光棍節來臨:中國單身男女的心酸尋愛記範例

Singles Day in China is the celebration -- or mourning -- of being unattached. Started by students in Nanjing in the mid-1990s, the date was selected in observation of its four solitary digits: 11/11.

中國“光棍節”，一個慶祝（或哀嚎）沒人相伴的節日。光棍節起源於90年代中期，由南京的幾位大學生創立，節日定在每年的11月11日，因爲這四個光禿禿的數字，看上去像極了“光棍”。

While relatively obscure in most other countries, Singles Day is likely to increase in prominence as more single men in China are unable to find female partners. According to a recent study by the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, more than 24 million Chinese men could find themselves without spouses by 2020.

雖然光棍節在其他國家的文化中看來有些難以理解，但在中國，光棍節的影響力越來越大，在中國有越來越多的單身男性找不到女朋友。據中國社會科學院最近的一項調查顯示，到2020年全中國將有2400萬男性找不到配偶。

Celebrating Singles Day comes in many forms across the Asian nation, and like Christmas and Valentine's Day, it has become a multi-million dollar industry.

中國各地均有不同形式來慶祝光棍節的儀式。就和聖誕節、情人節一樣，光棍節已經成了一門能創造幾百萬收益的產業。

The Fig Tree, a luxury pastry school in downtown Beijing, is offering a chocolate truffle-making course to foster "fun, flirting, measuring and mixing," among singles on Thursday.

北京市中心一家叫菲格樹的高級烘焙學校，從這週四起開始招收學習松露巧克力的學生。“樂趣及情致一體、衡量及混搭並進”是他們的宣傳主題。他們招的都是單身學徒。

"Baking brings people together," said Lin Zhong, school owner and pastry chef. "[We] invite the city's singles ... for an education in flirting and chocolate making."

“烘焙將人們的距離拉得更近”，校長及主廚Lin Zhong說道，“我們旨在邀請全城的單身人士……教會他們如何邊製作巧克力邊調情。”

For those with more adventurous tastes, Beijing's flagship amusement park Happy Valley is hosting a day of activities for singles, featuring games that include a singing contest entitled "Bachelor's Love Song." Another activity in store: a dedicated area in which singles can "confess their true feelings."

對於那些更喜歡冒險的人來說，北京具有代表性的遊樂園歡樂谷就將以一系列的遊樂項目慶祝光棍節，其中包括一個名爲“單身情歌”的歌唱比賽，另一個針對光棍們推出的活動叫做“說出你的愛”

All of this mingling comes at a price. For every male who buys a full price ticket for $25, he may bring one female along at no cost.

以上這些遊樂項目當然不會是免費的。每一位買價值25美元全價票的男士可以免費帶一位女士入場。

Shenzhen's theme park, Splendid China, which boasts miniature replicas of many of the country's most famous landmarks, will host a vegetable hunting contest, much like an Easter egg hunt, to encourage singles to meet. The vegetables, mostly cucumbers and tomatoes, will be hidden throughout the park in a scaled-down Great Wall and bite-size Forbidden City.

深圳的一家名爲“錦繡中華”的主題公園擁有許多世界知名地標建築的複製品。他們將在光棍節舉行“蔬菜獵人”比賽，就跟復活節尋彩蛋的遊戲差不多，旨在讓單身人士們相遇。蔬菜主要由黃瓜、番茄組成，它們將被藏在公園的各個角落，以縮小版本的長城和紫禁城爲主。

In Shanghai, the city's main "marriage market" nestled in People's Park is teeming with more traffic than usual. Concerned parents of unmarried children posted personal ads and photos, boasting their education, salary levels and height and weight proportions. The advertisements line the perimeter of the park, and many anxious parents sit along the curb, hoping to meet another set of parents to make a good match.

在上海，人民公園中赫赫有名的“相親市場”一定比平時還要爆滿。那些爲單身孩子憂心忡忡的父母們展示着子女的個人信息、照片，誇耀他們的學歷、薪水、身高、體重等各種信息。相親廣告貼滿了人民公園的外圍牆，而心急如焚的父母們則在旁等候着合適的人選前來與自己兒女配對。

To the west in the city of Xian, singles can reenact a famous Tang Dynasty love story or learn about the principles of love at Qujiang Cave Ruins Park, which claims to be the "first love-themed park in China."

往西走，在古都西安，單身人士們能參與扮演一個有名的唐代愛情故事，或在曲江寒窯遺址公園學習愛情守則，據說這是中國第一個愛情主題公園。

However, in a society dominated by children who grow up without siblings (due to China's one-child policy), finding love on Singles Day is unlikely to be as easy as a walk in the park.

然而在一個以獨生子女爲主的社會裏（緣於中國的計劃生育政策），在光棍節成功“脫光”可遠遠沒有聽上去這麼簡單。

"For a lot of young men, they feel that what can make them more attractive to their potential dates is their good education, a good job and a lot of money ... [and] a car and apartment handy so they can attract more women," said Dr. Chang Wei, a psychologist at Beijing United Family Hospital. "That leads to a lot of young men working 10-12 hours a day with no time to socialize. Parents feel they have to step in and help them find dates, and sometimes the men are okay with that."

“很多年輕男人認爲，自己的教育背景、工作和錢財將決定自己在異性面前的吸引力……如果還有車有房的話，那就在女人眼裏更加搶手了，”北京和睦家醫院的心理醫生常偉說道。“這導致很多年輕男性每天工作10-12小時，連社交的時間都沒有。他們的父母感到自己需要出手幫助自己孩子尋找對象，而孩子們也往往同意這樣做。”

Not everyone desires to be matched up, though. In a survey of white-collar workers on popular Chinese jobs site , about 70 percent of married or committed individuals said they missed being single.

然而並不是所有年輕人都願意被湊成對。中國知名的智聯招聘網站曾進行過一項針對白領的調查顯示，70%已婚或已訂婚的受訪者都表示：他們懷念單身時光。

Once frowned upon in China, divorce is now common, too. In 2009, more than 2.46 million couples divorced in the country, almost twice the number in 2001.

離婚在過去的中國是不大能被接受的，然而現在已變得十分普遍。2009年，中國有246萬對夫婦離婚，這個數字幾乎是2001年的兩倍。

But like many singles in China, Alexandra Shi, an undergraduate student at Beijing Foreign Studies University, is looking for love. This year, she'll mark the day with her fellow single friends, and they will likely take one chopstick and make a wish to not be "a 'single stick' anymore."

Alexandra Shi 是一位來自北京外國語大學的本科學生，她和許多單身人士一樣，正渴望找到真愛。今年她將和其他幾位同樣單身的好友一同慶祝光棍節，並且她們會拿起一根筷子，許下“儘快擺脫單身” 的願望。

"Being single is not me, being in a relationship would do me good I guess," Shi said. "But being single for now doesn't make my life miserable. Definitely don't want to celebrate next year's Singles Day though!"

“單身並不酷……對我來說，也許談戀愛對我更有好處吧。” Shi 小姐說道。“雖然單身的時光也不能算痛苦，但明年這個時候，我絕對不要再過光棍節了！”