(原文發表於2025年5月25日)

1. Everyone knows that a man in want of a wife must be in possession of a good fortune. In modern China, however, that requirement has become excessive.

2. "I was ready to marry the girl I was dating," said Sun Yana 34-year-old accountant who still lives with his parents. "But she wanted such a big price. She wanted a flat, lots of money, gold jewellery - it would have all cost 400,000 yuan (£41,000). I just didn't have it."

3. Now, Sun, who is standing on the Russian border 1,700 miles from his home in Fujian, is weighing up alternatives.

4."I think I will try Vladivostok first, then elsewhere in Russia's far east," he said. "If not there, I will go to Ukraine. Moscow women look down on Chinese men."

5. Sun is part of a growing trend in China. Chinese men are looking further afield for marriage - and to Russia and the post-Soviet bloc in particular. Thousands, like Sun, are heading for the border, or at least the airport.

6. The fact that Russian women do not demand dowries is an advantage. Another is that - in the Chinese imagination at least - there are simply more of them available.

7. Marriage, as Jane Austen warned us, is not supposed to be a marketplace. But as Pride and Prejudice pointed out, it is often seen that way, and the Chinese market is speaking.

8. According to official figures, there are now 35 million fewer women than men in the country, a side-effect of the three-decade-long one-child policy in a country with a historic preference for boys over girls.

9. Girls were selectively aborted, or in some cases abandoned after birth. In an unknown number of cases, girls were not registered at birth.

10. Young women, who are already more independent and less inclined to her mother were, partly as a result of the greater focus on their own education as only children, know it is all the easier for them to "marry up".

11. Research by Chinese universities, under pressure to find a solution to declining marriage and birth rates as the national population begins to shrink, suggests that Sun's girlfriend was, if anything, less demanding than most.

12. Even in rural areas, 500,000 to 600,000 yuan has emerged as a norm for women to expect in cash, jewellery and property from their future husbands. It is hardly surprising that Chinese men have started to look abroad instead.

13. Russia has emerged as a favoured destination partly because it has a mirroring imbalance - though not so extreme. At the last count, there were about ten million more women than men in the country.

14. The figure is misleading as far as marriage is concerned, as it is entirely influenced by the extreme difference in death rates over the age of 40 between the two sexes - there is no such disparity in the young.

15. However, when it comes to romance, facts become hazy and image more important, and Russian women are seen as desirable, prestigious and likely to look favourably on Chinese men.

16."I know there's a war going on, so there are just more women," Sun said. "That's why I'm going to try my luck."

17. While he was travelling "on spec",many Chinese men are more organised. A new industry has emerged of marriage agents, who offer their services on Douyin, China's equivalent of TikTok, and other social media platforms.

18. Around these, chat groups have sprung up of young men swapping tips. All believe that Russian, Ukrainian and other Slavic women make good wives.

19. In one video, a man who gives his name as Ah Guan and says he is from Hebei province,  says he is living in Ukraine having gone there to find a wife, and will help others follow him.

20. "The reason I came to Ukraine is to find a Ukrainian wife," he says. "For old leftover single men like me, we can only charge forward. There's no turning back."

21. Although the first Ukrainian girl said she would not move to China, he said he remained hopeful in his conquest. "After arriving, I found that there really are a lot of beautiful women," he said. "It's very interesting and surprising."

22. The issue of foreign marriages remains sensitive in China, partly for reasons of national and ethnic pride, and exact statistics are hard to find.

23. An academic who wrote about the subject, and recommended that the state encourage overseas marriage, found himself assailed online by women ciaiming that he was encouraging sex trafficking. Men, however, offered their support.

24. What statistics there are show a steady rise in transnational marriages over the past decade, interrupted only by the coronavirus pandemic.

25. On the Russian side, women have historically looked west, particularly those trying to escape poverty-stricken Siberian towns. However, the influx of Chinese men looking for work in the region has led to a rise in transnational marriage, while more Russian women marry boyfriends in China itself.

26. Elena Barabantseva, a Belarusian academic at Manchester University who is writing a book on transnational marriages, said the motives of those involved often clashed.

27.Russian women who came to China to work, lured by the better economy, found their degrees were undervalued. They were often forced into hospitality jobs, such as nightclub hostesses and other entertainment workers. Marrying local men gave them security, but at a cost.

28. "There is a media construction of Russian women as less emancipated and making good housewives," she said.

29. Sun Yan reckoned he was open-minded. He said he would be happy to bring his future wife back to China, or remain in Russia with her, if he could get a job.

30. Anecdotally, such marriages have a high divorce rate, as barriers of understanding remain high. One travel agent said he was wary of the marriage industry, telling The Times: "Relationships tend to be rushed into marriage, with both sides knowing very little about each other. This often leads to problems later in life, not to mention a high risk of being scammed or taken advantage of."

31. Barabantseva said in her research she had encountered enough happy outcomes to give Sun some hope, however. "I have interviewed over 50 such women married to Chinese men," she said. "Some go through difficulties but it's possible to have a stable and happy marriage in China."

