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剩女 (shèngnǚ) - these women are regarded as the “leftover women”, an expression introduced by the Chinese government in 2007. It refers to an older woman (usually the generation after 1980), with higher incomes, who are still unmarried.
剩女被看做是“剩下的女性”,是中国政府2007年公布的新词之一。一般指年纪稍大（大多数生于上世纪八十年代），高收入但仍久未婚的女性。
Chinese women have traditionally married earlier than their counterparts in the West, but now, as more of them attain higher education, the average marriage age has been climbing steadily. In 1950, the average age for urban Chinese women to marry was just under 20; now it is 27. Furthermore, this term implies a negative connotation; no woman wants to be seen as a leftover.
Nevertheless, most of the professional and successful women do not care about these things. “I enjoy my life” says Li (name changed), an A-women working for a marketing company in Shanghai, “I have received an excellent university education; I am internationally successful and wealthy. I couldn’t imagine a life without these privileges. I am so glad that I am not caged like all the other women.”
中国女性的传统适婚年龄一般早于西方的同龄人，但由于现在更多的中国女性都受过高等教育，平均结婚年龄也在逐步增大。1950年，中国城市妇女一般不到20岁就结婚了，现在则是27岁。这些年纪偏大但仍就未婚的女性则被冠以了“剩女”之名。“剩女”的称呼似乎带有很强的负面意义，因为没有任何女性想被认为是剩下的。
然而，大多数的职业和成功女性对此持无所谓的态度。任职于上海一家销售公司的成功女性李女士（化名）说，“我热爱现在的生活，我受过大学教育，很成功，也很富有。我无法想象没有这些，我的生活会是怎样。我很幸运我没有使自己变得像其他的女性那样。”
There is a widespread opinion that A-quality men will find B-quality women, B-quality men will find C-quality women, and C-quality men will find D-quality women. The people left are A-quality women and D-quality men. So if you are a leftover woman, you are A-quality.
But the Chinese State Council wants the A-quality women to procreate. They are the most intelligent and educated women in the world, so it is only natural, that China wants to “upgrade” the quality of the population. To support this idea many measures were taken to improve the current situation, such as the organization of events, where these young women have the opportunity to meet the other gender-“those who are on the same wavelength.”
But what about all the other girls? The young women at university? Those who still have to find their way and establish their reputation?
社会上流行的观点是最优秀的A男娶B女，B男娶C女，C男娶D女。那么A女和D男就被剩下了。因此，如果你是剩女，那么你就是最优秀的A等女。
但是中国国务院希望最优秀的A等女能够生育后代。她们是世界上受过最良好的教育，知识渊博的人，充满才智，中国想以此提高人口素质，也是很自然的。为此，人们想了很多办法，包括组织一些活动，使这些优秀的年轻女士能够有机会与同样出类拔萃的男士约会。
但是其他女孩怎么办呢？那些仍旧在上大学的女孩？那些仍不得不努力奋斗，才能出人头地的女孩？ “There are too many girls on campus and the competition is very high. It is very hard to find a boyfriend because they have a wide choice of girls,” says AiLi from the University of International Business and Economics (对外经济贸易大学) in Beijing. This seems to be frustrating for the 19 year old student. “I don’t feel comfortable. A life without a husband, oh my god, my parents would kill me! ” In addition, she has to cope with a lot of pressure. “Well, first of all, I have to study hard, then my parents want me to have a boyfriend, some of my best friends already have a boyfriend and most of all I don’t want to lose face.” The concept of face (míngzì) plays a vital role in Chinese culture and every-day life. By any conduct which destroys the harmony of a situation, one loses face. This sociological concept is like a certain kind of "code of honor". It avoids being humiliated and protects own pride. Everyone is making efforts to not let this happen. But sometimes it just happens: loosing status and becoming less respectable.
Therefore Chinese try not to lose face, while preserving their fellows. According to AiLi these are her worst nightmares.”I don’t even want to think about it. My father told me: I am more afraid of losing face than losing money.”
北京对外经济贸易大学的艾丽说，校园里女生太多，竞争太激烈了，女孩子们很难找到男朋友，男生的选择很多。这对于一个19岁的学生而言是很让人沮丧的。“我感到很不快乐，要是找不到丈夫，天呐，我的父母会杀了我的。”另外，她还要应付很多其他压力。“首先，我必须努力学习，但我爸妈又想让我交男朋友。其实，我有些好友已经有男朋友了。但是最主要的一点，我不想丢人丢面子。”面子这个概念在中国文化和日常生活中扮演着很重要的角色。如果有任何导致局面失衡的举动，就会丢面子。这一社会学概念类似“荣誉准则”。即总是害怕受辱，保护自己的尊严。每个人都害怕这种事情发生，但是有时候偏偏它就发生了：失去了地位，不再被人尊重。
因此，中国人爱维持社交圈子，害怕丢脸。艾丽说这是她的噩梦。“我甚至都不敢去想。我父亲告诉我，他我宁可丢钱也不想丢面子。”
In addition, the concept of face includes beauty and it has a great influence on people especially women. “Beauty is the most important thing on-campus apart from studying and learning,” states HanNa (name changed) from the same university. “Without beauty - especially natural beauty-everything seems so much harder.” She doesn’t consider herself to be beautiful. HanNa is not like the Chinese standard of female attractiveness which includes a height of approx.165 to 170cm, oval face, long straight hair, wafer-like thinness, a pale complexion, a complete absence of moles and freckles, large eyes with a double-fold or crease in the eyelids, and a pronounced bridge of the nose according to numerous news media reports and online surveys. With a height of 160cm, black shoulder length hair, more round than oval face, a few freckles and darker skin (HanNa comes from the South of China), she is not very impressed by herself. “I see myself more like below average” –so “nothing special”. Beauty and the concept of face result in a low self-confidence and makes her very insecure. “Sometimes I just want to give up. I feel so angry that I am being judged by people who just see the outside.” Factors like age, shape and weight are so important; it appears to be quite hard to keep up. “You have to watch yourself a lot, but fortunately I have very good friends. We can talk about everything because they have similar problems.”
