc. These are the only subjects of discussion of businesses with the ministries of Finance, Commerce, CBR, EPB and all other government functionairies. The above suggestions are basically to further deregulate the industry and make it more focused and let its entrepruners devote all their attention to business development rather than divert their energies in fulfilling government compliance regulations. Simple tax laws and regulations will go a long way in boosting investments. In addition through the above suggestions the government needs to improve its market access and better terms of trade for exports of Pakistani products abroad.

Film Review Essay examples

Film Review Essay examples Film Review Essay examples Zac Garcia Ms. Lynch Film Studies 10/31/14 Movie Review Of Gone Girl Gone Girl, starring Ben Affleck and Rosamund Pike as a torn married couple named Nick Dunne and Amy Dunne. It is directed by David Fincher and based off the book written by Gillian Flynn. This film is about a distressed couple Nick Dunne and Amy Dunne. Amy one morning goes missing and Nick comes home from the bar he owns to see the living room torn up as if a kidnapping or robbery occurred. It portrays Nick throughout the film to have a weird relationship with Amy due to how he reacts and acts throughout this. The film gives off this weird vibe throughout the entire movie that always has you second guessing your opinion on what is going to happen. An investigation goes on and it takes you through many twists and turns such as learning Nick’s back story, his secret life, and Amy’s past. This movie does an excellent job of leading you on to think one thing and then one scene completely changes your view. When the viewer finds out what really happened to Amy, he or she will be completely blown away and this is why this film is such a great thriller. Just by seeing the trailer for this movie, I knew that I was going to love it. I was on the edge of my seat the whole time and I can honestly say it was one of the best movies I’ve ever seen. It perfectly leads you on and gives you just the right amount of hints to give you a hint as to what happened but then one scene just changes

Negotiate in business Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Negotiate in business - Essay Example "At the business level, firms follow generic strategies: cost leadership, differentiation, focused cost leadership, focused differentiation, or integrated cost leadership/differentiation. There are three corporate-level negotiation strategies: multi-domestic, global, or transnational (a combination of multi-domestic and global)" (2). Each business must develop a competitive negotiation strategy focused on its own domestic market. Negotiation strategies have some unique features. The negotiation strategies are based at least partially on the type of negotiation corporate-level strategy the firm has chosen. Some firms pursue corporate strategies that give individual country units the authority to develop their own negotiation strategies; other corporate strategies dictate the negotiation strategies in order to standardize the firms products and sharing of resources across countries. (3) Canadians are usually independent thinkers, who are not afraid to go against the group consensus. Canadians will argue their personal viewpoints enthusiastically, though rarely aggressively when negotiating (4). Canadians have a tendency to be reasonably formal and reserved in the workplace. The business traditions can be hierarchical, although summits are usually very autonomous and all participants are encouraged to voice their opinions. (2) In recent years, strategic alliances have become a popular means of negotiation expansion. Most strategic alliances are formed with a host-country firm that knows and understands the competitive negotiation conditions, legal, and social norms, and cultural idiosyncrasies of the country, which should help the expanding firm manufacture and market a competitive negotiation product. (1) In return, the host-country firm may find its new access to the expanding firms technology and innovative products attractive (3). Each partner in an alliance brings knowledge or resources to

Quiz Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 13

