CHIN427 Springgrass

It has been proven that silence over time can drive you crazy. In 2015, Microsoft designed a room that has since been dubbed the world’s quietest room. After five minutes in this room, you’ll be able to hear your heartbeat. After ten minutes, you’ll hear your bones creaking and blood flowing through your body. After 45 minutes, some had succumbed to mental insanity. It is not fun to be forced to be completely silent: it is restricting, it is uncomfortable, and it is isolating. But despite this, women all across China have been expected by their peers, families, and society at large to remain silent throughout their whole lifetime. To never speak up with commentary, suggestions, or complaints. To me, this is a heartbreaking hypocrisy: if we can’t survive less than an hour in dead silence, how do we expect women in China to live with it their entire life? Unfortunately, women in China have been taught to internalize silence both physically and mentally as the norm since young, allowing the patriarchy to perpetuate traditional Chinese notions while successfully resisting social pushback, restricting women from achieving social and gender equality as a result.

The theme of Spring Grass’s silence, alongside the silence of countless women across China, runs consistent throughout the narrative of the novel and Chinese society. Ever since the rise of the Zhou Dynasty in 1046-256 BC, villagers in China had already embraced gender associated role-based beliefs such as “women never talk outside”, beliefs that greatly restricted a woman’s freedoms (Wong, 345). This is seen time and time again in Spring Grass, where the titular character’s inability to speak her thoughts is consistently highlighted throughout the novel. From a structural perspective, the author intentionally skips multiple years in Spring Grass’s life between chapters when narrating the story. She constantly uses phrases that reflect time passing incredibly quickly, such as “In the blink of an eye, Spring Grass had become a young woman of twenty” at the beginning of chapter 6, even though she was merely 15 a couple of sentences ago (Spring Grass, Chapter 6). The deliberate choice to skip over 5 years of Spring Grass’s life could highlight the fact that the narrator doesn’t know too much about the specific ongoings of Spring Grass’s life because she has been taught not to speak out or share her experiences with the fellow townsfolk. This symbolism highlights how women have been told that they shouldn’t talk about their lived experiences because it doesn’t matter to others, or in Spring Grass’s case, the reader. This is especially true because the years that the author chooses to skip over are Spring Grass’s teenage years, perhaps the most important years in the development of her identity and character. The choice to skip over these years, even though they are very few in number, is a blunt signal to the audience that who Spring Grass is and who she becomes is not important that we shouldn’t care about her – a similar narrative that was publicized to most women during the time. In fact, this technique is constantly seen throughout Chinese history, where fathers and other central familial figures leave a “legacy of no self-worth, the central theme in all girl’s upbringing (Wong, 352)”, which is enforced specifically to ensure that girls would be scared to speak their minds. If they felt that whatever they could contribute to a conversation was worthless, they would be scared into silence. This is perhaps the cause of Spring Grass’s “face flushed crimson whenever she stood up to speak (Spring Grass, Chapter 4)” in class, as she is convinced that what she has to say is worthless and she’ll just embarrass herself in front of the whole class. Women in China, then, default to silence as the norm because their family education had taught them that their contribution to speaking, sharing, and conversing was absolutely worthless.

Even when Spring Grass wants to express her true feelings to others, she knows that no one will listen and respect her thoughts. After every one of her retorts towards her father in an argument about how she can’t go to school anymore, the narrator makes sure to follow it up with “Of course, Spring Grass did not make this last reply aloud (Spring Grass, Chapter 5).” The resolute diction used by the author emphasizes how ridiculous it would be for Spring Grass, a girl, to challenge and talk back to his father, the head of the family, which reiterates how entrenched this norm that girls should stay silent is within Spring Grass’s psyche. But more importantly, the intentional choice by the author to only bring up the fact that Spring Grass didn’t say this out loud in the paragraph after the retort highlights how badly she wanted to say these thoughts to his father; that for a brief second she could live in a fantasy world where she could and do express her feelings out loud, before being brought back to reality. She knows she can’t talk back to her father because “no matter how much her father feared her mother they were on the same side (Spring Grass, Chapter 5)”. This highlights the dire desperation within many women to be heard by those around them. But in reality, they have been indoctrinated into thinking that no one, even their parents, supports how they feel and is on their side. They feel like they are all alone in this world, making it harder for them to want to speak out about their feelings. Perhaps this is why when Spring Grass was frustrated about the fact that she had to stay home and couldn’t go to school, she ran to the hilltop, far away from her village to yell out her angst and frustrations. The physical distance between the hilltop and Spring Grass’s village reflects the metaphorical distance Spring Grass feels between her and her parents, strengthening her belief that her parents don’t care about her feelings or understand her. This makes it harder for Spring Grass to come out to them about certain issues she might be facing. This idea is then strengthened by the fact that “only the birds in the woods knew of her sorrow (Spring Grass, Chapter 5)”. The fact that the only things Spring Grass trusts with her sorrows and emotions are birds, entities who can’t judge her, shows how afraid Spring Grass is of telling others about her feelings. Additionally, Spring Grass deliberately trusts birds who don’t understand why she’s sad at all, over the comfort of her own home and parents, which further emphasizes the extent she feels her family doesn’t understand or care about her pain. This acts as a positive feedback loop, pushing Spring Grass and many other women around China into feeling like they’re even more alone in their pain, making it harder for them to want to speak out about their feelings because no one would understand them.

This strict reinforcement of silence within women was viewed by the patriarchy as crucial to allowing the man’s will to dominate throughout China. Without women being able to question their position within society or challenging patriarchal norms, it was much easier for men to enforce their will within the household and in society at large. As a result, many within the Ming Dynasty subscribed to this idea that giving women access to education was detrimental to the patriarchal social fabric that existed at the time, as they “fear[ed] that [women] might become over ambitious (Wong, 346).” Education and a woman’s ability to speak up, then, were inextricably linked with one another as access to education expanded one’s capacity to advocate for themselves and ability to break out of silence. Without classes that taught women how to read and write, they would never have the means to effectively communicate injustices they’re facing to other women, allowing the patriarchy to go accepted and unchallenged by most families. In turn, this allowed for the “sole aim of girls’ upbringing… [to be] tailored precisely towards the need to maintain male domination (Wong, 349)”, stripping away women’s means to achieve equality. The Chinese patriarchy was so effective in this regard that not only did the women’s rights movement in China not rise until the late 19th century, but it was only when male feminists, such as that of Li Ruzhen, wanted to fight for gender equality did it occur. This proves how effective keeping women in China silent was towards ensuring gender inequality because with women conditioned to stay silent about their oppression and without the proper tools to communicate their oppression, it was difficult for them to rile up support for any form of a feminist movement. This is especially seen in Spring Grass. When Spring Grass attempts to fight against not being able to go to school, she chooses to sit in her room in silence as her method of protest (Spring Grass, Chapter 3). The irony here is that Spring Grass’s most effective method of speaking up for what she wanted was through not saying anything, highlighting how through anything and everything, women have been socialized and conditioned to turn towards silence. Even in power, they only have silence to accompany them.

To justify this narrative that women ought to be silent, the Chinese patriarchy perpetuated countless disturbing narratives that seriously affected the self-esteem and humanity of countless women across the country. Perhaps the most salient example of this is through the promotion of the idea that women are represented by Yin, a side that has often been associated with evil, chaos, and darkness. This is evident in the rhetoric Spring Grass’s mom uses to speak to Spring Grass, constantly referring to her as a “demon’s child”, or “a curse straight from hell (Spring Grass, Chapter 1)”. The association of such fear mongering diction towards the nature of who women are has allowed for men to justify the implementation of such restrictive rules on women’s rights. To prevent the woman’s “evil” from spreading, Ban Zhao’s Book of Indoctrination claims that a women’s behavior should be constrained in many ways, including “not burst into laughter when feeling happy… not should when feeling angry. (Wong, 348)” The shocking irony here is that while men at the time feared that women might turn into these evil, unnatural spirits if left uncontrolled, yet the ways they chose to control women are inherently unnatural themselves.

Obviously, this is not to say that women have never tried to fight back against this silence. We see this in the Hidden Letters documentary, where women from Jiangyong developed their own writing system and language that only they understood to speak up and unionize about their concerns and issues without facing societal condemnation for their actions (Hidden Letters). To these women, this was empowerment; they finally had something, owned something which had been stripped from them for centuries that men could never take away from them. In fact, the empowerment experienced by the women in Jiangyong have been echoed by most across the country in recent years. Since the Sino-Japanese War in the late 1800s, the rising feminist movement had achieved significant progress in providing opportunities for women to have more of a voice in everyday life. By 1919, “opportunities for women to enter universities have increased steadily (Wong, 345)”, providing them more knowledge and skills on how to and what to advocate and speak up about. This, in turn, was crucial in boosting the participation of women within the women’s emancipation movement throughout China, leading to more women speaking up about their experiences within the household and beyond.

Sadly, even with these advancements in women’s advocacy, the ability for women to fight back against oppression is still incredibly limited for two reasons. Firstly, even though women have been provided the capacity to speak up, oppressive patriarchal narratives around gender roles and norms still very much apply to how women can and cannot behave. This means that even though women can write and communicate with each other, the range of subjects they do talk about are heavily limited by what they think they should talk about. As a result of dominant societal norms they have been taught since birth, subjects they believe they should be talking about tend to be housework or raising a family, topics the patriarchy benefit the most from. This is most evidently seen in Spring Grass, where although Spring Grass is characterized as extremely shy and embarrassed to speak up in the classroom where she believes she doesn’t belong, she is later on characterized as feeling very confident when asked to speak up about how to do certain household chores by other women (Spring Grass, Chapter 6). Spring Grass, alongside many other women in her community, choose to confidently use their voice to discuss household issues as that’s what they believe is the most important thing for them to discuss, meaning that even when women are given a voice, that voice has been conditioned by social factors and traditional norms to continue enforcing the patriarchy, rather than using the power of voice as a tool to break it apart. Furthermore, while new opportunities of education and employment opened up for women across the country, this did not rid them of their household and familial expectations. As a result, “Married women who are forced to look for jobs on account of financial pressure are constantly afflicted by the plight of having to choose between a career and family (Wong, 364)”. Women in modern China, then, carry a double burden: having to live up to the expectations of being a good “feminist” by embracing opportunities outside of the household while delicately balancing that with fulfilling their responsibilities within the household as a mother and wife. This must not only be incredibly stressful for one individual to manage, but more importantly leaves women with no time to be able to speak up and advocate for themselves. This begs the question: with patriarchal narratives still running rampant throughout communities all across China, is it possible for women to ever be empowered by their voice?

