BEIJING, March 6 -- A few quick questions for the eligible bachelors of China:
Are the pressures of life proving too great a burden? Seeking a quick buck and
want to pick up a wife in the process?
If the answer is "yes" to the above queries, you may
be one of an increasing number of young men willing to forgo true love for a
rich bride.
Luckily for them, some families are eager for their
daughters to nab a dapper stag who can also keep their businesses running
smoothly.
And there are now agencies that can make the dreams
of capable single men and families seeking suitable son-in-laws come true.
Established in 1999, the Xiaoshan Golden Idea
Matrimonial Agency in Xiaoshan of Zhejiang Province has been quite successful in
helping affluent families find the "right guy".
Hundreds of candidates, aged between 23 and 55, have
registered with the company.
"On average we receive over 20 inquiries every day,"
said 51-year-old Li Jiyan, director of the company, which has helped settle more
than 300 marriages over the past eight years.
The files of "love seekers" on his desk stack up
almost a meter in height. Li said about 80 percent of the candidates are migrant
workers from other parts of the country. Some are well-educated, holding a
bachelor's degree or higher from domestic or overseas universities.
"No man is willing to marry into a bride's family if
the family property is lower than 2 million yuan (250,000 U.S. dollars)," Li
said.
Since China's opening and reform in the early 1980s,
Zhejiang Province has experienced phenomenal economic growth, with many private
companies springing up in cities like Xiaoshan, Yiwu and Wenzhou. Such
prosperity has generated a great number of wealthy families and independent
millionaires in the area.
However, some of these families only have one daughter, due to China's One-Child Policy. Traditionally, Chinese families expect the male members to carry on the family business. Therefore, finding a suitable son-in-law.
For a man, marrying into the bride's family meant that he'd become a "dao cha men", a son-in-law living off his wife's family who is obliged to look after the wife's parents until they pass away. Traditionally, only orphans and men from poor families would consider this option. In return, their offspring would have to take the wife's family name.
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