Quiz - Essay Example Law argues that with the advocating for use of paper money the cost of gold and sliver will radically reduce. Law’s assertion that the value of goods is independent of the quantity of money made meaning and answered questions on the freedom to purchase any quantity of a product on an agreed price or cost. In addition, Law believed that. If paper money was in use trade will be made easier and the level of demand and supply will be eventually influenced. On the other hand, the James Steuart argues on the need for demand in the industry, which will result to a certain level of supply, which can take both regular and irregular trends. This situation creates competition in the market milieu and helps in increasing the quality of products in the most natural manner. This implies that with help of paper money, a product will bought or sold at its value. In the case of the Allan Meltzer’s assertion on redistribution and sustainability, the problem of capitalism is created by unequal distribution of resources and income. This aspect does not only affect a particular group of class of people, but also the universal economic structure of a country. Meltzer asserts that capitalism has grown because of leaders’ hostility to reward their selfish interests. Meltzer argues that, the wealth generated by the market system should be equally redistributed to ensure a strong economic foundation (OBrien,

Representational view of the simpsons Essay Example for Free

Representational view of the simpsons Essay The Simpson began as a short series of cartoons in the late eighties. It was in 1989, when the Fox Broadcasting Company employed Matt Groening, a cartoonist, to make the Simpsons into 13 half hour episodes that began its path to fame. No sooner had the show aired than the Simpsons became the highest rated show on Fox. However along with the high rating came huge criticism about the content of the show. The Simpsons seemed to satire the educational system, religious system, the American political system and all the American institutions that the American people believed strongly in. It seems to be one of the most controversial programs on TV today because of this. The Simpsons consists of a family of seven. Homer and Marge as the parents, Bart, Lisa and Maggie as the children, a cat Snowball II and one dog Santas Little Helper. The characters of the show were named after Matts real family. The Simpsons are a stereotypical view of an American family and this is another thing that the show has been criticised for. They live in a small town called Springfield. There are many similarities between the Simpsons family and a traditional sitcom family, however they are far from being an ideal family. The Simpsons have been called a dysfunctional family, for not sticking to the familiar family traits that other sitcom families do, for example, the Cosby show or the Waltons. The shows executive producer, Mike Scully, said critics have blamed the Simpsons for being dysfunctional family but they forgot the part that they are still a family and a lot of other families dont survive marriages. They have been called dysfunctional as the Simpsons are not always happy, they always seem to have money problems, Homer is a lazy father and Bart is always naughty. However to me the Simpsons show a more true-to-life family one that all people of any age can relate too. We all know that all children are not prefect or that not all families get on all the time but the Simpsons family sticks together whatever happens. HOMER. J. SIMPSON. Homer is one of the many characters in the show that is stereotyped. He is a stereotype of a typical male middle class, white, American man, as he has a beer belly, is not very bright and is always thinking of food. He is the father of the family, but has very little control over them. Homer works in a nuclear power plant as a safety inspector. His very rich boss, Mr. Burns, owns the plant that Homer works in. Mr. Burns does not think much of Homer, he thinks Homer is a stupid lay about because he does no work. Homer hardly ever thinks before he acts, for example, he bought Lisa a pony because she said she did not love him anymore, but ended up giving it up as they could not afford it. Compared with Ned Flanders, as a father, Homer is not the happiest of the kindest, but like Ned, Homer loves his family. Homer does not like Ned very much but Ned considers Homer as a friend. Ned is always happy and very religious; this is exaggerated a lot on the show. He is famous foe saying howdy-doddlely . Ned also out stages Homer, not on purpose, for example, in the episode called Simpsons Roosting on a Open Fire. Homer puts up Christmas lights but they are not very good then Ned put his on and they are excellent. The Flanders role is to highlight the negative points of the Simpsons family life. Each