Found in translation episode 20

Found in translation episode 20
ShanghaiCityGirl May 28, 2015 08:40

Since the whole world recently celebrated Labor day with a blissful 3-day weekend, this episode will be dedicated to our dear, life keeping work.

Before we could start our long awaited holiday, my colleagues and I had to attend our least favorite part of the week: the staff meeting. And this time we were surprised by the presence of a humble looking female guest. Turned out the lady came to tell us about internship opportunities for our dear young  tǔ háo students, to help them understand what lives of  real working people look like. And her zealous speech revolved around her own son – a half Chinese/half American – who, thanks to the internship found by his thrifty mom ,at the age of 21 was hired to manage a restaurant abroad.  Well, that’s one lucky young man – because thanks to his far sighted mother he managed to avoid the grim fate faced by the post 80-s generation in China – the ants. Also called ‘antizens’ or ‘the ant tribe’ and in Chinese called 蚁族 – the first character  蚁 – yǐ – ant and 族 -  zú – clan.

So why is it an anti – Chinese dream to belong to the clan of ants?? Here’s the background.

As you can see on a daily basis, China has a lot of people. Probably even more than we see at People’s Square subway station during rush hour.  And a big percent of them are young generations of college graduates who, in search of better life, storm the big cities – particularly Beijing , Guangzhou, Xi’an, Chongqing, Taiyuan, Zhengzhou and Nanjing.  However the lifestyle they find there would put all the self –proclaimed hard knock life rappers to shame. The young Chinese migrants, despite their university diplomas and intelligence, end up getting unstable jobs that pay below 2,000 RMB per month. Therefore the only accommodation they can afford are shabby houses with tiny rooms, all inhabited by people who share the same sad fortune. The phenomenon was described in a book about China’s post 80s generation by Lian Si . He is the one behind the term ‘yǐ zú’ – ‘antizen’. The discerning Mr Si points out that just like ants, ‘they live in colonies in cramped spaces; they're intelligent, hardworking, yet anonymous and underpaid’. And China’s very own ‘Blue book’ about the country’s talent counted that the number of antizens in big cities adds up to a whopping 1 million.

 

Back to the staff meeting. Our guest's overwhelming attitude has driven me to meditate. I'm floating down a memory, when suddenly her long finger is pointed at me. “And what do YOU think about it?!?!”

 

In order to avoid longer discussion and an even more elongated speech, I just say ’Oh, it’s a brilliant idea’ and return to my reverie. But I think to myself ’Is it really these over- privileged  kids here that need Coca – Cola’s factory to open their fairyland red-and-white gates for the sake of bettering their future?”

Well, we don’t have the power nor the position to change the whole of China, and our staff meetings are not long enough for that either. Let’s hope  that Mr XiJingping and his circle hold equally thought provoking employee gatherings , where some charismatic figure will also point a finger at  the better future of the yǐ zú.

 

Tags:Language & Culture