Changpian 16

With Tabitha Speelman’s permission, MCLC will begin posting her newsletter, Chanpian, on non-fiction writing in China. Here is no. 16. Our thanks to Tabitha–Kirk

Changpian // Longform

Welcome to the 16th edition of Changpian, a selection of feature and opinion writing in Chinese. With other resources devoted to the many interesting sound bites from Chinese social media, this newsletter focuses instead on some of the wealth of longer writing that is produced in Chinese, both in traditional news media and on platforms like WeChat.

Changpian includes any nonfiction writing, from stories and investigations to interviews and blog posts, that I found worth my time – and that you might like as well. It aims to be relevant to an understanding of Chinese society today, covering topics in and outside the news cycle.

The selection is put together by me, Tabitha Speelman, a Dutch journalist and researcher currently based in Leiden, The Netherlands. As always, feedback is very welcome (tabitha.speelman@gmail.com or @tabithaspeelman). Back issues can be found here. Thanks for the support and all the best in the new year.

干货// Ganhuo // Dry Goods

In this section, I highlight any (loose) themes that stood out in my recent reading.

To Be in Beijing

Much Chinese coverage of the massive eviction of migrant workers and others from their Beijing homes this winter and the responses it triggered has been censored, with many of the links I was hoping to share now dead. Still, thanks to (re-)postings by China Digital Times and other 墙外 outlets, some stories can still be accessed. See for instance a Caixin blog on one family’s last days in Beijing (“我们走了,再也不回来了”) and a piece titled “嘿,他们不是低端劳动力,他们是人by social enterprise C计划, one of the first stories to be widely shared after early evictions following the Nov. 18 fire in Daxing.

On Hong Kong-based , US-based researcher Cheng Yinghong weighed in with a piece on the “social darwinism” legitimizing eviction policies. The platform also reposted articles about the big 1995 clearing of migrant village 浙江村. In a new intro to one of those pieces, anthropologist Xiang Biao points to the social impact of evictions, regardless of method and timing: “问题的关键不是清理的方法是否人道,也不是其减少人口的直接目标是否现实。政府可以调整其工作策略历史上多次的类似清理经验告诉我们:不管其方法是疾是缓,不管其目标能不能达成,清理的社会后果是相当深远的。清理重新界定了城市社会和边缘人群的关系,因此也重新界定了城市社会的构成。土地的价值、利润的分配、财富的积累方式都会因此发生变化切除边缘人群,不会使边缘人群消失,而只会使边缘人群更边缘。清理低端,是把外来人口进一步低端化.”

The events also prompted middle-class bloggers to reflect on their personal ties with migrant workers (see for instance here and here). Unrelated but worth a read is this rare ode to Wangjing.

New non-fiction books also explore the important and diverse social class of migrant workers. 澎湃 has a good overview of the trilogy on China’s 新工人by social researcher 吕途, the last part of which on female migrant workers just came out. The review includes responses to the book by a.o. migrant writer Fan Yusu. And in an interview with 界面, sociologist Huang Yingying discusses《现场》, her new book on Chinese sex workers. Both researchers reflect on their position writing about a social class they don’t belong to, reminding me of this recent (rather informal) interview with Zhang Yueran, a Harvard-based PhD student who offers interesting insight on dealing with privilege and social change in both China and the US.

Discussion on what is happening in Beijing is still on-going, with a strong December 28 opinion piece in Caixin by Peking University’s Zhou Qiran making the case for a diverse Beijing (“也不必一切高大上”). Zhou ends by admonishing authorities to take its responsibilities towards migrants seriously, “因为对老百姓来说,不论这一届还是上一届,都是共产党政府,也只有一个共产党在政府,不可以新官不理旧账.”

Investigating Journalism

Earlier this month, media researchers from Guangdong’s Sun Yat-sen University put outthe results of a survey on the state of investigative journalism in China. Analysing responses from 163 journalists, they conclude that while the number of identified investigative journalists in the country has dropped dramatically (from 334 to 175) since a similar survey took place in 2010-2011, the same period saw some more affluent online media developing into new hubs for investigative journalism.

The WeChat post, based on an academic article, identifies some interesting trends (for instance: “与“调查湘军”有所衰落的趋势相比,山东籍的年轻调查记者数量有了显著提升”). (On journalist compensation, see also this recent article on a 3000per story ‘rule’ by 中国传媒大学-based researcher Zhou Kui.)

Still, even the modest figures in the report might be overly optimistic, writes journalist Chu Chaoxin on his WeChat public account. While he participated in the survey, Chu hardly considers his current writing to be investigative: “从业15年,最接近调查记者应该是2009年。那一年,写了好多批评一股正如日中天的权力的文章,花了很多精力、冒了很大的风险……这些年,只能说我一直试图按照调查记者的要求去从业,但从来没有达到过调查记者应有的状态.”

