“結婚搭子”：中國年輕人開始流行友情婚_風聞

Holy mate-trimony: the rise of ‘friendship marriages’

For many singles in China, a friendship marriage helps escape family pressure and societal prejudice

China’s marriage rate may have plunged to a record low last year, but at least some of the country’s singles are saying yes – albeit to a different type of arrangement.

A small but growing number of young people are “marrying their best friends”, said the South China Morning Post. The so-called “friendship marriage” trend involves two people becoming legal spouses, often living together in a relationship based on “shared values and interests” – but without ties of romantic love or sex.

翻譯

中國去年的結婚率可能已跌至歷史新低，但至少仍有部分單身人士願意步入婚姻——儘管是以另一種形式的結合。

《南華早報》稱，有一小部分年輕人選擇“和最好的朋友結婚”，並且這種情況越來越多。這種被稱為“友情婚姻”的關係，是指雙方成為合法夫妻，基於共同價值觀和興趣一起生活，但既不追求愛情，也不發生親密關係。

Friends with platonic benefits

Faced with a “plummeting birth rate and an ageing population”, the Chinese government is overtlyencouraging its record number of single people to get married, said The Associated Press. In a speech in 2023, China’s leader called for a “new type of marriage and childbearing culture”. So for many singles wanting to “escape family pressure and societal prejudice”, said the SCMP, a friendship marriage helps. “Women my age are all getting married and having kids,” 33-year-old, Chloe, told the publication. “A friendship marriage helps avoid gossip.”

筆記

platonic

a relationship that is platonic is just friendly and is not a sexual relationship〔關係〕親密而無性愛的，柏拉圖式的，純精神戀愛的，純友誼的:

a platonic friendship 柏拉圖式的友誼

ov****ertly

not hidden or secret 公開的

an overtly religious reference

明顯的宗教關聯

翻譯

無愛無性的“柏拉圖式婚姻”

美聯社指出，面對“生育率驟降與人口老齡化”的雙重壓力，中國政府正公開鼓勵其規模空前的單身羣體步入婚姻。2023年，中國領導人曾公開倡導構建“新型婚育文化”。《南華早報》認為，對許多單身人士來説，友情婚能有效幫助他們“擺脱家庭壓力與社會偏見”。33歲的克洛伊坦言，“我這個年紀的女性都結婚生娃了。和好朋友結婚可以避免別人在背後説三道四。”

Sexless marriages are also on the rise in Japan and are “among the reasons cited for the low birth rate”, said The Times. But for a growing number of people, that sexlessness is “an integral part of a marital union”. They appeal to those who “want the benefits of marriage” – legal and financial, or perhaps to raise a child – without intimacy.

That’s especially true of gay and asexualpeople, for whom traditional marriage might be “at odds” with their sexual orientation. Like China, Japan does not recognise same-sex marriage, and remains socially conservative in attitudes towards non-traditional families. Friendship marriages have “filled the gap to some extent”.

筆記

asexual

not interested in sex 無性慾的，對性不感興趣的

at odds

if things are at odds with each other , they are different or opposite when they should be the same （與某物）不一致，相矛盾

This statement is completely at odds with what was said last week.

這一説法跟上星期所説的完全不一樣。

翻譯

無性婚姻在日本也呈上升趨勢，《泰晤士報》指出這"是低生育率的原因之一"。但對越來越多的人而言，這種無性狀態恰恰是"婚姻關係的核心要素"。這種婚姻模式正受到部分人羣的青睞——他們追求的只是婚姻帶來的法律保障和經濟利益（例如共同育兒），而非情感聯結。

這一現象在同性戀和無性戀羣體中尤為常見，因為他們的性取向與傳統婚姻“格格不入”。與中國情況相似，日本至今未將同性婚姻合法化，社會對多元化家庭形態的接受度仍然有限。“友情婚姻”這種新型形式在某種程度上為他們提供瞭解決方法。

Colorus, one of many matchmaking agencies specialising in friendship marriages, claims 80% of its male clients are gay and 90% of women on its books identify as asexual. “We offer an option to those who cannot fall in love or have sex with the opposite gender,” Arisa Nakamura, the director, told the newspaper.

