Happily Married to a Chinese National

Practical Tips on Chinese-Foreign Relationships

By: Henry Wong, Frederic J. A. L. Lampron, Gerald R. Andersen, W. Jason Reagin, Nicholas T. Little, Calipe Chong, Daniel H. Zimmerman, Samuel H. J. White, Kevin Yap, Christopher D. Allen

Narrated by: Virtual Voice

Happily Married to a Chinese National is ideal for those in cross-cultural or bi-national relationships, though it is also relevant for anyone in any romantic relationship. In this book, eight of the nine contributors have been married to their Chinese spouse for more than ten years. Written from a foreigner's perspective, these spouses hail from the U.S., the U.K., Singapore, New Zealand, Malaysia, and Canada. The book focuses on maintaining a relationship rather than developing one, with each essay beginning with a brief account of how the writer met their Chinese spouse before quickly moving on to practical tips for sustaining their bi-national relationship.

The common difficulties married couples face include money, sex, communication, responsibilities, and appearance, among others. However, marriage doesn't have to be a challenging ordeal. Bi-national or interracial relationships can be enriching, much like moving to a new country broadens one's horizons. Marriage, especially an interracial or bi-national union, requires effort and love, encouraging couples not to take things for granted. The contributors address multiple issues in marriage, particularly in interracial and bi-national contexts, and share their extensive experience in making cross-cultural marriages work. Topics covered include intercultural communication, conflict resolution, cultural differences, interacting with in-laws and relatives, raising children, living in a neutral third country, love and intimacy, and finances.