Chu’s thoughtful post is typical of the mostly pessimistic reflection on current working conditions in the media I come across. Another recent example, coming back to the Beijing evictions, was offered by documentary maker Zhang Zanbo, who in a post titled “令人沮丧的一天” writes about being yelled at by an evicted migrant worker he was hoping to interview: “出去”… “没用, 你们来也没用!”

其他好故事 // Gushi // More stories

Some other interesting stories.

1. 淡豹 : 我没有生活在一个更美好的时代 – 单向街书店 – At an event inviting six young writers to reflect on the time in which they grew up, NoonStory‘s Dan Bao discusses her memories of gender dynamics in the nineties and what her work in media teaches her about pressures on both women and migrants. (See also this earlier piece by Dan on gender and work-life balance.)

[加入 WTO ] 这个事情里面比较有意思的是,其中女性的位置特别重。这里就要说起到上一位总理吴仪。吴仪 1991 年做了外经贸部的副部长,1993 年做了部长,她代表中国参加了知识产权谈判。有一个说法,她是中国的铁娘子。因为在此之前,恰恰是 1979 年到 1990 年,撒切尔夫人在英国在位,她是英国的铁娘子那时候我还是一个小姑娘,完全不理解撒切尔政治保守主义背后的立场,或者是加入 WTO 的复杂性,但当时的感觉是,女性在政坛上有存在感,在主导世界政治变革的进程,这既值得高兴又让人觉得非常荣耀,又极其自然。

2. 娘亲进京 – 褚朝新 – A Beijing-based editor’s illiterate mother visits the capital for the first time. Funny and loving depiction of the collapse of two worlds.

高铁启动,老娘趴在窗户看着外面。这是她第一次坐火车,也是第一次出远门。我不敢打扰,也不想让她太兴奋,就眯上眼假寐。在北京饭店大厅登记的时候,我随手把塑料包放在台子上了,估计见土里土气的塑料袋与周遭的俊男靓女及富丽堂皇的设施不搭,老娘走过来把包拎走了,说“这多不好看”。我说没事儿,没人笑话咱,这里人素质高,不会嫌贫爱富的,再土人家也不会笑话。她看了看说话者坦然自若的脸,表示这唯一的儿子脸皮真厚 .. 娘儿俩都不说话了。到南池子的时候她忽然伸出右手比了比,自言自语道:二指!再下二指雨,坷垃就松了,麦种就能发芽了。

3. 一个来自中国大陆的女人,当选美国议员 – 三明治 – A volunteer for recently elected North Carolina Chapel Hill town council member Gu Hongbin writes about the experience of campaigning for the Chinese-American local politician.

大多数美国选民来说,泓彬的名字无法拼读,泓彬的面孔难以辨认。在宾克礼教堂前,一位高个子的白人老爷爷走向我,笑眯眯地说:“我投了你一票。你能告诉我,你的名字应该怎么念吗?”我面不改色地微笑着回应,年轻泓彬十几岁的我已经不是第一次遭遇这种情况。而距我三米远、五十几岁、烫着一头卷发的陆姐,也被一个选民握着手倾诉不已,显然,她也被当成了顾泓彬。跟其他候选人不同,为泓彬助选的志愿者,几乎都是清一色的华人,普通话是绝对的工作语言,更不用提大家的私下交流了。

4. 西方如何想象东方:当维密天使身披青花瓷,腰缠一条龙 – 界面文化 – Jiemian writer Zhang Zhiqi takes the recent Victoria’s Secret show in Shanghai as a starting point to reflect on orientalism in Western brands’ approach to the Chinese market.

让我们从维密T台上的龙和青花瓷谈开去:为何在面对国外时尚品牌这类貌似放低姿态的“致敬”时,中国消费者欢欣鼓舞甚至泛起自豪,却对网红模特Gigi Hadid“眯眯眼”的种族歧视行为群情激奋?为什么时尚可以免于政治正确的检视,以美之名继续强化对亚洲文化和亚洲女性已经根深蒂固的刻板印象?简而言之——时尚是否是去政治化的?天使也有种族吗?我们如何看待西方语境下自己的形象,又如何在更具隐蔽性的经济秩序里找到自己的位置?或许,从好莱坞女星黄柳霜到华人维密天使,在过去的一个世纪里,东方女性从未走出种族偏见的阴影。

5. 华北冬天:让烧煤了,也烧不成了 – 谷雨实验室 – Detailed story on the impact of the coal-to-gas heating transition on some Hebei villagers. See also this more fun piece by 正午 writer Li Chun on winter memories in Southern China, where it gets colder than usually acknowledged in the rest of the country (“我说我们那儿很冷,北方人根本不信”).

