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Zhang Xiqing is an outlier2 in Chinese society.
At 33， the designer based in the southern city of Shenzhen is happily unmarried， has no plans to have children with her boyfriend， and left her job at tech titan Tencent for a start-up because she wanted to “try something new”.
“I wanted to live just for myself， and just for us，” she said.
But Zhang faces immense pressure from her family， who insist that she is “getting old” that a woman “of her age” should be married with children.
She does her best to deal with the pressure to conform to convention but it can be a lonely path to follow.
Now， however， she is drawing inspiration from a reality show that has become a hit on Chinese television.
Instead of giving young ingenues a shot at fame， Sisters Who Make Waves， produced by Hunan Television， has invited established actresses and performers over 30， and some in their 50s， to compete for a spot in a five-member band.
The show has been a hit， especially among women， since it started airing in June. The first episode was played more than 300 million times on Mango TV， the channel’s official cellphone app.
For women like Zhang， the show’s attraction is the way it portrays more experienced women using their confidence and expertise3—rather than youth—to get what they need.
In other performance-based reality shows， it is common for contestants to break down and cry under the pressure-cooker atmosphere but in the Hunan TV programme， the women exude4 confidence on stage and in discussions with production staff.
“Seeing you on stage， I am no longer anxious about my age，” one viewer commented on Weibo， China’s Twitter-like microblogging service.
Hangzhou resident Hu Jing is obsessed with the show.
Hu was in business for about 10 years and worked for non-profit groups in her spare time， helping disabled women， LGBTQ5 groups and people with rare diseases.
Three years ago， she decided to devote herself full-time to her charity work， becoming the executive director of the Huatian Social Services Centre in the eastern city of Hangzhou.
Despite her contributions to the community， Hu said she constantly battled societal pressure that “a woman should not stay single”.
“Raising a child takes at least one-third of a woman’s money， time and energy. If I instead spend all that on charity， my life is more meaningful，” she said.
She found parallels between herself and celebrities on the show. Regina Wan， her favourite contestant， started out as a singer but turned to acting when her albums failed to sell. Wan had treated every role seriously， Hu said， and tried her best. She even lived with the cast on set when she was five months pregnant.
“Her persistence， patience， and hard work had inspired me. I thought about myself doing social work. I also have to persevere and try， even if nobody notices me，” she said. “I hope to learn to be patient like her， and hope the rest will fall in place6.”
Other viewers resonated with the setbacks of some of the stars， who battled personal and professional difficulties. Many of the women in the show spoke of being offered fewer roles， especially compared with men in their age.
“The [women stars] present a real， comfortable image on screen， but there must be unimaginable pain behind that. Even if they cry on the show， they are only showing the tip of an iceberg，” said Marilyn Zhang， a civil servant who lives in western China.
“I think at this age， in this phase in life， it’s laudable that they can still choose their own paths and go out of their comfort zones.”
Marilyn Zhang said she could relate in some ways to7 the struggle of the women， having become depressed in the past few years due to her mother’s death and the societal pressure she experienced because she was not married.
A feminist blogger who goes by the pen name Shaoxi said the overwhelming popularity of the show reflected the desperate need for women in China to see themselves portrayed in a different light.
“Women need to see themselves presented other than as a fair-skinned ‘beautiful younger sister’ figure， or an ageing wife or mother，” she said.
On TV， women are often portrayed in romantic dramas in cute， dependent， sentimental roles， or as a mother-in-law who picks fights and is consumed with domestic work.
“These ‘sisters’ on the idol show presented the public with a different possibility，” Shaoxi said. “They are no longer young， some have families， most don’t. But their images aren’t vague， aren’t those of a wife or a mother， but sparkling versions of themselves.
“Age has not put them in an awkward spot， instead， it has made them more confident， more in control of their lives.”
But some critics say the show falls short of8 its ideals.
Wu Changchang， an associate professor of journalism at East China Normal University， wrote on Shanghai-based news portal Sixth Tone that the show was “hollow feminism”.