在《春草》一书中，孟春草做了一个春梦，梦到一双属于一名男子的手肆无忌惮地抚摸着她的身体。不久后，她的梦境变相地实现了，不过却是与她生命中的贵人，娄大哥。与春草是同乡的娄大哥一直以来都是以贵人的形象出现在书中。他不仅在初次遇到春草时便雪中送炭，为她盘下了一处店铺，还在日后三番屡次作为她在陌生的城市里最坚实的肩膀。虽然娄大哥为春草做了那么多的事情，他却只字未提要春草还人情。然而，虽说事情后来的发展令人震惊，但是在考虑到中国传统的性文化以及春草本人的性观念和性格时，却反而又在意料之中。本篇文章将会以中国儒家思想中的性文化为基础，回顾并且深度剖析春草的性观念的发展来探索春草做成这件大事背后的心理动机。

受儒家思想的影响，传统中国社会似乎对性一直保持着克制，压制性的态度。在历史上，儒家意识形态主要主张控制个体的生理欲望，以达到修身养性的目的。在这样的思想的影响下，性与生育紧紧地捆绑在了一起，使得封建社会中的人们视性行为为一种传宗接代，延伸家族的，不包含感情的手段。正因如此，不仅社会中个体独立的性意识被完全消灭了，就连性欲本身也成为了一种禁忌话题；任何与性有关的话题或讨论，除非发生于结发夫妻之间，是不被允许的，否则便会被视为不合礼数。俗话中的“男女授受不亲”便传达着同样的态度：任何婚前性行为，甚至是现在被看作为正常的男女交往互动在封建社会中都被认为是伤风败俗的。由此可见，就算说性在中国被儒家思想贴上了羞耻的标签也毫不为过。

在这样的文化思想基础上，中国父母通常是不会明确授予孩子们正确的，甚至是任何的性教育。这导致孩子没有任何重要的两性知识，以至于日后在相关情况下根本不知道对错。这样的因果也最终无可避免地发生在了春草身上。在孟家湾，所谓的“男女授受不亲”并不存在。反而，村子里还未婚嫁的青年男女之间自由交往，甚至是光明正大地调情都是极其常见的，“就像吃饭睡觉一般”（58）。虽然他们没有如同传统社会那般保守，但是因为人们不谈及性，所以村子里依旧缺失良好的性教育。由此，当堂伯在四下无人时猥亵她的时候，才十五岁的春草根本不知道这是不对的行为，也没有因此恨他。反而，她后来一见到堂伯除了会不自知的害怕以外，还会“莫名其妙地脸红”（48）。后来，春草花了整整一夜，通过回想母亲“经常把别人家男人的手一把打掉，”才发觉堂伯的行为是属于“占便宜” （49）。通过这一细节其实可以看出春草并不是完全缺乏两性知识，但却都不是来自母亲明确的教导，而是春草通过长时间分析母亲日常行为所得到的隐晦信息；这说明春草此时对于两性之间的了解完全取决于她那尚且幼稚的分析能力。不仅如此，春草在这件事情中缓慢的反应，以及对她那些“莫名其妙”的情绪的不了解也都充分体现出她那不成熟的性意识。然而，虽然春草后来得出了正确的结论，但是她却在被堂伯塞封口费时，连他叫她“不要讲什么” 都不知道（50）。由此可见，因为她缺乏重要的相关知识，春草当时根本没有真正地了解自己的处境有多危险。

然而，堂伯向她伸出的那只手，作为春草人生中第一次与性相关的经历，则成了她的性启蒙。当堂伯猥亵她那“鼓鼓囊囊地挺着”的胸部之后，春草“走路再不挺胸抬头”，反而“尽量含着”它（48）通过这个“教训”，春草开始发觉到她，作为一名女性，与男性之间是有着非常重要的“不同”。在此之前，春草眼中的男女之别仅存在于家中，母亲重男轻女的表现。通过春草试图遮掩自己的胸部这一举动不难看出，她在经历了堂伯之后，意识到男女之间也存在着性欲这一层关系。而且，她也发现自己青春期发育后的身体，她那傲人的胸部对于成熟的男性来说都有着不可抵抗的诱惑力。除了堂伯以外，就连村子里都会有“男人口水滴答地盯着她的胸脯看” （58）。不过，与春草而言，这反倒是一件令人兴奋的事情，因为她认为这是使得她高人一等，以及在某种意义上可以被用来作为筹码的优质条件。与此同理，春草之所以“坚决不和本村的男人调情”正是因为她根本不打算与同村人结婚，而不屑于浪费自己的优质资源在那些人身上（58）。春草如此物化自己的想法并不是无迹可寻：早在七岁那年，春草便懂得卖掉自己的头发来赚属于自己的钱。以前在母亲那里从未被待见的春草终于不再觉得自己一无所有，一无是处，而是一个条件好，被他人渴望，甚至可以高嫁，嫁到远处的女人。

后来，春草确实与多名男人有着理不清的男女关系，而她也从每一段关系中吸收到了不同的性知识，不断地塑造着她那至今还未成熟的性意识。从何水远，她那名正言顺的丈夫那里，春草经历了传统意义上的性。如前所述，传统社会中的性行为与生儿育女有着紧密的关系，是女性作为妻子的重大责任之一，但却与女性自己的欲望没有太大的关系。春草也正如这般，把他们夫妇之间的性行为视为一种家务。当何水远“正似神仙的时候”，春草却根本心不在焉，甚至催促丈夫道，“你怎么还没好啊，嘎长个辰光了”（141）。与何水远相比，春草此时的状态和态度都体现出她的意识与身体的完全分离。固然她对这个过程提不起太多的“性”趣，但她依旧会尽她作为人妻的“责任”。在何水远之外，春草还与孟家湾的阿明和城里的娄大哥发生了不正当的男女关系，且都属于春草结婚后出轨的行为。春草与阿明年少时便认识，而后者当时还向春草提过亲，甚至在多年后，春草孩子的百日时还与她调过情，甚至用手去掐她正用来喂奶的胸部。虽然他们从未真正地发生过性行为，但是春草认为一直对她感兴趣的阿明是真心喜欢她的，因此她从阿明身上“得到了一种阿远那里不一样的满足”（185）。不同于何水远，春草认为阿明是单方面地长期迷恋她，就连是娶妻生子也后还对她念念不忘。这在她看来则意味着她并不是没有人要的。相反，她是他求之不得，高高在上的初恋；换句话说，阿明给足了春草心理上的满足。然而，当她在何水远欠了巨大债务后寻求阿明的帮助时，他的脸上却“完全没有了那个黄昏的神情”（186）。由此可见，在这一段关系中，春草错把男人爱粘花惹草的习惯和“家花不如野花”的态度当作是真心实意。一直到此时，她才发现男性的欲望和感情其实不对等，且根本是两码事。

当春草遇见娄大哥的时候，她已经经历过了三个男人，堂伯，何水远和阿明，并且发展出了相对来说更完整的性观念。不过，春草与娄大哥之间的关系与以往的有质的不同。异于她以前所遇到的男性，娄大哥并没有抱着不单纯的目的去接近她。相反的，娄大哥一开始与春草的接触始于对春草人品的赞许和肯定。后来，当他又得知他们是同乡，而且春草有着令人十分同情的悲惨遭遇之后，他更是心生怜悯，尽心尽力地帮她。因此，他们之间的初始关系是非常单纯的。当娄大哥见识了春草天生的经商天赋和高情商，他也转而开始真心欣赏春草。他不仅会毫不吝啬地夸春草说“你以后也可以做城里人，”还继续给她提供经商上的建议和帮助，比如先不要急着还他钱，而是把挣来的钱“拿去扩大再生产”（236，237）。当无依无靠的春草在陌生城市里遇到如此优秀，并且总是不求回报地帮助她的娄大哥的时候，她会对他产生依赖性的情感羁绊也是情有可原的。

然而，基于她以往的性经历，春草反而对他们之间这种单纯的男女关系持怀疑，且不安的态度。虽然娄大哥从未向春草索求过什么回报，但是春草知道她这样一直接受娄大哥的帮助，却没有为他提供相同的帮助或者好处欠下的是属于最难还的人情债。因此，当春草误会娄大哥对她有非分之想的时候，她把此视为一个不可错过的机会，既能让她报答娄大哥以往的恩情，也可以使得他们之间原本属于单方面付出的关系成为一种互惠关系，最后使关系更为坚固；她认为只有通过使用自己的身体才能让她们之间的关系得到保障，可以“真的把他当成自己的依靠了”（239）。在春草看来，她作为女性，若是以后想要依靠其他的男性，她必须得和他们有肉体上的羁绊。春草如此商品化并利用自己的身体的想法也充分体现在了她对于阿明那件事情的解读：她认为阿明当年之所以到了关键时刻却不肯帮她归根结底就是因为“当初阿明想和她做那事她不肯，” 且她也始终坚信这“男人肯定都是一样的”（239）。春草也暗自对自己说，她这一次“不能再犯那样的错误”因为娄大哥对她在城市里的生存实在是太重要了（239）。至此，虽然春草可能对娄大哥有着真正的感情，但是她深受自己以往的性经历的影响，习惯性地物化自己，用自己的身体去回应这份感觉和对娄大哥的感激，从而导致他们之间的关系最终变味。

总体而言，春草性观念的变化反映出了从封建社会遗留下来的父权思想。虽然年轻人逐渐开始有了比较前卫，开放的性思想，但是依旧会受儒家思想的束缚。以春草为例，她从始至终就没有独立的性意识。当回想起自己的春梦时，春草自问，“那到底是谁的手？娄大哥的？阿明的？阿远的？还是孙经理的？还是更久远以前…堂伯的？她弄不灵清，只能肯定是一双男人的手”（231）。春草的性观念是从男性视角出发的，总被身边的男性左右，被他们的手推着走。如此看来，当这些男人受父权主义和儒家思想的双重影响，有了根深蒂固的不尊重女性的思想，春草那物化自己的习惯性行为也说得通了。虽然春草后来有过自我性意识的短暂觉醒，但是她最后还是被儒家思想这双强大的“手”给按下去了。由此可见，真正解放中国女性的重要步骤之一就是解放她们的自我性意识，让她们不再被儒家思想这双强大的“手”推动着。而这必须从普及正确的性教育开始。

