Down and Out - How graduates in China feel today
A Qing dynasty metaphor about the challenges of being a graduate in China today
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China’s last imperial regime was the Qing (1644-1911). By the end of Qing dynasty the government was corrupt and weak.
Poems, essays and stories from that time are still alive today. Some have evolved into metaphors about life in modern China.
We’ve learned a few in this newsletter:
Bumping porcelain 碰瓷 pèng cí - to extort, a reference to a corrupt military group who tricked passers-by out of their money;
Cutting braids 割辫子 gē biàn zi - to throw away restrictions of the imperial or feudal system;
Great Qing dynasty 大清 dà qīng - a regime that doesn't tolerate dissent, its people only allowed to say good things about government.
This week we learn another phrase about the late Qing dynasty, which first appeared in Call to Arms (呐喊 nà hǎn), a collection of 14 short stories published in 1923 by Lǔ Xùn 鲁迅.
The story is about Kǒng Yǐjǐ 孔乙己, a highly educated man who frequents a tavern in the fictional town of Lǔzhèn 鲁镇. Kong is a self-styled scholar who speaks in literary jargon that punters in the tavern only half understand.
He is a contradiction who the reader warms to, but pities and dislikes:
Kong Yiji is a scholar who never passed the national exams. He is also the only person in the Xianheng Tavern who drinks yellow rice wine standing up wearing a long gown. He behaves like a scholar, but he has no income and is not willing to do any menial work. He is impoverished and a laughing stock of the townspeople.
孔乙己是一个没有考上秀才的书生,也是咸亨酒店里站着喝酒而穿长衫的唯一的人,端着读书人的架子,却没有经济来源,也不愿意从事体力劳动赚钱,最终穷困潦倒,成为镇民的笑料。[2]
Kong’s long gown (长衫 cháng shān) is supposed to show his social status, but it is torn and dirty; he has no money so steals books rather than finding a job, but he never defaults on payment at the tavern; he is drunk and angry, but wants to share his literary knowledge with the narrator of the story.
Through the sad character of Kong Yiji, Lu Xun is criticising China’s society under the feudal system.
The phrase, Kong Yiji Literature (孔乙己文学 Kǒng Yǐ jǐ wén xué), is a new term which has been trending on Chinese social media over the last few weeks.
Drawing from the character of Kong Yiji, the phrase describes a new kind of over-educated under-achiever: University graduates who are unable to land sought after high paid jobs, but are not willing to take jobs which are below their university education.
Last year alone saw a record 10.76 million people graduating from Chinese universities. For some of them, a university education is their "long gown", a burden holding them back as they start their careers:
Education is not only a stepping stone in my career, but also a high platform that I can't get off. It's like the long gown of Kong Yiji that he is unable to remove.
学历不但是敲门砖,也是我下不来的高台,更是孔乙己脱不下的长衫
This “long gown” of education reflects deeper issues in Chinese society:
Some people think that young people can't take off their long gowns because the current education system is too competitive, and while they have invested a lot in their education, they don't get the earnings they deserve, which doesn't match the expectations of their family or society.
有人认为,年轻人脱不下长衫,是目前教育太卷,付出的教育投入代价太大了,却没有得到应有的收入,与家庭及社会的期待值不相符。 [2]
So that’s what we explore this week!
What You’re Missing in the Member Podcast:
Today’s member podcast episode is 43 minutes long with 37 minutes of excellent native Chinese audio, including a BONUS AUDIO of the full narration of Kong Yiji.
It’s my favourite audio edition of the newsletter for ages, and includes loads of additional words, phrases and insights in Chinese!
Favourite Five
1. 丧 sàng
despair
这种玩法互动性强,手法略显夸张,有时候显得非常“丧” - Writing these kinds of posts can generate a lot of engagement. The content is slightly exaggerated and sometimes quite pessimistic. [1]
More: Sang Culture (丧文化 sàng wénhuà) - a youth subculture related to young people feeling a sense of despair.
