Enhanced beauty can be compatible with intellectual development
美貌可与智慧兼修
Two girls are unpacking their luggage in a university dorm after going through their registration procedures. At that moment, the two girls stop unpacking and look more closely at each other. The girls then jump to embrace each other. They were classmates and good friends in senior high school! The reason they failed to recognize each other is that after taking the college entrance exam, they both went for a series of cosmetic surgeries to "enhance their beauty" to the extent of looking like different persons. This is the gist of a popular story online.
大学宿舍里，两个女孩办完入学手续正在收拾行李。突然她们停下来，仔细看着对方，跳起来抱在一起。她们竟然是高中好友！之所以没有认出对方，是因为她们高考后都做了整容手术，甚至认不出来了。这种情节在网络段子里屡见不 鲜。
According to reports, plastic surgeons have to work overtime during summer vacations, especially after the conclusion of the college entrance exam, because thousands of girls make appointments in advance for beauty enhancement procedure. More than 1 million Chinese people underwent cosmetic surgery in 2023, according to some reports.
有报告称，随着成千上万的女孩预约医美手术，暑假期间尤其是高考结束后，整形外科医生就不停加班加点。2023年，中国有超过100万人接受整容手术。
Reports say an increasing number of girls are asking their parents to pay for their "beauty-enhancing procedure" as their reward for doing well in the college entrance exam. Parents, in general, are mostly happy to pay if they can afford to, because many think that inner beauty and outer beauty are equally important to their daughters' development.
报告称，越来越多的女孩要求父母为其支付医美费用，作为对高考成绩的奖励。一般来说，家长们只要负担得起，都乐意出钱，很多人认为内在美和外在美对女儿的成长同样重要。
The long summer vacation provides enough time for girls to undergo a cosmetic surgery. When a new school year begins in September, a girl who has undergone a cosmetic surgery and looks "more beautiful" can walk onto the campus with more confidence. In a completely new environment, few people would realize that the girl has probably undergone a double-eyelid or rhinoplasty surgery, or breast augmentation procedure, or all possible procedures.
暑假时间长，女孩们有足够时间去做整形手术。九月新学期开始时，做了整形手术、看起来“更漂亮”的女孩可以更自信地走进校园。在一个全新环境中，几乎没人会注意到她可能做了双眼皮、隆鼻、隆胸等各种项目。
Chinese society has become tolerant toward young women's efforts to "look beautiful". Unlike about 20 years ago when a person with double eyelids would become the favorite topic of discussion of neighbors, people today tend to turn a blind eye toward someone who looks different after being absent from the neighborhood for a few days. Most people tend to believe those undergoing cosmetic surgery are not doing anything wrong by paying, with their own money, to enhance their beauty because it makes them feel more confident of and satisfied with themselves.
中国社会对年轻女性“变美”的努力已经变得宽容。大约20年前，割了双眼皮的人会成为邻居们最喜欢谈论的话题，而现在大家对小区里消失了几天、改头换面的人见怪不怪了。大多数人倾向于认为，这些人自掏腰包让自己变得更漂亮、更自信、更满意，这并没有错。
Opposing opinions do exist. Some say cosmetic surgeries may weaken women's social standing and turn them into eye candies. Others claim that by being obsessed with their physical appearance, young women could end up neglecting their studies, and lose out on intellectual and spiritual development. Such criticisms compel us to choose either option A or option B. The question is: Why can't people choose both of them?
当然也有人持反对意见。有人认为整容手术可能会削弱女性的社会地位，让她们成为“花瓶”。还有人声称，年轻女性过于注重外表的话会忽视学业，错失智力进步和心灵成长。此类批评总是非黑即白，问题是：为什么不可以两者兼得呢？
