Match Making in 21st Century China
Matchmaking Near the Forbidden City
In China near the Forbidden City along the moat that surrounds the Imperial City walls is a plaque at the base of a grove of Cyprus trees that marks the spot where David O. McKay and Elder Hugh J. Cannon offered a Dedicatory Prayer on China in January 9, 1921. Often when I take Mormon groups to China they want me to take them to the park and show them the plaque and the place where the prayer was offered.
On one of my recent trips, I took several people into the park to see if I could find the plaque by the tree. After entering the park, I could see over 200 Chinese senior adults all up and down the area where we go to find the tree. Each person stood behind a sheet of paper with Chinese writing and sometimes a photo of a young adult, which I guessed was their child. They were walking around talking to each other as they enjoyed the beautiful spring afternoon.
We walked up and down the grove of Cyprus trees while I looked for the place I wanted to show them. I soon spotted the tree and the place. A Chinese man had a small stool right on top of the plaque with a piece of white paper in front of it. I motioned to see if he would move for a minute so I could show my guest the plaque. He seemed to get my sign language and got up and moved his stool. I still could not figure out what the event in the park was all about.
What Are the Parents Doing?
As we were leaving the park, I spotted someone that I thought could speak English. I asked him what was going on and he said that these were parents whose children had not married and they had each prepared a sheet of paper with a description of their child. He told me that this is often an event that takes place in the parks where a parent of a single unmarried child can make a date with another parent for their young adults to exchange a phone call perhaps make plans to go on a date.
A Closer Look at the Matchmaking Papers
I sent the photo to another Chinese friend and ask them what was on the paper and ask her to share more about what happens at the park. She wrote back and told me that many Chinese young adults are so busy they do not have time to look for a date so the parents, who are usually retired, go to the park with a sign to meet other parents who have children who also want a date. She translated the writing on the photo and wrote back and told me this is what it says. “permanent residence is Beijing , was born in 1957, August 21, the year of chicken, Divorce, no children. My apartment has two rooms and one hall.”
Matchmaking at the Temple of Heaven
On a later trip, I was walking through The Temple of Heaven with a Chinese friend who doesn’t speak English and I do not speak Chinese. I saw another gathering of parents with signs and photographs on them. I gave my friend a puzzled look and she smiled while she put up her two index figures and began to put them together and them pull them apart. It did not take long for me to pick up on her sign language, which meant, this is Chinese match making.
