With divorce rates soaring, and widespread concerns about a new culture of hyper-materialism, China is now trying to stop women marrying for money, says an article on the website of The Telegraph on August 21, 2011.

In China's booming cities, prospective husbands are usually scrutinized about whether they own a house, and preferably also a car, before a match can be agreed, says the article. Tying the knot without a house is jokingly called a "naked marriage", which is acknowledged to be a risky choice.

In a bid to temper the rising expectations of Chinese women, notes the article, China's Supreme Court has now ruled that from now on, the person who buys the family home, or the parents who advance them the money, will get to keep it after divorce.

The article quotes Hu Jiachu, a lawyer in Hunan province, as saying, "Hopefully this will help educate younger people, especially younger women, to be more independent, and to think of marriage in the right way rather than worshipping money so much." It will also help relieve some of the burden on young Chinese men, many of whom fret about the difficulty of buying even a small apartment.

Actually, China has been seeing a continuous increase in the rate of divorce, reports the article. "According to the latest statistics, there were 2.68 million divorces in China last year and divorces have multiplied at almost the same speed as China's economy has grown: by seven per cent a year for the past five years. Almost half of all divorces see a court squabble over the family assets."

"With 5,000 divorces a day, it is an appalling number for Chinese people. Our families are the basic unit of society that maintains stability. The government has had to change the marriage law to keep society stable, "said Hu.