But time has changed. Creators and/or beneficiaries of one of the fastest growing economies in the world, Chinese are no longer equally poor. The desire and, consequently, the pressure of obtaining wealth are on the shoulders of everyone living in China, especially younger generations who started their adult lives in the new market economic system. Nowadays, many Chinese expect to have houses, private cars, and fat bank accounts as prerequisites of marriage. However, with the soaring housing prices in many urban centers, rising living expenses, and a competitive job market, not all who are at the age for marriage can afford to get married. Because men are expected to provide for the family, those who don’t have a house, a car and a decent bank account became “left-over” singles. On the other hand, more women choose to be single before they can find someone who can provide for them. Because of the difficulty to find the Mr. Right, more women in China today who are over 25 remain single, and become “shengnu” or “left-over girls.”

Recently, however, a new and simpler way to enter marriage has emerged in China among young Chinese born in the 1980s, or the 80-hou generation. These young people choose to get married without owning a house, a car, or having a lavish wedding and even a ring, and this type of marriage is called “naked marriage,” or “luohun” in Chinese.

A television show based this life style The Era of Naked Marriages (Luohun Shidai) just finished showing on satellite television stations across China. From the first episode, the show topped the viewer rating list in China. About its success, the original story writer, Tang Xintian says:

The 80-hou generation is a most talked about generation. As the 80-hou generation grew up, we’re all going through relationships and marriage, so a work about relationships and marriage attracts us, the parents of us single children, and even our parents’ parents. No matter if they support [luohun] or just want to observe and understand [this life style], or if they are critical about it, it still attracts a lot of attention… Compared to other works about relationships and marriage, the theme of Luohun Shidai is in stark contrast with the materialist society. There are many people who respect luohun, with confidence, and also many who turn their noses up at it, waiting for the drama. All these people need more detailed material to support their views, and Luohun Shidai is no doubt the most blood-and-flesh-like, vivid material.

Indeed, the show has been a huge success and started much discussion. One tag line from the show “details beat love” became a popular expression among young people to express the difficulty for love to survive in a materialist mundane reality. Many netizens on weibo do not have much faith in the success of luohun:

Luohun Shidai tells us, it’d work better to run out in public naked than having a naked marriage.

Luohun takes courage; when the bread is too small, love will go bad; when the bread is too big, it’s till hard to keep love fresh.

After watching a few episodes of Luohun Shidai, I can’t help thinking of what Lu Xun has said, “First there’s life, and then love can have something to attach to.” This world is too realistic, so realistic that when we are down and out, we can’t eat spiritual food as pancakes that will feed us. The dated pledge of undying love will eventually be beaten by life. We will understand things we don’t understand now, because life teaches us how to live.

Although luohun applies to a couple, most people believe that it is more unacceptable on the part of the bride, for traditionally men are expected to provide the material basis for a marriage. A blogger  灬硪卜會 writes:

I haven’t watched that many episodes of Luohun Shidai, but I already have this view: if a man has not money to sustain a relationship, isn’t this equals giving the girl a miserable life?

All of us want to live a better life than we have now; men also want to buy LV and Gucci.

The couple in the show are very much in love, and that is for sure.

But when they get married, there are a pile of real problems that make them unhappy.

Many people have the same hope like the couple in the show, that although they don’t have money now, if the two of them work hard together, they will get by, and will be able to buy a house and a car.

Of course, it’s not wrong to have these dreams, but how many people can actually realize these dreams?

I know there are people who have, but I also know they are very rare.

Unsurprisingly, some are still holding on to true love. A weibo user comments on the simple luohun wedding style:

I like this way; I don’t like rules and complicated conventions; complicated process wear you out to please others. Why? A simple certificate is good enough~

A blogger 明月几时 describes how her ideas about love and marriage changed through time:

When I just graduated from college, my young heart was full of passion and hope, and wanted to find a person who loved me back, who were able, and who shared the same goals and could have a conversation with me. At that time, I though owning a house, a car or money, or even the fact that my partner was rich had no appeal to me. At that time, I thought as long as the two people were together and worked hard, and then they would have everything in the future. After I had worked for a while, influenced by people around me, I thought love wasn’t reliable, and having a solid material foundation was the most important, so slowly, I had this idea in my head, started to accept this view unconsciously, and even pushed myself again and again to access it, making myself believe that marriage was like this. However, after several blind dates, I realized that I can’t force myself to accept these ideas; I still want to find what’s real in my heart, and ask myself, what do I really want.

What’s real in our hearts? Is love real? Or is a house or a ring more real? Who can answer this for us?

            More Share and Comments

Initially, shengnu has a derogatory undertone, a creation by ill intended men as some say. But now, many shengnu’s in China have turned the tables and owned the word, with confidence and even pride. This confidence sometimes is based on pure materialist views on relationships and life in general, and itself can be a form of sexism, but it nevertheless is confidence, something Chinese women have been discouraged to have by society and even their families. The Communist Party of China has always claimed to promote gender equality. My parents’ and my generation of Chinese grew up believing “women can hold up half the sky,” a quotation from Mao. But the reality is, women in China have never enjoyed true equality with men socially, economically, or politically. They have been often used as resources by the state such as in 50’s, or sacrificed so men can have resources for economic and political success. Cultually, sexism has never died out in China and seems to be increasingly pervasive in various forms nowadays. Owning shengnu, to many independent single women, is a way to resist and, indeed, a personal triumph over the male dominant society.

The following music video, “No Car, No House,” is a good example of this confidence of shengnu. It features a song sang by a group of shengnu’s. It’s circulated widely on major Chinese video sharing sites such as tudou.com, ku6.com, and youku.com. The lyric is translated below.

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4YB9RcyUP_A]

Readers in China watch here: http://player.youku.com/player.php/sid/XMjUxNjY3NDY4/v.swf

“No Car, No House”

Golden Shengnu Edition

*Affectionate sunshine/On your face/Take a look at the young men around/Everyone’s like a woman

What a woman wants is a car and a house/Her biggest wish is to marry the right one

I ask you if you have a car and a house/My mom also asks you/How many bank accounts you have

If you don’t have a car/If you don’t have a house/Get out of my way and don’t block

I have a car and I have a house/I also have RMB in the bank

If you’re not as strong as I/Don’t expect me to surport you ’cause I’m not your mother

You don’t have a car/You don’t have a house/Don’t dream to have a hottie in your bed

Don’t pretend to be poor and drive a shabby BMW/Don’t pretend to be a boss and try to keep me *

[repeat *]

You don’t have a car/You don’t have a house/And you want to get married and be a groom

If your life is not yet affluent/Why should I go and wonder with you

You say that I’m realistic and I admit it/You accuse me of being materialistic and I won’t be hurt

A man should look like a man/Without a car and a house/Don’t dream of finding a bride

Lalala…

              More Share and Comments