长篇 // Changpian // Longform
Welcome to the 19th 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. Feedback is very welcome (tabitha.speelman@gmail.com or @tabithaspeelman). Back issues can be found here.
A late happy 夏至. Thanks for reading and for your messages, including those asking whether this issue would ever arrive. If you could use more longform stories from China, you might also like Chinarrative, a new project by Sixth Tone’s Colum Murphy that includes a newsletter. Compared to Changpian’s 杂锅, Chinarrative seems to focus more exclusively on narrative nonfiction, with each issue discussing a couple of quality stories in more depth. It links to the Chinese original but also includes beautifully translated excerpts. I recommend checking it out.
干货 // Ganhuo // Dry Goods
In this section, I highlight any (loose) themes that stood out in my recent reading.
纪念
At the top today just three older stories by (very) young people:
Among the many articles commemorating the 10-year anniversary of the Wenchuan earthquake last May, a feature by a team of Wuhan University students at university publication 武大新视点 stands out. Written up by first-year student Zhang Yingyu, 《记者们的震后十年》 is based on in-depth interviews with journalists who covered the events in 2008.
Zhang switches between the (ex-)journalists’ often poignant memories of the events and their reflections on their investigative work at the time, now considered a major chapter in recent Chinese journalism history. Through this discussion of changes in the media industry in the past decade, she manages to add a layer of political context missing from most of the anniversary coverage this year. At the same time, the effort itself demonstrates that the 衰落of the profession described by respected practitioners in the article is not the whole story. (See here on 新闻实验室 for more by 18-year-old Zhang on how the project came about.)
Another anniversary piece, US-based graduate student and ”马克思主义青年“ Zhang Yueran writes about the meaning of revolution and its distance from middle-class daily realities. How does someone young and left-leaning for whom “稳定的日常生活构成了我们的基本盘” and “其他的一切东西——政治也好、社运也好、左翼思想也好——都只是这基本盘之上的点缀” start to think about radical social change? Zhang’s thoughtful, honest response seems by no means limited to a Chinese context.
Finally, Peking University undergraduate student Yue Xin’s online accounts from last April on how university authorities responded to student demands for more transparency in the Shen Yang (#MeToo) affair have inspired many. Her thoughts on the complex mix of reasons that made her speak out are well worth (re-)reading. (See China Digital Times forcontext and a partial translation.)
其他好故事 // Gushi // More stories
Some other interesting stories.
不理解政治，我们就难以真正理解命运 – 理想岛– Fudan-based social scientist Xiong Yihan writes a personal essay on his relation to his academic work on second-generation urban migrants. I found part 5 and 6 on the political and ethical implications he draws from his research especially powerful.
1999年9月，某个阳光灿烂的日子，我乘坐姑父的小车，进入了我的大学。差不多同一时间，以两分之差落榜的同桌兄弟搭上了南下深圳的火车，在那里开始了他的打工生涯。那是一个平凡的日子，以至于我忘掉了日期。在多年以后，我才意识到，那是我人生的一个岔路口。在那一天，我和同桌兄弟一起告别了农村，不同的是，我办理了户口迁移手续，而他的户口还留在原地.
2. 二本院校学生的优势与使命：懂得更真实的中国 – 中国好青年 – In this commencement speech at a lower-ranking “二本” college, academic and non-fiction writer Huang Deng tells graduates to value their experience outside China’s elite institutions.
那么，作为一所二本院校，我们的优势到底在哪儿？我的观察是，因为更少受制于应试教育的戕害，二本院校的学生保持了更多的灵性，相比重点大学孩子的沉稳，我们更多了一份年轻人的张扬和天性。更重要的是，因为毕业后，二本院校的学生，几乎全部留在国内和基层工作，而中国近四十年来翻天覆地的变化，以及无数的尝试机会，毫无疑问，为这些年轻人，提供了最好的成才土壤… 很多事情，我们不去做，就没有人去做，很多话，我们不去说，就没有人说，很多人，我们不去帮，就没有人去帮..
3. 亦庄的马斯克们 – 新京报 – Feature on China’s fledgling civilian space industry.
民营火箭在中国已经历了两波创业浪潮：2015年前后，军民融合政策的影响下，嗅觉敏锐的金融业者成为第一批掘金者。2017年，军民融合推进力度进一步加大，相关配套细则逐渐出台，体制内技术人员也相继明确市场风向，大胆出走…据记者不完全统计，在北京亦庄50.8平方公里的土地上，至少散布着6家民营火箭公司，并且都获得了融资。其中，星际荣耀、零壹空间、蓝箭科技相继融资过亿元。
4. 乞丐的歌单 –正午故事 – Noonstory’s 黄昕宇 follows Beijing creative SHUO on his quest to improve beggar 利生’s livelihood.
不久前，我的朋友SHUO在地铁十号线遇到一个双手残疾的乞丐，放着佛经乞讨。他觉得很难听，心想，换个音乐说不定还能多挣点。他给了那大哥十块钱，对他说：“师傅，你看你老放这歌大家都不爱听啊。这样吧，我回头给你找点好听的歌给你，你试试。”大哥说，行。他们加了微信。
5. 逃离美发厅 – 人物 – Harrowing account of a young woman’s four years of forced sexual labor at a hair salon at the outskirts of Shanghai. Five years after her escape, she is part of a group of women suing for compensation.
从2009年8月18日到2013年6月25日，方媛在乐乐美发厅内被囚禁了1407天。进去时16岁，流行的是诺基亚彩屏按键手机，出来时20岁，外面已是触屏智能机的天下。第一次感受到时代变化，是看到客人在全屏手机上「切西瓜」。
6. 闾丘露薇：人生五十，从头开始 — 大家 — Researcher and former journalist Luwei Rose Luqiu on going to graduate school and re-entering the workforce age 50 and female.