character has a particular characteristic for them, Homers is that he only has two strands of hair and he loves his food, especially donnuts, umm Donnuts. MARGE SIMPSON. Marge is the mother of the family. She too is a stereotyped as a housewife. Marge does not get out much but does most of the running around for the family and has hardly any time for herself. Marge is the more dominant one of the marriage. She is a very kind, loving mother. When you compare Marge with Mrs Lovejoy, the vicars wife, Marge is not a gossip or as religious as Mrs. Lovejoy but is a considerate and sensitive lady. She loves all her children very much no matter what they do. For example, when Bart ruined Thanksgiving by setting Lisas centrepiece on fire, Marge still forgave him afterwards. Marge keeps her family together, and although more tired and stressed out than usual sitcom mothers her role is actually quite similar. Marges main characteristics that all people associate with Marge is her tall, blue hair and she always says ummmm BART SIMPSON. Bart is the oldest son of the family and the most mischievous. Barts character was created to be a typical naughty schoolboy. He is constantly getting into trouble and is always playing pranks on people, especially Moe. Bart always rings up Moes Cabin asking to speak to someone, for example, Can I speak to Daily please? First initials, I. P. then Moe says hey everyone listen I. P Daily. and then everyone laughs at him. If you compare Bart to Tod Flanders, his neighbour, Bart looks like the devil. Tod is exactly the opposite to Bart, he is extremely religious, happy, constantly singing hymns in his sleep and he never says anything bad to his parents or friends. Overall Tod seems to be the prefect child. Barts main characteristic that all people associate with his character is his sayings. For example, Eat my shorts! or Dont have a cow man! but his most famous one is hay rumba! He is also well know for the comical lines he writes at the beginning of each episode, for example, I will not sell land in Florida. And I will not teach others to fly. As he writes this we know that these are all things he has done in school and has got into trouble for. This also further increases the shows satirisation of the educational system. LISA SIMPSON. Lisa is the most intelligent member of the family. She enjoys various sorts of activities to do in her spare time. One of which is to play the saxophone. She loves to play it even though Homer hates the noise it makes. Lisa also loves to read and write essays, she has written a number of competition essays and one of which won her and her family a free trip to Washington DC. As well as being an intelligent young girl, Lisa is an A grade student and she hates getting anything lower than an A. She also has a good sense of morals, for example, when Homer was stealing cable or as he put it getting free cable. Lisa was totally against it because it was unethical. Lisas character is not stereotyped as much as other characters in the show, for example, Apu; he is a typical Indian character in the show. He owns a Quickie-mart with an Indian accent. This is a one-dimensional view of an Indian man. Lisa is an eight-year-old girl who has the metal mind of a person twice her age. Lisa has been told that sometimes she is too clever for her own good. In some ways however Lisa plays the part of a typical sitcom daughter, well behaved, and more intelligent than her older brother. MAGGIE SIMPSON. Maggie is the baby of the family and loves them all very much. Even though Maggie is only one year old she has achieved so much. However in many ways she is a stereotypical view of a baby, always sucking on her dummy, and playing. However Maggie is one of the few clever Simpsons. She has learned how to spell her own name on an Etch-A-Sketch, she has wandered around town by herself, shot the richest man in Springfield, and has survived living with bears in the wilderness. However Maggie has still not said her first words. Her main characteristic is the noise she makes when she sucks her dummy, suck suck suck suck. Even though the whole family are very different they all love each other a great deal, which is what gets them though all the difficulties they have come across. The end of each episode has the family resolving their problems and although they are criticised for being dysfunctional I believe that they actually portray a more realistic family unit. A solid family that works through problems together is certainly not something to be criticised especially in this day and age.

