It was love at first sight for marketing executive Lu Yun when
he was introduced to his girlfriend two years ago.
But the 28-year-old adman from Shanghai has found that when it
comes to the four-letter word, it is money that talks.
In fact, it was the subject of the couple's frequent fights -
before they decided to "take a break" from the relationship early
this year, he said.
"She made it very clear: An apartment works. No apartment,
no-go," Lu said.
A recent snap poll conducted online by the China Youth Daily and
qq.com, an online community visited mostly by young people, showed
a growing number of the country's young adults shared the view of
Lu's girlfriend.
Nearly half the 8,932 respondents said that money and other
financial packages are the most important preconditions for
love.
Many young singles are also checking out the financial status of
their potential partners before getting married.
Of those surveyed, 85.5 percent said the younger generation paid
more attention to financial status when considering potential life
partners than previous generations.
Lu, for example, said he cannot afford to buy an apartment.
"The mortgage is about 7,000 yuan ($950) a month," said the man,
whose monthly salary is about 8,000 yuan.
Sometimes he complains about his plight, but he does not blame
his girlfriend.
"Housing prices are so high and everything is expensive in the
city. Marrying a rich man equals a good marriage," he said.
But all is not lost for love.
The survey also found 40 percent of those polled considered true
love paramount in a relationship, while 40 percent still believed
in love at first sight.
"I still believe my generation will choose partners because they
like each other," John Zhao, 27, a civil servant from Beijing,
said.
"We have more options and experience than our parents."
Zhao said many marriages of the previous generation were
arranged by family members or their work units, where
responsibility and duty subsequently played a part in sustaining
the union.
"Placing more importance on money doesn't mean there is no true
love," he said.
Zhang Yuzhang, an associate professor of sociology at the
Huazhong University of Science and Technology, told the China Youth
Daily: "Love is a feeling. It needs material support to become
real, solid and lasting."
(China Daily November 27, 2007)