那天，何水远有个无比重要的任务：去崇义镇找姑妈借钱，用来交学费。自从高考两次落榜后，他对学习越来越不得劲了。第一次差了二十六分，去年差了三十七分，他觉得自己离大学，离老父亲的期望越来越远了。何水远这次已经是今年第四次向别人借钱了，可是姑妈又没有工作，能借给他的钱也不过是杯水车薪。但是这些年来，那些愿意给他们借钱的人，他都借过好多次了。要不是因为实在不好意思，且前几次的债都还未还，他又怎么会想起再去找姑妈？

从姑妈那里借到钱以后，何水远抱着复杂的心情，坐上了开往县城里的长途大巴。因为崇义镇离县城有很长一段时间，他上车时还有许多空位。随意挑了个座位坐下后，他望着窗外的景色，想：要是可以，宁愿放弃学业，早早开始打工挣钱。母亲有严重的风湿病，每天病怏怏地躺在床上，干不了任何的活儿，每个月还需要花大钱给她抓药。家里早已入不敷出，一贫如洗了。想到这里，他暗自决定今年要还落榜，无论父亲说什么，他都坚决不再复读。

大巴在许多地方停了下来，车内很快就挤满了乘客。何水远发现自己身旁站着个梳着两个麻花辫的姑娘。她似乎是刚从孟湾村上的车，一脸恐慌地感受着大巴开过石路的摇晃，黑黝黝的眼珠子却又无比好奇地转来转去。他的脑子里刚刚冒出与她认识一下的想法时，他的

春草與何水遠在長途車上相談甚歡

身体早已行动起来了。他轻轻地碰了一下她的手臂，嘴巴不自主地向她说：“来，你坐我这儿吧。”与她对视的那一刻，他终于明白了白居易那句“双眸剪秋水”所形容的眼睛到底长什么样。那清澈动人的双眸的主人就站在他面前。可惜的是，姑娘摇头拒绝了他的邀请，但何水远想了想，把旁边的水桶底朝天一放便坐了下去。最后，姑娘如他所愿地坐在他原来的座位上。

去县城的路很长，足足两个多小时。一路上，他们谈了许多，他得知姑娘的名字叫孟春草。但在一开始，何水远可以说是热屁股贴冷屁股，春草是惜字如金。因此，何水远只能卯足了劲找话题，找不到话题，就聊自己。说到这里，也不知道是虚荣心作祟还是什么，他愣是假话比真话多。比如，他与春草说自己家住县城里，但实际上他们住在县城边上的何家坞，一个比孟湾村还要贫困闭塞的村子。他怕春草要是知道自己只是一个农村来的穷小子就不会再理他了。还好，春草后来似乎也来了兴趣，愿意开始同他说话了。她没有说太多自己的事，但却很喜欢问他问题，何水远也乐于回答，继续掺着假话。他不记得自己上一次像这样如此轻松愉快是什么时候了。就这样，他们一问一答，谈笑风生，直到何水远自己都不知道何时靠在春草的肩上睡了过去。

兩人初次見面時顯而易見的羞澀

抵达县城后，何水远还没有跟春草待够。看着在车水马龙的县城里不知所措的春草，他觉得自己的机会来了。他宛如真的在县城里长大的一般，领着春草到处逛，逛到县城最繁华的一条街上时，他顺势牵起春草的手。他想：她的手怎么这么粗糙？比他这个做男人的手还要粗。刚想到这，他便感觉到春草拉紧了他的手，使得他一下子心跳开始加速。

他们在县城里逛了一整天，他也感觉到春草对他放下了防备，因为她同他说了好多好多关于自己的事。何水远不知道该说些什么，所以他任由春草说。他只觉得春草真的是憋坏了。他想，春草以前过得这么可怜，他真想对她好一点。因此，何水远想都没想便掏出了父亲给他的那点仅剩的路费，请春草看了场电影，讲的是两个恋人之间的爱情。电影看到一半时，他小声询问春草她觉得电影怎么样，没想到她却反问他喜不喜欢。然而，当他回答“喜欢”后，春草随即便说她愿意跟他过！这实在是出乎何水远的意料。自己家那么穷，就算砸锅卖铁也凑不出彩礼。再说，自己先前跟春草撒了那么多的谎都该怎么圆？纠结到这一步，何水远决定能拖多久就拖多久。说不定等她从电影院出来后就忘了。

不过后来，当他们在吃米粉的时候，她突然问起他们什么时候还能再见。这又让何水远一下子愣住了。直到春草重复了她的问题，他才想到用读书为借口，叫他们暂时不要见面。看到她脸上明显的不开心，何水远一下子心软了，却又无能为力。在分开之前，何水远想到春草早些时候跟他说过她曾打坏了自己的唯一一面镜子，还刮到了手。他想，春草那么美丽，却不能看到自己的脸，那是多么的可惜。因此，他在送春草去车站前，用最后剩下的钱送她一面粉色小圆镜。何水远最后还向春草要了她的地址，心想等自己挣了钱后再跟她坦白。

何水遠給春草買的一面粉色圓鏡

那天之后，何水远的生活可以说是越来越差劲了。这一切还得从他的一个念头开始说起。他想，考大学是一个长久的事。而且，就算他考上了大学又怎么样？家里还不是要又省吃俭用，勒裤腰带地供他四年，最后能赚到的钱可能都还不够自己用来填饱肚子。他听说村里有人前几个月出去拉了点货，在城市里赚得盆满钵满。要是做生意来钱那么快，他何尝不放手一搏呢？说不定自己也能把生意做起来呢？要成功了，他就能短时间内解决家中的困境，把拖欠的债务都还上，若有剩余的钱，他还可以娶妻生子。说到自己以后的婚姻大事，他又想起了春草。虽然他们才见了一次面，何水远却总是对她念念不忘。每当自己在继续重考，成为大学生和放弃学业，去做小生意之间犹疑不决的时候，春草那动人的双眼总会浮现在他的脑海里。他从来没有遇到过那么单纯可爱，清新脱俗的姑娘。再说，她当时已经表示愿意嫁给他了，那么她是否现在正满怀期待地等着他的来信？

想到这里，何水远在内心深处做出了一个他从未想过的最终决定。于是，在五月马上要预考的时候，他不顾父亲的反对，毅然决然地选择用从姑妈那里借的钱，通过邻村的一个人进了一批货。在出远门前，何水远还没忘给春草写一封信。当然，他只敢跟春草说自己七月考完试再去找她，他现在还是没有底气与她说实话的。不过，他相信等他赚大钱时，她是会原谅他，并且毫无犹豫地投入他的怀抱的。在那个时候，他便能风风光光地迎娶长途车上的那位姑娘。就这样，何水远带着一车货物与对未来的期盼从何家坞出发了。

在第二十八章到三十章，春草又一次变成一位单亲妈妈。何水远的离家出走，让原本入不敷出的家庭雪上加霜，春草一个人需要拉扯着两个即将上学的孩子。为了给孩子攒够学费，春草不得不牺牲陪伴孩子的时间每天轮流打三份工，早出晚归，每天身体累的似散架一般。小说写到，春草没有一天是睡醒的，全是闹钟闹醒的，晚上回到家简直不敢挨床，因为一挨床她就再也起不来了。无论春夏秋冬，节日假期，她都需要按时起床为生计奔波，因为一刻的停息都会使她离目标越来越远，两个孩子读书的问题便会没有着落。读到这里，笔者感叹命运对如此一个执拗又勤劳的妇女十分不公，偏偏使她承担所有的灾祸厄运。不幸的背后，既有天灾，也有人祸。假如命运的齿轮扭转，春草可以抓住机遇，改变自己的命运，小说的发展又会是怎样的呢？前面在课堂上我们讨论过春草不是真正的女权主义，因为她恪守传统，将依赖寄托在男性身上。那真正的底层劳动女性需要有什么样的特质才能成为女权呢？笔者希望能通过改写第二十八章到三十章的内容赋予春草新的生命，让她成为一个挑战命运的强大女性。

第二十八章 1995 立秋：跳槽

春草站在教育局单位高耸的大楼门口，凝视着夜空中闪烁的星光。她目光扫过挂在大楼上的闪烁迷离的霓虹灯，内心五味杂陈，感受到了前所未有的压力。自粽子事件过后，春草对清洁这份工作产生了隔阂，她虽然没有读过书，却也是明白做人的道理的。身为没有背景关系的公司临时员工，春草只能任由上级部门栽赃陷害。她清楚地知道就算她已经洗清白了，公司同事还会继续瞧不起她。她虽然只顾着埋头干事情，却也不是没有感知明白这社会的残酷。晚风轻轻抚过春草的脸颊，带着一点秋天的清爽，残夏的余热。春草叹了一口气，痴迷地望着夜幕将天际边最后一抹夕阳的余晖渐渐吞没，如一张厚重的绒布悄然铺展。

当第二天蔡大姐像春草提出希望春草辞职上自己家来做事，春草想也没想就答应了。春草知道，自己等待的一个时机来了。有了这份保姆工作，她不用每天起早贪黑，为了那一百块辛劳奔波。她也有更多的时间去陪伴自己的两个小伢儿。春草想，我每天就需要中午和晚上去做做饭，打扫打扫卫生就能挣同样的钱。半天的时间空出来，我还可以去寻找其他的工作。这么一想，春草脸上又有了笑容。她挺直腰杆，快速飞奔到菜市场，捡了一些碎菜叶子，破天荒买了几斤猪肉，准备回家做给两个孩子吃。

