人类学家米勒的问答集 02 [美国媒体]

What is it like to live in rural China?

中国的农村生活是怎样的？





Eric Miller, Ph.D. in Cultural anthropology, research professor and applied anthropologist
Updated Oct 7
I lived in a Chinese village for a year, so I can say a bit about what it is like for a foreigner to live in rural China, and a bit about the people I know there.Of course, even the villages up the road are different, so there are is a lot of variety, and it also makes a big difference if you are young or old, male or female.

我曾经在一个中国村庄，住了一年。关于这个话题，我可以说一些事情，也可以说说我在那儿认识的一些人。
即便是一条大路上的村庄，也都会有所不同，因为中国的村庄比较多样性。这个问题，你问年轻的、年老的、男的、女的，答案也都是不一样的。

I lived in a moderately prosperous village in central Shandong Province, where most of the income came from agriculture. The population was about 880. I was there to research old age in the village. Mostly, everyone lives in courtyard houses packed close together in the center of the village. The houses are bigger than urban apartments, with several rooms and a courtyard. Some homes are clean and pretty well furnished, while others were messy and not so clean. In most, the kitchens are still outside, there is a water pipe in the courtyard, and no toliet, shower or central heat. People have televisions, washing machines, motorcycles. A few have cars.

我住的村庄，坐落在山东省中部的一个中等收入的农村，那里人们的大部分收入都是务农。人口大概是880人。我在那研究村里的老年人。大多数人都住在村中央的一排排的四合院里。房子也比城里的公寓要大，有几间房子和一个院子。有些房子很干净、家具也齐全，而有些房子则比较脏乱。大多数的房子，厨房在外面的屋子里，院子里有水管，但没有厕所、淋浴或集中供暖。人们有电视、洗衣机和摩托车。小部分人有汽车。

People were generally quick to comment about how much poorer and harder life there is than in the cities, but in many ways, their lives were pretty good. The air was clear, the water was good, and we had a constant supply of locally grown vegetables, fruits, and eggs. The local tofu was amazing at sunrise, freshly made and still warm with just a simple spicy vinegar sauce. The local beer was good, too. They didn't eat so much meat--mostly pig liver and pig ears, and scrawny chickens. The generally only eat what they grow themselves. I ended up hiring a cook, as just going to market to buy food would have taken me a huge amount of time.

看完这些，通常就有人很快下结论，这个地方比城市穷多了、生活也艰苦多了。但是在很多方面，我觉得他们的生活还是不错的：空气清新、水质良好、供应不断的本地蔬菜、水果和鸡蛋。早上的豆腐都是新做的、热乎乎的，配着辣酱吃简直就是人间美味。当地的啤酒也很好喝。村里的人们，肉吃的不多，通常也就是猪肝、猪耳朵和鸡肉。一般来讲，他们只吃自己种的蔬菜。在研究工作的最后，我雇了个厨师，因为去菜场买菜实在太费时间了。

Rural life revolves around the seasons. This area had a corn harvest and a wheat harvest, and each harvest is a very busy time. In between is much more relaxed. There is work to do, but people can do it at their own pace. Life also revolves around the markets, where people go to socialize and buy and sell produce and other items. These are held every ten days, but there is pretty much a market somewhere in the area every day.

农村的生活是围绕着季节来过的。这个地区有一季玉米和一季小麦，每个丰收时节都是很忙的。除去农忙时间，人们大部分时间都比较清闲。是有事情要做，但人们可以按照自己的生活节奏去做。人们的生活也围着集市转，集市上，人们可以去交往、买卖东西，大的集市一般10天举办一次。也有固定的地方，那里每天都有小的集市。

Typical days, older people would go to the fields to tend to the crops, younger people would head off to the city to work, and children would go to school. Some of the crops were processed and stored at the house. The old men would gather in the center of the village for endless retellings of fighting the Japanese and to watch games of Chinese chess. Women tended to gather closer to their homes. In the evenings, people of all ages would tend to gather on the streets under the lights to chat, play cards, pool, or other games.

典型的农村日子里，老人们会去田里照料庄稼，年轻人会去城里打工，孩子们会去学校上学。部分的玉米和小麦会被简单的晾晒，然后储存在屋子里。老人们会聚在村子的中心，不停地争论抗日的那些事情，或者看别人下象棋。女人们一般都会呆在家附近。到了晚上，各个年纪的人们，会聚在路边的灯下，聊天、打牌，或在池塘里游泳等。

I spent a lot of time going to weddings, where there is a lot of eating and drinking. There are other holidays, and visits to people to celebrate 100 days after a baby is born, for example. Spring Festival in the village is great, with all of the decorations and making and eating of dumplings and many foods and drinking from morning to evening, and firecrackers.

