He Qi， an English teacher from Guangzhou city， divorced last month. He and his ex-wife split their properties quickly and amicably， but could not escape a big quarrel over their two dearest possessions—the pet dogs.

何其（音譯）是廣州市的一位英語教師，上個月離了婚。他與前妻迅速而友好地分割了財產(chǎn)，卻不可避免地為兩人最珍貴的擁有物——兩只寵物狗——而大吵了一架。

“They are my children and I would be very sad no matter which one left me，” the 36-year-old said.

“它們是我的孩子，不管哪一個離開我，我都會非常難過。”36歲的他如是說。

In the end， they decided to take one each.

最終，他們決定一人帶走一只。

“I think I will get another small dog or cat soon， I don’t want my ‘son’ to feel lonely， and I think my ex-wife will very likely feel the same way，” He said.

“我想我會很快再養(yǎng)一只小狗或小貓。我不想讓我‘兒子’覺得孤單，估計我前妻肯定也這么想?！焙纹湔f。

A growing number of young Chinese are choosing to marry later， delay parenthood， or simply abandon both altogether， due to rising living costs and the demands of work life.

隨著生活成本增加和工作壓力加大，越來越多的中國年輕人選擇遲婚晚育，或者干脆拒絕結(jié)婚生子。

At the same time， many of them are choosing to raise cats or dogs， creating a thriving pet economy.

與此同時，他們中的許多人開始選擇養(yǎng)貓狗，這使得寵物經(jīng)濟蒸蒸日上。

The number of pet dogs and cats in urban areas exceeded 100.8 million in 2020， 1.7 per cent up on 2019 and 10.2 per cent higher than 2018， according to a 2021 whitepaper released by China Pet Industry Association.

依據(jù)中國寵物行業(yè)協(xié)會發(fā)布的一份2021年白皮書，城鎮(zhèn)地區(qū)貓狗寵物的數(shù)量在2020年超過1.008億只，比2019年增長1.7%，比2018年增長10.2%。

The number of pet owners reached 62.94 million in 2020—up from 62.8 million in 2019—while the value of China’s urban pet market was 298.8 billion yuan （US$46 billion）， growing from 72.5 billion yuan in 2015.

養(yǎng)寵人士總數(shù)從2019年的6280萬增長到2020年的6294萬，中國城鎮(zhèn)寵物市場規(guī)模高達2988億元（460億美元），遠高于2015年的725億元。

The white paper forecast that China’s pet market would see a compound growth rate of 14.2 per cent over the next three years and be worth 445.6 billion yuan （US$70 billion） by 2023.

該白皮書預(yù)測，中國的寵物市場規(guī)模將在隨后3年實現(xiàn)14.2%的復(fù)合增長率，并將在2023年達到4456億元（700億美元）。

China’s new breed of pet owners have several things in common： they are young， well-educated and earning a high income.

中國的新一代養(yǎng)寵人士具有幾個共同特點：年輕、受過良好教育、高收入。

Nearly 90 per cent of them have a college degree or above， the white paper said. Some 46.7 per cent have a monthly income of 4，000—9，999 yuan （US$628—1，570） and 34.9 per cent earn at least 10，000 yuan each month. More than 46 per cent were born after 1990.

白皮書顯示，近90%的養(yǎng)寵人士擁有大專及以上學(xué)歷；約46.7%的人月收入介于4000元至9999元（約合628至1570美元）之間，34.9%的人月收入超過1萬元；超過46%的人出生在1990年之后。

Just over half of those surveyed by the association had owned their pet for fewer than three years， highlighting the new-found fondness for animals among young Chinese.

寵物行業(yè)協(xié)會采訪的人群中，逾半數(shù)養(yǎng)寵時間不到3年，說明對寵物的愛好是新近幾年才在中國年輕人中流行起來的。

Jack Bian， the founder of Hangzhou-based Lang Xiao Zhua， which translates to Waves and Paws， a popular social media platform for pet lovers， said as more young Chinese opt to live with pets， it could “delay plans for giving birth”.

“浪小爪”是一個頗受歡迎的寵物愛好者社交平臺，總部設(shè)在杭州。它的創(chuàng)始人杰克·卞（音譯）表示，越來越多的中國年輕人選擇養(yǎng)寵物，這可能“延遲他們的生育計劃”。

“Young people in China are currently marrying and having children at a later age. The general consensus in their 20s and 30s is that stress and the cost of living is high， and working hours very long，” said Bian， whose organisation has more than 30，000 members.