Strategically Siting Constructed Wetlands to Target Nitrate Removal Ess

Strategically Siting Constructed Wetlands to Target Nitrate Removal: A GIS Method Applied to an Agricultural Watershed in West Central Indiana Intensification of agricultural practices in the Midwest has led to increased nutrient losses in surface runoff and subsurface drainage, impacting downstream water quality and the problem of hypoxia in the Gulf of Mexico. Nitrate losses are especially significant in heavily tile drained land, characteristic of west central Indiana. Constructed wetlands have been shown to be effective in reducing nitrate loads leaving Midwestern crop land. Strategically targeting sites that intercept high nitrate loads, and sizing the wetlands according to the characteristics of their watersheds, can maximize wetland efficiency while minimizing costs and maintaining productive agriculture. The goals of this work were to develop a methodology for targeted wetland placement to remove nitrate and to estimate the impact of these wetlands in the landscape. Within the study region, 19 locations were found to be suitable for wetland placement, requiring conversion of 0.1% of the watershed. These wetlan ds would intercept 3% of flow from tile-drained lands, removing approximately one percent of all nitrate exported from all tile-drained land in the watershed. Wetland selection was most sensitive to criteria relating to contributing area, exclusion of streams where wetlands could be potentially located, and topography. While this approach efficiently identifies optimal locations for siting wetlands, best management practices in addition to these wetlands are needed to meet water quality goals in the Midwest. Keywords: Constructed wetlands, Nitrate, Geographic Information System (GIS), Water Quality, Wate... ...ould also be minimized. The main goal of this work was to develop a methodology for targeted wetland placement to remove nitrate from tile-drained agricultural lands. The specific objectives were to: 1) Determine suitable wetland sites in an 8-digit HUC in Indiana using GIS methods and wetland siting criteria; 2) Create preliminary wetland designs at each site; and 3) Estimate the nitrate removal provided for each wetland design, using a simple regression-based model. A key aspect of this GIS analysis was calculating the tile-drained contributing area draining to each location, which ensured that these wetlands intercepted large flows and maximized nitrate reduction in the landscape. This watershed-scale approach is critical to efficiently implement best management practices, such as constructed wetlands to reduce nitrate losses from agricultural watersheds.

The Effects of One-Child Policy on Chinese Kinship

Burt Jiang Anthropology 331 4/22/2013 Term Paper The origins of Chinese civilization derive its roots from the Huang-he and Yangtze Rivers. Like other ancient river valley civilizations, these two rivers provided early Chinese settlers with the raw materials necessary to sustain culture and society. Burgeoning from small, scattered clans, autonomous groups of Chinese villages situated around the rivers would in turn become the building blocks of the ancient Chinese dynasties to the modern day, People’s Republic of China.The system of clans became an effective method of identifying one’s own lineage through the maintenance of a single surname throughout the clan. As the social structure of the clan grew, the complex interactions among clan and non-clan members eventually synergized to create China’s own form of kinship. Anthropologists have since come to classify Chinese kinship under the broader term of Sudanese kinship. The Sudanese, and by extension Chinese, ki nship is considered the most complex system with a separate designation for almost every one of ego’s kin based on generation, lineage, relative age, and gender.As observed, the Chinese kinship system already has a strictly defined scheme of kin identification, but the monikers only serve as an outline of China’s kinship system. The true backbone of Chinese kinship draws its source from Confucian ideals, ideals that have been deeply ingrained in Chinese dogma since the late fifth century B. C. Among his teachings of filial piety and ancestor worship, Confucius outlines for the Chinese people the five most basic interactions: interactions between ruler and subject; father and son; elder and younger brother; husband and wife; and between friends.Of the five interactions, the interactions between father-son, and husband-wife, have seen the greatest amount of development and change throughout to course of China’s history. As China exited the feudal age and entered t he modern world as The People’s Republic of China, the two interactions identified experienced considerable changes while maintaining their signature Chinese accent. Feudal China’s departure, and the advent of communist China, has brought forth rapid family reform and ultimately, the initiation of the One-Child Policy. Even in the face of rapid modernization and reform, the