Foreign media pointed out that every weekend, strolling through Shanghai People's Square, you will be surprised to find hundreds of spouse search notices posted all over the corner, most of these notices are from parents, looking for a wishful husband for their unmarried daughter in her 20s. Their content, as straightforward as a second-hand car advertisement, lists the girls' age, education, salary and height in detail. According to a July 30 report on the website of the Wall Street Journal, the marriage rate in contemporary China, especially in the bustling metropolises, is declining year by year.
In other countries, it may simply be a demographic issue. However, in China, the stability of the family is the cornerstone of society, and its stability is directly related to the harmony and tranquility of the whole society. Therefore, the issue of remaining men and women has risen to a crisis that touches the nerves of the whole country. In his book "Leftover Women: A New Chapter of Gender Inequality in China", renowned sociologist Hong Lida profoundly pointed out that China is actively pursuing a "state-level action" to urge women to enter the marriage hall and buy a marriage house as soon as possible, which undoubtedly poses a lot of pressure on their careers and financial autonomy.
Women who choose to marry later are often criticized in the media, their career achievements are trivialized, and single life is portrayed horribly. These public opinions have invisibly sent a message to young women: if they do not find a partner quickly after academic success, they are destined to be abandoned by society, especially at the age of 27, when "youth is no longer there".
Although marriage is valued in most societies, it is rare outside of China to be so closely tied to real estate. In China, getting married often means having to buy a matrimonial home, not rent it. Even though housing prices in big cities such as Beijing are dozens of times higher than annual per capita income, the urban housing ownership rate still exceeds 85 percent.
Hung's research found that Chinese couples often have uneven financial arrangements when buying a property. Most of the women she interviewed were highly educated and in stable jobs, but most chose to register their properties in their husbands' names, and only a few insisted on signing their title deeds.
On the one hand, this is considered unromantic, and on the other hand, the legal formalities are cumbersome. In China's gender perception, homeownership is closely linked to male identity, and most women are reluctant to challenge this tradition. As a result, about 80% of men in China's largest cities become co-owners of properties.
However, this arrangement undoubtedly increases the risk of marriage breakdown for women. Women who rush into marriage because they are worried about the loss of youth suffer even more. Although Hong Lida mainly focuses on urban single women, in fact, it is not those single women who have successful careers who are really "left" by society, but millions of single men in rural areas.
With the rapid growth of China's economy and the advancement of women's status, rural women who might otherwise be the partners of rural men have moved to the cities, leaving these men alone in the countryside. If we were to paint a comprehensive picture of the current state of China's marriage market, the plight of these men should not be overlooked.