Wu argued at its core the programme was a reality show， “a competition between those who have something to lose and those who don’t”， grounded in resources and connections. Furthermore， the show still emphasised “attractive appearances， svelte9 figures， dewy skin， unrealistic pep10， and extreme self-discipline”. But Shaoxi said judging an entertainment show on “what degree of feminism” it contained was missing the point11. While the producers were in pursuit of profit， the programme’s popularity said something about the female audience.
“It means that compared with the past， more are favouring strong， independent women，” she said. “You see a ‘sister’ in her 50s being herself， living her life， and being divorced and with children and she is fine. That’s a powerful role model.”
And it’s one that Zhang Xiqing， the designer， could use， with few women in senior management positions at her company.
When she sees the show， she is drawn to the personalities who have suffered setbacks in their career， yet are ambitious， hard-working and patient.
“I hope I can be more like them，” she said.
张西晴（音译）在中国社会不同于常人。
这位33岁的设计师住在南方城市深圳，未婚，没有与男友生儿育女的打算，生活幸福。她从科技巨头腾讯离职后，去了一家初创企业，因为想“尝试新事物”。
她说：“我只想为自己、为我俩而活。”
但她面临来自家庭的巨大压力。家人老是念叨，说她“年纪越来越大”，“她这个年纪”的女人应该结婚生子了。
她竭力抗压，不从流俗，但走的可能是一条孤独之路。
不过，现在一档在中国热播的真人秀电视节目让她深受激励。
湖南卫视制作的《乘风破浪的姐姐》没有给青春新秀一举成名的机会，而是邀约一群已过而立之年、有的已年过半百的成名女演员和女艺人来竞逐五人团出道位。
该节目自6月份开播以来，一直深受观众特别是女性观众的欢迎。第一期节目在湖南卫视官方手机应用芒果TV上的播放量超过3亿次。
对于像张西晴这样的女性来说，这档节目的吸引力在于展现一群有阅历的女性凭着自信和才艺——而不是依仗青春年少——来实现追求。
在别的才艺表演类真人秀中，选手在高压氛围下情绪崩溃、失声哭泣是司空见惯的事，但在湖南卫视的这档节目中，女选手们在舞台竞演和与节目制作组人员磋商时都尽显自信。
一位观眾在微博（中国类似推特的平台）上评论道：“目睹你们在舞台上的风采，我不再为自己的年龄而焦虑。”
杭州居民胡静（音译）对这档节目非常着迷。
胡静曾经商约10年，业余时间为非营利性组织工作，向残疾妇女、性少数群体和罕见疾病患者提供帮助。
3年前，她决定全职投身慈善工作，成为东部城市杭州华天（音译）社会工作服务中心的执行董事。
虽然对社区多有贡献，但胡静说自己还不断与“女人不该一直单身”的社会压力抗争。
她说：“抚养孩子至少得耗费女人三分之一的金钱、时间和精力。如果我把这一切都投入慈善事业，我的人生会更有意义。”
她发现了自己与节目中明星之间的相似之处。她最欣赏的选手万茜出道时是歌手，但在自己的专辑卖不出去时转向了演艺圈。
胡静说，万茜认真对待接演的每个角色，全力以赴，甚至怀胎五个月时都在片场与演员们同吃同住。
“她的执着、耐心和努力激励了我。我想到了从事社会工作的自己。即使默默无闻，我也必须坚持和尝试。我希望学着像她那样有耐心，希望接下来一切顺利。”
引起其他观众共鸣的则是部分明星所遭受的挫折，她们要与个人生活和职业生涯中的困难抗争。节目中，许多女星都谈到戏约变少，与同龄男星相比尤其如此。
生活在西部地区的一位张姓（英文名玛丽莲）公务员指出：“（女星们）在荧屏上呈现的是从容自在的真实形象，但其背后肯定有难以想象的痛苦。即使她们在节目中哭泣，显露的也只是冰山一角。
“我认为，在这个年龄，在人生这个阶段，她们仍能选择自己的道路，走出自己的舒适区，这值得称道。”
张女士表示，女星们的奋斗在某些方面让她颇有同感。过去几年，由于母亲去世，又因自己未婚而遭受的社会压力，她变得很抑郁。
一位笔名为韶溪（音译）的女权博主表示，该节目爆红反映了中国女性亟须以不同的形象展现自我。
她说：“女性要以别样形象示人，而不是肤白‘貌美的小姐姐’，抑或年岁渐长的妻母。”
电视上展现的女性形象往往不是言情剧中娇俏依人、多愁善感的角色，就是忙于家务、动辄找茬吵架的婆婆。
“这档偶像选秀节目中的‘姐姐们’呈现给公众的却是另一种可能的形象。”韶溪说，“她们不再年轻，有些人已结婚生子，大多数人则不然。可她们的形象并不模糊，并非人妻或人母，而是光彩照人的自我。
“年龄并未让她们处境尴尬，相反，年龄让她们更自信，更能掌控自己的人生。”
但一些评论家说，这档节目并未达到其初衷。
华东师范大学新闻学副教授吴畅畅在上海报业集团旗下澎湃新闻国际版“第六声”网站上撰文指出，该节目展现的是“空洞的女权主义”。
吴畅畅认为，该节目本质上是真人秀，是“‘有恃无恐’类姐姐与‘背水一战’类姐姐基于资源和人脉的比拼”。此外，节目依旧凸显“美丽容颜、苗条身材、水嫩肌肤、逆天活力和极度自律”。
但韶溪表示，用女权主义的表现程度来评价一档娱乐节目，那是根本没看懂。尽管制片人是追求利润的，但该节目走红多少说明了女性观众的态度。