我参加了很多的婚礼，那里有很多人在吃呀喝呀。也有其他的日子会被邀请，例如小孩出生100天。在农村过春节是非常棒的体验，家家户户都装饰一新，包饺子、吃饺子，还有很多好吃的，人们从早喝到晚，还会放鞭炮。

For me, it was a great privilege to get to know these people. It could be a bit lonely, since no one spoke English (including the English teacher), and certainly no one would understand most of my kinds of jokes. I gravitated towards people who were a little more worldly than most. One good friend is a farmer, but also a tinkerer. Another knew the village genealogies, was an avid reader and knew more than anyone about various customs. Yet another was a man who retired from a career in the navy and so had visited many countries.

对我来说，认识这些人真是一种莫大的荣幸。因为村里没人会说英语（包括英语老师），这可能有点孤单，我讲的各种笑话他们也都听不懂。但我还是喜欢跟世俗的人呆在一起。我有个朋友是农民，他也是个补锅匠。另一个好朋友，他熟知村里的家谱，沉迷读书，对各种风俗习惯了然于心。还有一个退役的海军士兵，他到过很多国家。

I had internet access, and so was not completely cut off from the world, but I watched local TV and got into some of the serial dramas. I enjoyed hiking in the fields and mountains and bird watching in the early mornings. I was kept busy with my work and having meals and banquets with people, and also with photography.

在那儿，我是连了互联网的，所以没有完全与世隔绝。但我也看当地的电视台，观看了一些连续剧。一大早，在鸟儿的注视下，我很享受在山上和田野里走来走去。我一直忙于考察，跟人们吃饭，还有摄影。

Compared to living in the cities, it could be a bit dull, or at least there were less options. The variety of vegetables was fantastic, but it was always the same style of food. If I wanted even something like a bowl of rice or Sichuan food I had to go into town (People there eat steamed bread and dumpling, mostly, not rice.)

跟城市生活比起来，可能有些沉闷，或者说没什么选择。各种蔬菜的确很棒，但总是那老几样。那里的人们大多数都吃馒头和饺子，而不是米饭。如果我想吃碗米饭或者四川菜，我就得到城里去。

It might seem like it would be hard being a foreigner in a Chinese village because of course I stood out, but really, it was easier than in many cities. In the village and in town, I didn't hear people calling out "foreigner" but instead they called out my name. They knew who I was and why I was there, and they really adopted me, so it was really nice.

在中国农村生活，对于外国人来说看起来应该很困难。但是我去了，说真的，比在很多城市生活要容易很多。在村里或者镇上，我听不到他们叫我“老外”，他们会直接叫我名字。他们知道我是谁，我为什么会在那儿，他们真的很包容我，那种感觉真是太好了。

The world of the village is really small. Most of the people lived there either their whole lives (men) or since they got married (women). Sometimes I do think one reason people liked to talk to me was just because I was someone new. I can't imagine what it would be like to live in one place for an entire lifetime, or to have lived through the warlord period, Japanese occupation, civil war, founding of the new China, Great Leap forward, Cultural Revolution and reforms as the oldest residents had.

村庄的世界真的很小。住在那儿的大部分人，要么是男的一生都住在那儿，要么是女的是嫁过来的。我觉得，人们喜欢和我说话的原因之一，就是因为我是新来的。我真得无法想象，一个人一辈子住在同一个地方，那儿最老的村民们，他们经历了军阀时期、日占时期、内战、新中国的建立、大跃进、闻革和改革开放。

Certainly, the villages weren't living some idyllic village life, though things really are better than they have ever been. They also do not really live more traditional lives than Chinese who live in the city. And they are also not backward bumpkins. They are complex people just like anywhere else.

虽然生活真的比以前好多了，但村子里的人们，也并不是过着田园诗歌般的生活。跟城里人相比，他们也并没有过更加传统的生活。他们也不是落后的乡巴佬，就像其他地方的人一样，他们很复杂。

For them, living in the village can feel a little confining--they just can't find a way to get ahead in life, but it is also home, and they do value their good air and water and food, and also their friends and opportunities to eat and drink and spend time together.

对他们来说，生活在农村可能会感到一些困扰--他们无法找到一条翻身的道路。但是同时呢，那里也是他们的家，他们很珍惜那里的空气、水和食物，很珍惜和朋友一起吃饭喝酒、共度人生的机会。

Again, this was one village. I have visited bigger villages, more prosperous ones and also poorer and much more remote ones. A Chinese colleague did research in a village that could only be reached by a two day journey on foot. Living there would be very different.

再说一下，这只是一个村庄。我也去过更大的，更繁华的，更穷困的，更偏远的。有一位中国同僚，他去过的村子，要步行两天才能到，生活在那儿肯定又是另一番滋味。