卞說：“中國年輕人結(jié)婚和生育的年齡越來越晚。二三十歲的年輕人一致認為壓力太大，生活成本太高，工作時間太長?！彼钠脚_擁有3萬多名會員。

A survey of 2，905 unwed urban residents aged 18—26 by the Communist Youth League in October last year found that 43.9 per cent of women had no intention of getting married or were unsure if it would happen. That was 19.3 percentage points higher than their male counterparts.

中國共青團去年10月采訪了2905位年齡在18至26歲之間的未婚城鎮(zhèn)居民。調(diào)查顯示，43.9%的女性沒有結(jié)婚的打算或不確定是否會結(jié)婚。該數(shù)字比持同樣觀點的男性數(shù)量高19.3%。

“Most of our 30，000 members are aged between 25—39， and 71.2 per cent of them are female，” Bian said， adding 60 per cent were unmarried or single， and 45.8 per cent of married members had no children.

卞說：“我們的3萬名會員，年齡大多介于25歲至39歲之間，其中71.2%是女性?！彼a充表示，其中60%未婚或單身，45.8%的已婚會員沒有孩子。

“An interesting discovery during our trips is that our foreign clients regard pets as good friends， but most young Chinese pet owners like to treat them as ‘sons or daughters’，” he said. “My parents also call my two dogs grandchildren.”

“我們在組織攜寵旅行時發(fā)現(xiàn)一個有趣的現(xiàn)象：我們的外國客戶將寵物視為好朋友，但大多數(shù)養(yǎng)寵的中國年輕人都將寵物當作‘兒子或女兒’?！彼f，“我父母也把我養(yǎng)的兩條狗稱作‘孫子’?！?/p>

Pets not only bring joy to their owners’ lives， but they do not come with high children-rearing costs， like education， Bian said. He expects membership at Waves and Paws to increase tenfold this year.

卞說，寵物不僅能給主人的生活帶來樂趣，還不需要像養(yǎng)孩子那樣花費高昂的教育成本。他預(yù)計今年“浪小爪”的會員數(shù)將增長10倍。

More specifically， the pressures of daily life in China have given rise to a cat economy， because Generation Z do not have the time or means to care for dogs， according to the white paper. In 2020， the number of pet cats exceeded pet dogs for the first time in China’s cities.

依據(jù)上述白皮書，更確切來說，中國日常生活的壓力催生了“貓經(jīng)濟”，因為Z世代既無時間也沒辦法照料狗。2020年，中國城市的寵物貓數(shù)量首次超過寵物狗。

Growing pet ownership in China has not been lost on property developers and local governments， who are investing in pet theme parks and even pet-themed towns.

房地產(chǎn)開發(fā)商和地方政府對中國日益增長的寵物熱潮并非一無所知，他們已經(jīng)開始投資修建寵物主題公園，甚至寵物主題小鎮(zhèn)。

Since 2019， sales of imported cat food have surpassed those of imported infant milk powder at Tmall Global， China’s largest cross-border business-to-consumer online marketplace.

從2019年開始，在天貓國際這個中國最大的企業(yè)對消費者跨境線上商務(wù)平臺上，進口貓糧的銷量就一直高于進口嬰幼兒奶粉。

And last year， some listed firms in China launched hi-tech pet food with hyaluronic acid， which helps aid joints and repair wounds.

去年，中國一些上市公司推出了含有透明質(zhì)酸的高科技寵物食品，該成分有助于保養(yǎng)關(guān)節(jié)和修復(fù)傷口。

“I think my lovely girl deserves good food. And I find those smart pet toys and feeders very interesting. I am willing to invest a lot in them for my pet，” said Luo Ping， a single female lawyer in her 40s， who owns a British Shorthair cat.

“我認為我可愛的女兒配得上好食物。那些智能寵物玩具和喂食器也很有趣。我愿意為寵物花大價錢買這些東西?！绷_平（音譯）說。她是一位40多歲的單身女律師，養(yǎng)著一只英國短毛貓。

“When I was in my 30s， I was anxious I would be left behind without getting married and giving birth. But now I have no such desire， especially since I see a large number of Gen Z youngsters with low appetite for marriage and kids too.”

“我30多歲的時候，擔(dān)心如果不結(jié)婚不生育，我會成剩女。但現(xiàn)在我沒有這種想法了，尤其是發(fā)現(xiàn)大量Z世代年輕人也同樣對婚姻和孩子不甚熱衷后?！?/p>

（譯者單位：北京外國語大學(xué)）