她说：“这意味着，与以往相比，更多人青睐坚强、独立的女性。你看，50多岁的‘姐姐’活出真我，过自己的生活，虽然离异带着孩子，但活得很好，具有强大的榜样力量。”
这一榜样就可供设计师张西晴效法。她所在的公司鲜有女性担任高管职位。
她观看这档节目时被明星们吸引了，这些明星虽然在职业生涯中遭受挫折，但仍然雄心勃勃、勤奋坚忍。
她说：“我希望自己能更像她们。”
（译者为“《英语世界》杯”翻译大赛获奖者）
At 33， the designer based in the southern city of Shenzhen is happily unmarried， has no plans to have children with her boyfriend， and left her job at tech titan Tencent for a start-up because she wanted to “try something new”.
“I wanted to live just for myself， and just for us，” she said.
But Zhang faces immense pressure from her family， who insist that she is “getting old” that a woman “of her age” should be married with children.
She does her best to deal with the pressure to conform to convention but it can be a lonely path to follow.
Now， however， she is drawing inspiration from a reality show that has become a hit on Chinese television.
Instead of giving young ingenues a shot at fame， Sisters Who Make Waves， produced by Hunan Television， has invited established actresses and performers over 30， and some in their 50s， to compete for a spot in a five-member band.
The show has been a hit， especially among women， since it started airing in June. The first episode was played more than 300 million times on Mango TV， the channel’s official cellphone app.
For women like Zhang， the show’s attraction is the way it portrays more experienced women using their confidence and expertise3—rather than youth—to get what they need.
In other performance-based reality shows， it is common for contestants to break down and cry under the pressure-cooker atmosphere but in the Hunan TV programme， the women exude4 confidence on stage and in discussions with production staff.
“Seeing you on stage， I am no longer anxious about my age，” one viewer commented on Weibo， China’s Twitter-like microblogging service.
Hangzhou resident Hu Jing is obsessed with the show.
Hu was in business for about 10 years and worked for non-profit groups in her spare time， helping disabled women， LGBTQ5 groups and people with rare diseases.
Three years ago， she decided to devote herself full-time to her charity work， becoming the executive director of the Huatian Social Services Centre in the eastern city of Hangzhou.
Despite her contributions to the community， Hu said she constantly battled societal pressure that “a woman should not stay single”.
“Raising a child takes at least one-third of a woman’s money， time and energy. If I instead spend all that on charity， my life is more meaningful，” she said.
She found parallels between herself and celebrities on the show. Regina Wan， her favourite contestant， started out as a singer but turned to acting when her albums failed to sell. Wan had treated every role seriously， Hu said， and tried her best. She even lived with the cast on set when she was five months pregnant.
