阅读 | 彩礼是“爱情礼物”，还是“资源互换”？

图片源于网络

Not long ago in November, a marriage farce involving a young couple in North China's Shanxi Province was exposed online. The bride's mother had asked the groom for 30,000 yuan ($4,200) in addition to a previously given 188,000 yuan bride price a day before the couple's wedding.

不久前的11月，中国北方山西省曝出一场涉及一对年轻夫妇的婚姻闹剧。新娘的母亲在婚礼前一天向新郎要求额外支付3万元人民币（约4,200美元），此外之前已支付了18.8万元人民币的彩礼。

farce：英/ fɑːs / 美/ fɑːrs / n. 荒唐的事情，闹剧

bride price：彩礼

The "day of celebration" turned immediately into a "day of separation" after the young man rejected the request.

这个“欢庆的日子”立刻变成了“分离的日子”，因为年轻男子拒绝了这一要求。

This is not the first time that such embarrassing incidents have raised an ugly head. They remind us how "effective" unfair bride-price demands are in ending a loving relationship that often takes years to nurture.

这并非是这类令人尴尬的事件第一次浮出水面。它们提醒我们不公平的彩礼要求多么“有效”，能够结束一段通常需要多年培养的爱情关系。

such embarrassing incidents have raised an ugly head：这类令人尴尬的事件浮出水面

A solution to stop farces such as this is urgently needed and it has come in the form of recent regulations that address "bride-price dispute cases" released by the Supreme People's Court of China.

我们迫切需要一个解决方案来制止这类闹剧，最近中国最高人民法院发布了涉及“彩礼纠纷案件”的相关法规。

address：英/ əˈdres / 美/ əˈdres / v. 处理，设法解决

dispute：英/ dɪˈspjuːt / 美/ dɪˈspjuːt / n. 争论，辩论，纠纷

the Supreme People's Court：最高人民法院

Coming into force in February 1, 2024, the regulations provide solutions for crux issues commonly seen in bride-price dispute cases. Guidance about the scope of bride-price gifts and the principle of returning betrothal gifts are specified in the new agenda. Prior to all specifications, the regulations "reiterated" the importance of prohibiting requests for property in the name of "marriage." 

这些规定于2024年2月1日生效，为彩礼纠纷案件中常见的核心问题提供了解决方案。新规明确了彩礼的范围和返还聘礼的原则。在所有规定之前，该法规“重申”了以“婚姻”名义要求财产的禁令的重要性。

come into force：生效

crux：英/ krʌks / 美/ krʌks / n. 关键，症结；难题

scope：英/ skəʊp / 美/ skoʊp / n. 范围，领域

betrothal：英/ bɪˈtrəʊð(ə)l / 美/ bɪˈtroʊð(ə)l / n. 订婚；婚约

agenda：英/ əˈdʒendə / 美/ əˈdʒendə / n. 待议事项；（政治）议题

prior to：在……之前，先于

specification：英/ ˌspesɪfɪˈkeɪʃ(ə)n / 美/ ˌspesɪfɪˈkeɪʃ(ə)n / n. 规范；详述

reiterate：英/ riˈɪtəreɪt / 美/ riˈɪtəreɪt / v. 重申，反复说

When did marriage, an occasion of love symbolized by a bride's white dress, turn into an excuse to blackmail people into giving away property? What made concepts such as "lao nü," meaning a girl who "fishes" for money in love, become an emerging topic debated upon by netizens on social media platforms?

婚姻，一个由新娘白色婚纱象征的充满爱意的场合，何时变成了一种敲诈人们财产的借口？是什么让“捞女”这样的概念，意味着在爱情中“捞”钱的女孩，在社交媒体平台上成为网友争论的新话题？

blackmail：英/ ˈblækmeɪl / 美/ ˈblækmeɪl / n. 勒索，敲诈；胁迫，威胁

give away：赠送；送出

fish for：试图获取

emerging：英/ ɪˈmɜːdʒɪŋ / 美/ ɪˈmɜːrdʒɪŋ / adj. 新兴的，发展初期的

debate upon：讨论（问题）

Those questions may likely be answered by looking at how the definition of marriage has been "contextualized by changing social beliefs," cultural sociologist Yu Jiadi told the Global Times. Compared to how our parents' generation associated "marriage" with "family," and "children" and "happiness," some people today, especially those immersed in materialistic commercial society, more commonly see marriage as a tool for exchanging resources, or a life-time investment.

