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You Are Not The One - Chinese Dating Dystopia

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I would rather cry in a BMW than laugh on the back of a bicycle.

There are 1.1 million people in China named Wang Wei. This essay is about all of them. His name means “Prestige of Kings.” Or possibly “Mighty Guardian.” Or “Brilliant Defender.” The characters vary. In Mandarin, tones and written forms diverge endlessly, but the pinyin collapses everything into the same two syllables: Wang Wei. It is the most common full name in China. If you called it out in a subway car in Beijing, three people would look up. This is where we start: with a man who cannot be found in his own name. Wang Wei is 28. He works at the Foxconn facility in Zhengzhou assembling…

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