1064 Journal of Marriage and Family me before and because our lives did not over- the dynamics of the modernity-tradition inter- lap that they were willing to confess their expe- play by including theoretical themes such as riences and opinions regarding their romantic “confronting tradition with frustration,”“criti- life.Many of them regarded the interview as a cizing tradition,""restricting tradition to private good chance to talk about their life struggles. sphere,”“innovation out of tradition,”and It is likely that having a Ph.D.degree from and "two-way influx of modern-traditional expecta- being affiliated with a prestigious overseas uni- tions by gender."On the basis of the coding,six versity also helped me to gain their trust.It is themes emerged.I then went back to the data also possible that some of my informants might to reexamine these themes.and I consulted new have wanted to impress me with their modern literature related to these themes.Eventually. views.but even if this were the case interviews developed the modern-traditional mosaic always included discussion of the myriad tradi- theoretical framework to conceptualize and link tional aspects of their life as well,such as how the six themes. their parents pressed them to marry and how they I should note here that each theme is based on themselves followed many traditional practices. various informants who once or repeatedly nar- rated the topic.However,my aim in this study Data Analysis was not to quantify their stories in terms of who, how many,or how often interviewees touched I used an interview guide to organize each inter- on a given issue.Likewise,it was not my inten- view.The guide included questions regarding tion,in identifying shared themes,to obscure the women's romantic experiences and views. the variations across their stories.Instead,my and their and important others'(parents,neigh- goal was to understand these women's narra- bors,friends)expectations/pressures regarding tives and to conceptualize,theorize,and explain marriage.Because each informant's story and their struggles and strategies.For interview tran- opinions varied,follow-up questions varied. scripts quoted here,I provide only the English I modified my interview guide once I discov- translations.All names are pseudonyms. ered new information during the interview. For example,once I noticed that the first three informants all discussed the importance of RESULTS compatible family background for a couple,I Parental Pressure added questions related to this issue,which later became a crucial theme in the data analysis. Almost all of my informants reported feel- All interviews were conducted and tran- ing parental pressure to get married,yet they scribed in Chinese.I followed the grounded remained invested in the romantic ideal of theory approach (Charmaz,2008;Strauss “waiting for Mr.Right.”In smaller cities or Corbin,1990)to explore coding categories and rural areas,parents were constantly asked about major themes.In the coding process,I allowed their daughters'marital status and prospects new features to emerge and reconceptualize by family members,neighbors,coworkers, and redirect the study accordingly.When new and acquaintances.This anxiety thus seems to concepts did emerge,I went back to the data and permeate the entire Chinese society. consulted new literature to further reframe the Ajin is from a small city in a neighbor- study.Through this ongoing,reciprocal process, ing province.Her parents were originally from I developed the modern-traditional mosaic Shanghai but were sent down to the rural area approach;specifically,I read the interview during the Cultural Revolution.Ajin's narrative transcripts multiple times,coding them first to shows the importance of her parents in her daily generate initial categories such as "marriage life and her frustration about their intervention pressure,”“age match for marriage,.”“socio- with her romantic life: economic match for marriage,”“conflict,,”and “gender role.”I then checked whether any My mum is so anxious and she is desperate [about my marriagel.Due to that,she may use aggressive codes were missing,could be combined with languages.She let me know that I disappoint her, others,or more effectively divided in two.I make her feel self-abased,make her lose face in thus coded concepts such as“modern,”"tradi- front of people around her,and make her very tional,.”“modernity---tradition coexisting,”and unhappy.This is actually a big blow on me.The "modern-traditional conflict."I further specified fact that I have disappointed my beloved ones and1064 Journal of Marriage and Family me before and because our lives did not over￾lap that they were willing to confess their expe￾riences and opinions regarding their romantic life. Many of them regarded the interview as a good chance to talk about their life struggles. It is likely that having a Ph.D. degree from and being affiliated with a prestigious overseas uni￾versity also helped me to gain their trust. It is also possible that some of my informants might have wanted to impress me with their modern views, but even if this were the case interviews always included discussion of the myriad tradi￾tional aspects of their life as well, such as how their parents pressed them to marry and how they themselves followed many traditional practices. Data Analysis I used an interview guide to organize each inter￾view. The guide included questions regarding the women’s romantic experiences and views, and their and important others’ (parents, neigh￾bors, friends) expectations/pressures regarding marriage. Because each informant’s story and opinions varied, follow-up questions varied. I modified my interview guide once I discov￾ered new information during the interview. For example, once I noticed that the first three informants all discussed the importance of compatible family background for a couple, I added questions related to this issue, which later became a crucial theme in the data analysis. All interviews were conducted and tran￾scribed in Chinese. I followed the grounded theory approach (Charmaz, 2008; Strauss & Corbin, 1990) to explore coding categories and major themes. In the coding process, I allowed new features to emerge and reconceptualize and redirect the study accordingly. When new concepts did emerge, I went back to the data and consulted new literature to further reframe the study. Through this ongoing, reciprocal process, I developed the modern–traditional mosaic approach; specifically, I read the interview transcripts multiple times, coding them first to generate initial categories such as “marriage pressure,” “age match for marriage,” “socio￾economic match for marriage,” “conflict,” and “gender role.” I then checked whether any codes were missing, could be combined with others, or more effectively divided in two. I thus coded concepts such as “modern,” “tradi￾tional,” “modernity–tradition coexisting,” and “modern–traditional conflict.” I further specified the dynamics of the modernity–tradition inter￾play by including theoretical themes such as “confronting tradition with frustration,” “criti￾cizing tradition,” “restricting tradition to private sphere,” “innovation out of tradition,” and “two-way influx of modern–traditional expecta￾tions by gender.” On the basis of the coding, six themes emerged. I then went back to the data to reexamine these themes, and I consulted new literature related to these themes. Eventually, I developed the modern–traditional mosaic theoretical framework to conceptualize and link the six themes. I should note here that each theme is based on various informants who once or repeatedly nar￾rated the topic. However, my aim in this study was not to quantify their stories in terms of who, how many, or how often interviewees touched on a given issue. Likewise, it was not my inten￾tion, in identifying shared themes, to obscure the variations across their stories. Instead, my goal was to understand these women’s narra￾tives and to conceptualize, theorize, and explain their struggles and strategies. For interview tran￾scripts quoted here, I provide only the English translations. All names are pseudonyms. Results Parental Pressure Almost all of my informants reported feel￾ing parental pressure to get married, yet they remained invested in the romantic ideal of “waiting for Mr. Right.” In smaller cities or rural areas, parents were constantly asked about their daughters’ marital status and prospects by family members, neighbors, coworkers, and acquaintances. This anxiety thus seems to permeate the entire Chinese society. Ajin is from a small city in a neighbor￾ing province. Her parents were originally from Shanghai but were sent down to the rural area during the Cultural Revolution. Ajin’s narrative shows the importance of her parents in her daily life and her frustration about their intervention with her romantic life: My mum is so anxious and she is desperate [about my marriage]. Due to that, she may use aggressive languages. She let me know that I disappoint her, make her feel self-abased, make her lose face in front of people around her, and make her very unhappy. This is actually a big blow on me. The fact that I have disappointed my beloved ones and