在中国娶个媳妇儿花多钱？

在中国娶个媳妇儿花多钱？

在中国，新娘稀缺正在强化彩礼传统。通常一些条件比较好的家庭，想着给孩子办好点，彩礼给得高家里有面子。也有很多家庭因无力承担而返贫，条件差的甚至还要借钱娶媳妇。

测试中可能遇到的词汇和知识：

extravagant浪费的；过度的[ɪk'strævəg(ə)nt; ek-]

scarcity不足；缺乏['skeəsɪtɪ]

dowry嫁妆；天资；亡夫遗产['daʊ(ə)rɪ]

virtuous有道德的；贞洁的['vɜːtjʊəs; -tʃʊəs]

cap覆盖；胜过；给…戴帽[kæp]

terminate使终止；使结束；解雇['tɜːmɪneɪt]

lavish浪费的；丰富的；大方的['lævɪʃ]

deplete耗尽，用尽；使衰竭[dɪ'pliːt]

boycott联合抵制['bɒɪkɒt]

Joy and Grief Board of Supervisor红白理事会

stripper脱衣舞女['strɪpə]

Chinese county moves to ban expensive wedding gifts（488 words）

By Gabriel Wildau in Shanghai

A Chinese county plans to restrict extravagant spending on wedding gifts,highlighting the transactional nature of marriage in a country where a scarcity of brides is intensifying traditional dowry practices.

Communist party officials in Taiqian,in central China’s Henan province,have issued an action plan on“transforming social traditions”and“building a virtuous Taiqian”.

Draft rules aim to cap the value of a single wedding gift at Rmb60,000（$8,600) and forbid the gifting of houses and cars. Wedding banquets will be limited to fewer than 10 tables.

Li Hongwei,vice-director of Taiqian’s Office of the Spirit of Civilised Culture Committee,told the Henan Business Daily that some elderly families of modest means had“lost the family fortune”on weddings.

“Some families of means want to give their child a nicer wedding. They give expensive gifts and it gives face to their family,”he said.“Many families don’t have these resources,so they fall into poverty. Those of modest means actually need to borrow money to take a daughter-in-law.”

Men in poor rural counties are the most affected by unbalanced sex ratios resulting from China’s one-child policy,which was scrapped in 2015 after 35 years in effect. A traditional preference for male children — who were seen as better able to support parents in old age — led many women to terminate pregnancies.

The bridal shortage has boosted traditional dowry practices,with grooms and their families often forced to offer lavish gifts to the bride’s family as a condition of marriage.

Officials say the draft rules are aimed at protecting poor,elderly residents from depleting their savings and taking on debt to pay for betrothal gifts for their children. They specifically forbid“using weddings to demand property”. Taiqian’s per-capita gross domestic product was Rmb26,146 in 2014,according to the latest official figures,well below the national figure of Rmb47,203.

The rules call for party officials to restrict ceremonies that do not obey the gifting guidelines. Punishments can include public shaming and collective boycotts of extravagant events.

The county is also establishing a Joy and Grief Board of Supervisors — which already exist in other rural villages — to enforce the measures.

China’s national-level Communist party propaganda and civilised culture committees convened a telephone meeting with local counterparts in late November,calling on them to take measures against extravagant weddings and funerals. In 2015 the culture ministry condemned the rural practice of using strippers to attract attendees to funerals.

Despite the appearance of paternalistic over-reach,many netizens applauded the intent behind the guidelines.

Rising property prices,especially in big cities,have increased the burden on men seeking wives. It is common for women to demand a house for themselves or their families before agreeing to marry.

“In my area we’ve got lots of wedding slogans. Usually it’s Rmb10,001 for an engagement,then at the wedding another Rmb66,000 or Rmb99,000 etc,”said microblog user Xingxing.“The pressure feels as big as a mountain.”