Most Chinese parents discourage their children from dating during high school and college, but, practically the instant their kids receive their college diplomas, the parents pull a sudden 180.
They start to put extreme pressure on their children to date and marry as soon as possible – in Chinese, the common term for this phenomenon translates literally as “forced marriage.” It became a trending topic online when a number of reports revealed that some young people have attempted suicide after their parents pushed them into arranged marriages, explaining afterward that they would never get married just for the sake of marriage, like their parents did. Because of the characteristics of traditional Chinese culture, which cherishes filial piety and the concept of family, older parents feel ashamed and concerned if their adult children are unmarried and have no children. The generation gap between older parents and their children is yawning ever wider on the issue of marriage, and the lack of mutual understanding has never been as acute as it is today.
Old Version
