Recently, experts have new advice.
Economist Ren Zeping, suggested on social platforms -
"The legal age of marriage has been lowered to 18"
Not surprisingly, the topic quickly rushed to the top of the hot search, arousing heated public opinion.
The opportunity for this proposal was the recent release of a set of statistics by the Civil Affairs Bureau:
The number of marriage registrations in mainland China was 13,469,300, and the number of marriage registrations fell to 7,636,000 in 2021, falling for eight consecutive years.
Uncle Yu specially went to check the expert's original Weibo, and his suggestion was not a lone entry, but a set of combination punches.
It also mentions proposals to increase the supply of housing, provide subsidies for the purchase of houses, reduce the cost of childbirth/parenting/education, promote gender equality and childbearing friendliness, and guarantee the reproductive rights of single women.
On the whole, it doesn't seem so unreasonable.
After the fermentation of public opinion, Ren Zeping also added some foreign data to prove that his suggestions were grounded.
However, even so, "lowering the legal age of marriage and increasing the marriage rate" still caused great controversy.
Most netizens vent their emotions as always.
There aren't many issues that are really discussed.
In essence, netizens are actually venting their resistance to the matter of "being asked to get married".
Today, Uncle Yu wants to put aside his anger for a while.
Through an ancient drama from 11 years ago, let's discuss with you the real reason why we choose not to get married.
Only by knowing the reasons for the decisions made can we better shout out to others——
"Not Married"
Do not marry
This Japanese drama has only 11 episodes.
Look at this poster that reveals a non-mainstream atmosphere, and the sense of age suddenly appears.
The cast on the poster, casually take out one, and it is definitely "top" today.
Yuki Tenkai, recognized as the Queen of Japan.
According to anecdotal rumors, men all over Japan should be grateful that Yuki Tenkai is a straight woman.
After all, there is no maiden in this world who the queen does not bend.
Miho Kanno, the male god harvester, the woman who conquered Takashi Kashiwahara and Masato Sakai.
In addition to her beauty, her acting skills are also good, and she has won the Japan Award for Best Actress six times.
Hiroshi Tamaki, the familiar "Prince of Chiaki".
As a Japanese first-line film, television, and song actor, his charm goes without saying.
Three recognized male gods and goddesses, in this drama, have become older single men and women.
They cool said they would never get married.
Chiharu Tanaka (Miho Kanno), about to be 35 years old, is a contract worker at a travel agency.
The reason why she didn't get married wasn't that she didn't want to get married.
In her opinion, marriage will come one day.
But what day it will be, she herself has no answer.
It can only be expressed in general terms -
"If the Son of True Destiny appears"
Just wait and do not attack, the result can be imagined.
Since breaking up with her ex at the age of 30, Chiharu has never been in a relationship again.
Until the ex brought his fiancée to the travel agency to consult about the honeymoon trip, Chiharu suddenly panicked.
"Once a woman passes thirty, she must seriously find her final destination."
Her colleague's words were like alarm bells beating on her, and Chiharu felt that she was going to work hard.
She began to look for "potential objects" in her life.
By chance, Chiharu met an old classmate.
After recalling the past, the male classmate suddenly mentioned the agreement between the two when they were teenagers-
"If we're all single at the age of thirty-five, we'll get married."
These words swayed in Chiharu's heart, and he had the idea that he could be entrusted with it for the rest of his life.
Unexpectedly, just as Chiharu was about to reveal his heart, the male classmate quickly drew a line.
Even if they get married, the male classmate still wants to find a young girl.
Frustrated, Chiharu pinned her hopes on a blind date.
However, even if all the conditions were suitable, Chiharu still had no way to make a decision.
She didn't want to get married for the sake of getting married.
She needs to figure out what marriage is for.
Haruko Kirishima (Yuki Tenkai), a 44-year-old garden designer.
Unlike Chiharu, she has no interest in getting married.
A friend kindly helped her introduce the object, but she flatly refused -
As long as you put in the affection for your work, you will definitely be rewarded
Absolutely no betrayal
This is the best companion
As soon as the helmet is put on, the accelerator is stepped on.
