Now young women are being urged to lower their sights in marriage and settle for a “more or less OK” groom rather than waiting for Mr Right.

The bizarre recommendation is part of an official effort to increase the country's birth rate and balance out the stats hit by historic abortions.

“Marriage is a process of tolerating each other, and it’s impossible that everything goes your way,” said the state-run newspaper Sichuan Daily.

“Change your attitude, return to the reality. Maybe there’ll be some imperfection, but your life will be full for it.”

Young women are being blamed for slowing birth rates because they are "being too fussy" about partners.

Although educated and economically independent, women are sometimes referred to as “leftovers” if they have not married by their late twenties.

They now have plenty of men to choose from, because the one-child policy which - in effect until 2015 - has left the country with the gender imbalance.

Author of the book 'One Child' Mae Fong said: "When you create a system where you would shrink the size of a family and people would have to choose, then people would ... choose sons.

"Now China has 30 million more men than women, 30 million bachelors who cannot find brides.

"They call them guang guan, 'broken branches,' that's the name in Chinese.  They are the biological dead ends of their family."

The controversial editorial read: “They (women) have idealised love and such idealisation has led many people not to settle for a ‘more or less OK’ person.

"The ability to compromise on non-principle matters is a sign of magnanimity and contentment.”

Marriage rates are declining in the massive country, with the number of weddings down 6.7 per cent in 2016.