中國年輕人的"中產階級焦慮症"大綱

Ni Lu takes things one step at a time. "It's most realistic to set yourself targets for the next three or five years — longer periods of time you can't control," the Shanghai girl says.

倪璐（音譯）按部就班地計劃着自己的生活。這位上海姑娘說：“給自己設定一個未來3年或5年的目標，是最現實的事情——再長就無法控制了。”

Ms Ni's short-to-medium term goals include working less, travelling a lot; finding a man to marry and having a baby.

她的中短期目標包括少工作一些、到處旅遊；找個人結婚然後生孩子。

With her ambitious agenda, the 24-year-old office worker at Shanda, an internet company, is an emblem of China's young generation. Markedly different from their parents and grandparents, under-30s in the world's most populous nation have grown up in a relatively stable society and experienced increasing, if modest, prosperity, so they have certain expectations.

這位志向遠大、在互聯網公司盛大(Shanda)任職的24歲白領是中國年輕一代的寫照。與他們的父輩和祖輩明顯不同，在這個全球人口最多的國家，30歲以下的人羣是在一個相對穩定的社會中長大的，他們經歷了越來越富裕（即使富裕程度還有限）的生活，因此會懷有一定期望。

"These people have what I call middle class anxiety," says Li Chunling, a researcher at the Chinese Academy of Social Science in Beijing. "They all strive for a decent standard of living which makes other people respect them."

“這些人患有我所說的中產階級焦慮症，”位於北京的中國社科院(Chinese Academy of Social Science)研究員李春玲說道。“他們都追求高品質的生活，想讓其他人尊敬自己。”

It is a familiar picture.

這種現象很常見。

As continuously growing demand makes China the world's largest market for everything from mobile phones to cars, and as the country develops a voracious appetite for luxury goods, the plans and expectations of young people also seem increasingly to resemble those of their western peers: and, it seems, they share the same status symbols and desires.

隨着持續擴大的需求讓中國成爲全球一切商品的最大市場（從手機到汽車），加之中國人對奢侈品產生了強烈興趣，中國年輕人的未來規劃和期望也似乎越來越像西方靠攏，他們似乎有着同樣的社會地位象徵和願望。

But the path to realising these seemingly simple dreams in China is very different from what it might be in Europe or America.

但在中國，實現這些看似簡單的夢想的道路與歐美截然不同。

China's society and economy are changing rapidly. The countryside is urbanising at a dizzying speed, the job market is being transformed overnight, and the media and entertainment landscape is undergoing sweeping changes.

中國的社會和經濟正迅速發生變化。農村正以驚人的速度城市化，就業市場日新月異，媒體和娛樂業格局正在經歷徹底變革。

While these conditions offer many opportunities to strike it rich, they also create huge hurdles for young people to attain their desired state of a middle class goal.

這些環境造就了很多暴富的機會，但也給年輕人實現期望中的中產階級目標製造了巨大障礙。

"As a result, they feel a lot of pressure," explains Mr Li.

李春玲表示：“因此，他們感受到很多壓力。”

To be sure, the lives of the young can differ vastly, depending on whether they were born in a big city or in the countryside and whether they come from an affluent or well-connected family or a simple peasant household.

無可否認，年輕一代的生活千差萬別，這取決於他們出生在大城市還是農村，是來自富裕或是有着良好社會關係的家庭還是簡單的農民家庭。

Mr Li says: "It is broadly felt that one's family background is an increasingly important factor in one's future, that social mobility is somewhat decreasing in China."

李春玲表示：“人們普遍認爲，一個人的家庭背景對於他的未來是一個越來越重要的因素，在中國，社會階層的流動性正開始有所減速。”

But what young people across all social groups share is the expectation of a good life and the sobering realisation that getting there can require a rather uncomfortable struggle, if it does not turn out to be impossible altogether.

但各個社會羣體中的年輕人所共有的是，對美好生活的期望以及對一件事實的清醒認識：實現這一理想可能需要相當痛苦的奮鬥，甚至有可能完全失敗。

"For young people in the cities, a home is probably the biggest issue," says Wang Xiaodong, a researcher at the China Youth Research Centre. "Property prices are too high," he says.

對於城市中的年輕人而言，房子或許是最大的問題。”中國青少年研究中心(China Youth Research Centre)研究員王曉東表示，“房價太高。”

For young men and women who grew up in a small town or village, making a fresh start often seems easy.

對於在小城鎮或農村長大的年輕男女而言，白手起家通常似乎相對容易。

Especially in the poorest rural regions, the young increasingly leave school early to go to the more developed coastal regions to work there.

特別是在最貧困的農村地區，越來越多的年輕人輟學，到更爲發達的沿海地區工作。

"At the beginning, I was dazzled that I'd have my own cash every month," says Zhuo Hong, a 25-year-old from Sichuan, one of China's most populous western provinces. He left his rural home at 15 to work in a factory in Dongguan, an export manufacturing hub close to Hong Kong.

“一開始，每月都能有自己的錢這件事讓我激動不已，”現年25歲的四川人卓宏（音譯）說道。四川是中國人口最多的西部省份。他15歲離開農村老家，在出口製造業中心東莞的一家工廠工作。

But Mr Zhuo now finds it hard to get by. He has been saving his wages for marriage, but he is no longer sure he wants to go back to the village where all the young people have left, where the roads are muddy and where there is no work.

但卓宏現在發現生活很難繼續下去。他一直在攢錢準備結婚，但他已不再肯定自己希望回到那個所有年輕人都已離開的村子，在那裏，道路泥濘，也沒有工作。

Staying in Dongguan would be difficult too, because he does not earn enough to buy a flat there. "But I'm too old to start again, so maybe I made the wrong decision 10 years ago," he says.

留在東莞也很困難，因爲他賺的錢不夠在那裏買房。他說：“但我已過了重新開始的年紀，或許我10年前出來的決定是錯誤的。”

Those younger than him who leave the countryside now often do not wish to work in a factory. "They can't eat bitterness," says Mr Zhuo, using a common expression for enduring hardship.

那些現在離開農村、比他更年輕的人通常不希望在工廠工作。卓宏表示：“他們不能吃苦。”

Many younger migrant workers try to find jobs in the service industries instead of construction and factories.

很多更年輕的農民工設法在服務業找工作，而非建築業和工廠。

Although young people in cities have more options, they often share the same sense of confusion. "I don't know in what direction the future will take me, I haven't thought about that thoroughly," says Ms Ni.

儘管城市中的年輕人有着更多選擇，但他們經常感到同樣的困惑。倪璐表示：“我不知道自己的未來在何方，我還沒有認真地考慮過這個問題。”

She has taken up religion, something unthinkable in Maoist China a few decades ago. Once a month, she visits the Jing'an Temple in Shanghai to "have a chat with the Buddha. I think it's a good thing when people have some faith."

她現在信教，幾十年前，在毛澤東時代的中國，這種事情還是不可想象的。她每月去一次上海的靜安寺，“與佛祖聊聊天。我認爲，有些信仰是件好事。”

譯者/樑豔裳