Comments on: Single and Over 27: What the Chinese Government Calls ‘Leftover Women’

By: LLSO

LLSO — Sat, 02 Feb 2013 16:23:00 +0000

I lived in Asia for 7 years and was told that if a woman is not married or have children by the age of 25 there was something wrong with her.

By: n45

n45 — Tue, 29 Jan 2013 23:38:00 +0000

They have money so invest in the west males here don’t care about cooking(we can do that ourselves). We want the educated successful woman who will not be an embarrassment because of lack of education and who thinks that being a SAHM is the pinnacle of achievement.
Come to the West and find many rich men.

By: soliel67

soliel67 — Tue, 29 Jan 2013 03:41:00 +0000

I’d hate to be a man in that situation simply looked upon as a wallet rather than a whole person.

By: soliel67

soliel67 — Tue, 29 Jan 2013 03:39:00 +0000

I am not anti Chinese people at all…but there is a huge difference! Let’s be honest. Our government is not putting out articles pressuring and shaming women for not being married. It is a personal choice. To be in a free society a person is allowed to follow their inner self, not what the government wants or what society feels is best for you. I bet this kind of culture/government brings upon a lot of depression and perhaps suicide on many wonderful women.

By: soliel67

soliel67 — Tue, 29 Jan 2013 03:37:00 +0000

Excellent post Linnaea. To be pressured to be married so young (or at any age) when you are not ready or simply don’t want to is horrible. I can’t imagine being in that culture.

By: CS

CS — Thu, 24 Jan 2013 19:41:00 +0000

Yellow is associated with the Qing Dynasty, and I’ve always associated it with the Manchus in my mind (perhaps because their banner is bright yellow?)

Emperors from waybackwhen have worn yellow/gold, so I’ll have to go trace this out.

By: monica wang

monica wang — Thu, 24 Jan 2013 05:37:00 +0000

Why are you lumping together “education” and “material possessions”? The former certainly contributes to “personality”. People who hold PhDs can still make stupid jokes, but people who haven’t had post-secondary education are certainly less capable of DAZZLING everyone with deep, BRILLIANTLY witty humour. :/

By: Song78

Song78 — Wed, 23 Jan 2013 17:37:00 +0000

Yes, it is. In China, if a book gets more than 50,000 copies sold, usually it is called a best seller.

If you would like to check the definition of “best seller” from Wiki, here you will get, “A bestseller is a book that is identified as extremely popular by its inclusion on lists of currently top selling or frequently borrowed titles that are based on publishing industry and book trade figures and library circulation statistics and then published by newspapers, magazines, or bookstore chains.”

And definitely this book is a bestseller according to this definition.

And I kind of agree with Joy Chen that, the government doesn’t actively promote this stigma any more than all of society does, but at least tolerates this discussion.

By: CKHK

CKHK — Wed, 23 Jan 2013 14:59:00 +0000

Please cite sources about female baby Tigers being killed. Also, since you say you’re too independent to be married, doesn’t that imply that American men are afraid of independent women? There is sexism in China, of course, just as there is sexism everywhere else. Don’t imply that the US is so much better. It isn’t.

By: Lina

Lina — Wed, 23 Jan 2013 10:19:00 +0000

The emperors chose at first to disavow the past, tarnishing history as “feudalism”. The Summer Palace was lucky to not have been destroyed.

Besides, the reason for red being the emperors’ colours is obvious: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_flag

By: Numero

Numero — Wed, 23 Jan 2013 09:20:00 +0000

There is a more sinister meaning to ‘leftover’ in some Asian cultures (as opposed to the sense of ‘left behind’). ‘Leftover’ refers to food that someone else has partly eaten, and in the case of interpersonal relationships, may also refer to a woman who lost her virginity to a man who did not marry her later (the connotation of a ‘sexual has-been’). I wonder if this overtone is there is the Chinese culture as well.

By: Charlie Erb

Charlie Erb — Wed, 23 Jan 2013 08:09:00 +0000

the video is hilarious! read the subtitles along with the song– I want to marry THAT “leftover girl!”

By: Aspee Nat

Aspee Nat — Wed, 23 Jan 2013 03:40:00 +0000

100,000 sold is a best seller. I think not.

By: Alexander Montie

Alexander Montie — Wed, 23 Jan 2013 01:18:00 +0000

Ahhh the Good Earth. I had to read that in high school. I actually really enjoyed that book too! Thanks for reminding me about it. I forgot the author’s name too.

By: Alexander Montie

Alexander Montie — Wed, 23 Jan 2013 01:16:00 +0000

Hi! My suspicion is that it changed with dynasty and time. I went to the Summer Palace in Beijing and I saw a golden set of robes that were purportedly worn by the Emperor.