主题：【原创】现今社会的男人 -- 铿锵玫瑰

Like many divorced women, Li has full custody of and is the sole support of her 11-year-old daughter. The concept of alimony is only beginning to enter Chinese society, keeping some wives from splitting with their husbands for fear of not being able to provide for children. But Li makes enough to care for two people. And she isn't wallowing. She attended the inaugural meeting of Shanghai's first-ever Divorce Club--held on Valentine's Day this year--and joined dozens of other divorced men and women at a matchmaking gala filled with Chinese-style entertainment: ballroom dancing, karaoke and poetry recitation. Li also logs on to a 91,000-member website for divorcés. "I want to find someone to love again," she says. "Just because I made a bad choice before shouldn't mean I can't have another opportunity."

The spiraling divorce rate has presented opportunities for China's entrepreneurial classes. The number of divorce lawyers in the city has quintupled in the past five years. Detective agencies specializing in marital investigations are proliferating. Zhang Kaidong, the self-dubbed "Mistress Buster," employs former policemen, journalists, athletes and bodyguards for his three-year-old private-eye firm in Shanghai. Much of his business involves investigating assets for women who worry that their soon-to-be ex-husbands will lowball their savings in divorce court. "Before, women wouldn't fight for their share because they were so embarrassed about divorce," he says. "But it's a material world now." Zhang is no exception. His fees for a basic case are $1,500, roughly half what an average Shanghai resident earns in a year.

Some Chinese are so spooked by the prospect of divorce that they avoid marriage altogether. Last year 8.23 million couples wed nationwide, 441,000 fewer than in 2004. Those that do get hitched aren't shy about specifying exactly what they want. "For young women in Shanghai, one of their main requirements in marriage is a man who has his own apartment, car and some savings," says marriage counselor Shu. But a fat bank account alone doesn't ensure a happy marriage. "In China today, materialism is being pursued at the expense of traditional values like love," frets Xia Xueluan, a sociologist at Peking University. "With conditions like these, I see the divorce rate climbing for several years to come." That's not the only sign that divorce has lost its exoticism. One of last year's hottest TV series highlighted the pitfalls of modern relationships. Its title? Divorce, Chinese Style.

With reporting by With reporting by Bu Hua/Shanghai