Published by: Chinese080808
Companion grammar guide found here.
Transcript covers between 8:40 and 17:03.

汉字 Pinyin English
(Edward) (Google Translate) (Edward)
在中国农村，“重男轻女”和“养儿防老”的生育观念影响是很深的。 Zài Zhōngguó nóngcūn,“zhòngnán qīng nǚ” hé “yǎng er fánglǎo” de shēngyù guānniàn yǐngxiǎng shì hěn shēn de. In China’s rural areas, the concept of “valuing males and belittling females” and “raising children for the purpose of being looked after in old age” still runs deep.
一对夫妇如果只生女孩，即使已经有了两三个，也还要继续生，总希望再生一个男孩。 Yī duì fūfù rúguǒ zhǐ shēng nǚhái, jíshǐ yǐjīng yǒule liǎng sān gè, yě hái yào jìxù shēng, zǒng xīwàng zàishēng yīgè nánhái. If a husband and wife only have girls, even if they already have two or three, they will continue to have children, hoping that the next one will be a boy.
这是因为长期以来中国是一个农业社会。 Zhè shì yīnwèi chángqí yǐlái Zhōngguó shì yīgè nóngyè shèhuì. This is because for a long time China was an agricultural society.
劳动力对家庭来说是非常重要的。 Láodònglì duì jiātíng lái shuō shì fēicháng zhòngyào de. The labour force was very important to the family.
当父母老了、不能干活的时候，就要靠自己的子女来照顾。 Dāng fùmǔ lǎole, bùnéng gàn huó de shíhou, jiù yào kào zìjǐ de zǐnǚ lái zhàogù. When parents got old, and could not work, they relied on their children to take care of them.
女儿又要嫁到别人家，所以只能靠儿子，人们也就常说“多子多福”。 Nǚ’ér yòu yào jià dào biérén jiā, suǒyǐ zhǐ néng kào érzi, rénmen yě jiù cháng shuō “duō zi duō fú”. Daughters would marry into someone else’s home, therefore only a son can be relied upon, so people also used to say “the more sons, the more happiness”.
如果没有儿子，就会担心自己老了以后怎么办。 Rúguǒ méiyǒu érzi, jiù huì dānxīn zìjǐ lǎole yǐhòu zěnme bàn. If they have no sons, then they will worry about what to do after they are old.
今天社会发展了，情况也不同了，各种社会保险制度已经开始建立，老人也有了退休金，不需要完全靠子女生活了。 Jīntiān shèhuì fāzhǎnle, qíngkuàng yě bùtóngle, gè zhǒng shèhuì bǎoxiǎn zhìdù yǐjīng kāishǐ jiànlì, lǎorén yěyǒule tuìxiū jīn, bù xūyào wánquán kào zǐnǚ shēnghuóle. Today society has developed, and the situation is not the same, a variety of social insurance systems have already been established, the elderly also have pensions, so their lives do not entirely depend upon their children.
尽管社会上已经有了这些变化，这种“多子多福”的传统观念在农村还是有很大的影响。 Jǐnguǎn shèhuì shàng yǐjīng yǒule zhèxiē biànhuà, zhè zhǒng “duō zi duō fú” de chuántǒng guānniàn zài nóngcūn háishì yǒu hěn dà de yǐngxiǎng. Although society already made these changes, this traditional concept of “more sons, more happiness” still has a big influence in the rural areas.
但是，城市里的年轻人对生育问题却有了新的想法。 Dànshì, chéngshì lǐ de niánqīng rén duì shēngyù wèntí què yǒule xīn de xiǎngfǎ. However, young people in the cities have a new view on the birth issue.
根据最新的调查，在北京、上海、广州三个城市的居民中，有百分之二十一的居民“赞成”或者“比较赞成”结婚不要孩子。 Gēnjù zuìxīn de diàochá, zài Běijīng, Shànghǎi, Guǎngzhōu sān gè chéngshì de jūmín zhōng, yǒu bǎi fēn zhī èrshíyī de jūmín “zànchéng” huòzhě “bǐjiào zànchéng” jiéhūn bùyào háizi. According to the latest survey, of the residents in three cities of Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou, 21 percent of these residents were “in favour” or “relatively in favour” of marriage without children.
有一部分年轻夫妇选择了“丁克家庭”。 Yǒu yībùfèn niánqīng fūfù xuǎnzéle “dīngkè jiātíng”. Some young husbands and wives have chosen to be a “DINK [double income no kids] family”.