Related: 颓丧 tuí sàng - depressed
2. 荆棘 jīng jí
thorns; challenges
人生布满了荆棘,我们想的唯一办法是从那些荆棘上迅速跨过 - Life is full of challenges. The only way to overcome them is to get through them quickly. [1]
Related: 披荆斩棘 pī jīng zhǎn jí - overcome obstacles
3. 眼高手低 yǎn gāo shǒu dī
high sighted, low handed; someone who has high standards or expectations but is unable to achieve them in reality
现在的年轻人找不到工作就是因为眼高手低,自命清高,不肯努力或是太懒所致 - Young people today can't find a job because they are over-ambitious, arrogant, unwilling to work hard, or too lazy. [2]
Related: 高开低走 gāo kāi dī zǒu - decline from a high starting point
4. 孔乙己文学 kǒng yǐ jǐ wén xué
Kong Yiji Literature
“孔乙己文学”成了3月最热的全民话题,在微博、小红书、豆瓣、抖音、朋友圈......疯狂刷屏" - Kong Yiji Literature" became the hottest topic on social media in March. The phrase has gone viral on Weibo, Xiaohongshu, Douban, Douyin, and WeChat. [3]
Note: Literature (文学 wénxué) is an internet slang term which translates as "-ism", such as in "talking rubbish-ism" (废话文学 fèihuà wénxué).
More: See The China Project’s Phrase of the Week for more!
5. 高不成低不就 gāo bù chéng dī bú jiù
be unfit for a higher post but unwilling to take a lower one
有些看起来不需要太高学历的工作,又放不下身段去做,最后高不成低不就,陷入了困顿与尴尬 - Those well-educated are too proud to take jobs that don't require a university education. In the end, they are trapped in a dilemma as they can't get the good jobs they want, and are unwilling to take a lower one. [2]
More: 身段 shēn duàn - posture, social status
Consuming the Conversation
Useful words
6. 迂腐 yū fǔ
pedantic, resistant to new ideas
孔乙己的形象是善良、迂腐、穷酸、爱面子。鲁迅先生曾说,孔乙己是酒馆里唯一一个站着喝酒还穿长衫的人 - Kong Yiji is characterised as someone who is kind, pedantic, poor, and loves face. According to Lu Xun, he is the only one in the tavern who drinks yellow rice wine standing up wearing a long scholar’s gown. [1]
7. 苦闷 kǔ mèn
depressed
说的是念了大学,却找不到心仪工作的困顿和苦闷 - Although they have a university degree, they feel depressed and stuck because they cannot find the job they want. [1]
8. 低贱 dī jiàn
disreputable
宁愿去偷,也不愿意去做他以为的低贱的赚钱的事 - He would rather steal than lower himself to make money through disreputable means. [1]
9. 落魄 luò pò
spiritless; living in poverty
落魄的孔乙己穿着又脏又破的长衫被人嘲笑,固执地将读书人的身份进行到底 - The down and out Kong Yiji is ridiculed for wearing his dirty and tattered long scholar’s gown. Despite that, he projects himself as a scholar to the very end. [1]
10. 困顿 kùn dùn
trapped
当一批失落的年轻人正困顿于长衫时,一批孔乙己决定脱下长衫 - When one group of lost young people were trapped in their long gowns, another group of Kong Yijis decided to take them off. [2]
More: 困顿 as an adjective is usually about economic hardship (livelihood); whereas 困难 (usually an adjective and a noun) describes difficulties, hardships, or problems in general.
11. 枷锁 jiā suǒ
shackles
长衫是衣服,更是心头枷锁 - A long gown is an item of clothing, but it’s also a limiting factor. [1]
Related: 桎梏 zhì gù - shackles
Three-character phrases
12. 挂路灯 guà lùdēng
lynch of the rich by the poor
中文互联网上一度最火的一种口号就是“资本家挂路灯” - One of the most popular slogans on the Chinese Internet was "lynch the capitalists". [2]
More: Originally a political slogan from the French Revolution (“À la lanterne”) meaning to hang the victim from a lamppost. In Chinese internet slang it’s a criticism directed at capitalists.
