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Thirty years ago, the mention of a social ball would have made most Chinese cringe -- it was regarded as a typical derivative of capitalism. |
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However this year, Shanghai hosted its first International Debutante Ball, and an invitation to the high-society event is becoming the new status symbol in the city. |
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若是在三十年前提起社交舞會，大部分的中國民眾一定都不以為然──因為社交舞會被認為是資本主義的典型產物。不過，今年上海首度舉行國際元媛舞會，而獲邀參與這場上流社會活動的資格，已然成了上海新的地位象徵。 |
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Ricky Gong, 39, a Shanghai-born beauty contest organizer, was one of 150 guests who sipped champagne under chandeliers at the invitation-only event held in January. |
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三十九歲的李奇．龔是生於上海的選美比賽籌辦人，在一月舉行的這場僅限受邀貴賓參加的活動中，他是得以在水晶燈下啜飲香檳的一百五十名貴賓之一。 |
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"The ball was elegant, noble and very ceremonial," he says. |
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"It had a very strong upper-class feeling." |
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「那場舞會優雅、高尚，也非常隆重，」他說：「很有上流階級的感覺。」 |
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In the West, a debutante ball is the "coming-out party" for daughters of the rich, famed and powerful. |
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In the Shanghai Waldorf Astoria's colonial-style ballroom, Gong witnessed 13 ladies making their debut into high society, donning traditional white gowns and dripping with RMB 60 million (US$9.5 million) worth of jewelry and tiaras. |
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在西方，元媛舞會是為權貴名流的女兒所舉辦的「亮相派對」。在上海華爾道夫酒店的殖民風格舞廳裡，李奇．龔目睹了十三位女士在上流社交界中初次亮相，身上穿著傳統的白色禮服，並且佩戴著價值六千萬人民幣（九百五十萬美元）的珠寶與頭冠。 |
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"The event is good for shaping the elite class of socialism," Gong explains. "Our society needs elites like (the debutantes) to help build positive social morality and establish correct values. |
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In today's mainland China, there are only two renditions of the high society: money and power." |
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「對於形塑社會主義的菁英階層而言，那是一場很好的活動，」李奇．龔說明指出：「我們的社會需要像那些元媛這樣的菁英，來協助建立正面的社會道德以及建構正確的價值觀。中國大陸目前的上流社會只有兩項定義：金錢和權勢。」 |
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The first Shanghai International Debutante Ball did not invite any ladies from mainland China, though 13 debs aged 16 to 25 came from Britain, Australia, Hong Kong and Taiwan. |
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However, eligible daughters of the Communist Party elite or "red princesses" have waltzed at Le Bal des Debutantes, the annual Debutante Ball in Paris, for the past decade. |
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第一屆上海國際元媛舞會並沒有邀請任何中國大陸的女士，而是十三位年齡介於十六至二十五歲來自英國、澳洲、香港與台灣的名媛。不過，在過去十年來，符合資格的共產黨菁英女兒，或稱「紅色千金」都得以參加克利翁名媛舞會這場巴黎年度元媛舞會。 |
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China-based etiquette trainer Lawrence Lo thinks China needs five to 10 years to mature for a debutante ball. |
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中國的禮儀教練羅倫斯．婁認為，就元媛舞會而言，中國需要五到十年的時間才會成熟。 |
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"It is not the right time yet and too early for social acceptance of such occasions since there is still not an established environment that advocates such exclusive activities," Lo said. |
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"A qualified debutante will take years of personal training and development. |
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China has seen its economy growing at a very rapid pace in the last 10 years, but soft skills lag behind its current development." |
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「現在時機還不恰當，社會也還沒準備好接受這種活動，因為目前還沒有倡導這種高級活動的既有環境，」羅倫斯．婁表示：「合格的元媛需要經歷好幾年的個人訓練與發展。中國經濟在過去十年來的成長步伐非常快，但軟性技能仍然落後於這個國家當前的發展程度。」 |
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