“丁克”是什么意思？ “Dīngkè” shì shénme yìsi? What does “DINK” mean?
它就是夫妇俩都工作、没有小孩的家庭。 Tā jiùshì fūfù liǎ dōu gōngzuò, méiyǒu xiǎohái de jiātíng. It means a family where both the husband and wife are working, with no children.
这种家庭是上个世纪六十年代在美国出现的，近二十多年以来越来越多了。 Zhè zhǒng jiātíng shì shàng gè shìjì liùshí niándài zài Měiguó chūxiàn de, jìn èrshí duō nián yǐlái yuè lái yuè duōle. This kind of family appeared in America in the 60s of the last century, and has become more and more common over the last twenty years.
现在，“丁克家庭”在中国也出现了，根据政府的调查，在中国城市里“丁克夫妇”的总数已达到六十多万对，以后大概还会更快地增加。 Xiànzài,“dīngkè jiātíng” zài Zhōngguó yě chūxiànle, gēnjù zhèngfǔ de diàochá, zài Zhōngguó chéngshì lǐ “dīngkè fūfù” de zǒngshù yǐ dádào liùshí duō wàn duì, yǐhòu dàgài hái huì gèng kuài dì zēngjiā. Now, the “DINK family” has also appeared in China, and according to government surveys, in Chinese cities the total number of “DINK couples” has already reached more than 600,000, and will only increase at a faster rate in the future.
“丁克家庭”实际上已经成为一种新的城市家庭的形式，正从大城市向中小城市发展。 “Dīngkè jiātíng” shíjì shang yǐjīng chéngwéi yī zhǒng xīn de chéngshì jiātíng de xíngshì, zhèng cóng dà chéngshì xiàng zhōngxiǎo chéngshì fāzhǎn. “DINK family” has actually already become a new form or urban family, and is developing from large cities to small and medium-sized cities.
中国的“丁克家庭”有两大特点：一是夫妇受过比较好的教育，文化水平都比较高；二是他们的收入也比较高。 Zhōngguó de “dīngkè jiātíng” yǒu liǎng dà tèdiǎn: Yī shì fūfù shòuguò bǐjiào hǎo de jiàoyù, wénhuà shuǐpíng dōu bǐjiào gāo; èr shì tāmen de shōurù yě bǐjiào gāo. China’s “DINK families” have two big characteristics: the first is that the couple have received a relatively good education, and their literacy levels are relatively high; the second is that their incomes are also relatively high.
对这种“结婚不要孩子”的生育观念，报上已经有不同的看法了。 Duì zhè zhǒng “jiéhūn bùyào háizi” de shēngyù guānniàn, bào shàng yǐjīng yǒu bùtóng de kànfǎle. Regarding this concept of “marriage without children”, the newspapers already have a different view.
不少人批评结婚不生孩子是违反自然规律的，对国家是不利的。 Bù shǎo rén pīpíng jiéhūn bù shēng háizi shì wéifǎn zìrán guīlǜ de, duì guójiā shì bùlì de. Many people criticize that marriage without children is a violation of natural law, and is detrimental to the country.
可是，有些刚从大学毕业的夫妇却认为不要孩子是很实际的考虑，对国家、对个人都是有利的。 Kěshì, yǒuxiē gāng cóng dàxué bìyè de fūfù què rènwéi bùyào háizi shì hěn shíjì de kǎolǜ, duì guójiā, duì gèrén dōu shì yǒulì de. However, some couples who have just graduate from university nontheless consider that not wanting children is a very practical consideration, for the country, and for the benefit of the individual.
有些专家认为，生不生孩子应该让年轻夫妇自由地选择。 Yǒuxiē zhuānjiā rènwéi, shēng bù shēng háizi yīnggāi ràng niánqīng fūfù zìyóu de xuǎnzé. Some experts think, that having or not having children should be a decision for the young couple to make freely.
“丁克家庭”的出现，说明社会对个人的选择更尊重了。 “Dīngkè jiātíng” de chūxiàn, shuōmíng shèhuì duì gèrén de xuǎnzé gèng zūnzhòngle. The appearance of “DINK families”, shows that society is placing more importance of individual’s choice.
对“丁克家庭”，你有什么看法？ Duì “dīngkè jiātíng”, nǐ yǒu shénme kànfǎ? Regarding “DINK families”, what are your thoughts?
（重复） (Chóngfù) (Repeat)