No one could refuse the back seat of her locomotive.
Haruko on the locomotive is the most sassy sister in all of Japan.
However, Haruko could never have imagined that even her work would betray herself.
Reason for betrayal - older singleness.
Absolutely ironic.
So, Haruko was transferred to be the manager of a flower shop.
The leisure time in the flower shop finally gave her time to take a break from work and stop and think.
She gradually found that she refused to fall in love because she was afraid to leave the single state.
The uninhibited freedom that comes with being single has become a constraint to some extent.
She needs to figure out why she chose to be single.
Junpei Kudo (Hiroshi Tamaki), a 32-year-old flower shop worker.
In the marriage market, flat without stable jobs is indeed not a "performance stock".
Chunping knows this.
"If you don't grasp your own life well, how can you carry the lives of others?"
Junpei used to be a painter.
Since his paintings could not be recognized by the market, he gave up and now works in a florist just to make a living.
Chunping has a junior sister who admires him, has a successful career, and has always wanted to "save" Chunping and revitalize the fallen senior.
But for Chunping, he is not good enough and is worried about disappointing the other party.
His reasons for not marrying are obvious.
Unlike women, men are given the responsibility of "providing for their families."
This is the root of his refusal to confront his heart.
Three people, three diametrically incompatible views of marriage.
At the end of the day, they have much more to get out of than just a marital dilemma.
As Chiharu and Haruko said -
In fact, everyone has their own path
Although sometimes confused
But that's just not seeing the direction
When deciding to take the first step
We are just beginning to see our new direction
In essence, marriage is life.
What exactly are we anxious about when we talk about marriage?
When it comes to marriage, this issue will inevitably be raised.
This drama tries to explore the answer to this question from the perspective of contemporary people's view of marriage and love.
First, family pressure.
The marriage of children is the top concern of all parents.
In the eyes of parents, marriage is the guarantee of children's future life.
For many people who insist on not getting married, parental expectations are the most important source of stress.
Even though Chiharu lives in a relatively relaxed family, parents still worry about their daughter's marriage.
Especially Chiharu's sister already has a marriage partner.
My sister felt even more stressed.
Older, unmarried, and unstable at work, Chiharu has hit almost every lightning point.
Hearing her family discuss behind their backs about whether she could marry was very unpleasant.
"You are also not small, and you will have children in the future."
These words are like a spell, but if the heart is weak, I am afraid that the value of life will be doubted.
What's more cruel is that out of love for their children, parents often add a sentence, don't be too burdensome, just work hard.
But can marriage really be obtained through hard work?
Not necessarily.
Secondly, public opinion pressure.
Marriage seems to be a social requirement for adults.
In the eyes of many people, once they are over thirty, men can only become independent if they get married and start a family.
And women, after thirty, became overnight food in convenience stores.
Both men and women, if you choose not to marry, you will be classified as an outlier.
Haruko was stereotyped by the headquarters because she chose not to marry her life, and she could not complete the design work for the audience for family customers.
Even the works she designed can win the grand prize of national competitions.
When Chunping's friend learned of his status as a worker, his first reaction was also directly related to marriage.
Are you still working at this age?
You can't get married if you work part-time
The prejudice that "if you don't get married, you don't deserve a good life" is deeply ingrained in the hearts of this group of people.
Marriage is forced to be the whole of their lives.
No one has ever considered anything else.
Finally, old age security.
Companionship is an important reason why many people choose to get married.
Chiharu's colleagues and friends choose to get married one by one, and they gradually have no time to take care of Chiharu as they are in the family.
This made Chiharu's uneasiness in her heart even worse.
If her life is still in place, then there is only one possibility in her life.
One day I will die alone
I don't have anything to be proud of
It's just that I gradually grow older and become an old lady
Die alone
Unlike Chiharu's fear of loneliness in old age, Haruko's problem is even more imminent.
She developed uterine fibroids.
It's not a serious illness, but it also requires surgery.