What advice can we, the world, give to these young girls?
“Allow yourself to keep your dreams alive no matter how old you are. Understand that in order to achieve anything you require faith and belief in yourself, vision, hard work, determination, and dedication. Remember all things are possible for those who believe.”
另外，面子这个概念还包括美的涵义，它尤其对女性影响很大。来自同一所大学的韩娜（化名）说，“在学校，漂亮是除学习之外最重要的事情，如果不天生丽质，所有的事都会变得困难。”她觉得自己并不漂亮，根据中国传统标准，美女应有：165-170厘米的身高，鹅蛋脸，长直发，纤细，白皙的肤色，脸上干净无比，大眼睛，双眼皮，高鼻梁，这是无数的新闻媒体和网上调查的结论。来自中国南方的她，只有160cm的身高，齐肩的黑发，圆圆的脸，些许粉刺和黝黑的皮肤，她对自己一点也不自信。“我感觉我处于中等以下，没什么特别的。”美丽和脸面的概念使她自卑，并且给她一种不安全感。有时我恨不得放弃了，我很生气，因为总要被那些只在乎外表的人指指点点。像年纪、身材和体重之类的因素很重要。这些标准高不可攀。“你必须经常照镜子，但是很幸运的是我有一些很好的朋友。我们无所不谈，因为她们也有同样的问题。”
这个世界能给这些年轻的女孩什么建议呢？
“不论你多大，都要保持梦想的新鲜感。要明白，为了达到目标，你需要对自己抱有信心，有远见、努力工作、有决心并执着。记住所有的事情对于相信它的人而言都是有可能的”。
剩女被看做是“剩下的女性”,是中国政府2007年公布的新词之一。一般指年纪稍大（大多数生于上世纪八十年代），高收入但仍久未婚的女性。
Chinese women have traditionally married earlier than their counterparts in the West, but now, as more of them attain higher education, the average marriage age has been climbing steadily. In 1950, the average age for urban Chinese women to marry was just under 20; now it is 27. Furthermore, this term implies a negative connotation; no woman wants to be seen as a leftover.
Nevertheless, most of the professional and successful women do not care about these things. “I enjoy my life” says Li (name changed), an A-women working for a marketing company in Shanghai, “I have received an excellent university education; I am internationally successful and wealthy. I couldn’t imagine a life without these privileges. I am so glad that I am not caged like all the other women.”
中国女性的传统适婚年龄一般早于西方的同龄人，但由于现在更多的中国女性都受过高等教育，平均结婚年龄也在逐步增大。1950年，中国城市妇女一般不到20岁就结婚了，现在则是27岁。这些年纪偏大但仍就未婚的女性则被冠以了“剩女”之名。“剩女”的称呼似乎带有很强的负面意义，因为没有任何女性想被认为是剩下的。
然而，大多数的职业和成功女性对此持无所谓的态度。任职于上海一家销售公司的成功女性李女士（化名）说，“我热爱现在的生活，我受过大学教育，很成功，也很富有。我无法想象没有这些，我的生活会是怎样。我很幸运我没有使自己变得像其他的女性那样。”
There is a widespread opinion that A-quality men will find B-quality women, B-quality men will find C-quality women, and C-quality men will find D-quality women. The people left are A-quality women and D-quality men. So if you are a leftover woman, you are A-quality.
But the Chinese State Council wants the A-quality women to procreate. They are the most intelligent and educated women in the world, so it is only natural, that China wants to “upgrade” the quality of the population. To support this idea many measures were taken to improve the current situation, such as the organization of events, where these young women have the opportunity to meet the other gender-“those who are on the same wavelength.”
But what about all the other girls? The young women at university? Those who still have to find their way and establish their reputation?
