Why are there more unmarried women than men, noting that the
female population is less than the male population in China at
present? A report on a survey of Chinese netizens' attitudes
towards courtship and marriage might provide the answer.
This was the first ever survey on such issues conducted in
China. The poll covered 210 million Chinese netizens. It was
published? this Thursday, on Valentine's Day, in Hangzhou, the
capital city of east China's Zhejiang Province.
Jointly sponsored by China Matchmaker (www.hongniang.com) and
the Chinese Academy of Marriage and Family, the survey was
conducted for one month using diversified means including online
and offline questionnaires and expert analyses. Questions probed
into marital status, as well as pressure from, activities
concerning, and ways to achieve courtship and marriage.
According to the survey, Chinese netizens think that the most
ideal age for a man to get married is 30. Over 90 percent of the
women who responded to the survey said they were the most willing
to marry men near the age of 30. Significantly, a male youth under
30 years old is considered less eligible as a potential spouse.
Unfortunately age is crueler toward women. About 65 percent of
the men surveyed said that they wanted a spouse aged from 25-28 at
the time of marriage. After 28, a woman's opportunity to find a
suitable mate becomes increasingly less as each year passes. In
fact, 25.5 percent of men surveyed would like to tie the knot
reluctantly with women at 30; and when they are 35, only 12.5
percent of the male population felt willing to accept them as
potential wives.
Ironically, the crisis imposed by age upon men is much lighter.
One third of the women were willing to marry a man as old as 35;
even men in their forties would still be chosen by 15.2 percent of
the women.
Prof. Jiang Qianjin, a psychologist affiliated with Zhejiang
University who specializes in courtship and marriage, said that the
window of marriageable age for females is smaller than the male
window. It is influenced by various factors, possibly exerting more
diverse pressures on females than on males.
Stresses related to work and daily life have become the main
reasons for males to postpone their marriageable age, said Yan
Shan, a manager in charge of matchmaking services at the Hangzhou
branch of China Matchmaker.
(China.org.cn by Zhang Tingting February 15, 2008)