2016年CRI Caili a Huge Burden for Grooms in China

 

In Chinese culture, after engagement, a man has to give the bride's family a betrothal¹ gift, known as Caili in Chinese, to get married.

Nowadays, the Caili tradition has become more like a commercial transaction, and can place a heavy financial burden on grooms³, especially in rural areas.

So exactly how much do you have to pay to get married in China? According to Mr. Chen from Shangdong Province the minimum price is around 100,000 yuan or about 15,320 U.S. dollars.

"Many grooms in Shangdong's rural areas have to take a loan to marry their brides. They borrow 100-200 thousand yuan to pay the "bride prices". And that's just part of the Caili. The groom²'s family sometimes has to own a commercial property in the center of a county which on average costs over 4,000 yuan per square meter."

However, simply having the money is no guarantee that a bachelor will find a good bride. In Henan province, matchmakers often evaluate the man's family background, appearance and education.

Zhang Yi, a researcher with the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, says there are three main reasons for higher levels of Caili in China's rural areas.

"First is the demographic structure – there are fewer women than men in China's rural areas. The competition in rural China's marriage market is getting more intense. That's also caused by migration⁴ – more and more women of marriageable age leave their homes to work in urban areas. Thirdly is the Caili culture itself, the bride's family would ask for more Caili to look good while the groom would pay more to show they are capable of marrying better brides."

Some bachelors, who don't have the financial means to secure a bride in rural China, are even turning to agencies in Vietnam, Cambodia and Myanmar to buy a spouse⁵, because it's cheaper.

Zhang Yi with the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences believes the real issue behind the rising Caili is poverty in rural China.

"In the process of urbanization, more and more people migrate from the countryside to the cities. Then rural areas become empty shells. With the aging population, we will see a bigger development gap between rural and urban areas. I think we need to find ways to narrow this gap. This is the real issue behind the rising Caili."

Zhang Yi also estimates that in the next ten years bachelors in China's rural areas will find it even more difficult find a bride due to the gender⁶ imbalance and increasing competition in the marriage market.

For CRI, this is Luo Wen.

1 betrothal   

n. 婚约, 订婚

参考例句：

• Their betrothal took place with great pomp and rejoicings. 他们举行了盛大而又欢乐的订婚仪式。
• "On the happy occasion of the announcement of your betrothal," he finished, bending over her hand. "在宣布你们订婚的喜庆日。" 他补充说，同时低下头来吻她的手。

2 groom   

vt.给（马、狗等）梳毛，照料，使...整洁

参考例句：

• His father was a groom.他父亲曾是个马夫。
• George was already being groomed for the top job.为承担这份高级工作，乔治已在接受专门的培训。

3 grooms   

n.新郎( groom的名词复数 )；马夫v.照料或梳洗（马等）( groom的第三人称单数 )；使做好准备；训练；（给动物）擦洗

参考例句：

• Plender end Wilcox became joint grooms of the chambers. 普伦德和威尔科克斯成为共同的贴身侍从。 来自辞典例句
• Egypt: Families, rather than grooms, propose to the bride. 埃及：在埃及，由新郎的家人，而不是新郎本人，向新娘求婚。 来自互联网

4 migration   

n.迁移，移居，（鸟类等的）迁徙

参考例句：

• Swallows begin their migration south in autumn.燕子在秋季开始向南方迁移。
• He described the vernal migration of birds in detail.他详细地描述了鸟的春季移居。

5 spouse   

n.配偶(指夫或妻)

参考例句：

• Her spouse will come to see her on Sunday.她的丈夫星期天要来看她。
• What is the best way to keep your spouse happy in the marriage?在婚姻中保持配偶幸福的最好方法是什么？

6 gender   

n.（生理上的）性，（名词、代词等的）性

参考例句：

• French differs from English in having gender for all nouns.法语不同于英语，所有的名词都有性。
• Women are sometimes denied opportunities solely because of their gender.妇女有时仅仅因为性别而无法获得种种机会。