第二天春草睡了个好觉，收拾好了自己，准备骑着蔡大姐给的那辆陈旧的自行车去上班。立秋的天气比褥湿闷热的夏季凉爽了许多，深夏叶子那盎然的绿色像墨一样流淌出来，蔓延在街道上。经过一晚的风雨捶打，许多叶子已经支撑不住，摇摇欲坠，有的飘落下来，缓缓飘零在混杂着泥土和水泥味的道路上。一阵风吹过，春草的衣角被掀起一片，眼睛也被风吹来的沙子迷朦住了。春草只好停下自行车整理好自己的着装，心想第一天去蔡大姐家还是要注意好仪容，不能叫人家家里人笑话。就在春草准备继续骑车走的时候，路上被丢落的一片宣传纸引起了她的注意。那白色书本大的厚厚纸张上混杂着地上的泥土和雨水湿气，却挡不住上面那赫然醒目的四个大字：成人学校。在那四个大字下面排列着一些简短的介绍：晚间成人认字学校，价格优惠，时间灵活，有意者请到芳华街4号详细了解。春草不明白这一串小字的意思，便默默收起这串纸片，加快了自行车的速度。第二天，她将这张纸交给了蔡大姐。蔡大姐瞟了一眼，便告诉她，这是一个成人教育学校，专门教成人认字。听了蔡大姐的话，春草内心泛起一丝涟漪，没想到现在这社会还有专门给成人的学校。

第二十九章，深秋：学汉字

春草的新工作一切都还顺利。虽然蔡老师女儿艳艳平日里嘴巴尖的像刀子一样老是对春草做的饭挑刺，还因为春草的身份看不起春草，但她除了耍耍嘴皮子，也对春草造不出什么威胁。春草依旧是每天按部就班，把两个孩子安排好以后骑车到蔡老师家烧火做饭洗衣服和收拾东西。因为春草保姆工作干的积极认真，蔡老师的老公还给春草一个月加了五十元工资。日子对春草来说，应该是越过越好。只是，那天骑车偶然遇到的纸片还一直保存在春草的荷包里，春草时不时就要拿出来看一看。有时候春草想，何水远走了那么久，可能真的永远不会回来了。如果以后自己想要在社会安稳的打拼并且辅助孩子学习，自己必须要学会认字。但是目前春草的财力还不能支撑春草的想法。打工这几年，一共才攒下一两千块钱，才刚刚好够两个小孩的学费，怎么能花在自己身上呢？春草抬头看着指尖穿梭的阳光，心中的纠结如同秋日的落叶，轻轻飘落。

有一天春草在娄大哥那里帮忙打扫卫生的时候，口袋里的纸片一不小心掉了出来，被娄大哥给看见了。“春草，你还想去这个成人学校认字呀？” 春草的脸刷一下红了，面露窘色，“害，就是那天在路上看到了，随手撕了下来，现在忙着做工，哪有时间呀。” 娄大哥默不作声，坐到了沙发上。春草正要离开时，娄大哥叫住了春草，表示同意想要帮春草支付一定的学费。春草犹豫了，她并不想欠更多的人情债。娄老师看出春草心中的顾虑，没有继续劝她。南方的冬日带着一种温和而湿润的寒意，不似北方那般刺骨，却有着绵绵细雨和连绵的阴霾。天空常是一片灰蒙蒙，云层低垂，偶尔雾气蒸腾，使得远处的景物变得模糊不清。街道上的行人们裹着薄薄的棉衣，快步穿行，呼出的气息在冷空气中凝成白雾。春草的日子又回到了原来，似乎与这冬天的气息同步，一成不变。

但是谁没想到这娄老师也是一根筋，他深知自己劝说春草肯定没用，便在几周后联系了创建成人班的民工组织，邀请他们和春草共同来到自己家里。一日傍晚，组织的几位成员如约而至，而其中则有一个特殊的客人——一个同样来自底层、历经波折的打工女子。这位打工女子名叫小芳，她的故事与春草有着惊人的相似之处。小芳曾是一位出生在孟湾村隔壁邻水村的普通女工，她早年丧失了双亲，生活的重担迫使她不得不放弃了学业，转而进入城市打工。在工厂中，她遭受了长时间歧视和排挤，但由于文化水平有限，她很难找到更好的工作机会。

小芳向春草娓娓道来。她讲起她如何在最绝望的时候，通过社区这个成人学校学到了基础的读写能力。这些新获得的技能让她能看更多的新闻和杂志，有空的时候她还会研究研究法律知识，拓展自己的阅读爱好。因为表现出色，小芳甚至在工厂里争取到了一线管理的职位，生活状况有了明显的改善。小芳的遭遇和转变深深触动了春草，她意识到，这不仅仅是为了自己，更是为了她的孩子们，为了不让他们重复自己的生活轨迹。在深思熟虑之后，春草决定接受娄老师和民工组织的帮助，开始她的学习之旅。

就这样，春草开启了上学的旅程，仿佛她回到了三十年多年前第一次上学那般。每当夜色渐浓，春草便轻手轻脚地走出自己家门。街灯下，她的身影拉长，像是在夜幕中穿行的旅者。她踏上前往成人学校的路，心中充满了对未知的期待和一丝紧张。学校的教室灯光温暖，里面坐满了像她一样成年人，大多是女性。他们有的是在城市里是为了工作的打工人，有的是家庭主妇，还有的仅仅是为了自己实现认字愿景。春草坐在靠后的座位上，紧张地起笔，开始认真听讲，老师的讲解渐渐让她沉浸其中。汉字的笔画，每一个字的发音，虽然艰难，但她感到前所未有的兴奋。每认出一个字，她的心中就涌起一股麻麻的成就感。她重新体会到学习的乐趣，一种内心的满足和充实。课间休息时，春草和其他学员交流。在和她们分享各自的故事和学习的困难，春草找到了共鸣，她感到自己并不孤单。在这里，她也遇到了另一个来城里打工的小妹阿苏，比她小十岁，却和春草有聊不完的话题。阿苏是从北方来南方做棉布工厂工人的，收入更稳定也有一定的休息时间，有时候白天空了还来春草家帮忙给带带孩子。

三十章，春夏流传：人生的转机

夜晚的学习成了春草生活中最宝贵的时光。虽然白天的工作使她疲惫不堪，但夜晚的每一分钟都让她感到充实和快乐。她开始渐渐地喜欢上这种被知识充实的感觉，她知道这是通向更好未来的必经之路。在这些夜晚里，春草不仅学到了知识，她的信心也在慢慢建立，她开始相信，无论生活多么艰难，只要有决心，总能找到一线光明。春日夜晚教室宁静而深邃，月亮高悬，洒下皎洁的光辉，让教室外的景色被一层柔和的银光所覆盖。树影在月光的照耀下，显得格外清晰，像是细腻的影艺术铺展在草地上。春风带着凉爽，轻轻拂过，搅动着泥土里就要破土而出的新芽。春草发现，自己在这地方呆了好几年，却从来没有认真停下观察过这里的景色。原来时间是可以停下来的，它不是一尘不变的，而是有自己的韵律节奏的。她想起何水远与她第一次相遇时的情景，用力一笔一画在纸上写下：春风吹又生。

但在这艰难的日子里，春草明白光靠自己去做保姆是没办法挣到大钱的。在学习的日子她开始和阿苏开始酝酿一个想法——建立一个自己的保姆服务中心。她放弃了一些必要的开支，在保证孩子们学费的情况下变得更加节俭。尽管她们通过几个月的努力和阿珍的积蓄攒了一些启动资金，但很快发现这还远远不够，她们需要更多的人力和财力支持自己的想法。春草和阿苏抱着试一试将计划告诉了社区内的许多女性，没想到受到了热情响应和支持。这些女性中有的是春草在夜校认识的同学，有的是阿苏在日常工作中结识的朋友，她们都共同面临着生活的艰辛和苦楚。 在春草执着的驱动下，她们决定联合起来共同为创建家政服务中心筹集资金。有的贡献了自己能够节省出来的一点点积蓄，有的动员了自己的家庭成员支持这个计划。每当完成夜间学校，几个人变聚集到春草家在黯淡的灯光下研究开店想法。春草带领一些人负责培训家政技能，阿苏则带领另一人学习推广结实客户服务。他们的默契合作，让这个梦想逐渐清晰起来。

她们选在了社区附近的一栋小楼，开始招募员工。因为有着类似经历，春草特别倾向于招募像她一样的单亲妈妈或处于困境中的妇女。随着团队逐渐扩大，她还联系了孟湾村的许多亲戚和阿明的妻子加入她的家政团队。春草为她们提供了基本的家政清洁、烹饪和照料孩子等技能，开始扩展自己的业务。她的勤奋管理和培训加上他们服务质量越发提升，越来越多的顾客开始选择春草的服务。她的店铺逐渐在社区中建立了良好的声誉, 不仅是服务的家庭，连社区的商家和居委会也开始邀请这里的保姆帮忙。店铺的成功让春草腰上逐渐有了点闲钱，万万的元元的读书费早已有了着落。后来的她，搬离了原来破旧简陋的出租屋，换上了新开发楼盘的房子，把何水远抛在脑后忘的干干净净。

后记：我在写这篇文章时，意识到劳动女性想要突破重重障碍，必须要有多方面的社会支持。春草的保姆服务中心的成功，不仅源于她个人的努力，还得益于她与娄大哥，阿苏之间的友谊和社区其他女性的互相扶持。如果没有这些机遇和相互帮助，春草的结局和原小说写的，并不太大出入。在社会打拼的女性单打独斗往往难以成功，而社会的帮助和资源共享是她们成功的必要条件。春草的保姆服务中心成为了一个微缩的社会模型，展示了当女性被赋予适当的资源和支持时能够实现的变革。笔者认为社会支持网络很重要，这种网络不仅提供了金融援助，还提供了教育、培训、以及一个互相尊重和鼓励的社区。这些元素共同促成了春草的成功，同时也为社区中的其他女性铺平了前进的道路。

小说的第二十二章到二十四章描写了春草卖炒货三年回到孟湾村所见所感和家庭成员所经历的困苦。这个时间段春草的家庭遭受重重变故：大哥二哥生意落败仕途不顺，父亲年迈体弱，而母亲也被诊断出胃溃疡和肿瘤需要一大笔手术费。此时的中国农村也在经历着巨大转变：千百年来农民热爱的土地已经被嫌弃，高昂的土地税费和提留款使大多数农村人都选择进城务工。这种人员流动使城乡差异更具显著，也使农村的医疗体制在大环境的变革下停滞不前。通过观察春草和母亲的互动以及家庭成员对于母亲疾病的态度，我们可以透析九十年代中国农村医疗体制所面临的三大困境：病患对家庭支撑的极度依赖、农村医疗资源的短缺和昂贵费用，以及传统老年人农民对花钱治病和现代医疗的抵触。因为缺乏完善的医疗养老政策，春草的母亲不得不依靠儿女担负高昂费用，而农村医疗资源短缺也使看病路途遥远，成本过高。同时，根植于传统的保守心理也使农民对现代医疗不信任，看重金钱房子胜于生命，农民往往会牺牲自己的身体也不愿给家庭增加负担。