50岁求职，有无数的调查显示，不管是在英美澳，还是大中华地区，50岁是求职变得困难的分水岭，而女性比男性遭受的年龄歧视更多。而在中国内地，“不超过35岁”成为很多企业的硬性要求，而做出这种表率的，则是政府。根据中组部、人社部和国家公务员局联合发布的《关于进一步规范公务员招考年龄设置的通知》规定：“公务员招考年龄一般为18周岁以上，35周岁以下。对于应届硕士、博士研究生（非在职）人员报考公务员的，可以适当放宽年龄标准到40周岁以内。”
7. 我的移民故事——献给那些永远离开了草原的牧人们 — CHARU — University student 索南求培 reflects on his youth as a nomad in the Yushu highlands. Includes some very nice pictures.
我在牧区一直生活到11岁为止，五六岁的时候我开始放“小牛犊”，小牛犊是很好放的，数量也不是那么多，最重要的它们不会走的太远，一般在家的周围草原或者小河流边上。我总是喜欢在阿妈看不到的时候，抓那个最温顺的小牛犊当我的那洛（牦牛坐骑），我们牧区的孩子一般都有自己固定的宠物——牛犊，而且会起个独一无二的名字。牧区的大人们逗孩子的时候常常会说一些如果你不听话，我就杀了或者卖了你的小牛犊……等等一些话来逗小孩们，让他们老老实实的听话。
8. 孟冰纯：公共性的消亡、关于“女子力”的反思与“精英中产的抗争” | 访谈录 – 好奇心日報– LSE-based media scholar Meng Bingchun on media, class and identity in and outside China. While this repost on Douban remains, the original post on the interesting Qdaily was deleted.
Q：我们注意到现在有一些非传统的群体，比如女权组织、LGBTQ 群体、文青（hipster），他们通过线上或线下的聚集试图挑战当前的主流文化。您如何评价他们的社会参与？M：我觉得评价这些也要看语境。如果是在中国语境下，这些组织从阶级、阶层的角度来说都具有相当丰富的文化资本和社会资本，受过良好教育，大部分可能是都市中产… 当然，拓展言论空间、拓展身份认同的维度、价值观的多元是积极的。但我觉得这部分群体是比已经很精英的西方（LGBT 等）群体更精英的…
9. 《黄河尕谣》：“土味”民谣的西北乡愁 – 谷雨计划 – Introduction and trailer to ‘music documentary’ Stammering Ballad. Director Zhang Nan follows Gansu-born singer 张尕怂as he travels China’s northwest to study its music.
《黄河尕谣》虽然定位为音乐纪录片，导演张楠所触及的并不仅仅是西北民歌。透过影片主角西北歌手张尕怂的民歌之旅、他吟唱的西北小调，可以看到更多的是一个八零年代人，如何在中国现代化、城市化的浪潮中，离开家乡进入城市，一路打拼，却又一次次地回到故乡、面对故乡、思考故乡。
10. 这些词你懂多少：本命、CP粉、白嫖、担当、糊、唯粉…… — 新闻实验室—Excerpt from a new volume on key terms in online popular culture compiled and written by Peking University graduate students.
安利一词源自一家名为安利（Amway）的直销公司。由于安利公司的推销员往往以“你听说过安利吗？”为推销开场白，这一句式曾一度成为社会流行语，衍生出了许多以此为梗（见“二次元·宅文化”单元“梗”词条）的笑话。安利一词后来为二次元所借用，用以表达“强烈推荐”之意，包含着“非常希望被安利方接受”的内涵。后来，安利的词义逐渐扩大，可供安利的对象从ACG文化产品扩展至所有文化产品、偶像明星，乃至于B站up主（在哔哩哔哩弹幕网上传视频的用户）、微博账号、淘宝小店、手机APP、零食、化妆品、餐馆……凡有所爱，皆可安利。
11. 京都球侠 – 1987 comedy about a Chinese-European football match in late–Qing Beijing. A loosely World Cup-themed bonus recommendation that isn’t non-fiction (apart from its historical interest). (Found via this review at 正午.)
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.
在桥梁工地上 – 人民文学 – Published during the Hundred Flowers Campaign, this essay from 1956 on the construction of a bridge over the Yellow River is one of several critical stories well-known journalist and writer Liu Binyan wrote the year before he was labeled a rightist and sent to work in labor camps for over two decades. The 20,000-character story is an example of the lyrical, engaged 报告文学of the early socialist period, formulating its critique within a CCP ideological framework. Liu is a great writer, and this piece is especially strong in showing the mechanics of official language and communication, some of which still feels familiar today. (See for instance this story on one school’s response to the Wenchuan earthquake.）
See also this article by HKU-based media scholar and former journalist Qian Gang from 2006, on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of Liu’s 1956 exposes. Qian’s cautiously optimistic article, written shortly after the temporary suspension of investigative project Freezing Point at the China Youth Daily (where Liu worked too), covers the decades before the story on 2008-2018 media development with which this newsletter opened.
“可是，不管缺点怎么多，成绩还是最主要的。谁要是忽略这一点，谁就得犯错误。就说造桥，就说咱们队上，有人批评说我们浪费，成本超支，这都是事实。是怎么样就是怎么样。赔了钱就是赔了钱。可是桥呢？桥还是造起来了！我们没来，这一带黄河上没有桥，我们一走——这块儿就有了桥。从无到有，这叫成就。不错，钱是化多了点，桥可造起来了！……”说着说着，他就从衣袋里掏出一块薄薄的白纸，——这是一篇稿子的“小样”递给曾刚。曾刚一看就明白了。这是三分队一个通讯员写的一篇稿子。说来说去，原来是为着这件事！他笑了.