Singles' Day - the Chinese opposite of Valentines that's turned into a massive online shopping event - has been all over the news. It's a day when single people are supposed to buy themselves presents, or get them from their coupled-up friends. But there are sinister¹ sociological reasons at play behind China's 'celebration' of single life. And the imbalance could have big consequences for the country.

光棍节——中国的反情人节，现在已经成为了盛大的电子商务盛会。在这一天，单身的人会给自己买礼物，或者从他们已经成双成对的朋友那里收到的礼物。然而，在中国的光棍节背后还有这复杂的社会学原因，这也对中国社会产生了巨大的影响。

There were 34 million more men than women in China in 2011. Part of that is natural - usually there are 105 boys born for every 100 girls. But the Chinese gender² ratio at birth is much more stark³. It was 116 boys to 100 girls in 2012. The one child policy is largely to blame. Brought in to curb⁴ population expansion, the policy allowed only one child per family.

2011年，中国男性比女性多出3400万，这种情况有自然的成因——每出生100个女孩会出生105个男孩。但是中国的性别比率会更悬殊一点，2012年每100个女孩会出生116个男孩。而这种现象的背后，很大的一个原因是计划生育政策。由于人口数量庞大，政策要求每个家庭只能要一个孩子。

But because male children are seen as more valuable, as well as more likely to support their parents in old age, some parents chose to have a son over a daughter. The result? Large numbers of surplus men who will likely never get married. In fact, one study has predicted that by 2030, 1 in 5 Chinese men in their 30s will never have married , while another states that 94% of unmarried people in China are men.

但是因为男孩子对家里显得更为重要，在父母年迈时也看上去更能照顾他们，因此一些父母会有重男轻女的思想。结果呢？大量的男性可能找不到配偶。实际上，一项调查预测到2030年，20%的中国男性30几岁会还没结婚，另一个调查表明94%的未婚人士会是男性。

Some parents are trying to find partners for their sons at physical markets, where people post personal ads detailing their characteristics, as well as their work and educational achievements. Traditionally China has seen high levels of marriage, usually among the young, but measures brought in by the government, as well as increased education and career opportunities for women have meant marriages are happening later.

一些家长会帮自己的儿子相亲，贴上广告介绍儿子的性格、工作和教育背景。通常来说中国的婚姻都是较高标准的，尤其是在年轻人之间。但是政府标准的引入，以及教育程度的提高、女性工作机会的增加都使得年轻人结婚更晚。

It's also traditional that women marry up - meaning they marry men from a higher socioeconomic bracket than themselves. So women at the top and men at the bottom find themselves alone. That's a big problem in a society that still focuses on family life as the ideal. One study has even suggested a link between an imbalanced sex ratio and growth in violent crime in the country.

同样，女性嫁得好也是很正常的——她们通常会与社会地位比自己高的男性结婚。因此社会地位高的女性和社会地位低的男性就剩下了。社会仍旧把家庭关系假设得非常理想，一项调查同时认为不平衡的性别比例和国家暴力犯罪率也有关系。

There's a huge number of young, single Chinese people and Chinese businesses have tackled that market aggressively. But Singles Day can't solve all the problems China's singles face. Indeed, it's possible it's causing even more problems, as men resort to increasingly risky⁵ lines of work to increase their chances of gaining money and thus a wife. And as capitalism⁶ starts to overcome romance, there's evidence that China's marriage market is increasingly materialistic⁷.

大量的单身青年促进了中国的市场，然而光棍节却解决不了中国的单身现状。实际上，它可能会创造更多问题。因为男人可能会为了挣钱娶妻而采取非同寻常的挣钱手段。当金钱胜过浪漫，中国的婚姻会变得更加现实。