trong influences of Confucian ideals and an intrinsic patrilineal descent pattern still characterize Chinese kinship; however, the introduction of the One-Child Policy, and its ramifications, has put stress on the traditional Chinese family structures as well as possibly creating many more problems future generations must solve. Of all the pseudo-religious institutions that took hold in China, Daoism and Zen Buddhism, most notably, the concept of ancestor worship put forth by Confucius is by far the most ubiquitous in Chinese culture and kinship relationships.Defined by the nine agnates, Confucius t ook great efforts to outline the nuclear family as clearly as possible, three generations prior to the ego, the ego, and three generations after the ego. Within the nine agnates, ancestral worship and filial piety became the driving forces that perpetuated kinship interactions in China for generations. Thus forms the cyclical cycle of Chinese kinship, the younger generations are kept in line by the rules of filial piety while the older generation is kept in memory and reverence via ancestral worship.The importance of ancestor worship can be conceptualized and materialized through the complex mourning attire and rituals exhibited by the Chinese people. Much like the suru’ai of Kwaio, individuals in mourning must display no worldly attachment, must not be seen in public, must have abstain from sexual activity, and generally must live a life of detachment throughout the mourning period (Akin March 11). The mourning period is defined by the relationship of the mourner to the indi vidual that has passed away; consequently, the duration of this period can range from three months to three years based on the strength of the bond shared.During a time of mourning, individuals must also wear complementing attire to signify which stage of mourning he/she is in; hence the attire has evolved into the five degrees of mourning attire. Chinese mourning rituals were taken very seriously within the clans and the act of proposing to an individual exhibiting any stage of the five degrees of mourning attire was considered highly immoral and taboo. Rituals of ancestor worship, like mourning ceremonies and attire, serve to underscore the importance of the ancestors to the Chinese people.The sterility, and structure, of the mourning period is an excellent example of the reverence Chinese individuals hold for their deceased kin; to interrupt the transition from individual to ancestor is still considered highly disrespectful and taboo even in modern China. Ancestor worship provide s a broad blanket of allegiance for the Chinese kinship system. The importance of ancestor worship is to keep entire clans together, but the smaller familial units require a force more tenable and exact.Within the nuclear family, Confucius saw the wisdom to conceive of another ideal that complements the notion of ancestor worship, that idea being filial piety. Filial piety, in turn, provides the construct in which the five relationships, outlined earlier, can be practically maintained and perpetuated. Confucius’ relationship of father and son is kept constant by the power of filial piety. Younger generations are taught to respect and heed the advice of their forefathers. Consequently, this interaction creates an incredibly structured kinship system in which obedience is preferential to individuality.The rules defined by filial piety culminated in the written document known as The Great Qing Legal Code, introduced during the Qing Dynasty, 1644 to 1912. This document not only p rovided, in great detail, the laws and codes regarding kinship bonds on all five levels of relationship, but it also included the punishments if those bonds were broken or tested by crime (Jones 29). Criminal activity was therefore punished more severely if the crime committed was within the clan, and further intensified if the offence was committed against a higher ranking individual.The importance of upholding the kinship relations set forth by Confucius can be seen in the Code’s punishment for breaking the first and foremost relationship of ruler and subject. Punishment for breaking China’s most important bond resulted in what is known as: â€Å"The extermination of nine kindreds†. Any individual who commits treason against his/her emperor would be subject to the complete annihilation of his/her nine agnates, effectively erasing that individual’s bloodline (Jones 16).This incredibly overt punishment trickled down, with lesser severity, to the other fou r relationships, and ultimately underlined the importance of loyalty to kin and emperor. Filial piety’s significance is further stressed in the father-son relationship because of China’s early affinity to the patrilineal descent system, echoes from the country’s roots in the clan structure. Since only males can bear and preserve the family surname, loyalty of the son to the father became critical in a patrilineal descent system.In order to ensure the lineage’s continuation, carefully arranged marriages between