这些问题可能可以通过审视婚姻的定义如何被“变化的社会信仰而改变”来找到答案，文化社会学家于嘉迪告诉《环球时报》。与我们父母一代将“婚姻”与“家庭”、“子女”和“幸福”联系在一起的方式相比，今天的一些人，尤其是那些沉浸在物质主义商业社会中的人，更普遍地将婚姻视为交换资源的工具，或是一种终身投资。

contextualize：英/ kənˈtekstʃuəlaɪz / 美/ kənˈtekstʃuəlaɪz / v. 置于上下文（或背景）中

immerse in：沉浸于

materialistic：英/ məˌtɪəriəˈlɪstɪk / 美/ məˌtɪriəˈlɪstɪk / adj. 物质享乐主义的；唯物主义的

"In some capitalistic Western societies, marriage has long been used as a means to hop from one social class to a higher one. A major part of a bride price helps one show off his or her social and economic capital," Yu told the Global Times.

于嘉迪告诉《环球时报》：“在一些资本主义西方社会中，婚姻长期以来被用作从一个社会阶层跃迁到更高阶层的手段。聘礼的一个重要作用是帮助一个人炫耀他或她的社会和经济资本。”

capitalistic：英/ ˌkæpɪtəˈlɪstɪk / 美/ ˌkæpɪtəˈlɪstɪk / adj. 资本主义的

hop from...to...：从...跳到...

show off：炫耀

If in Western culture a "bride price" refers a lot to one's power and ability, then its original meaning in traditional Chinese culture is utterly at the opposite end of the spectrum, symbolizing pure wishes and parental courtesy.

如果在西方文化中，“彩礼”很大程度上指的是一个人的权力和能力，那么它在中国传统文化中的原始含义是截然相反的，象征着纯粹的愿望和父母的礼节。

utterly：英/ ˈʌtəli / 美/ ˈʌtərli / adv. 完全地，彻底地

spectrum：英/ ˈspektrəm / 美/ ˈspektrəm / n. 范围；光谱

be utterly at the opposite end of the spectrum：（与...）截然相反

parental：英/ pəˈrent(ə)l / 美/ pəˈrent(ə)l / adj. 父母的，双亲的；

courtesy：英/ ˈkɜːtəsi / 美/ ˈkɜːrtəsi / n. 礼貌，彬彬有礼

"Holding one's hand and growing older together," is a phrase that originated from theBook of Songs, one of China's oldest existing poetry collections. Along with another Chinese idiom "love over gold," those concepts reveal the Chinese people's earnest love philosophy since ancient times.

“执子之手，与子偕老”是来自中国现存最古老的诗歌集之一的《诗经》中的一句话。与另一中国成语“情比金坚”一起，这些概念展示了中国人自古以来真挚的爱情哲学。

originate from：起源于

idiom：英/ ˈɪdiəm / 美/ ˈɪdiəm / n. 成语；方言

philosophy：英/ fəˈlɒsəfi / 美/ fəˈlɑːsəfi / n. 哲学；思想体系

Despite changing times, these traditional values can still guide Chinese people's moral belief and this is the reason why this new "bride-price" regulation has come out.

尽管时光不断变迁，这些传统价值观仍然能够指导中国人的道德信仰，这也是出台这项新的“彩礼”法规的原因。

On a practical level, it corrects immoral behavior, but on a more profound level, such regulation, especially provided in modern times has a major purpose to bring distorted marriage culture back on its original "love over gold" track. Such an adjustment is timely and can be most beneficial to the young generation of Chinese people who are learning about love while also witnessing the dark side brought by crazy materialistic society.

在实际层面上，它纠正了不道德的行为，但在更深层次上，特别是在现代提供这种法规，其主要目的是将扭曲的婚姻文化重新引回到最初的“情比金坚”的轨道上。这样的调整是及时的，对于正在学习爱情、同时也目睹疯狂物质主义社会带来的黑暗面的中国年轻一代来说，是最有益的。

on a practical level：在实际层面上

on a more profound level：在更深层次上

bring...back on its original track：将...重新引回到最初的轨道上

distorted：英/ dɪˈstɔːtɪd / 美/ dɪˈstɔːrtɪd / adj. 变形的，扭曲的

——本文的英文评论来自Bride price regains meaning as marriage farces banned: Global Times<节选>