为何中国男性开始转向俄罗斯寻妻？

1. 众所周知，想娶妻的男人必须有丰厚的财产。然而在现代中国，这一要求已变得过于苛刻。

2. "我本打算和当时的女友结婚，" 34岁仍与父母同住的会计孙岩（音译）说，"但她要的彩礼太多了。她想要一套公寓、一大笔钱、金首饰——总共要40万元（4.1万英镑）。我根本拿不出来。"

3. 如今，孙岩站在离家1700英里的中俄边境，正在权衡其他选择。

4. "我想先去符拉迪沃斯托克试试，然后再去俄罗斯远东其他地方，"他说，"如果不行，就去乌克兰。莫斯科的女性看不起中国男人。"

5. 孙岩的选择反映了中国一个日益明显的趋势：越来越多中国男性将寻妻的目光投向更远的地方——尤其是俄罗斯及后苏联国家。成千上万像孙岩这样的人正前往边境，或至少踏上了飞往那里的航班。

6. 俄罗斯女性不要求彩礼，这是一大优势。另一个原因是——至少在中国男性的想象中——那里可供选择的女性更多。

7. 正如简·奥斯汀警示的，婚姻本不应是市场交易。但正如《傲慢与偏见》所言，婚姻常被视为交易，而中国的"婚姻市场"正在发声。

8. 官方数据显示，中国女性比男性少3500万，这是长达三十年的独生子女政策带来的副作用之一，而中国历来有重男轻女的传统。

9. 女孩被选择性堕胎，有些甚至在出生后被遗弃。还有许多女孩未进行出生登记。

10. 年轻女性更加独立，不像她们的母亲那样倾向于早早结婚。部分原因在于，作为独生子女，她们更注重自身教育，也更清楚自己有资本"嫁得更好"。

11. 中国高校的研究表明（这些研究迫于人口萎缩、结婚率和生育率下降的压力，试图寻找解决方案），孙岩女友的要求其实比大多数女性还要低。

12. 即使在农村地区，女方要求男方提供50万至60万元现金、首饰和房产已成为常态。难怪中国男性开始把目光投向国外。

13. 俄罗斯成为热门目的地，部分原因在于该国存在相反的性别失衡——尽管没那么极端。据最新统计，俄罗斯女性比男性多约1000万。

14. 但就婚姻而言，这一数字具有误导性，因为它完全受40岁以上男女死亡率差异的影响——年轻人中并不存在这种差距。

15. 然而，在婚恋问题上，事实往往模糊不清，形象更为重要。俄罗斯女性被视为理想的伴侣，既体面又可能对中国男性有好感。

16. "我知道现在有战争，所以女性更多了，"孙岩说，"所以我想去碰碰运气。"

17. 虽然孙岩是"试试看"的心态，但许多中国男性更有计划。一个新的行业正在兴起：婚姻中介在抖音（中国版TikTok）和其他社交媒体平台上提供服务。

18. 围绕这些中介，年轻男性组成的聊天群组纷纷涌现，互相交流经验。他们都认为俄罗斯、乌克兰和其他斯拉夫国家的女性是理想的妻子。

19. 在一段视频中，一名自称来自河北、网名为"阿冠"的男子说，他为寻妻来到乌克兰生活，并愿意帮助其他人效仿他。

20. "我来乌克兰就是为了找个乌克兰老婆，"他说，"像我这样的大龄剩男，只能往前冲，没有回头路。"

21. 尽管第一个乌克兰女孩说不愿搬到中国，但他仍对寻妻充满希望。"来了之后发现，真的有很多漂亮女性，"他说，"这既有趣又令人惊喜。"

22. 跨国婚姻在中国仍是敏感话题，部分原因涉及民族自豪感，因此确切统计数据难以获取。

23. 一位研究该主题并建议国家鼓励海外婚姻的学者，遭到女性网民抨击，称他在鼓励人口贩卖。不过，男性网民则表示支持。

24. 现有数据显示，过去十年跨国婚姻数量稳步上升，仅因新冠疫情短暂中断。

25. 在俄罗斯一方，女性历来倾向于"向西看"，尤其是那些试图逃离西伯利亚贫困城镇的女性。然而，中国男性涌入该地区务工，导致跨国婚姻增多，也有更多俄罗斯女性嫁给在中国的男友。

26. 曼彻斯特大学的白俄罗斯学者叶莲娜·巴拉班采娃（Elena Barabantseva）正在撰写一本关于跨国婚姻的书，她指出，双方的动机往往冲突。

27. 被中国更好的经济条件吸引而来的俄罗斯女性，发现自己的学历在这里不受重视，常常被迫从事服务业，如夜总会陪侍等娱乐工作。嫁给当地男性虽能带来安全感，但也有代价。

28. "媒体将俄罗斯女性塑造为没那么解放、适合做家庭主妇的形象，"她说。

29. 孙岩认为自己思想开放。他说，如果能找到工作，他愿意带未来的妻子回中国，或留在俄罗斯生活。

30. 据传闻，这类婚姻的离婚率较高，因为双方的理解障碍依然很大。一位旅行社从业者告诉《泰晤士报》，他对婚恋中介行业持谨慎态度："双方往往仓促结婚，彼此了解甚少。这往往会在日后引发问题，更不用说被骗或被利用的高风险了。"

31. 不过，巴拉班采娃在研究中也遇到过不少幸福案例，这给了孙岩一些希望。"我采访过50多位嫁给中国男性的女性，"她说，"有些人经历了困难，但在中国拥有稳定幸福的婚姻是可能的。"