At this time, learning that she needs to have her uterus removed, Haruko falls into a state of confusion.
She feared that she would no longer be a "woman" after the operation.
This pressure of not being able to control life is the most real problem.
Film and television may dramatize these issues, but in fact, everyone who insists on not getting married needs to look at it as a yardstick.
Many people's perception of marriage comes from the Internet or family and friends.
The misfortune of their marriage more or less affects personal choices.
In addition, young people are now inventing a clearer sense of independence.
Being single for them is gradually detached from social relationships.
Instead, it becomes a self-controlling lifestyle.
Indeed, it is very tempting.
But on the other hand, we also need to face the consequences of not getting married.
The premise of self-control is to know what kind of life you choose.
Regarding the topic of marriage, Chiharu's mother in the play has a very good sentence -
Getting married is just a milestone
After marriage, daily life still has to go on
So I hope your significant other
It's someone who can spend ordinary days with you
Marriage is not magic
No one is going to be married
Just live a happy life ever since
Marriage has never been a lifesaver.
People are not reborn by choosing to get married.
Nor will you fall into hell if you don't get married.
Getting married is just a life choice.
One of the leading actors of this drama, Yuki Tenkai himself is also an "unmarried family".
As the first female artist in Japan to openly admit that she is unmarried, Yuki Tenkai once said-
"Please rest assured, I will not get married."
Therefore, Yuki Tenkai is always asked about marriage in variety shows.
In her view, those issues were not necessary to be discussed.
She chose not to get married because she felt that marriage was troublesome, and she desperately needed space to be alone.
Will anyone criticize Yuki Tenkai's life?
No.
Instead, she is often seen as a representative of independent women.
In the era of sweet actresses in the Japanese entertainment industry, 28-year-old Yuki Tenkai has just debuted.
Prior to this, she was the first actor in the history of the Takarazuka Opera Company to become a top male performer.
As the name suggests, male servitude is when women play male roles.
At that time, Yuki Tenkai was known as a once-in-a-century male player and had a large number of avid fans.
But she chose to quit at the most brilliant time, because she only has one life and she still has an actor dream.
Then, Yuki Tenkai fell into a career trough, and the most famous actor's career was to play the role of Mitsuji in "The Tale of Genji of Thousand-Year Love".
Although in the eyes of the Japanese audience, there is no light source clan after Yuki Tenkai.
But she is still not satisfied, she is still in her comfort zone.
Until the hit of "The Queen's Classroom", Yuki Tenkai's queen temperament was highlighted, allowing the audience to see a different Japanese actress.
Then, her path as an actress was finally opened, creating one classic independent female character after another.
Yuki Tenkai's achievements have nothing to do with whether or not she is married.
Her every choice follows her heart and respects the meaning of life.
Compared with how to live a life that belongs only to you, whether you get married and when you get married becomes less important.
As Yuki Tenkai said in response to fans -
"Please cheer for yourself like you cheer for me, your life will be very exciting."
The decline in the marriage rate is indeed worth paying attention to.
Compared with the wave of "all-staff marriage" in China, Japanese young people seem to have reached a "reconciliation" with this matter.
In Japan, if you choose not to get married, no one will "urge marriage".
It is even possible to find a group of like-minded partners who would rather immerse themselves in their own world than connect with the outside world.
What emerged was the initiative of Japanese merchants looking for ways to meet the needs of singles.
One-person restaurant, single KTV...
Intimate service, there is simply no room for singles to think about loneliness.
The reasons why more and more people choose not to marry have been clearly written in the statements of experts at the beginning.
When the cause is clearly visible, but it is difficult to change it for the time being.
Experts have suggested that changing policies and laws to increase marriage rates will have no practical benefit other than sparking outrage among netizens.
When persecution has limited effect, it is time to think about whether young people should be given more respect.
To borrow a passage from the sociology teacher in the play, to end this article——
Marriage is just an institution
But because of this system, the number of people who are at the mercy of them is innumerable
But even without this bond called marriage
Having love can also build a family
Since there are people with the same heart
And why be bound by the system