社会上流行的观点是最优秀的A男娶B女，B男娶C女，C男娶D女。那么A女和D男就被剩下了。因此，如果你是剩女，那么你就是最优秀的A等女。
但是中国国务院希望最优秀的A等女能够生育后代。她们是世界上受过最良好的教育，知识渊博的人，充满才智，中国想以此提高人口素质，也是很自然的。为此，人们想了很多办法，包括组织一些活动，使这些优秀的年轻女士能够有机会与同样出类拔萃的男士约会。
但是其他女孩怎么办呢？那些仍旧在上大学的女孩？那些仍不得不努力奋斗，才能出人头地的女孩？ “There are too many girls on campus and the competition is very high. It is very hard to find a boyfriend because they have a wide choice of girls,” says AiLi from the University of International Business and Economics (对外经济贸易大学) in Beijing. This seems to be frustrating for the 19 year old student. “I don’t feel comfortable. A life without a husband, oh my god, my parents would kill me! ” In addition, she has to cope with a lot of pressure. “Well, first of all, I have to study hard, then my parents want me to have a boyfriend, some of my best friends already have a boyfriend and most of all I don’t want to lose face.” The concept of face (míngzì) plays a vital role in Chinese culture and every-day life. By any conduct which destroys the harmony of a situation, one loses face. This sociological concept is like a certain kind of "code of honor". It avoids being humiliated and protects own pride. Everyone is making efforts to not let this happen. But sometimes it just happens: loosing status and becoming less respectable.
Therefore Chinese try not to lose face, while preserving their fellows. According to AiLi these are her worst nightmares.”I don’t even want to think about it. My father told me: I am more afraid of losing face than losing money.”
北京对外经济贸易大学的艾丽说，校园里女生太多，竞争太激烈了，女孩子们很难找到男朋友，男生的选择很多。这对于一个19岁的学生而言是很让人沮丧的。“我感到很不快乐，要是找不到丈夫，天呐，我的父母会杀了我的。”另外，她还要应付很多其他压力。“首先，我必须努力学习，但我爸妈又想让我交男朋友。其实，我有些好友已经有男朋友了。但是最主要的一点，我不想丢人丢面子。”面子这个概念在中国文化和日常生活中扮演着很重要的角色。如果有任何导致局面失衡的举动，就会丢面子。这一社会学概念类似“荣誉准则”。即总是害怕受辱，保护自己的尊严。每个人都害怕这种事情发生，但是有时候偏偏它就发生了：失去了地位，不再被人尊重。
因此，中国人爱维持社交圈子，害怕丢脸。艾丽说这是她的噩梦。“我甚至都不敢去想。我父亲告诉我，他我宁可丢钱也不想丢面子。”
In addition, the concept of face includes beauty and it has a great influence on people especially women. “Beauty is the most important thing on-campus apart from studying and learning,” states HanNa (name changed) from the same university. “Without beauty - especially natural beauty-everything seems so much harder.” She doesn’t consider herself to be beautiful. HanNa is not like the Chinese standard of female attractiveness which includes a height of approx.165 to 170cm, oval face, long straight hair, wafer-like thinness, a pale complexion, a complete absence of moles and freckles, large eyes with a double-fold or crease in the eyelids, and a pronounced bridge of the nose according to numerous news media reports and online surveys. With a height of 160cm, black shoulder length hair, more round than oval face, a few freckles and darker skin (HanNa comes from the South of China), she is not very impressed by herself. “I see myself more like below average” –so “nothing special”. Beauty and the concept of face result in a low self-confidence and makes her very insecure. “Sometimes I just want to give up. I feel so angry that I am being judged by people who just see the outside.” Factors like age, shape and weight are so important; it appears to be quite hard to keep up. “You have to watch yourself a lot, but fortunately I have very good friends. We can talk about everything because they have similar problems.”
What advice can we, the world, give to these young girls?
“Allow yourself to keep your dreams alive no matter how old you are. Understand that in order to achieve anything you require faith and belief in yourself, vision, hard work, determination, and dedication. Remember all things are possible for those who believe.”
另外，面子这个概念还包括美的涵义，它尤其对女性影响很大。来自同一所大学的韩娜（化名）说，“在学校，漂亮是除学习之外最重要的事情，如果不天生丽质，所有的事都会变得困难。”她觉得自己并不漂亮，根据中国传统标准，美女应有：165-170厘米的身高，鹅蛋脸，长直发，纤细，白皙的肤色，脸上干净无比，大眼睛，双眼皮，高鼻梁，这是无数的新闻媒体和网上调查的结论。来自中国南方的她，只有160cm的身高，齐肩的黑发，圆圆的脸，些许粉刺和黝黑的皮肤，她对自己一点也不自信。“我感觉我处于中等以下，没什么特别的。”美丽和脸面的概念使她自卑，并且给她一种不安全感。有时我恨不得放弃了，我很生气，因为总要被那些只在乎外表的人指指点点。像年纪、身材和体重之类的因素很重要。这些标准高不可攀。“你必须经常照镜子，但是很幸运的是我有一些很好的朋友。我们无所不谈，因为她们也有同样的问题。”
这个世界能给这些年轻的女孩什么建议呢？
“不论你多大，都要保持梦想的新鲜感。要明白，为了达到目标，你需要对自己抱有信心，有远见、努力工作、有决心并执着。记住所有的事情对于相信它的人而言都是有可能的”。