負擔不起的鄉村愛情! 我國部分農民'因婚致貧'!

One's wedding day is often considered the happiest day of a person's life. The same can not be said for the parents of a groom in rural China, where saving face and social pressure often leave them in debt for years.

一個人的婚禮當天通常會被認爲是人生當中最幸福的一天。但這句話對於中國農村的新郎的父母來說卻並不正確，因爲面子問題和社會壓力往往使他們負債累累。

Wang Yueguo, from Shandong, managed to scrape together enough money to pay for his son's marriage last month. The wedding completely drained the family's savings and left them with a debt that will take a decade to repay.

山東的王越國上個月終於爲兒子的婚事湊夠了錢。婚禮不僅耗光了這個家的全部積蓄，還讓他們背上了一筆10年才能還完的債務。

"My son's marriage cost me more than 200,000 yuan, including about 100,000 yuan that I borrowed from relatives and friends," said Wang, whose family earns about 30,000 yuan a year from farming.

全家上下每年通過種地才能收入3萬元的王越國表示：“我兒子結婚花了我20多萬，其中有大約10萬元是我從親戚和朋友那兒借來的。”

Wang is among many parents in parts of China's rural areas who feel pressured to splurge on their sons' weddings to secure a daughter-in-law and avoid losing face.

在我國部分農村地區，許多父母爲了娶回一個兒媳婦、保住臉面，頂着壓力爲兒子的婚禮大操大辦，王越國只是其中一個。

In China, it is expected that the family of the bridegroom will buy a house, pay for the wedding ceremony and provide betrothal gifts. In the countryside, where people earn less, but tend to maintain traditions more, families often spend most of their hard-earned savings on weddings.

在我國，人們期待由新郎的家庭買房、出錢辦婚禮和出彩禮。在農村地區，人們賺得少，卻往往更遵循傳統，因此家庭常常把辛苦攢下的大部分積蓄都花在婚禮上。

According to a survey conducted last year in Linyi, Shandong, weddings in the city's rural areas cost at least RMB200,000, the equivalent of four to five years' income for a local family of four.

去年一項在山東臨沂展開的調查顯示，該市農村地區的婚禮至少要花費20萬元，相當於當地一個四口之家四五年的收入總和。

Some families struggling to cope with debts incurred by a wedding have even been dragged into poverty, the survey showed.

調查顯示，一些家庭因應付婚禮的債務而陷入掙扎，甚至被拖入貧困。