13. 敲门砖 qiāo mén zhuān
door step; stepping stone
学历不但是敲门砖,也是我下不来的高台,更是孔乙己脱不下的长衫 - Education is not only a stepping stone, but also a high platform that I can't get off. It’s also the long gown that Kong Yiji is unable to take off. [1]
14. 灌鸡汤 guàn jī tāng
force someone to drink chicken soup; force motivational words on somebody
而不是一味灌鸡汤,把问题推卸给年轻人 - The government should not use empty words to motivate young people and let them deal with the problem. [2]
Note: chicken soup 鸡汤 is normally a positive phrase, but when used with 灌 it has a negative meaning.
Related: 毒鸡汤 dú jī tāng - poisoned chicken soup, toxic motivational words
Idioms
15. 穷困潦倒 qióng kùn liáo dǎo
down and out
站着喝酒,说明没钱,没地位,穷困潦倒 - Drinking standing up means that you have no money, no status, and are poor. [1]
16. 寒窗苦读 hán chuāng kǔ dú
Study hard
十余年寒窗苦读,拿到了高学历,踌躇满怀想找到一份好工作 - After more than ten years of hard work and receiving a degree, graduates are full of hope that they can find a good job. [2]
17. 袖手旁观 xiù shǒu páng guān
stand by and watch
如今早已不是“咸亨酒店”的天下,全社会不会对年轻人的困境袖手旁观 - Now it is no longer the world of Xianheng Tavern. Society will not stand by and do nothing about the plight of young people. [1]
18. 无病呻吟 wú bìng shēn yín
moaning
有人认为现在的年轻人无病呻吟,只不过是为了掩盖自己能力的不足 - Some people think that today's young people complain about every little thing just to cover up their own inadequacies. [2]
19. 好吃懒做 hào chī lǎn zuò
be greedy of eating and lazy in doing work
不允许其他人以“好心劝诫”的形式批评孔乙己的“好喝懒做”“总是偷” - They reject others' "well-intentioned admonition" of Kong Yiji for "drinking and being lazy" and "always stealing". [2]
Related: 贪吃懒做 tān chī lǎn zuò - lazy
20. 百无一能 bǎi wú yì néng
incompetent
对于创造百无一能、对于毁灭无所不用其极的学生,也许只是当代青年中的极少数 - It’s only a very small number of students who are incapable of being creative and seek to criticise others. [2]
More: 无所不用其极 wú suǒ bù yòng qí jí - stop at nothing
Longer Phrases
21. 一年之计在于春 yì nián zhī jì zài yú chūn
the plan for the year is made in spring
一年之计在于春,春天是万物复苏的季节,也代表着生机勃勃的开始 - The plan of a year is made in spring. Spring is the season where all things recover, and it also represents the beginning of new life. [1]
Note: The first part of the larger phrase, 一年之计在于春,一日之计在于晨 yì nián zhī jì zài yú chūn, yí rì zhī jì zài yú chén.
22. 光阴一去不复返 guāng yīn yí qù bú fù fǎn
when time has gone you never get it back
孔乙己的时代一去不复返了,当代有志青年绝不会被困在长衫中 - The era of Kong Yiji is gone forever and contemporary aspiring young people will never be trapped in long gowns. [1]
23. 跨过那道坎儿 kuà guò nà dào kǎn er
overcome a hurdle
真正跨过自己心里的那道坎儿,却总是显得艰难 - It’s always difficult to get over the hurdles in your own mind. [2]
24. 梦想很丰满,现实很骨感 mèng xiǎng hěn fēng mǎn, xiàn shí hěn gǔ gǎn
a beautiful ideal, a bare reality
骨感的现实已经支撑不起丰满的理想 - The bare reality can no longer support the beautiful dreams. [1]
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