在小说中，春草的家庭境况体现了农村病患对家庭成员极度依赖这一医疗现实。在母亲查出胃肿瘤病重的窘境下，因为没有任何社会保障体系可供依靠，春草只能想办法联合哥哥弟弟们一起母亲凑钱看病。但是因为哥哥们都经济贫困，没有一个人愿意担负母亲的费用。“春草回到家，把情况跟父亲和二哥二嫂说了，父亲一听要那么多钱有些傻了，说，我上哪儿去找嘎多钱啊？你留下的那点钱，早就用掉了。”[1]表现了农村家庭在疾病面前的无奈心理。在这样的社会背景下，个人的健康直接与家庭的经济状况捆绑，家庭贫困的个体因为缺乏治疗的费用只能选择忍受疾病。春草的家庭困境不是个别现象，而是九十年代中国农村广泛存在的现实反映。根据Zhang(2019) 的研究，在中国农村，由于缺乏社会保障体系的有效支持，家庭成为了面对健康危机时唯一的依托。他在研究乡村养老政策中指出，大部分农村老年需要病患依赖家庭成员提供直接的照护与经济支持，他们也需要子女的照顾来获取情感与精神的寄托。这种家庭内的互助体系，在短期内缓解了病患的需求，但长期看却可能导致整个家庭的贫困陷阱。比如，在春草一文中，春草既要“养家糊口，做生意，以后还得给孩子交学费。”[2] 好不容易存下一点钱，却需要把这笔钱给到母亲治病。从一方面来说，春草需要钱去投资自己的铺面和事业，但另一方面，她对母亲的情感和共情让她不得不牺牲个人未来发展，将钱给母亲治病。这种家庭依赖性虽然缓和了春草和母亲之间的矛盾，但同时也限制了她追求经济独立，拓展事业的可能性。家里人生病对既要兼顾到父母，也要照顾自己的孩子的打工人是很大的打击，双重压力常常使他们身上的责任过于沉重，无法兼顾自己的生活。值得注意的是，在这一家庭困境中，显著的性别差异将负担不成比例地加重到女性肩上。面对哥哥们的逃避和经济无能，春草只能承担起经济重担，从自己的储蓄中提取五千元寄给母亲。这种情况反映了农村社会对女性角色的双重标准。一方面，女性在家庭角色中被边缘化，她们的教育和职业发展机会被限制；另一方面，她们却在家庭中承担履行着不匹配的责任与义务。

除了反映农村患者对于核心家庭的依赖性，小说还表现了九十年代农村医疗资源的严重短缺和费用昂贵的困境。春草母亲因为胃痛迟迟不肯去检查，只能由春草拉扯母亲到县城去看病。而高昂的切除肿瘤的手术费对春草的家庭来说，也无疑是一笔巨款。阿明的处境也是如此，在他把得了乳腺癌的媳妇带到上海看病后，他们家也花掉了所有的积蓄，日子过的很幸苦。由于农村医疗设施资源缺乏，许多农民只能进城看病。但路途遥远加上医院开支巨大，农民看病需要花掉很多的家当，陷入新一轮经济困境。Shi (1993）在研究中国医疗保险城乡差距文章中提到，“通货膨胀使保险金额和医疗大幅度上涨，使农村和城市之间的医疗差距逐步拉大。” Wang 和 Gusmano (2020) 的研究也揭示了中国农村医疗资源短缺的现状，指出农村地区的医疗设施和专业人员相较于城市极为缺乏。“与城市地区相比，农村地区的居民往往需要承担更高的健康风险和医疗费用。” 而造成这一局面的主要原因是农村的政策改革和人才流失。Shi指出，“政府的疾病预防和医疗补助只占农村合作性诊所医生的1%到2%，大量乡村诊所因为没有足够财力继续经营，只能被迫关店。”[3]而农村落后的教育和就业环境也使年轻人背井离乡，外出务工谋生。 随着农村年轻劳动力流失，农村老人占比变得越来越高，而医疗需求也逐渐升高，但可用资源却越来越少。这对在农村生活的老人造成很大不便。许多老人想要看病，只能依靠村里卫生室和民间医生。能够去去城里看病的老人，大多数都有在城里务工的孝顺的子女。为缓解中国农村医疗负担，2009年政府推出了新型农村合作医疗保险(NRPS)，通过实施差别化报销和财政补贴减轻了农民经济压力。同时，政策也增加对乡村诊所的资助和实施医生培训计划，提高了基层医疗服务质量。这些措施表明，随着政策的调整和社会对健康问题的重视未来农村医疗服务有望得到实质性改善，使得农民能享受到更加公平和可及的医疗保障。

除了体现医疗资源短缺昂贵，小说还表现了传统农村老人对于花钱治病和现代医疗抵触的认知观念。虽然春草母亲的胃面临严重的癌变风险，她还是不愿意花钱治疗好自己。“我不要开刀，糟蹋那个钱干嘛？你们有钱还不如把房子赎回来，给我个脸面。”[4]表现了春草母亲把房子和面子比生命看的更重的价值观念。她宁愿忍受病痛，也不愿看到春草的房子被占有和家庭财产流失。在这种价值体系下，房子不仅是一种物质资产，更是家庭荣誉和社会地位的象征，代表了一个家庭的面子和根基，而失去房子等同于失去了立足点和社会认同。同时，结合我们之前课上讨论的“中国关系以家庭为核心”的观念，这种思维也反映了老人不愿意给子女增添负担的心理。在儒家文化影响下，孝道是中华文化的重要组成部分，年轻人有义务承担赡养老人的义务。但很多习惯了照顾子女，任劳任怨操劳了一生的父母即使牺牲健康也不愿意看儿女，尤其是儿子受苦，因为他们是家庭的香火延续人。所以春草的父亲宁愿接受春草的钱也“摆摆手”不愿意让儿子们花钱。除此之外，春草母亲不愿意去医院的心理还体现了农村老年人对医疗技术的不信任。在春草母亲观念中，昂贵的医疗费用未必能带来健康保障，而房子却是实实在在的家庭资产，所以她宁愿去寻找中医也不愿意相信先进的医疗技术。笔者认为，这种观念体现了农民对传统中式医疗的信任和现代医疗的怀疑。在传统文化中，中医不仅被看作是一种治疗手段，而涵盖的是一种更自然，更和谐，更加贴近土地的农村生活哲学。因为农村生活紧密依赖于自然环境，农民的工作节奏往往跟随着季节的变换和土地的节奏。而中医讲究“春夏养阳，秋冬养阴”和“饮食有节，起居有常，不妄作劳”则与农民日常生活的自然节律不谋而合。这也间接使很多农民对于现代医学仍然持有许多怀疑态度，保留着自己传统行为与认知模式。一种缓解农村老年人对现代医疗体系的疏离的办法便是提高他们对医疗信任度和服务可及性。现代医学可以融入传统医学为他们服务来增加老年人对现代医疗的接受度。近年来推动的“结合中医药服务的家庭医生签约制度” 政策便是将传统中医治疗方法如针灸和中草药整合进常规医疗服务中，为农村地区的老人提供更加个性化和全面的医疗方案，增强他们对医疗系统的信任。

在小说的第二十二至二十四章中，春草的家庭经历的一系列的困境映射了九十年代中国农村在社会和医疗方面的挑战。患者对家庭成员的高度依赖，医疗资源的缺乏和费用高昂，以及农村老人较保守的医疗观念和对花钱的抵触使农村医疗处境困难重重。 要解决这一挑战，政府需要重视农村医疗基础设施，提升卫生服务质量，培训本地医疗人员。农村也需要促进经济发展以增加居民可支配收入，完善养老保险系统从而减少老人对家庭成员的依赖。同时，地方医疗体系也需要结合现代医疗观念和传统中医理疗来增强农村居民对现代医疗的接受度和信任。

• 裘山山. 春草[M]. 上海: 上海文艺出版社, 2004.
• Zhang, Zhaohua et al (2019).“Who Are the Beneficiaries of China’s New Rural Pension Scheme? Sons, Daughters, or Parents?.” International journal of environmental research and public health 16,17 3159.
• Shi, L. (1993) “Health care in China: a rural-urban comparison after the socioeconomic reforms.” Bulletin of the World Health Organization 71,6: 723-36.
• Liao, Ran et al. (2021) “Factors affecting health care users’ first contact with primary health care facilities in north eastern China, 2008-2018.” BMJ global health 6,2: e003907.

自改革开放以来，中国经历了从以农村为主、半封闭自给自足的社会向工业化和城市化的现代社会转变。计划经济体制被特色社会市场经济体制迅速替代。随着中国经济规模的急剧扩大和对外贸易的迅速增长，农村与城市之间的差距也不断扩大。大量农村劳动力涌入城市非农业产业，为城市化进程带来了巨大的经济效益。尽管这些农民工为经济和社会做出了显著的贡献，但他们在城市中的生活状况却没有得到应有的改善，依然遭受着许多不公平待遇和歧视。在小说中，春草和何水远就是这一类的农民工的代表人物。他们从农村乘坐火车来到陕北卖被面，却遭遇了许多不顺和挫折。在二十世纪八十年代的市场经济环境中，农村地理条件限制迫使农民涌入城市寻找工作，带来了巨大的就业风险。同时，司法保障体系不完善也导致农民工的生活境况非常困难。社会对金钱的崇拜也使进城务工的人员更倾向于追求经济利益，难以积极参与改善社会不平等等事业。