families would rise as the forefront solution. Chinese kinship, like many other systems, relies on the institution of marriage as bridge between two bodies of people. Recognized in Confucian teachings, a married couple is considered the most basic social unit from which other relationships stem. In Chinese culture, marriages were generally arranged by a matchmaker who would bless the union. After the marriage, the wife would be incorporated into the husband’s family; thus resulting in the importance of the production of sons to keep the family surname.Throughout history, Chinese marriages and kinship revolved around the production of viable sons to carry the family name. Like Kwaio societies, fertility of the mother proved to be of paramount importance when evaluating a marriage relationship (Akin February 20). It is important to take note, however, that while monogamy was the accepted practice, polygamy gained prominence in imperial families that could not produce a healthy male heir, a problem solved also by nurture kinship (Akin January 23).Once married, divorce was possible only if the wife was proved to have engaged in one of these seven offences: failure to observe filial piety to the parent-in-laws, failure to bear a son, consistently vulgar or lewd, harbors jealousy, has a vile disease, gossips too much, or commits a theft. Although unusual to western societies, gossip is viewed as a poison to families and clans because of its inherent proclivity to hyperbole and fabrication. Patrilineal descent’s importance can be clearly observed in marriage rituals as divorce is only possible if the female fails to produce a son or commits other errs.There are, however, three distinct situations in which a wife is guaranteed immunity from a divorce, those three situations being: the wife has no family to return to, the wife has observed a full three year mourning period for her parent-in-law, or if her husband was poor during marriage and is currently wealth. In conjunction with ancestor worship, filial piety, and the structured marriage system, Chinese kinship has developed these three hallmark pillars to safeguard strong kinship bonds of father-son and husband-wife from one generation to the next.Although only briefly mentioned earlier, the wedding ceremonies themselves are a testament to the extravagance and importance of a decision such as marriage to the Chinese people. Categorized by the si x etiquettes, Chinese wedding ceremonies consisted of: the proposal, birthdates, bride price, wedding gifts, arranging the wedding, and the ceremony itself. Each of the six etiquettes involves a highly organized succession of events that would lead to marriage of husband and wife. The first two steps, proposal and birthdates, involve a matchmaker evaluating a potential daughter-in-law for marriage.If the divination rituals, Suan Ming, are positive and both sides of the marriage accept the terms, the next step would be submitting a bride price (Wolf 102). Bride price, or betrothal gifts, is then presented by the matchmaker to the bridegroom’s family completing the pre-wedding rituals. The actual wedding ceremony is somewhat austere in comparison to its preparation. It simply involves, in western society terms, the exchanging of vows and good blessings followed by paying respects to the Jade Emperor, other deities, and each family’s ancestors.Finally, the wedding banquet is the closing event in the marriage process and is often more lively and festive. Traditionally, the groom is responsible for the cost of the wedding invitation, pastries, the banquet invitations, and the wedding itself. Wedding banquets are elaborate and consist usually of five to ten courses, with ingredients such as  shark's fin,  abalone,  lobster,  squab,  sea cucumber,  swift nests,  fish roe  in soup or as decoration on top of a dish to symbolize fertility, and local delicacies (Wolf 88).Customarily, the father of the bride is responsible for the wedding banquet hosted on the bride's side and the alcohol consumed during both banquets. The wedding banquets are two separate banquets: the primary banquet is hosted once at the bride's side, the second banquet, smaller banquet, at the groom's side. While the wedding itself is often based on the couple's choices, the wedding banquets are a gesture of appreciation, to those that have raised the bride and groom, suc h as grandparents and uncles.Additionally, this gesture incorporates the ideas of nurture kinship, in which kinship persists and even thrives beyond the nuclear family. Grandparents, aunts, and uncles, of both sides of the family would often offer help in raising a family’s child in an attempt to establish nurture kinship bonds. These bonds would then be materialized through gift exchange during the wedding banquet and other important family occasions. The two banquets serve also to ensure the relatives on each side meet the relatives on the other side (Wolf 49).Thus out of respect for the elders, wedding banquets are usually done formally and traditionally, which the older