China woman fights with husband over child taking her surname, triggers fierce debate online, attracts 44 million views
- Before wedding all agree on wife’s name for child, minds change after birth
- More Chinese women enjoy independence, taking mother’s name increases
The story of a married couple in China whose relationship hit the rocks after their child was given the mother’s surname has gone viral on mainland social media.
The husband and wife, from Sichuan province in southwestern China, had been arguing about the name of their first son since he was born in August 2023.
Constant wrangling has brought them to the brink of divorce, Toutiao News reported.
The 27-year-old wife, Xiangjia, said she did not have a particularly strong desire for their son to take her surname, but her mother who insisted on carrying on the family line demanded it.
Before Xiangjia married more than three years ago, both families had agreed to use her family name for their first child regardless of gender.
As soon as her son was born, she put the name on his birth certificate. Since then, the relationship with her 34-year-old husband has been fraught.