1984年的改革初期，国家放松了农民进城的限制，将“离土不离乡、进厂不进城”的“中国式的城市化道路” 转换成鼓励农民进城务工务商的城市化进程道路。而这一加速也导致了很多现实问题。由于农村小农经济作坊受到城市工厂的冲击，再加上原本经济发展滞后和市场限制，大多数年轻人难以找到合适的机会谋生，只能被迫外出打工。同时，由于他们的特殊身份和地位尴尬，城市中的农民工常常无法获得稳定的职业，只能从事劳动密集型、高风险的产业。而且，许多企业往往将农民工视为“临时雇佣工”，而不是长期的合法工作人员。在Wenran Jiang在她 Confronting Discrimination and Inequality in China一书中写到， “A substantial number of migrant workers move across several administrative areas in a given period searching for suitable jobs, thus depriving them of the chance to enter into long-term local residential registration system, and many workers do not actively ensure that they are registered in the local system.” (Jiang 2009)进城务工人员因为不能进入城市就业系统，只能被迫从事短期高风险行业, 农民工处在进退两难的窘迫处境里。这种困境也在《春草》这一小说中体现。春草嫁给何水远后新生活的表现形式和以前并没有差别，依然是一年到头像母亲那样围着锅炉，稻草和竹篮。她没日没夜拼了命的做，却“一个竹篮还是只能卖三毛钱，加来加去也难拼成一张大团结，更不要说发财了。” 而突如其来的一场大火，也烧没了春草大半年的心血和希望，迫使夫妻两另寻生存他计进城寻找谋生机会。春草的不幸是万里挑一的不幸，却也是千万其他农村家庭处境的写照。以往春草通过养蘑菇，养蚕养丝等小农手工业发家致富的方式已经不适合时代市场经济发展的潮流，所以离开农村进城务工对春草是偶然事件，却也是必然。市场化的浪潮席卷农村，导致大多数家庭难以维持家庭支出，尽管在城市面临更大的挑战，但进城已经成为他们唯一的出路。火车上春草和何水远紧张兴奋又胆怯的心理是许多第一次进城农民的心理写照。初次进城的他们晕头转向，不知道何去何从，也听不懂外面的方言。他们对未来充满了憧憬，却也因为缺乏教育和见识有着天真的幻想，全然不知等待他们是怎样的复杂混乱的社会。

除了面临农村有限的生存空间和城市高风险的就业问题，不完善的社会司法体制也使农民工生活处境窘迫。人类学家Gaetano指出，“the term ‘migrant worker’ implies a distinction in kind: ‘to work’(dagong) connotes casual, manual labor that is distinct from the legitimate ‘work’(gongzuo) of the urban proletariat (gongren).” （Gaetano 2015）工人在外受到的待遇和本土城市人口受到的待遇有着极大的差距。同时，研究者Jiang也提出，“To settle down in cities, migrant workers have to pay various required fees accompanying necessary certificates, such as temporary residency, work permits, health checks, etc.”(Jiang 2009) 而城市里的居住许可证和营业执照往往伴随着复杂并且腐败的流程。春草和何水远第一次在街上尝试卖被面时被“几个戴着大盖帽的人” 被随意没收抢走体现了八十年代政府机关部门的随意作为。他们以“例行公事”的理由将属于农民工的东西肆意抢走充公，用恶劣的态度与行为去对待初次来到城市的农民，压榨他们对于制度的无知。司法制度的不完善和不透明公开的执法行为都是影响农民进城发展的阻碍。因为缺乏可靠的制度和经济保障，农民工来到城市的第一投靠途径，便成了自己家的亲戚。“何水远一路安慰春草说他们只要找到表舅就好办了，表舅同他母亲是同一个爷爷，算近亲。” 表现了何水远深根蒂固的亲戚思想。在中国以血缘关系为纽带的关系网络下，亲戚关系是一种家族连结的象征。在市场经济下，亲戚由血缘连结自然而然的延伸至经济连结，成为了一方可以依赖于另一方的理由。但是这种“投靠” 往往也带来了更多的不稳定性与关系问题。何水远与春草在表舅家寄人篱下需要去忍受表舅娘刻薄和时刻嫌弃的眼神，而两人夫妻的身份也注定他们不能在亲戚家多多久留。中国的亲戚关系是一种纽带，却也是一种束缚。离开了亲戚家的他们也只能在三元一天的简陋棚子里过夜，忍受着风吹雨打和艰苦的生活环境。身无分文离开了农村的打工人在城市需要更加精打细算和拮据过日子，生活条件可能比农村还要艰辛。

尽管条件艰苦，春草却并没有对自己的生活充满抱怨，反而总是笑眼盈盈，对未来充满了抱负与期望。在角落柜台卖被面的时候“春草不但把她那些美丽的被面展示了出来，同时还展示出她的热情和笑容，展示出她心疼人的魅力” 尽管每天都累到不行，她还是非常认真专注的干活挣钱。她的这一些举动都体现了春草对于金钱爱好与美好未来憧憬。“钱”对春草来是一种离开她从小受到嫌弃的生活环境的渠道，也是她去实现自己梦想与愿望的途径。所以对春草来说，钱是如生命重要的。春草在劳累时往往安慰自己“我们再过一年，就能做万元户了！” 。对于其他进城的农民工来说，钱也有着类似的心理慰藉作用。在社会市场经济金钱至上的宏观叙事下，人人都对金钱和地位有着至高无上的崇拜与追求。而这种对于物质生活的追求往往冲淡了他们对于自身遭受不公平的感知，麻痹了他们质询社会问题的能力，也造成了他们对不公现象的不清晰认知与假性积极的社会态度。一篇调查农民工社会幸福感的文章提出，在民主意识方面,和城市工人相比,农民工表现出较低的社会参与性,较高的权威服从。对“民主就是政府为人民做主”、“国家大事有政府来管,老百姓不必过多考虑”等判断,农民工赞同的比例都高于城市工人。” 时代对于金钱的崇拜盛行下，农民工投入大量时间精力琢磨如何发家致富实现阶级跨越，被迫服从现有社会与经济制度的不公平待遇。

农民工在市场经济环境下面临诸多挑战。就业不稳定、社会保障不完善导致他们生活处境困难。同时，时代强调经济发展和物质宏观叙事使他们忙于挣钱，无法投入到改善社会问题的行动里，导致问题的反复循环加重。在城市人民生活条件逐渐改善的今日，政府，社会和司法系统都应该更加关注于农民工面临的具体问题，以实现社会的更大公平和发展。

• 裘山山. 春草[M]. 上海: 上海文艺出版社, 2004. 
• 李培林. 农民工在中国转型中的经济地位和社会态度[J].社会学研究, 2007. 
• Mendes, Erroi P., and Sakunthala Srighanthan, editors. Confronting Discrimination and Inequality in China: Chinese and Canadian Perspectives. ,2009.
• Gaetano, Arianne M. “Rural Women and Migration under Market Socialism.” Out to Work: Migration, Gender, and the Changing Lives of Rural Women in Contemporary China 2015, 14–27.

        春草进城做农民工遇到了各式各样的歧视以及不公平待遇。她家人没有进城的经验可以与她分享，也没有什么建议。春草与何水远的未来又不稳定又充满风险。春草与何水远进城的故事像很多美国第一代大学生一样。所谓的第一代大学生指的是家庭中第一个上四年制大学的人。春草没有机会上大学，但是她的故事跟这些学生很像。美国第一代大学生与春草的相似之处是他们都遇到歧视，却需要自己要照顾自己，会想念家人在老家过得如何，还要面临“逆向文化冲击”的问题。通过分析《春草》这部小说以及关于威廉大学生活的一些校报文章，本篇文章试图比较春草跟美国第一代大学生的经验有何相似之处。

        春草与美国第一代大学生都遇到很多种歧视。在《春草》前面的章节中，有人因为春草有浓重的口音而笑她无法与她沟通，或甚至完全放弃跟春草交流。在第十四章中，有人提名春草当先进工作者时，他同事很生气地说“自己单位的人不提，提个外人”（149）说明虽然春草工作很努力，常常帮同事做事，但是她因为是农民工还算是个“外人”。她在语言方面以及地域方面受到了歧视。在美国的教育制度中，农村与城市都有刻板印象。有人认为住在美国农村里的人因为比城市人口穷，所以学历没有那么高。在我们威廉大学，来自不同的地方与家庭背景的人也受到了歧视。一位2023年毕业的叫Maximilian Peters的威廉学生在威廉大学校报上发表了一篇这章，说因为来自南达科他州而感到当威廉的学生很特别。他说他觉得很多人认为现实生活中存在的地方只有纽约、麻州跟加州。 因为威廉大学的学生不来自各种不同的地域，所以他们的眼界很小，很容易误解来自其他地方的同学而伤害他们的感情。2020年有些威廉大学黑人学生在Instagram上发布了自己面临种族歧视的经历。有一位2019年毕业的威廉学生表达他去威廉资助办公室时问询买电脑的奖学金时，办公室人员骂他说他应该很感恩因为已他经拿到全额奖学金了。 这些人像春草一样都要面临不公平的待遇与歧视。

        春草与何水远进城时要自己找住的地方和做生意的地方。好在他们有何水远的表舅和表舅妈能帮助他们，可是他们的帮助有限。何水远和春草在完全新的环境里要面临新的习惯和文化。他们没有选择，只能努力工作赚钱。春草表示“真是会讲笑话，谁不想懒啊，我也想天天睡在床上呢。可要有那个命才行啊。我的命就是苦巴巴地做”（154）。她不是因想工作而决定工作，她的家庭背景不太好，所以需要每天都要工作才能成功。这种想法在美国第一代大学生中很普遍。作为第一代大学生，因为家人没有上四年制大学的经验，所以这些学生只能自己面临全新的环境。其他学生的父母如果有上大学的经验可以帮助孩子准备上大学，尤其是上过一样的大学的父母可以给孩子很具体的建议，让孩子上大学前已经了解了大学的文化和传统。但是第一代大学生只能靠自己与大学提供的资料来适应新的环境。他们要平衡学业与工作的压力，与朋友跟家人的关系。在威廉大学2020年举办的 Claiming Williams（一个针对校园中歧视事件而发起的一年一度的活动）的演讲中，演讲人Anthony Jack分享了他在阿默斯特学院作为第一代大学生的经历。威廉大学的校报报道说勤工俭学的责任限制了他的自由，而影响了他的心理健康。 第一代大学生常常感觉责任重大，难以确保所有生活方面都和谐。

