Special Coverage: Marriage, Money and Morals

Editor’s Note:

From arranged marriages to blind dates, building a family in China is an evolving process driven by political change, economic development, and social trends, all intrinsically linked under the umbrella of globalization.

The Marriage Law passed in April 1950 was regarded as a landmark achievement for building a family, the basic unit of society, on the foundation of free will and equal rights since it formally ended the traditional practice of arranged or forced marriage across the country. However in a society dominated by political ideologies and concepts of class, marriage-making was featured as a strong pledge of securing revolution, rather than a natural binding of love. It was taken as granted that people could get married before they even know each other and the union helped people to better participate into the class struggle and realize revolutionary goals.

In 1980, the Marriage Law had its first major amendment, adding "broken relationship" as a precondition of divorce. One year later, the newspaper Market published the first marriage-seeking ad since 1949, and a new breed of matchmaking came to life in China.

A survey found that 74.6 percent say they have friends trying to find their partners through a blind-date and only 2.5 percent say no one in their personal network has sought a blind-date. In addition, TV shows based on that very notion became the most viewed programs in China, with participants’ undisguised desire for money, power and other material needs on the display for whole nation to see. The criterion for finding a partner also evolved from "being red" politically to having a house and car.

Through the following articles, we hope to bring into focus China’s marriage kaleidoscope, some issues may be quite disturbing, such as gender selection, but all reveal the true picture of a rapidly changing China.

24 million

More than 24 million Chinese men of marrying age could find themselves without spouses by 2020, says the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences. It cites sex-specific abortions as a major factor, due to China's traditional bias towards male children. The academy says gender selection abortions are "extremely common". This is especially true in rural areas, and ultra-sound scans, first introduced in the late 1980s, have increased the practice.

Matchmaking show changes tone

Male contestants in the popular dating show If You Are The One, which is aired on Jiangsu Satellite TV every weekend, can now feel a little more at ease, as the jury of 24 single female contestants, whose hearts they wish to win, are becoming less picky, less material, and less verbally vicious than they used to be.

WP's comment on matchmaking shows

The campaign against TV matchmaking shows that was aimed largely at "If You Are the One," on Jiangsu Television, is the latest and most public example of the government's new crackdown on vice and perceived immorality.

Life of a love hunter

Yang Jing goes to high-end shopping malls in Beijing almost every day but the 26-year-old is neither a saleswoman nor a shopping-addict. Yang is a full-time "love hunter" who works for a matchmaking company whose clients are millionaires and billionaires. 

How to become a lover hunter?

The job, titled love hunter, requires the ability to spot and recommend suitable single ladies for Golden Bachelor Matchmakers, a high-end matchmaking company based in Shanghai.

Be brave and beautiful for Internet dating

The lonely hearts of the world are taking their quest for a partner off the dance floor and out of the bars onto the Internet.

Ladies, here's how you can really marry a millionaire

With all the media attention being paid to matchmaking businesses and television shows designed to introduce ordinary, if extraordinarily beautiful, young women to millionaires, I can tell you how to really marry a man worth a million dollars, for 5.9 yuan.

Parents in action
Many mothers are leaving no stone unturned in their quest to find Mr Right for their daughters. Parents regularly gather in parks or outside the venues of matchmaking parties.

How does the rich seeks Miss Right?

Eighteen wealthy men from Guangzhou, Guangdong province, have launched a program to seek out beautiful young partners, albeit with certain conditions. The eligible candidates should be at least 1.65 meters tall; they should be around 25 or 26 years of age, and most important, have facial features that assure great fortune for their prospective husbands. A "master" has been hired to read the candidates' faces.

Elite dating game

A grand matchmaking event was staged simultaneously in Beijing, Guangzhou, Shenzhen and Shanghai. Each man taking part paid 180,000 yuan. And that's not all. They each had to have personal assets exceeding 30 million yuan. Some 50,000 young women took part in the competition and, after many rounds, only 18 will make it to the stage where they can have a face-to-face meeting with the "diamond bachelors".

Left: A drama of white collars seeking their partners amid the busy life.

Domestic violence

Domestic violence is a widespread phenomenon in China. A survey in 2008 showed that as many as one third of Chinese families have experienced violence in some form and the majority of victims are women, children and the elderly.

Young, old pains in remarrying

Remarrying is still against the local culture and many women who remarry feel shunned by their neighbors.