“Her persistence， patience， and hard work had inspired me. I thought about myself doing social work. I also have to persevere and try， even if nobody notices me，” she said. “I hope to learn to be patient like her， and hope the rest will fall in place6.”
Other viewers resonated with the setbacks of some of the stars， who battled personal and professional difficulties. Many of the women in the show spoke of being offered fewer roles， especially compared with men in their age.
“The [women stars] present a real， comfortable image on screen， but there must be unimaginable pain behind that. Even if they cry on the show， they are only showing the tip of an iceberg，” said Marilyn Zhang， a civil servant who lives in western China.
“I think at this age， in this phase in life， it’s laudable that they can still choose their own paths and go out of their comfort zones.”
Marilyn Zhang said she could relate in some ways to7 the struggle of the women， having become depressed in the past few years due to her mother’s death and the societal pressure she experienced because she was not married.
A feminist blogger who goes by the pen name Shaoxi said the overwhelming popularity of the show reflected the desperate need for women in China to see themselves portrayed in a different light.
“Women need to see themselves presented other than as a fair-skinned ‘beautiful younger sister’ figure， or an ageing wife or mother，” she said.
On TV， women are often portrayed in romantic dramas in cute， dependent， sentimental roles， or as a mother-in-law who picks fights and is consumed with domestic work.
“These ‘sisters’ on the idol show presented the public with a different possibility，” Shaoxi said. “They are no longer young， some have families， most don’t. But their images aren’t vague， aren’t those of a wife or a mother， but sparkling versions of themselves.
“Age has not put them in an awkward spot， instead， it has made them more confident， more in control of their lives.”
But some critics say the show falls short of8 its ideals.
Wu Changchang， an associate professor of journalism at East China Normal University， wrote on Shanghai-based news portal Sixth Tone that the show was “hollow feminism”.
Wu argued at its core the programme was a reality show， “a competition between those who have something to lose and those who don’t”， grounded in resources and connections. Furthermore， the show still emphasised “attractive appearances， svelte9 figures， dewy skin， unrealistic pep10， and extreme self-discipline”. But Shaoxi said judging an entertainment show on “what degree of feminism” it contained was missing the point11. While the producers were in pursuit of profit， the programme’s popularity said something about the female audience.
