租个女友回家过年？

租个女友回家过年？

Lonely hearts under pressure

[ 2007-02-26 14:40 ]

For China's lonely hearts, Spring Festival can be a psychological nightmare.

Xi Anjie, an office worker in Shanghai, is among those singles who takes a bashing each year from relatives concerned by their marital status. Unable to find a girlfriend to parade in front of his matchmaking-obsessed relatives, Xi, 35, elected to stay at home after a brief celebration with his parents for this week-long holiday. Others have devised more elaborate ways around the problem. Last month, a Beijing University student was offering 1,000 yuan ($125) to potential "girlfriends" if they would rent themselves to him for 10 days during Spring Festival to impress his parents. Wang Jisheng, a professor with the Psychology Institution of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said that China's singles should be careful not to confuse filial piety with lies and deception. However, a domestic website suggests that these days more people are finding it difficult to meet a partner. Xici.net has already been flooded by over 100 lonely hearts ads since the start of the lunar new year. Most of the marriage seekers are ladies aged between 24 and 30.

双语资讯

(China Daily)

Vocabulary:        

marriage seeker : 征婚者