In the US, many platonic “couples” aren’t “open about their situation”, but anecdotal evidence from online messageboards suggests it could be “a larger portion of the marriage population than numbers portray”, said The New York Times in 2021. It “probably happens a lot”, said Nick Bognar, a marriage therapist.

筆記

anecdotal

based on someone’ s personal experience or information rather than on facts that can be checked 軼事的；傳聞的

There is now anecdotal evidence that these chemicals are harmful.

現在據説有證據表明這些化學物有害。

翻譯

友情婚婚介機構Colorus透露，其客户中80%的男會員為同性戀者，90%的女會員自稱無性戀者。該機構負責人中村光沙（Arisa Nakamura）告訴媒體：“我們為那些無法與異性相愛或發生關係的人提供了另一種選擇。”

《紐約時報》2021年的報道顯示，美國許多柏拉圖式的“伴侶”並不願意“公開他們的真實關係”。從網絡論壇的數據來看，“這類婚姻可能比統計數據反映的要更多”。婚姻治療師尼克·博格納也認為，“這種情況應該不在少數”。

‘An oddity in human history’

Platonic unions have been “prevalent since marriage became an institution”, said the newspaper. Historically, marriages were an “economic proposition”. It is marrying for love that is “more of an oddity in human history”. Now spouses are expected to fulfil all of each other’s needs: “social, psychological and economic”.

Growing numbers of young people are realising that there are “other benefits to marriage other than romantic love,” one woman told the daily. “I mean, isn’t the point to marry your best friend? In other words, why can’t it be your “literal best friend”?

翻譯

“人類歷史上的稀奇現象”

該報稱，自婚姻制度誕生以來，柏拉圖式的婚姻一直普遍存在。從歷史上看，婚姻的本質是“經濟契約”，基於愛情的婚姻才是稀奇現象。如今社會卻要求配偶滿足彼此的所有需求，包括社交需求、心理需求和經濟需求。

一位女性在採訪中表示，越來越多的年輕人開始意識到"婚姻除了浪漫愛情還有其他價值”。“婚姻的意義不正是與最好的朋友結為終身伴侶嗎？“換言之，為何不能與"純摯友"結婚呢？

But there are risks in saying “I do” to a friend, said law fellow Nausica Palazzo on The Conversation. In the US, for example, it’s “pretty easy for two friends to get married” – as long as they don’t admit they’re only friends. “Legally speaking, it could be seen as a sham marriage”, something akin to a green card union.

It would be extremely difficult to prove, but the couple could risk “criminal sanctions and civil penalties”. They could end up being denied the very financial benefits, such as tax breaks, that attracted them to marriage in the first place.

筆記

sham

not real but claimed to be real 虛假的；假裝的

a sham marriage

假結婚

tax breaks

a special reduction in taxes 減税優惠:

tax breaks for small businesses給小企業的減税優惠

翻譯

然而法律學者諾西卡·帕拉佐在《對話》雜誌上指出，與朋友結婚存在風險。以美國為例，“兩個朋友結婚相當容易”，只要他們咬定兩人並非純友誼。“從法律角度而言，這可能被視為假結婚”，類似於為獲得綠卡而結婚。

雖然取證極為困難，但這樣的伴侶仍可能面臨"刑事制裁與民事處罰"的風險。他們最終可能無法獲得那些最初吸引他們結婚的經濟利益，比如税收減免。

Friendship marriages don’t work for everyone as an “escape from reality,” Pan Lian, a family relationship consultant in China, told The Week. They are a “temporary solution to societal pressures” that may fade should “affordable housing and single benefits improve.”

翻譯

中國家庭關係諮詢師潘漣（音）在《週刊》的採訪中表示，友情婚無法成為所有人“逃離現實的避風港”。這種婚姻只是"應對社會壓力的權宜之計”。隨着保障性住房體系得到完善、單身人士社會福利得以提高，這種婚姻形式可能會逐漸消失。

**原文來源：**The Week

**翻譯：**Deepseek大模型翻譯+人工潤色