'The power of love': Woman in China refuses bride price, pays for $35,000 debt of fiance she met a month ago

When others say that love knows no boundaries, this might be the exact story they're talking about.

A woman in China went viral on mainland social media for revealing that she paid off her fiance's 180,000 yuan (S$35,000) debt and did not accept his traditional bride price after just meeting him a month ago.

According to Jimu News, the woman, surnamed Zhou, met her fiance on a blind date and continued to see each other for about a month before deciding to wed each other at the end of the year.

Speaking to Star Video, Zhou revealed that she refused a wedding gift and an engagement ring from his fiance, surnamed Hu, opting to financially support him by paying off his debt with her savings instead.

Hu's debt was the consequence of a misjudged investment.

Zhou, who is a native of Nanchang, the capital of Jiangxi province, then returned a bride price of 300,000 yuan and a red packet containing another 10,000 yuan to his family, reported the South China Morning Post. 

"Money is not the basis of love and it’s not a decisive factor. He can give me infinite love," she said. 

The news story has since went viral, garnering more than four million views on Weibo.

Many netizens were quick to call Zhou naive, suggesting that the same amount of generosity will never be reciprocated back to her.

"Hope she doesn't get dumped," one commenter quipped.

"She's going to be disappointed," said another on Weibo. "Not only did he accept the money, he even said that he had no more 'face' after receiving criticism from netizens – such men will always only care about their image."

Other netizens were less skeptical, respecting her decision to do so.

"It's the power of love," one said.

"As long as she's happy, it will be fine," said another.

After the story went viral, Zhou thanked netizens for showing concern, saying that they were reasonable as "we were always taught our kindness will be taken for granted".

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"The only reason I did this is because I think he's a down-to-earth and hardworking young man. I believe that as long as we work together, we will be able to live an honest life," she elaborated on Weibo. 

Hu has also reportedly promised to return the loan to her future wife.

The couple is expected to wed on Dec 31.

In China, the process of commodifying marriage through a "bride price", or cai li, has been a longstanding tradition since the Western Zhou Dynasty.

According to China's National Bureau of Statistics, there were at least 30 million more men than women in the world's most populous country, resulting in many families seeking higher-than-ever bride prices in an attempt to marry their sons off.

wongdaoen@asiaone.com

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