Not from any book in particular, mostly from hearing stories from older Chinese (60-80+ year-olds, mostly diaspora in Malaysia, Singapore, and U.S., though also

Not from any book in particular, mostly from hearing stories from older Chinese (60-80+ year-olds, mostly diaspora in Malaysia, Singapore, and U.S., though also one or two younger mainlanders[1]), and reading various articles on the internet, plus Wikipedia to help piece things together. I did take one or two Chinese culture classes in college, but that was long ago and it would be hard to untangle what I learned then from what I've learned since then. Here's an example I just Googled which I don't remember ever reading before but echos what I said almost exactly: > Like other Chinese, Hakka practice surname exogamy. Marriage traditionally was arranged, often village exogamous, and also patrilocal. Hakka marriage ceremonies suggest the transfer of women from one family to another and the incorporation of women into their husband's household and lineage rather than the establishment of bonds between two families. Wives are included in ancestral worship of their husband's lineage. Many Hakka claim that polygynous marriages were rare among the Hakka, yet until recently polygynous marriages were found among poor Hakka villagers in the New Territories of Hong Kong. -- https://www.everyculture.com/Russia-Eurasia-China/Hakka-Marriage-and-Family.html https://www.everyculture.com/Russia-Eurasia-China/Hakka-Marr... Hardly a reputable source (seems like it was pulled from an older Wikipedia article), but such agreement would seem like an unlikely coincidence. A bibliography is provided at https://www.everyculture.com/Russia-Eurasia-China/Hakka.html https://www.everyculture.com/Russia-Eurasia-China/Hakka.html [1] Some aspects of traditional Chinese culture are better preserved outside China, as the Cultural Revolution literally and figuratively killed off parts of the cultural memory. Nonetheless, the reverse is also true; some aspects of the culture are preserved in the mainland but not in the diaspora. Perhaps only the historians really have the full story, even for relatively modern (e.g. early 20th century) practices.