        在作为农民工进城与作为第一代大学生的经历中，他们都会想念家人在家里过得如何。在春草的经历中，她想象衣锦还乡时她母亲会有什么反应。“这回她可以昂着头回娘家了，看看母亲还有什么话说？”（164）。春草跟她母亲的关系很复杂。对春草来说，在她母亲的眼里，她永远是不够好的。春草在新的城市里很忙，未来也不稳定，可是她还在想她母亲的事，甚至让她做噩梦。在噩梦里，母亲怀疑春草的存折里是否真的有钱，让春草很着急，马上醒来，就问何水远能不能把他们所有的存款从银行拿出来。她的家庭背景让她很操心，一直在想如何证明他们真的成功了。有些第一代大学生可能因为家庭关系很复杂而努力工作，追求金钱以及成功，有些则一边上大学一边赚钱寄给家里。在Anthony Jack的演讲里他说“了不能出去吃披萨之外，他当时认为“如果有加班的机会的话就不能去听音乐会，即使音乐会票是免费的也不行”。  Jack一方面要重视自己的学业，另一方面也要赚钱给家里人。很多第一代大学生面临一样的问题。他们无法像其他学生一样，享受上大学的快乐，因为他们要背负帮助家庭的负担，一直在想家中的事。

        春草回家时，家人与老朋友发现她所经历的变化。父亲听春草说话时，想“女儿此次回来变化很大，连说话的口音也有些变了，夹杂着许多北方话[…]这些都让他感到陌生”（170）父亲感到自己的女儿陌生是因为她适应了城市的文化，回老家反而不适应老家的文化了。还有，母亲讨论阿明老媳妇时，又骂了春草。春草反应想“无论自己怎么有钱，在母亲面前，依然是没面子的”（169）。她因为进城赚了钱，以为她母亲可能对她感到有些骄傲，可是回到乡村才发现家人没有什么变化。美国第一代大学生放假回家时，常常发现他们几个月之内有了很大的思想变化。在IES Abroad的博客上，一位叫Angela Pupino的大学生提到了她每次回家面临“逆向文化冲击”的经历。因为她老家在美国的俄亥俄州而大学在华盛顿特区，两种文化很不同。她解释回家跟家人讨论的时候常常把对方搞糊涂了。她感到小城太小了，而她的家人不能理解她在大城市的生活。 在我自己的经历中，大一放寒假时我跟母亲一起开车回老家，发现威廉跟我老家的语言与文化有很大的差别。虽然我们都是在用英文讲话，但是在威廉每次跟人沟通一定要注意“政治正确”，不能像以前那么随便说话。威廉大学校报上有一篇文章题为“威廉大学生讨论美国各州的刻板印象，”报道说有些学生感到没有人理解他们老家的生活，而在老家也没有人能理解大学的生活。当人离开老家，适应新的环境，然后回家时再得适应环境就是所谓的“逆向文化冲击”。春草与第一代大学生都面临这些让人感到不适的现象。

        作者裘山山写这部小说时可能没有意识到春草进城的故事能成为很多其他经历的缩影，可是在笔者看来春草的经历跟美国第一代大学生的相似之处很明显。作为一个跨文化的人不容易，要面临社会性与系统性歧视，学会独立，看清自己的家庭背景，并学会处理“逆向文化冲击”的问题。这些困难没有一个完美的解决方法，但对面临这些问题的人来说，读像《春草》这样的小说让我们理解我们其实并不孤单。而且，读这样的小说也可以让大家都更理解与自己不同的生活经历。

字数：2646字

全文件包括引文：比较农民进城与美国第一代大学生的相似之处

        《春草》第二十一章中，我们的主角春草发生了婚外情。作为读者，我们以前很了解的春草突然做出了这么不符合性格的一件事情让人感到很惊讶。可是，考虑到社会压力以及中国社会人与人之间的关系时，春草的行为又是可以理解的。春草跟娄大哥发生性关系的原因可能有几个：首先春草可能因为想要还娄大哥钱而被他拒绝了，因此要找到另一个办法来偿还；其次她也可能因为小的时候被堂伯骚扰过，现在决定要在性关系中找到自主性；第三，可能因为她太想做一个符合社会预期的女人。这三个原因都值得深入讨论。本篇文章通过分析中国文化和美国文化对“性”的态度的异同，来探索春草跟娄大哥发生性关系背后的原因。

        因为春草有社会压力还娄大哥钱，他不愿意接收时，春草不得已找到另一个办法来还钱。春草去娄大哥家的目的是还她之前借的钱。他们的关系很好，甚至视对方为兄妹，娄大哥拒绝了，说他帮同乡的忙是应该的。我们上次谈到了在中国文化中，人与人之间的关系很重视人情互换。敬茹在第三篇文章中写道“受到儒家礼尚往来的思想，中国的人际关系也有着重要的人情互换的特征。” 所以，春草跟娄大哥的关系虽然很好，但是春草不能逃离社会这种对人情互换的预期，如果不能把钱还给娄大哥，她会感到不舒服、很忧心。在Gao Ge的《初探中国人际沟通中的“面子”与“为他人着想”》文中，作者说“‘对不起’的感觉影响人的思想，感情与行为。‘对不起’的感觉来自于一个人对另一个人的感恩之情”。  因为春草有这种“对不起”娄大哥的感觉，所以她要尽量想办法还钱，同时因为她对男人的理解只是他们很喜欢女人的身体而想要跟他发生性关系。在美国文化的色情行业中，这类故事在小说或视频里很常见：一个人（大部分的时候是个女人）因为没有钱还给另一个人，而愿意跟他发生性关系或试试勾引他发生性关系。她的理由是他们发生性关系后，她所欠的钱就还清了。这样的故事在美国的色情行业中虽很常见，但在真实世界却很不切实际，也很少看到，也跟春草的情况有些不同，其中之一是春草跟娄大哥发生性关系后她所欠的钱还没还清。因为美国文化与中国文化有不同的对“人情互换”的态度，春草跟娄大哥发生性关系可以解决“人情互换”的问题，但不能解决还钱的问题。因为两种文化的不同，一般来说，美国人可能没有同样的社会和文化压力去还人情，美国文化常常看重钱而看轻人际关系。所以到头来，对春草来讲，这样的交换很有道理与逻辑。

       春草愿意跟娄大哥发生性关系的第二个原因也有可能是因为她小的时候被骚扰这件事。我在第二篇文章中解释过为什么堂伯骚扰她对她的性格发展有很大的影响。我以为那件事的发生直接导致了她跟何水远开始谈恋爱，也说过“因为无法处理被堂伯骚扰的事实，她只能把这件事放在脑后，希望能忘记自己的心理创伤。” 除了影响她之后的关系之外，也可以说这件事影响了她对“性”的了解而导致她想要恢复自己对性的主动性。换句话说，她终于想要正视“性”的问题，直接面对。春草当然不理解“恢复自己的性主动性”是什么意思，不过她的行为和想法表明她已经意识到了自己的性，也已经知道其他人对自己有兴趣。小说中说“她去搀扶他, 故意靠得很近，用自己的胸脯去贴他。她心里有数，自己那个地方是最能迷男人的，从十五岁起堂伯就让她明白了这一点”（242）。因为十五岁的时候，堂伯骚扰了她，所以她现在知道男人对她身体的哪一部分有兴趣。这也是春草取得另一个男人的注意的机会，尤其是一个学历高又成功的城里人的注意。她一直喜欢那样的人，而且娄大哥对她很好，她当然很兴奋，很想得到他。春草的性意识让她主动利用自己的性去达到自己的目的。因此主动决定想要跟娄大哥发生性关系似乎很有女权主义的逻辑。

         春草虽然很有可能在探索自己的性，但是她想跟娄大哥发生性关系不太可能是因为她具有“女权主义”的思想，其实她连一点“女权主义”的想法都没有，甚至不知道什么是女权主义。她的行为，对有些人来说可能具有一定的女权主义性质，不过因为她的目的明显不是为了打破社会对女性在性方面的禁忌，而是为了取悦娄大哥，所以我们不应该把她看成是代表女权主义的人物。她只是很努力去迎合社会对女人的要求的一个人。我们在这一点可以看得出来春草与小说开始时的巨大变化。她以前不了解社会对女人的要求，觉得自己不能上学很不公平而不愿意接受。可是到现在，她很愿意接受社会对女人所有的要求。春草发现娄大哥的家很乱时，马上开始打扫，她想“看来娄大哥这里的确没有女人” （238）。她甚至说她能每个星期来帮娄大哥打扫房间、做饭。因为她对社会对女人要求的理解来自她母亲每天里里外外照顾家庭，牺牲一切，所以春草认为顾家是女人的责任，因此也认为愿意跟男人发生性关系也是女人的责任。还有，娄大哥第一次拒绝春草时，她的反应不是自己什没错了什么，反而是娄大哥一定有问题，“春草有些尴尬，更有些不解。这个娄大哥怎么啦？几年不沾女人，也不想？”（242）。她无法弄明白一个男人怎么可能不想要发生性关系。我觉得这一点也是她为什么面临何水远时没有感到内疚，甚至还生他的气。“她跟娄大哥那样’做’是为了这个家，那是他们创业的一部分”（245）。春草这么想令人担忧。她认为社会对女人的要求没有上限，而她一定要符合这所有的要求，要不然她跟她家人就不能成功。

        由于春草受到了社会对她跟所有女人的压力，所以她的作为有时令读者又生气又心烦。她小时候被骚扰对她产生了巨大的影响，到现在她还在应对十五岁时发生的事情。面临着来自乡村的家庭背景，进城时一方面要适应新的环境尝创业，另一方面要照顾孩子，春草常常很担心孩子的健康以及自己能不能找到东西吃，她没有时间思考她发生性婚外情是不是“正确”的决定。我们能从读者的价值观来批评她的行为，不过，真的去了解这个角色时，她的行为却有其文化的、心理的、社会的深层原因。

字数：2346字

全文件包括引文：春草为什么要与娄大哥发生性关系？

“Momma will make you live a better life in the future” (Qiu 27.13).

And so, she has. My life is intertwined with the indomitable spirit of my mother, Spring Grass. Without her, I would not find myself in this position today. Having attended school and university in the city, and now as a proud owner of an apartment in Shanghai, I stand as a testament to the profound impact of a mother’s relentless perseverance and selfless sacrifice. While our familial origin in the Chinese countryside bears the imprints of a rural hukou, through my mother’s resilience, my brother and I have defied destiny to revel in the comforts of an urban life.

My life commenced amidst the scenic landscapes of rural China, within the walls of a supposedly grand home my parents built for us. However, the sequence of events that have truly forged my life unfolded a couple of years later when fastened to my mother’s back, we embarked on a journey to Haizhou (Qiu 18.1)– a city I would call home for many years to come. Today the abundance of opportunities offered by the city has rendered migration a necessity in the countryside (Chang 105). However, at the dusk of the previous century, post-reform China continued to grapple with Confucian notions of femininity and stereotyped migrating women as morally suspect and lacking in feminine virtue (Gaetano 50). My mother strongly resisted the shackles of such stereotypes and persevered in her journey to the city, as she had previously several years before my birth.

