ABSTRACT
The Chinese state, borrowing a Western practice, now nonetheless attempts to regulate the formation of families. To obtain a marriage license, both the bride and groom need proof of previous marital status (single, divorced, or widowed) from their work units or residence committees, as well as a medical exam certificate and a photo. Work units or residence committees during the reforms were still supposed to be consulted formally before a couple could marry, but their only legal function was to certifY that the applicant was not making an illegal second marriage (chonghun).23 Bureaucrats could not easily stop marriages----as they once claimed power to dQ------Qn other grounds.