橙黄色的天然气管道沿着村民的房屋蜿蜒伸向每条小巷,在河北高碑店杜辛庄这个绝大多数村民都姓杜的村子里,烧天然气取暖已经成为无时不在的话题,所有人都说出同样的感觉:烧不起。其实杜辛庄才供上天然气不过十几天。杜大婶说,“11月的时候,没供上气冻得肉疼,现在供上气了心疼。”

6. 季风书园在济南开了一家新店,说“向所有崇尚人文与科学的人致敬”Q Daily – While the Shanghai headquarters of independent bookstore 季风 will be involuntarily closing in January, the chain is opening a new store in Jinan. Good piece on the challenges of being a cultural entrepreneur in China and outside its biggest cities. (See here for earlier Changpian discussion on Jifeng, here for its Books of the Year list, and here for its current discounts.)

但对于济南季风的未来,于淼却有着更多的担心。“首先它能够正常地活着,不要受到很多非市场因素的干扰。这是非常重要的。第二个,从商业角度,在一段时间之内,能做到自负盈亏,那就是更好的期望。“于淼说。

7. 成为一双递出的手” | 欧罗万象一周年·感言与总结 – 欧罗万象EuroScope – On the first anniversary of their platform, writers at 欧罗万象, a WeChat public account dedicated to discussion of European politics, reflect on the meaning of Europe to China and in their own lives.

可能对很多华文读者来说,欧洲是古老而文艺的。我们会想起圣母院的敲钟人,会想起飘着咖啡香的左岸,会想起金色的交响乐。然而尽管这些美好的呈象属实,它也并不是全部的欧洲。华文读者对欧洲的理解,只比很多欧洲人对中国的理解,深入那么一点点。

8. 专访程新皓:有关边境、族群与摄影的一场修行 – 谷雨计划 – Thoughtful interview with award-winning photographer Cheng Xinhao on his work with the Mang, a minority group living in the China-Vietnam border region. See also Cheng’s personal website and this piece on idealistic 90photographer Zhao Ming, who has worked in northern Myanmar‘s conflict zones.

我开始的时候是偶然去到那里。然后发现这个地方和我关注的东西特别接近,就是某种极端情况下的现代化问题。所以就呆在那里不走了…. 在伴随着帝国的瓦解和民族国家形成的过程中,其含义和被实践的方式是如何变迁的。换言之,就是这些概念是如何被制造且被真理化的。以及在某种给定的规范形成之后,莽人又是如何用自身的实践去瓦解这种规范,制造一种新的空间的?特别是考虑到中间涉及的两个国家的战争和莽人的迁徙史,空间是怎样在这样的历史中被生产的?又是怎样被实践

9. 白左”污名化与社会达尔文主义 C计划 – Write-up of a talk by media researcher Fang Kecheng on the evolution of the “白左” label in Chinese (mostly) online discourse.

按照百度这个搜索,“白左”这个词虽然之前在人人网、知乎上就有讨论,但真正进入最广泛的大众视野,应该是去年下半年。随着美国大选和一系列国际事件,包括英国脱欧,今年很多欧洲国家的大选、欧洲难民危机,而被广泛讨论。它的讨论从最初政治经济方面,拓展到社会文化方面,拓展到了难民、女权、伊斯兰教等目前的核心议题上。在中国的网络里,“白左”这个标签到底形容的是什么样的人呢?他们主要是白人,但也像知乎上写的,包括和他们价值观相近的非白人,包括黄种人。

10. 2017回答不了 | 那些你追问过的热点事件,后来都怎么样了?Vista看天下 – A follow-up on some of the biggest stories in Chinese media this year, from the kindergarten abuse claims to the murder of exchange student Jiang Ge.

每一个问号背后,都是今年曾轰动一时的热点事件。而在舆论场中,很多事件都已经失去了关注度便不了了之。为了不让遗忘成为习惯,我们不禁开始思考这些事到底有什么进展,在岁末年关之际,特地梳理了今年社交网络上的热议新闻.

旧文// Jiuwen // Classic

A piece of nonfiction writing that Chinese academics, writers, journalists — or just me – think worth a read months, years or decades after its initial publication.

城门开Poet 北岛 Bei Dao says he decided to write up his youth memories of the lights, smells, and sounds of Beijing following his thirteen-year exile from mainland China after which he had trouble recognizing the city he grew up in. His 2010 memoir feels relevant as Beijing is going through yet another period of rapid change. The text is available online (see here for example, for the first section on smell), but the book is easy to come by, including an English edition that came out earlier this year . See also this video of a recentconversation on the book Bei Dao had with author and translator Eliot Weinberger.

关于北京,首先让我想到的是气味儿,随季节变化而变化。就这一点而言,人像狗。要不为什么那些老华侨多年后回国,四顾茫然,张着嘴,东闻闻西嗅嗅——寻找的就是那记忆中的北京味儿灰尘味儿。相当于颜色中的铁灰加点儿赭石——北京冬天的底色。它是所有气味儿中的统帅,让人口干舌燥,嗓子冒烟,心情恶劣。一旦借西北风更是了得,千军万马,铺天盖地,顺窗缝门缝登堂入室,没处躲没处藏。当年戴口罩防的主要就是它,否则出门满嘴牙碜。

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