✨ What’s a good man worth in China’s marriage market?（在中国的婚恋市场里...）
💬 A viral social-media post reveals uncomfortable realities（一则刷屏的社媒帖子照见尴尬现实）（原文来自经济学人[1]）
🔥 段落 1
[EN] EARLIER THIS month, when Yun Chichi posted on Xiaohongshu, a social-media app, about an eligible bachelor looking to marry, she listed his many good qualities. The man had a car and a steady job in a hospital. His parents were taken care of with good retirement funds. He did not smoke or drink, could cook and was mild-mannered. He was a total catch. Theoretically, if she wanted this man to marry into her family (an unusual arrangement), how much should she pay for him on the marriage market in China, she asked?
[CN] 本月早些时候，Yun Chichi 在社交平台小红书（Xiaohongshu）发帖，替一位想结婚的适婚单身汉“征婚”，把他的优点列得明明白白：有车，在医院有份稳定工作；父母也有不错的养老保障；不抽烟不喝酒，会做饭，性格温和。照理说，这人就是十足的香饽饽。她还理论上追问：如果她想让这个男人入赘到自己家（这种做法并不常见），那在中国的婚恋市场上，她该“出价”多少？
🔥 段落 2
[EN] The real catch was that she was actually describing herself. But before she revealed as much, responses to the viral post flooded in. They said the suitor would be worth many millions of yuan, or suitable for a hospital director’s daughter. Once the truth came out, her post was quickly deleted. It laid bare an uncomfortable reality: the qualities that made the mystery man a marvel are expected of women.
[CN] 真正的反转在于：她描述的“男人”其实是她自己。可在她揭晓之前，这条爆红帖子已经引来海量评论——大家说这位求婚者身价得“上百万、上千万人民币”，或者至少配得上医院院长的女儿。等真相摊开，她很快删帖。这一下把一层窗户纸暴露无遗：那些让“神秘男人”显得惊艳的品质，正是社会对女性令人尴尬的现实——很多人被默认必须具备这些条件，才算“合格”。
🔥 段落 3
[EN] Throughout Chinese history, love has been transactional. Traditionally, matchmakers would consider family status, wealth and mores. In some rural areas, bride prices are still paid to this day. But after Mao Zedong died in 1976, Chinese people became increasingly free to choose the person they wanted to spend their life with. By 2001, less than 12% of people were willing to marry someone they did not love, according to local research by Liu Wenrong of the Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences. But romance is increasingly forgotten in the face of more practical considerations. Today, 25% of men and 23.6% of women in Shanghai say they are happy to marry someone they do not love.
[CN] 纵观中国历史，爱情常带着交易性色彩。过去，媒人撮合时会掂量门第、财富与风俗；一些农村地区直到今天仍有给彩礼的习惯。1976 年毛泽东（Mao Zedong）去世后，人们在婚姻选择上逐渐更自由。上海社会科学院（Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences）的刘文荣（Liu Wenrong）等本地研究显示：到 2001 年，愿意和不爱的人结婚的比例已低于 12%。但在更强的现实考量面前，浪漫正在被挤到一旁：如今在上海，25% 的男性和 23.6% 的女性表示，哪怕不爱，也可以接受结婚。
🔥 段落 4
[EN] China’s economic slowdown may explain some of the shift. Having a degree no longer guarantees a good job, and as of November the youth unemployment rate was 16.9%. Many families expect a groom to own a home, so economic woes hurt the marriage prospects of many. In such an environment, nervous youngsters tread carefully. In Shanghai, about half of young unmarried women say they would not tie the knot with someone unless their parents approved of their choice.
[CN] 中国的经济放缓可能解释了这种变化的一部分：学历不再保证好工作；截至 11 月，青年失业率为 16.9%。不少家庭希望新郎必须有房，经济压力随之压低了许多人的婚配前景。在这种氛围里，年轻人更谨慎；在上海，大约一半未婚年轻女性表示，除非父母认可，否则不会和某人结婚。
🔥 段落 5
[EN] Many avoid the social and financial pressures of the marriage market altogether. In the first quarter of 2025, only 1.8m couples registered to get married, a year-on-year decrease of approximately 8.1%. Among those aged 25-29, the unmarried rate is over 50%.
[CN] 也有人干脆绕开婚恋市场的社会与经济压力。2025 年第一季度，只有 180 万对伴侣登记结婚，同比同比下降约 8.1%。在 25—29 岁人群中，未婚比例已超过 50%。
🔥 段落 6
[EN] This worries the government, as almost all children in China are born in wedlock. On January 19th it said that the birth rate was at levels not seen since 1949: 5.63 per 1,000 people (the death rate is 8.04 per 1,000 people). Officials want celebration, not lamentation.
[CN] 这让政府感到担忧，因为中国几乎所有孩子都在婚内出生。1 月 19 日，官方称出生率已降至 1949 年以来未见的水平：每千人 5.63（而死亡率为每千人 8.04）。官员希望社会把它当作值得庆祝的事实，而非沉溺于哀叹。
🔥 重点词汇对照（20–25 个）
- • eligible bachelor — 适婚单身汉
- • marry into her family — 入赘
- • uncomfortable reality — 令人尴尬的现实
- • practical considerations — 现实考量
- • economic slowdown — 经济放缓
- • youth unemployment rate — 青年失业率
- • marriage prospects — 婚配前景
- • year-on-year decrease — 同比下降
🔖 引用链接
[1] 经济学人: https://www.economist.com/china/2026/01/22/whats-a-good-man-worth-in-chinas-marriage-market
