河南某街道出台彩礼标准，网友炸锅了丨Should we rein in the bride price？

CHINADAILY

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Those of you who know about China's wedding customs may well have already heard of the bride price — money or valuable assets paid to the bride's family during an engagement in an effort to win their blessing.

Recently, a new ceiling was imposed on bride price by a local authority in Lankao county of central China's Henan province, sparking much heated debate online.

Under the regulation on standards for wedding and funeral ceremonies issued by the local authority, engagement money given to the bride's family should not surpass 20,000 yuan ($3,050). Those who ask for more are at risk of being investigated for human trafficking or fraud, according to the document.

First issued in May, the regulation has drawn much attention online, leading to the local authority acknowledging on June 21 that more clarification was needed on the issue.

Bride prices have always been a controversial issue in China, so news of them being limited was bound to spark discussion among netizens.

Some said the regulation would deter women from getting married to men from the affected region due to less money being on offer than elsewhere.

Others said the local authorities shouldn't be so eager to intervene in people's personal affairs.

Officials from Lankao county told China News reporters that the aim of the regulation was merely to cut back on red tape and create a more civilized atmosphere.

However, many pointed out that whatever the local authority's intention, old habits and ingrained customs are not that easy to change.

Offering betrothal gifts is an age-old Chinese tradition. But in recent years, the bride price has skyrocketed in certain areas, sometimes reaching as much as hundreds of thousands of yuan. This can often be beyond the means of rural families.

So, in an attempt to pump the brakes on these seemingly runaway prices, provinces such as Sichuan, Shandong and Henan have published guidance on the total amount of wedding gifts that a groom's family should give, recommending a cap of between 50,000 or 60,000 yuan.

Chen Bulei, professor at the Southwest University of Political Science and Law, said a change of mindset was needed before old habits are truly broken.

"If gender equality takes root in people's minds, especially in the countryside, the misunderstanding toward bride price would change fundamentally," said Chen.

Editor: Jiao Jie

Intern: Zhao Han

Proofreader: Greg Fountain