介绍:
Xiaohua: It’s tough being a single guy in China. Not only do you have to compete in an imbalanced society where males outnumber females by 118 to 100, but you are expected to own property, be handsome and have a good temper to boot.
Desperate young men are now paying as much as 7000 Yuan for a seven-day crash course on how to strike a conversation with girls and keep the attraction going.
So we are talking about an online course teaching guys how to date. Do you think it’s gonna work?
Heyang: It depends on what is being taught. On this website named "Study the Art of Dating," there are mentors who sell their courses, including online and offline tutorials. These courses include how to pick up a girl, how to secure a spouse. That’s a bit of a jump in between the two. And how to redeem lost love and how to manage personal appearance. I think the easiest thing to do or to get a leg up is to manage your personal appearance. Usually that a good start I think. And it’s pretty expensive (this course turned out to be.)
I’m surprised that people actually pay for this kind of thing. And it’s not easy to be a single woman in China either. In this imbalanced society where male outnumber females. But when it comes to big cities, it seems it’s the outstanding females outnumbering males.
Mark: Calm down now.
Heyang: Yes, it’s not easy. I think women are facing a similar kind of predicament as well.
Mark: Yeah, well, maybe. Let’s concentrate on the so-called desperate young men for a moment. Do Chinese guys date when they are teenagers?
Xiaohua: We are getting to the root problem. No, they are not being encouraged. They are probably doing it secretly. But they are not being encouraged by their families or school. And right after college they are expected to get married in two years and have kids in three.
Mark: Why don’t Chinese guys, the ones that we are talking about, I’m sure this doesn’t apply to all of them. But why do they need to go on a course to learn something which comes naturally in nature and it’s part of human nature? Why do they need a course like this, and when they are in their twenties to have their parents take them to matchmaking events? And go to blind dates set up by their parents.
Xiaohua: I completely understand…
Mark: Something seems to have gone awry with nature I think in China. When it comes to teenagers, older teenagers, dating and just letting things happen naturally.
Heyang: Yeah, I think maybe it’s because, as that old saying goes, when you are at a certain age, you should do certain things. And when you are a teenager, when you are a high school student, you should probably be dating, you should probably be answering the natural call of certain desires? Or whatever it’s called, it is forbidden to be spoken of in Chinese schools. I think it’s when you natural desire has been stifled at a certain age, and later on, you actually need to pay so much money to try to acquire it again. It’s all messed up.
Mark: Perhaps in some ways it’s messed up. But in other ways, I actually think it’s quite a good idea. I mean in other words Chinese teenagers can really concentrate on their studies and so forth without the distractions of pressure to date or the desire to date if it’s all stifled. So I can kind of see both sides of this one.
Xiaohua: Yeah, this is true. Shall I give one example of one of the tricks that a mentor gives. And you guys can judge whether it’s effective. It’s called ‘the hot water trick.’ So, the idea is to walk into an upscale night club or a bar and immediately order two cups of hot water the moment you walk in. And don’t let the girl find out you are doing this. And later after finding a girl you want to speak with, the waiter will come to you with the hot water. This will impress the girl that you just met because she will see you walk in and receive hot water without asking. Making it appear that you are a regular customer at a club. Also, when you exit the club, try to pull aside the waiter for a few words, it can be anything. You can just talk randomly to them. And this will make the girl think you are very tight with this night club.
Mark: Now we are in cultural difference territory.
Heyang: Okay, you go first Mark.
Mark: Any guy that ordered hot water in a night club would risk not getting a first date let alone a second one.
Heyang: Plus now everybody knows, even if this trick had any effect on any lady, now it won’t. Because everybody is going to be doing it. Waiters are going to be so busy delivering hot water to people from now on.
Xiaohua: And we are here to debunk the myth. Next time you see this don’t trust that guy. He’s been to that course.
