#79 Do you want to live in seclusion in China? 你想要隐居在中国的山林吗?

Podcast Transcript

大家好!欢迎回来MaoMi Chinese!

你有没有这样的时候:工作太累了,生活里也有很多烦心事,真想找个没有人的地方,一个人住!最好是在山林里,山林里有美丽的风景,你还能养一些动物,种一些菜。这样的生活,在中文里叫“隐居”。“隐”,意思是没有人看见。“居”,意思是居住,住在一个地方。“隐居”,意思是一个人住在没有人的地方。如果可以,你想在中国的山林里隐居吗?今天,我们一起来聊一聊一些中国人的隐居生活吧。

其实,中国一直都有隐居的文化。在古代中国,如果一些人对国家和政府不满意,他们就会去山林隐居。他们很多人以前是官员,但是因为对政府太失望了,所以他们决定不再工作,而是在山林里种菜,养动物,看看山和水。比如,中国古代有一位诗人,也是一位官员,叫陶渊明。他成为官员只有八十多天,但是因为实在不喜欢复杂的人际关系,他就辞职了。辞职了,意思是打算不做这个工作了。辞职以后,他去了一个山林隐居。直到现在,陶渊明也还是中国隐居文化的代表。人们想起隐居,就会想起他。有趣的是,隐居的文化现在又开始流行起来了。

最近,一个中国的杂志调查了一千七百个人,他们的年龄大约都是二十到四十岁。在一千七百多个人里,百分之八十二的人想过要隐居。他们想要隐居的原因有三个:第一个,城市生活太忙了;第二个,工作压力太大了;第三个,人际关系太复杂了。在内卷的环境下,很多年轻人有了一个新的出路。他们有的人去山里种菜,有的人去海边买了个小房子一个人住,也有人搬去了物价很低的小镇。一个隐居的年轻人说:“生活得越久,努力了那么久,就感觉好像别人的起点就是我的终点,所以你努力还有什么用呢?”因为在城市的生活太累了,而且也看不到希望,所以他们选择了隐居。

隐居生活听起来很美好,但是实际上是怎么样的呢?很多隐居的年轻人说,隐居的生活其实也不轻松。他们的生活再也没有了方便的快递,也没有了外卖,但是有干不完的农活,也挺累的。有一个隐居的年轻女生接受采访时,这样说:

“但是这种累和996的累其实是不一样的。虽然每天睁开眼就是做不完的农活,但是在这里没有deadline,就算一个作物在应该在清明前种一下,我迟了几天再种也没有什么区别。”

她说,隐居虽然也累,但是和996的累不一样。996(see more details in episode 4),意思是996工作制,早上9点上班,晚上9点下班,一个星期工作六天。这是很多中国公司的工作制。她的隐居生活没有996工作制,她做农活也比较自由。这是她觉得隐居生活和城市生活不一样的地方。

你有没有想过隐居呢?如果有,你想去什么样的地方隐居呢?欢迎给我们留言和分享!

Hello everyone! Welcome back to MaoMi Chinese!

Have you ever had a moment when you think that work is too tiring, and there are a lot of troubles in life? You really want to find a place where there is no one and you can live alone! It is best to be in the forest, where there is beautiful scenery and you can also raise some animals and grow some food. Such a life is called "seclusion" in Chinese. "隐" means no one sees it. "居" means to live, to live in a place. "Seclusion" means living alone in a place without people. If possible, would you like to live in seclusion in the mountains and forests of China? Today, let's talk about the seclusion life chosen by some Chinese people.

In fact, China has always had a reclusive culture. In ancient China, if some people were dissatisfied with the state and the government, they would go to the mountains and forests to live in seclusion. Many of them used to be officials, but because they were so disappointed with the government, they decided not to serve anymore, but to grow crops, raise animals, and look at the mountains and rivers. For example, in ancient China, there was a poet and official named Tao Yuanming. He only became an official for more than 80 days, but because he really did not like complicated interpersonal relationships, he resigned. To resign means someone is not going to do their job anymore. After resigning, he went to live in seclusion on a mountain. Until now, Tao Yuanming is still the representative of Chinese seclusion culture. When people think of seclusion, they think of him. Interestingly, the culture of seclusion is now back in vogue.

Recently, a Chinese magazine did a survey among 1,700 people, all of whom were about twenty to forty years old. Of the more than 1,700 people, 82 percent thought about seclusion. There are three reasons why they want to live in seclusion: first, city life is too busy; second, work pressure is too much; third, interpersonal relationships are too complicated. Under the circumstance of rat racing, many young people found a new way out. Some of them went to the mountains to grow food, some went to the beach and bought a small house to live alone, and some moved to a small town with low prices. A young man who is living in seclusion said: "I live and work so hard for so long, I feel as if someone else's starting point is my ending point, so what's the point of putting your efforts?" There was no hope, so they chose to live in seclusion.

Living in seclusion sounds great, but what is it really like? Many young people who live in seclusion say that it is not easy. Their lives no longer have convenient delivery and takeaway food, but they have endless farm work and they are very tiring. In an interview, a young girl who lives in seclusion said:

"But this kind of tiredness is actually different from the tiredness of 996 work schedule. Although every day your farm work is endless, there is no deadline here. Even if a type of crop should be planted before Qingming Festival, it is still okay to be a few days late. It doesn't matter."

She said that although living in seclusion is also tiring, it is not the same as ‘996’. (see more details in episode 4), which means a 996 work system, where people have to work at 9 am and leave at 9 pm and work six days a week. This is the working system of many Chinese companies. There is no 996 work system in her life, and she is relatively free to do farm work. This is where she thinks living in seclusion is different from living in the city.

Have you thought about living in seclusion? If so, where would you like to live in seclusion? Feel free to leave your comment and share with us!

5 thoughts on “#79 Do you want to live in seclusion in China? 你想要隐居在中国的山林吗?”

  1. 我上次去过中国,我和我的西安住的朋友爬了终南山。我们有机会跟一个隐居住的尼姑聊一聊。关于这个话题有的一部很好美国的纪录片叫”Beyond White Clouds”。

    1. 上次我们去看到的都是修行人,尼姑或道士。现在很多不修行的人也隐居在钟南山,为了安静地生活。
      Zhong nan mountain is the most famous mountain in China for living in seclusion.

  2. 我其实在澳大利亚的佛教的寺院隐居三年多,同意隐居的生活不总是美好,但是有时候肯定也很安静的。

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