HAPPY QIXI - (chinese Val Day is August 13 this year) a 2600 - Magpie//1/3 of pro women not married
Couples celebrate the "Qixi" festival in China on Tuesday, August 13, the Chinese equivalent of Valentine's Day (actually our valentine's day is the equivalent of their qixi, since their's is 2600 years old and our's is 400 years old), millions of high end professional women face stark choices as ideas about matrimonial hierarchy run up against social changes sweeping China - the planet's most populated country.
The term "shengnu" - means "leftover women" - was coined to refer to professional women who have not married by their late 20s.
"One hundred years ago, Chinese people believed that males should be higher in a relationship in every sense than the woman they married - including height, age, education and salary, even today, that mind set can still be felt..."
"It leads to A-grade men marrying B-grade women; B-grade men marrying C-grade women; and C-grade men marrying D-grade women. Which then leaves A-grade women and D-grade men without partners. The same phenemonon existed in New York City, until many high end professional women started marrying plumbers, carpenters and men who prefer staying home (- house-husbands). This match could work in China, if it really does work in New York..."
In Beijing, more than a third of women are high end professionals, educated, in their late 20s and 30s and are looking for husbands. Media reports that there are 500,000 "leftover women" in Beijing alone.
There are plenty of men to go round among China's nearly 1.4 billion people because China's population is tilted toward men due to the government's one-child policy and a cultural preference for boys. There were twice as many men born in the 1970s as women.
But unlike "leftover women" who are mostly "A-level," these "shengnan" or "leftover men" often live in lower-tier smaller cities and do not make much money, they are "D-level."
Qixi, is also known as the Qiqiao Festival (Chinese: ), is a Chinese festival that celebrates the annual meeting of the cowherd and weaver girl in Chinese mythology.
It falls on the seventh day of the 7th lunar month. It is sometimes called the Double Seventh Festival, the Chinese Valentine's Day, or the Magpie Festival. This is an important festival, especially for young girls.
The festival originated from the romantic legend of two lovers, Zhinü and Niulang, who were the weaver maid and the cowherder, respectively. The tale of The Weaver Girl and the Cowherder has been celebrated in the Qixi Festival since the Han Dynasty. The earliest-known reference to this famous myth dates back to over 2600 years ago, which was told in a poem from the Classic of Poetry. The festival inspired Tanabata in Japan and Chilseok in Korea.
Painting of Niulang and Zhinü in the Long Corridor of the Summer Palace in Beijing.
See also: The Weaver Girl and the Cowherder
The general tale is about a love story between Zhinu (the weaver girl, symbolizing Vega) and Niulang (the cowherd, symbolizing Altair). Their love was not allowed, thus they were banished to opposite sides of the Silver River (symbolizing the Milky Way).
Once a year, on the 7th day of the 7th lunar month, a flock of magpies would form a bridge to reunite the lovers for one day. There are many variations of the story.
The term "shengnu" - means "leftover women" - was coined to refer to professional women who have not married by their late 20s.
"One hundred years ago, Chinese people believed that males should be higher in a relationship in every sense than the woman they married - including height, age, education and salary, even today, that mind set can still be felt..."
"It leads to A-grade men marrying B-grade women; B-grade men marrying C-grade women; and C-grade men marrying D-grade women. Which then leaves A-grade women and D-grade men without partners. The same phenemonon existed in New York City, until many high end professional women started marrying plumbers, carpenters and men who prefer staying home (- house-husbands). This match could work in China, if it really does work in New York..."
In Beijing, more than a third of women are high end professionals, educated, in their late 20s and 30s and are looking for husbands. Media reports that there are 500,000 "leftover women" in Beijing alone.
There are plenty of men to go round among China's nearly 1.4 billion people because China's population is tilted toward men due to the government's one-child policy and a cultural preference for boys. There were twice as many men born in the 1970s as women.
But unlike "leftover women" who are mostly "A-level," these "shengnan" or "leftover men" often live in lower-tier smaller cities and do not make much money, they are "D-level."
Qixi, is also known as the Qiqiao Festival (Chinese: ), is a Chinese festival that celebrates the annual meeting of the cowherd and weaver girl in Chinese mythology.
It falls on the seventh day of the 7th lunar month. It is sometimes called the Double Seventh Festival, the Chinese Valentine's Day, or the Magpie Festival. This is an important festival, especially for young girls.
The festival originated from the romantic legend of two lovers, Zhinü and Niulang, who were the weaver maid and the cowherder, respectively. The tale of The Weaver Girl and the Cowherder has been celebrated in the Qixi Festival since the Han Dynasty. The earliest-known reference to this famous myth dates back to over 2600 years ago, which was told in a poem from the Classic of Poetry. The festival inspired Tanabata in Japan and Chilseok in Korea.
Painting of Niulang and Zhinü in the Long Corridor of the Summer Palace in Beijing.
See also: The Weaver Girl and the Cowherder
The general tale is about a love story between Zhinu (the weaver girl, symbolizing Vega) and Niulang (the cowherd, symbolizing Altair). Their love was not allowed, thus they were banished to opposite sides of the Silver River (symbolizing the Milky Way).
Once a year, on the 7th day of the 7th lunar month, a flock of magpies would form a bridge to reunite the lovers for one day. There are many variations of the story.
Replies
very informative, thanx.