THE RAPID INCREASE IN THE DIVORCE rate is worth some attention, although a divorce in itself is not necessarily more tragic than an unhappy married life.

In 2013, 54,520 couples split up in Beijing, 65.2 percent more than two years ago. The figure was 39,722 in neighboring Tianjin, a 52 percent increase over 2011. Nationwide, the total number of divorces has increased by 31.7 percent in the past two years, according to statistics from the Ministry of Civil Affairs.

It is obvious that there has been a drastic increase in the number of divorces in the past couple of years, in big cities in particular.