雙語閱讀：在傳統與變革中艱難尋找真愛

摘要：這位來自上海的上班族雖然已經31歲，卻還是一張娃娃臉。談到結婚問題，她表示正處於親友的巨大壓力之下。但許小姐說，傳統的中國家庭中，丈夫的社會地位要高於妻子。對於高教育程度、高收入的城市女性來說，找到合適的男人實在太難了。

Xu Jiajie has gone on countless blind dates and to numerous match-making events over the past five years in search of a husband.

At 31, the baby-faced office worker from Shanghai is under enormous pressure from family and friends to get married. But the right man is hard to find, she says, a big issue for urban, educated and well-paid Chinese women in a society where the husband's social status is traditionally above the wife's.

在過去5年中，許佳潔(音譯)爲找到好一位丈夫參加了無數次相親和婚戀活動。

這位來自上海的上班族雖然已經31歲，卻還是一張娃娃臉。談到結婚問題，她表示正處於親友的巨大壓力之下。但許小姐說，傳統的中國家庭中，丈夫的社會地位要高於妻子。對於高教育程度、高收入的城市女性來說，找到合適的男人實在太難了。

在傳統與變革中艱難尋找真愛

"My parents have introduced every bachelor they know," said Xu, who earns double the average wage in Shanghai. "Half of the bachelors I met are quiet and never go out. Outgoing men don't need blind dates."

許小姐的工資是上海市民平均收入的兩倍，她說：“我的父母把他們認識的單身男子全都介紹給我，但在我見過面的單身漢中，有一半人十分內向，很少出門。常出門聚會的人不需要相親。”

As couples celebrate the "Qixi" festival on Tuesday, the Chinese equivalent of Valentine's Day, Xu and millions of women like her face stark choices as long-held ideas about matrimonial hierarchy run up against economic and social changes sweeping the world's most populous country.

當一對對戀人週二歡度中國“七夕”情人節時，數以百萬計的女性卻和許小姐一樣面臨着艱難抉擇。在這個全球人口最多的國家中，長久沿襲的婚姻等級制度正遭遇到席捲全國的經濟社會劇變。

The term "shengnu" - directly translated as "leftover women" - was coined to refer to professional women who have not married by their late 20s.

社會上還流傳着“剩女”一詞，指的是那些將近30歲還沒結婚的職業女性。

"Chinese people often think males should be higher in a relationship in every sense, including height, age, education and salary," Ni Lin, who hosts a popular match-making television show in Shanghai, told Reuters.

上海電視臺著名相親節目主持人倪琳告訴路透社記者：“中國人總認爲在婚姻關係中，男性處處都要高女性一籌，包括身高、年齡、教育水平和工資收入。”

"This leads to a phenomenon in which A-grade men marry B-grade women, B-grade men marry C-grade women and C-grade men marry D-grade women. Only A-grade women and D-grade men can't find partners."

“這導致一等男人娶二等女人，二等男人娶三等女人，三等男人娶四等女人，只有一等女人和四等男人沒人要。”

In Beijing, more than a third of women in their late 20s and 30s are looking for husbands, according to the dating website . Media reports say there may be as many as 500,000 "leftover women" in the capital.

婚戀交友網站“世紀佳緣”稱，北京市三十歲上下的女性中，有超過三分之一的人還沒有男朋友。有媒體報道說北京的“剩女”可多達50萬。

There are plenty of men to go round among China's nearly 1.4 billion people but social status can conspire against single professional woman once again.

中國人口近14億，想找個丈夫並不難，但考慮到社會地位，單身職業女性的選擇就不那麼多了。

China's population is more tilted towards men than in many countries due to the government's one-child policy and a cultural preference for boys. The latest census in 2011 showed there were twice as many single men born in the 1970s as women of the same age.

政府制定計劃生育政策，中國文化傳統又偏愛男孩，導致男性人口多於女性人口，男女比例之大比很多國家都嚴重。2011年的最新人口普查顯示，20世紀70年代出生的同齡人中，單身男性的數量是單身女性的兩倍。

But unlike "leftover women", these "shengnan" or "leftover men" often live in lower-tier cities and do not make much money.

但同“剩女”不一樣，這些“剩男”往往住在二三線城市，掙的工資也不高。

The Shanghai city government tries to help women like Xu by arranging regular match-making events. One in May attracted 20,000 single men and women.

上海市政府定期舉辦相親活動，幫助像許小姐一樣的女性擺脫單身。曾有2萬名單身男女參加了五月舉辦的婚博會。

Lucy Wang, a 32-year-old Chinese language teacher who attended the event, said all she could find were playboy types or momma's boys.

露西·王是一名32歲的漢語教師，她參加了相親活動後說，見到的男性不是花花公子就是那些過分依賴媽媽的乖兒子。

"I sometimes wonder if there is something wrong with me," she said. "Twenty thousand people and yet I can't find anyone I like."

她說：“有時我都懷疑自己是不是有毛病，兩萬人中居然連一個我喜歡的人都找不到。”