Liu Li, 29, holds a doctorate in law. She works at China's
highest academic organization, and has a tight daily schedule:
revising essays, reading, providing legal consultations for
companies and translating books. In order to get a state
scholarship to study abroad next year, she must pass the Public
English Test System (PETS) exam. Liu's boyfriend of five years
works for a lawyer's office and earns a good salary. Wanting a
grand finale to their marathon courtship, he proposed to Liu
recently. But after some soul searching, she broke up with him. "I
have so many things to do, and I am happy with my single life.
There's no need to talk about marriage," she told him.
Looking back five or ten years, such a phenomenon would have
been unimaginable. But in today's Chinese metropolitan areas like
Beijing and Shanghai, a large number of well-educated and well-paid
white-collar female workers are enjoying a comfortable life as
singles, and they intend to stay that way.
Economic independence and social tolerance
Family ethics have always been paramount in China. Being a wife
is traditionally considered a woman's main role and the quality of
marriage is closely connected with happiness. In the past, single
and divorced women were socially snubbed, but this has begun to
change.
In Beijing in 1990, the number of single people between 30 and
50 was estimated at 100,000; in 2003, the number jumped to 500,000.
Single females constitute 60 percent of all singles, and according
to a Horizon Research Group survey conducted in six Chinese cities,
89.9 percent of well-educated females prefer the single life.
Experts interpret the emergence of a single female group as an
indicator of Chinese women's increased social and economic
independence. Societal development has given way to a friendly
environment to pluralistic values, different lifestyles and
individual freedom.
Social transition is another important factor at work. Under the
planned economy, constraints like the household registration system
(hukou) made single life difficult. The welfare housing system
stated clearly that only married couples qualified for government
allocated housing. Regardless of age, singles could only stay in
small dormitories shared by several people. To qualify for
benefits, some married hastily, promptly divorced and kept the
house. Today, the commodity housing system has replaced welfare
housing, but there is still a certain percentage of low- and
medium-income females who get married for the sake of
apartment.
"Being single is a way of life that brings high expectations on
quality of life," says Professor Yan Hong, PhD. "Some women don't
want to be constrained by family burdens and children--I am one of
them." Yan, 33, is a single university professor and views marriage
rationally: "Everything has two sides, and single and married life
are no exceptions. No matter which life you choose, there are
inevitable problems. My marital status will in no way influence my
happiness and confidence."
Obstructions
Single females in big cities are characteristically very well
educated, possessing a bachelor's degree at least, have an average
annual salary of above 50,000 yuan and either work in high profit
industries or hold executive positions.
Confucius, the ancient Chinese sage, once said, "Ignorance is a
woman's virtue." Ironically, intelligence and high positions can be
obstacles for women seeking marriage partners. Within Chinese
philosophy, men are superior to women, so Chinese men want to marry
women intellectually inferior to them. A current example is the
rumored difficulty female PhD holders experience when looking for a
spouse, a hot topic in today's society.
Since China resumed the postgraduate enrollment system in 1978,
many women have received academic credentials. With the enlarged
enrollment in recent years, the year 2003 saw a total of 100,000
students studying for a doctorate, 20 to 25 percent of them female.
Women holding high academic credentials are popularly assumed to be
unattractive and arrogant. For the majority of Chinese men,
therefore, women doctors are not a popular choice.
In southern China's Nanjing City, Ai Hua, 28, is studying for a
doctorate. Pressured by family members, she went to a matrimonial
agency for help and gave false information about her academic
credentials. "I do not care if my boyfriend's academic credentials
are lower than mine," she says. "But Chinese men feel shamed if
their girlfriends are better educated than they are."
Duan Mei, a well-known journalist for a famous Chinese
newspaper, is in her forties. Because her journalism career has
broadened her horizons, she is reluctant to marry just any man. But
as the men she considers her intellectual and social equal are
generally married, she prefers to stay single. "I would rather
remain single than lower my standards."
Age is another barrier. Single women that dedicate their youth
to career development find that when they are ready for marriage,
society doesn't look kindly on older brides. In China, marriage is
a difficult problem for women over 30; it is widely accepted for
men to be older than their wives, but the opposite has not yet
become a popular phenomenon.
"I've received pressure from my family and friends, but I don't
think it's a enough reason to marry," says Yan Hong. Her unmarried
state is a headache for her, and an embarrassment to her family. To
escape endless nagging and save face for her parents, Yan did not
go home at Spring Festival.
A trendy life
Free of family burdens, single women have a high disposable
income, and tend to be impulse buyers. Susceptible to advertising,
entertainment, and media aimed directly at them, this group has
triggered the "single woman economy."
In China's metropolises like Beijing and Shanghai, there are
many chic single females in well-furnished office buildings,
shopping malls, salons, bars, and gymnasiums -- they represent the
driving force of trendy consumption. The single woman economy has
aroused general concern, and lured by lucrative market prospects,
various international brands have staked out the Chinese market for
a piece of the action.
A single woman's home is a key indicator of her economic
strength. In A Room of One's Own, Virginia Woolf said that a room
and enough money were prerequisite to a woman who wants to write.
Nowadays, single females are striving for their own apartments,
which provide personal space, a sense of security and are a good
investment.
In the first half of 2001, the number of female apartment buyers
increased by 52 percent over the same period in 2000. Based on this
market information, shrewd real estate developers promoted mini
apartments for the niche market, and made special discounts. With a
successful market orientation, Men Vs Women, a mini apartment
project designed for singles, was a huge hit in 2003; on April 20,
300 flats were sold shortly after sales began. At 7,000-9,000 yuan
per square meter, they were far more expensive than the average
apartment, but this did not deter buyers, many of whom were
women.
(China Today April 26, 2004)
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