This story ran yesterday in China Daily, but I only saw it today:

Criticized by some as a harlot but canonized by
others as a charming expecting mother, a Chinese blogger is stirring a lot of
on-line debate because she’s not married.

"Ground Melon Pig", as she calls herself, has decided to become a single
mother after breaking up with her boyfriend. Her blog, titled "Words to my
Baby", is filled with cute little poems to her unborn child whom she calls
‘Piggy’.

Reaction to her writings
has been varied and abundant. Since she started writing in August, 600,000
viewers of her blog have left postings. The postings show many people still have
hard-held moral beliefs about single parenthood while others are embracing more
liberal attitudes.

The massive number of postings, most of which offer well-intended advise and
opinion, indicates China’s growing tolerance of diverse opinions.

   Those "hard-held moral beliefs" would be old-fashioned Confucian notions of family propriety.  But, as I tried to argue in the previous post, I do not think it is necessary and inevitable that a Confucian world view has to be critical of "Ground Melon Pig."  Maybe her boyfriend was a jerk and she is opening a way to a better life for her and her child.  Because she is giving birth single does not mean she will always be single.  And if she does remain single, she may be able to create a sufficiently dense network of loving relationships to support the child.   

      What matters is not mindlessly copying a formalistic social expectation of a "good family."  What matters is performing the daily tasks of love and care that raising a child requires, something that can be done singly or in a tradition man-woman marriage.

    It is worth noting that, on this score, Chinese law does not work against single mothers:

The Population and Family Planning Law stipulates children of unmarried women
have the same rights and enjoy the same treatment as offspring of married women,
said Wu Changzhen, a professor with the China University of Political Science
and Law.

"People should respect unmarried women’s right to have babies."said Xia
Xueluan, a sociology professor with Beijing University.

  Yes, we should not pre-judge her capacities to make a good life for her child.   It is quite easy to imagine that she will do fine, and also easy to image that some traditional family situations are not good for children.

    So, good luck Ground Melon Pig!