generation is thought to be more comfortable with. As one can see, the six etiquettes of the marriage and its accompanying practices come together to create a single cohesive event meant to bring two families of different clan origins together as one. The traditions and conventions of Chinese kinship that have been examined have been kept constant for much of the nation’s history until the late 19th century and early 20th century.As political turmoil and growing dissatisfaction with the incumbent Qing Dynasty rose, the Chinese population made a push towards reform. After two decades of consolidation, dynastic China emerged from the feudal era as The Republic of China in 1912 headed by Sun Yat-sen. During the Nationalist era, Chinese kinship saw a slow movement towards modernity, a topic discussed in other sources but not focused on in this paper (See Hinton and Zarrow). The one exception to the evolution of kinship in China during this period was the residual influence of The Great Qing Legal Code.Although never referred to by name since the fall of the Qing, the collection of codes put forth by China’s forefathers manifested itself as a strict penal code during the Republic era, and would be re-adapted based on socialist law during the People’s Republic era (Jon es 229). Even when the governments representing China adjust to better fit its changing political landscape, the influences of Confucian teachings still resonate deeply in Chinese kinship and culture. Ultimately, the capitalistic ways of Nationalist China began to brew dissatisfaction among the classes as predicted by the rising popularity of Marxist theory at the time.The issues described by Marx, such as class conflict, were only exacerbated by China’s already enormous proletariat population. Eventually, and inevitably, The Republic of China was usurped by the communist oriented People’s Republic of China, headed by Mao Zedong in 1949. Mao’s rise to ascendancy and the subsequent initiation family reform policies such as the One-Child Policy has had tremendous consequences on traditional Chinese kinship structure and maintenance. The communist party’s policies regarding family and kin have persisted into the 21st century with some repercussions already a pparent, and others that have yet to be evaluated.The newly formed People’s Republic of China introduced itself to the modern world as a backward, unsophisticated nation of peasants led by a few intellectuals. Needless to say, the communist party saw prudence in creating a new image for itself. Family size and structure rose to the top of the communist party’s agenda as a target for transformation. In 1979, the Chinese government embarked on an ambitious campaign of market reform following the economic stagnation of the Cultural Revolution. The government saw strict population containment as essential to economic reform and to improvement of living standards.So championed by The State Family Planning Bureau, the One-Child Policy was introduced. In its execution, the Policy did everything the Chinese government hoped for by preventing roughly 100 million child births as of 2009 (Hesketh 1173). Although effective in containing China’s population growth, the One-Ch ild Policy proved to have meaningful impacts in other aspects of Chinese culture, particularly Chinese kinship. The Policy’s repercussions are in direct conflict with China’s oldest tradition of ancestor worship.A ritual that had been a driving force of Chinese kinship since the very beginning of feudal China is now at odds with the policies of modern China. Specifically, the One-Child Policy has created a conundrum known as the four-two-one (referred to as 4:2:1) phenomenon. The phenomenon is the estimated ratio of grandparents to parents to children currently existing in China (Hesketh 1171). Immediately, the most apparent issue is the imbalance of the ratio between grandparents to grandchildren, essentially for every one child there exist four grandparents.This many not seem like an issue to western societies, but China’s enormous population, a result of post-WWII baby boom trends, exacerbates the ratio to a breaking point. Traditional kinship bonds dictate t hat the younger generations must care and nurture for their elders. However with such an unbalanced ratio of individuals between the generations, China’s sons are failing to support their fathers while jeopardizing their own livelihood. Confucius’ signature relationship of father-son is now threatened greatly by the incurred financial burden of China’s youth.Changes in kinship structure and, to a lesser degree, family structure are driven by changes in fertility and mortality. The drastic reduction in fertility has substantially reduced the number of children born to each family, so that the extensive horizontal kinship ties of China’s past have essentially been curtailed (Jiang 128). However, improvements in mortality have brought unprecedented longevity to China’s elderly, and an overlap of generations that has made vertical kinship ties increasingly common (Jiang 129).Ancestor worship is at odds with China’s new agenda of population refor m and containment. The sudden reduction of horizontal kinship bonds and gross amplification of vertical kinship bonds forces China’s newest generation to pick between financially stability, through neglecting their elders, or supporting their elders, through draining their own personal capital. Similar to ancestor worship, the Confucian concepts of filial piety and marriage are also tested by the One-Child Policy.Starting with filial piety, the stipulation that families can only bear one child has put tremendous emphasis on patrilineal descent and the birth of sons. In feudal China, citizens were given the opportunity to produce as many offspring as needed and yet some families still failed to produce sons, and lineages were lost. Now, with only one opportunity, modern Chinese families have put an unprecedented level of importance to a mother’s ability to bear a male child. This in turn critically affects the father-son dynamic established by Confucius.Instead of overt ly obeying one’s parents, male children in China now understand the importance of their position, and exploit it. China’s newest generation of males have exhibited an unrecorded level of sexual, social, and media experimentation, generations of sexual and individual repression are just now starting to be shattered (Fong 1103). Additionally, the One-Child Policy has had mixed impact on the status of females and by extension marriage. With very limited contraception available for women, the One-Child Policy has forced families to prioritize the birth of males over females.This inevitably leads to the marginalization of the female gender in modern China and an incredibly imbalanced gender ratio. However, the results of the Policy on woman’s social status in China are not completely skewed to one, negative aspect. Those women who are kept by their families have just recently seen an unparalleled lift in their social positions and powers. Daughters empowered by the s upport of their parents, with no sons to favor, are able to defy detrimental norms while strategically using ones that give them advantages in the educational system and the job and marriage markets (Fong 1105).Furthermore, divorce rates have never been higher in modern China as a result of the empowered female gender. Women are more freely seeking new relationships and marriages, a notion inconceivable during the height of Confucian marriage practices. Modernity is an atypical force. Traditional kinship relationships and marriage practices of China are not necessarily broken by modern policies, like the One-Child, but they are certainly altered from their ancestral conceptualizations in feudal China. Chinese kinship is one of the most unique and complicated kinship systems ever examined.The kinship bonds established by the Chinese people may appear outwardly strict or even ascetic, but underneath the guise of structure, is an incredibly resilient dogma that still influences kinship in China today. Confucius’ ideas of ancestor worship, filial piety, and marriage all amalgamate to create a system of kinship that has withstood dynasties, regimes, and political parties. The recent challenges presented by the One-Child Policy have certainly put strain on traditional kinship relationships like that of father to son.Yet, the elevation of the female gender and increased fluidity in marriage rituals signify that Chinese kinship is not as stagnant as some anthropologists believe. No matter how much change is imposed on China’s kinship, the voice of Confucius will always permeate families, marriages, siblings, and children. Works Cited Directly used in paper: Akin, David. â€Å"Doubts, Critiques, and Revisions of Kinship Studies. † Anthropology 331. University of Michigan. Ann Arbor, 23 January 2013. Akin, David. â€Å"Totem, Taboo, and Identity (part 1). † Anthropology 331. University of Michigan.Ann Arbor, 11 March 2013. Akin, David.  "Marriage as Exchange. † Anthropology 331. University of Michigan. Ann Arbor, 20 February 2013. Fong, Vanessa L. â€Å"China's One-Child Policy and the Empowerment of Urban Daughters. †Ã‚  American Anthropologist  104. 4 (2002): 1098-109. Print. Jiang, Lin. â€Å"Changing Kinship Structure and Its Implications for Old-Age Support in Urban and Rural China. †Ã‚  Population Studies  49. 1 (1995): 127-45. Print. Jones, William C. The Great Qing Code. Oxford: Clarendon Press; New York: Oxford University Press, 1994 Hesketh, Therese, Li Lu, and Zhu Wei Xing. The Effect of China's One-Child Family Policy after 25 Years. †Ã‚  New England Journal of Medicine  353. 11 (2005): 1171-176. Print. Wolf, Arthur P. , and Chieh-shan Huang. Marriage and Adoption in China: 1845-1945. Stanford: Stanford UP, 1980. Print. Additional Research Hinton, William. Fanshen; a Documentary of Revolution in a Chinese Village. New York: Monthly Review, 1967. Print. Zarrow, Peter Gue. After Empire: The Conceptual Transformation of the Chinese State, 1885-1924. Stanford, CA: Stanford UP, 2012. Print.