Something Sucpicious in People's Park
On weekends in Shanghai's People's Park (人民广场）anxious-looking adults gather in a shady area near the lotus pond to quietly exchange information. Passersby will notice knots of up to a dozen men and women gathered around a poster chatting earnestly. I've noticed this before and thought something suspicious was going on. Perhaps they are engaged in a hot political discussion? Maybe plotting anti-government activity? Yes, it would be wise to keep such talk confined to the shady corners of a park.
Today, the first day of a week-long holiday in China, I found the plotters gathered in the same location. Dozens of them standing around or setting on benches. Many had laminated signs in their laps or pinned to bushes. I moved closer to see if I could overhear anything about the big plot - which must by this time have mushroomed into an imminent coup. To my disappointment I find that the signs are promoting sons and daughters, grandsons and granddaughters, as potential marriage mates. These people are trying to arrange marriages - not political upheaval.
One signs advertizes a 29-year old daughter that weighs 110 lbs., has a job as an accountant for a French company, and white skin. Another advertizes a 35-year old man, a party cadre, that makes over 1,000 yuan per month.
Matchmaking by parents is an old tradition in China and one that is still practiced. While a lot of young urban Chinese have turned to the Internet for matchmaking, it's still common for parents to have a say in who their children marry. The less hi-tech parents show up in the parks of China on weekends to do their matchmaking the old-fashioned way - face-to-face. Of course there are professional matchmakers as well and they can be found in the Yellow Pages or in the parks. At People's Park today I noticed several matchmakers promoting several clients at once.
There was a noticable focus on pragmatics - physical attributes and incomes. None of the signs said anything about nonesense such as "has a great sense of humor", "fun-loving", or "long walks on the beach".
On weekends in Shanghai's People's Park (人民广场）anxious-looking adults gather in a shady area near the lotus pond to quietly exchange information. Passersby will notice knots of up to a dozen men and women gathered around a poster chatting earnestly. I've noticed this before and thought something suspicious was going on. Perhaps they are engaged in a hot political discussion? Maybe plotting anti-government activity? Yes, it would be wise to keep such talk confined to the shady corners of a park.
Today, the first day of a week-long holiday in China, I found the plotters gathered in the same location. Dozens of them standing around or setting on benches. Many had laminated signs in their laps or pinned to bushes. I moved closer to see if I could overhear anything about the big plot - which must by this time have mushroomed into an imminent coup. To my disappointment I find that the signs are promoting sons and daughters, grandsons and granddaughters, as potential marriage mates. These people are trying to arrange marriages - not political upheaval.
One signs advertizes a 29-year old daughter that weighs 110 lbs., has a job as an accountant for a French company, and white skin. Another advertizes a 35-year old man, a party cadre, that makes over 1,000 yuan per month.
Matchmaking by parents is an old tradition in China and one that is still practiced. While a lot of young urban Chinese have turned to the Internet for matchmaking, it's still common for parents to have a say in who their children marry. The less hi-tech parents show up in the parks of China on weekends to do their matchmaking the old-fashioned way - face-to-face. Of course there are professional matchmakers as well and they can be found in the Yellow Pages or in the parks. At People's Park today I noticed several matchmakers promoting several clients at once.
There was a noticable focus on pragmatics - physical attributes and incomes. None of the signs said anything about nonesense such as "has a great sense of humor", "fun-loving", or "long walks on the beach".
posted by Kevcham at 3:55 AM
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