“It means that compared with the past， more are favouring strong， independent women，” she said. “You see a ‘sister’ in her 50s being herself， living her life， and being divorced and with children and she is fine. That’s a powerful role model.”
And it’s one that Zhang Xiqing， the designer， could use， with few women in senior management positions at her company.
When she sees the show， she is drawn to the personalities who have suffered setbacks in their career， yet are ambitious， hard-working and patient.
“I hope I can be more like them，” she said.
张西晴（音译）在中国社会不同于常人。
这位33岁的设计师住在南方城市深圳，未婚，没有与男友生儿育女的打算，生活幸福。她从科技巨头腾讯离职后，去了一家初创企业，因为想“尝试新事物”。
她说：“我只想为自己、为我俩而活。”
但她面临来自家庭的巨大压力。家人老是念叨，说她“年纪越来越大”，“她这个年纪”的女人应该结婚生子了。
她竭力抗压，不从流俗，但走的可能是一条孤独之路。
不过，现在一档在中国热播的真人秀电视节目让她深受激励。
湖南卫视制作的《乘风破浪的姐姐》没有给青春新秀一举成名的机会，而是邀约一群已过而立之年、有的已年过半百的成名女演员和女艺人来竞逐五人团出道位。
该节目自6月份开播以来，一直深受观众特别是女性观众的欢迎。第一期节目在湖南卫视官方手机应用芒果TV上的播放量超过3亿次。
对于像张西晴这样的女性来说，这档节目的吸引力在于展现一群有阅历的女性凭着自信和才艺——而不是依仗青春年少——来实现追求。
在别的才艺表演类真人秀中，选手在高压氛围下情绪崩溃、失声哭泣是司空见惯的事，但在湖南卫视的这档节目中，女选手们在舞台竞演和与节目制作组人员磋商时都尽显自信。
一位观眾在微博（中国类似推特的平台）上评论道：“目睹你们在舞台上的风采，我不再为自己的年龄而焦虑。”
杭州居民胡静（音译）对这档节目非常着迷。
胡静曾经商约10年，业余时间为非营利性组织工作，向残疾妇女、性少数群体和罕见疾病患者提供帮助。
3年前，她决定全职投身慈善工作，成为东部城市杭州华天（音译）社会工作服务中心的执行董事。
虽然对社区多有贡献，但胡静说自己还不断与“女人不该一直单身”的社会压力抗争。
她说：“抚养孩子至少得耗费女人三分之一的金钱、时间和精力。如果我把这一切都投入慈善事业，我的人生会更有意义。”
她发现了自己与节目中明星之间的相似之处。她最欣赏的选手万茜出道时是歌手，但在自己的专辑卖不出去时转向了演艺圈。
胡静说，万茜认真对待接演的每个角色，全力以赴，甚至怀胎五个月时都在片场与演员们同吃同住。
“她的执着、耐心和努力激励了我。我想到了从事社会工作的自己。即使默默无闻，我也必须坚持和尝试。我希望学着像她那样有耐心，希望接下来一切顺利。”
引起其他观众共鸣的则是部分明星所遭受的挫折，她们要与个人生活和职业生涯中的困难抗争。节目中，许多女星都谈到戏约变少，与同龄男星相比尤其如此。
生活在西部地区的一位张姓（英文名玛丽莲）公务员指出：“（女星们）在荧屏上呈现的是从容自在的真实形象，但其背后肯定有难以想象的痛苦。即使她们在节目中哭泣，显露的也只是冰山一角。
“我认为，在这个年龄，在人生这个阶段，她们仍能选择自己的道路，走出自己的舒适区，这值得称道。”
张女士表示，女星们的奋斗在某些方面让她颇有同感。过去几年，由于母亲去世，又因自己未婚而遭受的社会压力，她变得很抑郁。
一位笔名为韶溪（音译）的女权博主表示，该节目爆红反映了中国女性亟须以不同的形象展现自我。
她说：“女性要以别样形象示人，而不是肤白‘貌美的小姐姐’，抑或年岁渐长的妻母。”
电视上展现的女性形象往往不是言情剧中娇俏依人、多愁善感的角色，就是忙于家务、动辄找茬吵架的婆婆。
“这档偶像选秀节目中的‘姐姐们’呈现给公众的却是另一种可能的形象。”韶溪说，“她们不再年轻，有些人已结婚生子，大多数人则不然。可她们的形象并不模糊，并非人妻或人母，而是光彩照人的自我。
“年龄并未让她们处境尴尬，相反，年龄让她们更自信，更能掌控自己的人生。”
但一些评论家说，这档节目并未达到其初衷。
华东师范大学新闻学副教授吴畅畅在上海报业集团旗下澎湃新闻国际版“第六声”网站上撰文指出，该节目展现的是“空洞的女权主义”。
吴畅畅认为，该节目本质上是真人秀，是“‘有恃无恐’类姐姐与‘背水一战’类姐姐基于资源和人脉的比拼”。此外，节目依旧凸显“美丽容颜、苗条身材、水嫩肌肤、逆天活力和极度自律”。
但韶溪表示，用女权主义的表现程度来评价一档娱乐节目，那是根本没看懂。尽管制片人是追求利润的，但该节目走红多少说明了女性观众的态度。
她说：“这意味着，与以往相比，更多人青睐坚强、独立的女性。你看，50多岁的‘姐姐’活出真我，过自己的生活，虽然离异带着孩子，但活得很好，具有强大的榜样力量。”
这一榜样就可供设计师张西晴效法。她所在的公司鲜有女性担任高管职位。
她观看这档节目时被明星们吸引了，这些明星虽然在职业生涯中遭受挫折，但仍然雄心勃勃、勤奋坚忍。
她说：“我希望自己能更像她们。”
（译者为“《英语世界》杯”翻译大赛获奖者）