Don't Treat Peasants as Jokes, OK?
Original from The Beijing Daily
In current descriptions, there are two stereotypes of Chinese peasants. One is the image of the sufferer, the other is the role of the comical fool.
Crosstalk and sketches are the art of both the highest and lowest of people. Done well, they are the art of the highest, done badly they are the art of the lowest. Basically, the image of peasants as sufferer doesn't appear in crosstalk, it's usually the image of the clown or the butt of the jokes that we see. Zhao Benshan [very famous and popular performer] is the King of Sketches, and his sketches are different. This year Zhao Benshan was a National People's Representative, Liaoning appointed him as a representative of the intellectuals. Regardless of who he represented, the most important thing is to build the image of the peasant as sufferer.
The image of peasants on tv and in films is also often that of the laughable clown. Those peasants who appear on tv as workers, housekeepers, relatives from the countryside, they are all figures of fun. The people who make these shows are mostly second-generation Beijingers, they don't need to borrow or scrimp and they are unwilling to do real work so they work as [?]. Because of the superiority complex of those who are second or third generation city-dwellers, they are even more willing to pour scorn upon workers, housekeepers and the ashamed faces of poor relatives.
In comparison with the New York Times, Beijing's four small papers [tabloids, like the Beijing Wanbao?] are very picky. "In news reports, especially crime or negative stories, avoid deliberately mentioning skin colour, nationality or religion" is one of many guidelines from the New York Times. But take a look at Beijing's four small papers, what do they do in "news reports, especially crime or negative stories". They will certainly point out that this thief is a worker from that province or that mugger is an unemployed worker from a certain city. Working peasants already have enough hardship, do they really need the prejudices of the media? The unemployed are already unhappy enough, do they really need to be brought into disrepute by the media?
About two years ago I read an article in Sichuan Literature which asked why Chinese peasants are all hunchbacks[figurative, I think]. Because the pressure they are under is too high, particularly psychologically. Everyone takes advantage of them, leaving them unable to raise their faces or straighten their backs. After many days of this, they become hunchbacks. Objectively speaking, peasants occupy a low position, but if you recongnise the hardships of that low position then the emotions change. You can't smile or make fun of them.
The reality of the peasants condition is one that many opinion-formers and scholars have carefully reflected upon. For the last fifty years they have been constantly paying the price for the economic development of other people.
In my readings, the first scholar to point out the historical position of the peasants was Qin [?] while from the economic angle Dang Guoying was the first to raise the issue. Both did so in academic research. [the next few sentences are tricky, I'll skip them but I THINK the idea is that it took a lot longer for this idea to reach general consciousness]. At the end of 1998 'Read Books' published my article "Build a 3rd Concept". The idea was, there have been two public discussions since the reform and opening-up of China. One is the opposition to rightism, the other is [something to do with old cadres]. However, in reality the suffering of the peasants is greater and more widespread than either of those issues. 30,000,000 died from famine, and now tens of millions are still not free of poverty. From now, we should build a third Concept - that of the peasant as sufferer.
Initially it was the clamour of scholars and social commentators building the 'third Concept', now we have Hubei's Jianli village secretary Li Changping's uninhibited complaint to the president. His book 'Telling the president the truth' has been read all over, and has become noted in the battle to build a third concept. In the battle to demostrate the suffering of the peasants, it is an essential accomplishment.
Five years later, with the work of good men everywhere, the third concept has been successfully built. From the point of view of leisure[I think they mean popular publications] , magazines, essays, novels, poetry and songs are all concerned with the inequal position of the peasants. Five years ago, the popular Lanzhou's 'Readers Digest' and Tianjin 'Essays' had no articles mentioning the peasants suffering or injustices. Look again now, and every edition will have two or three articles. In the media newspapers, magazines, broadcasting and television workers are all offering filial hearts to our peasant fathers and mothers [ok, if you don't like it, you come and have a go at translating it]. At a social level, from common people to national leaders, everyone is concerned about the 'three peasants' [this one needs looked up]. Even Zhu Rongji said he can't sleep for worrying about the peasants.
Now what we must worry about is that although the third Concept has been established, has there been any real change in the status of peasants? How can the role of the peasant as clown for the city-dwellers and 'educated' classes be abolished. 'Treat peasants as citizens', this is an economic question and also one of culture. It begs for peasants to have equal rights and opportunities with city-dwellers and for them to be accepted as our brothers in blood and bone.