Frustrated Dad Attempts To Kill Himself Because His 29-Year-Old Son Remains Unmarried

A frustrated father in China reportedly attempted to take his own life because he was ashamed that his son remained unmarried even though he had already turned 29-years-old.

The unnamed 55-year-old dad reportedly walked up to the security guards at Shanghai Railway Station on Saturday, Jan. 22, and handed them a note saying that he had just overdosed on medication. After handing them the letter, the father fainted on the spot, Insider reported.

The note that he handed over to the guards was reportedly addressed to his son in which he had stated that he "lived a life of shame" because his offspring was not yet married.

"People of my age in the village all have children and grandchildren already," he reportedly wrote in the note, adding: "But you are 29 and have achieved nothing."

Even though the man received immediate treatment and survived the incident, the incident has sparked a debate on Chinese social media platforms about the pressure that the youth in China face to settle down early in life, Yahoo News reported.

"The father's responsibility is to raise his son well and give him a good education, but also see him married and start a business. Only then can he complete his mission," another father wrote on China's Twitter-like platform Weibo.

Meanwhile, several others commented on the platform saying that it would be even harder for this son to get married now because of the immense pressure that he'll be receiving from his in-laws.

In Chinese society, people are normally expected to get married and settle down before they turn 30. It is also a common practice for Chinese parents to push their children to get married by even setting up blind dates for them.

Also, in China, if women are not married by the age of 27, they are referred to as sheng nu, or leftover women. Moreover, a survey conducted last year suggested that half of China’s young women said that they do not plan to get hitched.

Meanwhile, a sociology expert at the National University of Singapore Mu Zheng stated that young men are pushed to settle down as soon as possible because they are "expected to carry on the family lineage."

"Marriage has also been an important marker of social maturation and personal success," she said.