Old couple finds love through arranged marriage
Their parents arranged for them to wed when they were still children, but that never prevented them from learning to live together.
Liu Mingyi, 92, and Li Xinrang, 91, of Guancheng District, Zhengzhou, capital of Central China's Henan Province, have been living as a couple for 70 years.
Liu and Li were both born in Xinzheng, another city in the province. Their parents decided when Liu was only four and Li just three that the two should marry when they came of age.
At that time it was considered customary for friendly families to arrange for their children to wed one another. Whether or not the two loved one another when the time came was immaterial.
After their engagement, Liu and Li grew up in their separate homes, and then Liu eventually left home to study at university. Once he completed his studies, Liu returned home and married Li in accordance with their parents' wishes, even though the two young people knew almost nothing about each other.
"I was actually quite scared to marry him because we had never really seen each other before the wedding. We were not like the young people now, who get to know each other and then fall in love before getting married," Li said.
"But I felt pretty good when I got that first look at my husband," she added.
Liu does not talk much, and he admitted that his conversations with his wife are always serious.
Li agreed that this was sort of a problem at the beginning.
"We rarely joke around, and I felt sort of bored at the beginning of our marriage, but I eventually got used to it," Li said.
The couple's neighbors have noticed their cool behavior in public.
"It is not just that they don't talk much, but they also never show their affection in public. For example, they always leave some space between each other when they go for a walk. The old man walks in front, and the grandma follows," said Wang, a neighbor.
Chen, another neighbor, struck a similar note.
"The old man walks fast, but then he will stop and wait for his wife, and when she closes the gap, he starts walking fast again," Chen said.
Though Liu is a little hard of hearing and Li's eyesight is dim, they pay close attention to their hygiene. Not only is their house clean, but they also sweep their yard every morning.
"My husband has been very good about cleaning ever since he was young. He was a teacher at a middle school, and every afternoon he would clean the classrooms when others left the school," Li said.
One day in 2006, Liu fell and hit his head while sweeping up leaves and garbage in their yard. Since then, Li has refused to let her husband go out alone, said Wu Biao, director of the residential quarters management committee.
"They are so enthusiastic about working for the public even though they are old. They love and support each other, even though they don't show it in public. Other people in the community admire their devotion to one another, and young people really envy the old couple for their simple and lasting love," the director said.
China Daily
(China Daily 06/19/2007 page6)