More notably, my mother persevered against the patriarchal bounds enforced by our society. She did not rely on her husband, my father, to provide for her or Richie and I. On the contrary, our relocation to Haizhou was driven by my mother’s desperate attempt to provide for us, necessitated by my father’s irresponsible expenditure of their savings and the sale of our house to settle his debts. Following his misadventure in the coal business, my cowardly father abandoned the rest of us to hide from his debtors (Qiu 17.2). As such, my mother traveled to Haizhou– an unfamiliar city­– as a lone woman with a two-year-old daughter, limited financial means, and ample uncertainty. Her position was further weakened by the lack of a social network– guanxi– in Haizhou. While most migrants, even today, exceedingly rely on individuals within their network to access housing and employment, as well as ensure survival in an alien city (Gaetano 47), my mother was truly by herself.

While we now found ourselves in Haizhou, our lives were not comfortable or joyful even by the most lenient definition of these terms. For the first couple of years, I was separated from my beloved twin brother, Richie, who was left in the care of my maternal grandparents in my momma’s village. Considering I was no older than a toddler, the details of this separation have blurred in my memory, yet the conspicuous scar on my arm and the chronic bronchitis I endure stand as unwavering reminders of those challenging early years. During the initial months, my mother vended roasted snacks with me nestled in her bamboo basket as we traversed the streets of Haizhou during the peak of winter. Unsurprisingly, the elements of nature were unforgiving, resulting in a lingering cough that has evolved into chronic bronchitis (Qiu 18.13). A couple of years later, reunited with Richie and in the absence of our mother, I attempted to cook noodles in order to satiate his hunger, only to accidentally spill scalding broth on my arm (Qiu 27.11). A poignant mark of this mishap endures to this day, hidden beneath the sleeve of my shirt.

During the early years of my life, I was often left to my own devices in locked hostel rooms or in the shack on East Osmanthus Street while my mother tirelessly attempted to secure a meager living. While I attempted to support my mother through these years of struggle and downplay the pain (Qiu 27.13) and despondency I endured, it would be dishonest for me to claim that I have not questioned her decisions. Would my childhood not have been more comfortable had I stayed with my grandparents in the village? Was my mother motivated by self-interest in keeping her children close, even if she could not provide adequately? However, as I have matured, I have realized the unfairness of these questions.

Motivated by a resolute commitment to our well-being, my mother toiled day and night– whether in the modest shack selling roasted snacks or later, as a member of a work unit. Her focus was on saving and cutting unnecessary costs to secure a better future for us (Qiu 26.6). Upon joining the work unit, she rushed home every day to share the meager meat she found in her lunch box, sustaining herself on recooked rice porridge and pickled vegetables (Qiu 27.2). Her sacrifices knew no bounds as she consistently put our needs above her own. As she gradually established herself in Haizhou, she skillfully cultivated guanxi, which inadvertently benefited us as well (Gaetano 56). I vividly recall the winter of 1995, when Mrs. Tsai, my mother’s colleague, gifted us several winter clothes (Qiu 27.14). Ultimately, my mother ensured Richie and I grew up in the city, and received an education, all the while basking in the love of a devoted mother. Had she left us in the village, the harsh reality is that our grandparents would not have the means to feed or educate us, and we would be one of the several million estranged, left-behind children of China.

In spite of the challenges we faced during our early years in Haizhou, the city and the hardships we endured have significantly shaped the person I am today. A significant degree of independence during my childhood accelerated my maturity– I learned to assume responsibility for household chores and care for my brother (Qiu 27.2). More crucially, this period bestowed upon me valuable lessons from my mother’s life. Foremost among them was the essence of hard work instilled by her admirable work ethic. Second was the importance of education and the pursuit of academic achievement. Having been denied an education during her childhood, momma not only ensured we did not meet the same fate but particularly emphasized the imperative value of schooling in order to succeed. Equally significant was the notion of financial independence– a lesson underscored by the financial setbacks faced by my mother. Initially driven to the city by my father’s poor financial decision-making, history repeated itself in Haizhou as he once again depleted our family’s savings (Qiu 26.5) during the short duration he was present in our lives. He then abandoned us once again, this time for good, with a new partner. My memories of my father are not particularly fond; instead, they are marked with incessant strife with my mother (Qiu 26.2) and his role as the reason for our prolonged woes in Haizhou. Through these trials, my mother imparted the importance of financial autonomy– encouraging me not only to earn my own money but also to learn how to safeguard it. Often drawing on the wisdom of her late aunt, my mother emphasized the importance of money and the need to strive for financial security by leveraging my education.

In the end, momma has successfully fulfilled her promise and ensured a brighter future for Richie and me. She surpassed her own experiences by giving us more love than she received from her own mother, more financial resources than were ever available to her, and greater access to education than she was ever accorded. As I look back on her life, I admire the values she has instilled in me– perseverance, hard work, and financial autonomy. Her resilience against patriarchal norms, selfless sacrifices during periods of financial direness, and her eventual triumph over adversity exemplify the metaphorical “soul of a bamboo” (Qiu 26.8).

Word Count: 1318

Work-Cited:

Chang, Leslie. “Factory Girls”, Factory Girls: From Village to City in a Changing China, New York: Random House, 2008, pp. 98-119

Gaetano, Arianne M. “Gendered Social Networks and Migration Pathways”, Out to Work: Gender and the Changing Lives of Rural Women in Contemporary China, University of Hawai’i Press, 2015, pp. 46-58

Qiu, Shanshan. “Spring Grass”, Chapters 17-27

In the wake of China’s transformative economic liberalization, known as “gaige kaifang,” the late 20^th century witnessed a surge in internal migration from the rural heartlands to the budding urban city centers. With labor no longer confined by the demands of the centrally planned economy, individuals swarmed Chinese cities in search of better and more lucrative job opportunities, along with the tacit aspiration of becoming an urbanite themselves. Alarmingly, a 2013 report unveiled a disconcerting reality– among the 105.5 million children of migrant families, a staggering 61 million found themselves left behind by their parents (Tong et al. 1). This stark phenomenon, commonly referred to as “left-behind children,” has evolved into a pressing concern in post-reform China.

These left-behind children find themselves stranded in their rural villages, entirely assuming the responsibility of self-care. Older children are also responsible for tending to the needs of their siblings and any elderly family members. While these children continue to pursue an education in the hopes of building a better life for themselves, their parents toil in urban cities to secure a meager livelihood. Most children only see their parents once a year for a fleeting few days during the Spring Festival. However, this is a comparatively fortunate outcome, given that certain parents entirely relinquish ties, as is the case with Liang Ming Zhao (Foreign Correspondent). In the novel, as she embarks on her quest to locate Rivers Ho, Spring Grass also leaves behind one of her two children (Qiu 17.12). Having lost his mother, Richie becomes one of the several million left-behind children of China.

It is hardly possible to truly encapsulate the effect on left-behind children who have grown up almost entirely devoid of parental support and affection. In terms of physical health, left-behind children exhibit poor conditions with stunted growth and greater susceptibility to illnesses such as anemia (Foreign Correspondent), a direct result of poor nutritional intake. Just as importantly, the absence of a parental figure takes an enormous mental toll. The left-behind children phenomenon is responsible for an entire generation with low self-esteem, poor psychosocial wellbeing, and social withdrawal (Tong et al. 2). Having never been told that they are valuable and loved, these children struggle to accept love and appreciation. This is visible in Richie’s refusal to call Spring Grass “momma” and disallowing her to hold him (Qiu 22.5). The Foreign Correspondent further visualizes this heartbreaking reality and emphasizes the emotional duress, especially among older siblings, as a result of assuming responsibility for themselves, their siblings, and grandparents from as young as the age of ten. Furthermore, the effect of having been left behind will continue to haunt these children for the rest of their lives, not only in the form of emotional trauma but also in terms of the possibility of a plunge into juvenile crimes (Foreign Correspondent).

Despite the harsh consequences faced by their children, parents are forced to leave them behind.  The decision to leave their children in their rural homes, rather than relocate with them, is largely influenced by the parents’ expected living conditions within the urban landscape. While there are several interlinked factors responsible for the “left-behind children” phenomenon, there are four in particular that largely dictate parents’ choices– housing conditions, family income, the cost of living, and childcare. Firstly, migrant workers almost exclusively hold menial jobs that provide minimal job security. As a result, they are often required to relocate between residences, if not cities. The uncertainty shrouding their housing conditions dissuades parents from bringing their children with them. As seen with Spring Grass and Rivers Ho, in their urban quests they first found themselves in Shaanxi, and now in Haizhou. Within each of these cities, the couple relocated multiple times–the residence of family members, cheap guest houses, shared hostel rooms, and most recently a shack.

Secondly, family income at the urban destination serves as another significant factor in curbing parents’ ability to relocate with children (Tong et al. 14). As a result of regional discrimination, migrant workers work twice as long as their urban counterparts yet are paid only 60 percent of the average urban workers’ salary (Jiang 23). As such, migrant parents are paid meager wages barely enough to sustain themselves, much less cater to their children. Lower family income also dictates poor housing conditions­– the average living area for migrant families is 30-60 square meters (Tong et al. 13). Spring Grass’s 6-7 square meter shack serves as a more dire depiction of a migrant worker’s circumstances (Qiu 20.1). Given the Chinese economy’s reliance on cheap migrant labor, individuals are typically employed on a piece-rate basis that dictates a salary based on the output generated and subsequently the number of hours worked. As such, parents likely make the choice to leave children behind to mitigate the conflict between working long works to maximize their income and fulfilling parental duties (Tong et al. 14).

Additionally, the higher cost of living, particularly in eastern urban centers further limits the ability of parents to relocate with children. Most individuals tend to migrate to the developed cities in Eastern China– while there may be greater job opportunities in these regions, the cost of schooling and housing is higher than in other parts of the country (Tong et al. 13). As one of Gaetano’s informants, Ruolan, notes, moving away from Beijing significantly decreased her monthly expenditure (Gaetano 116). Therefore, adding to an already stifled income, the exorbitant prices of necessities further impair parents from bringing their children to urban areas.

Finally, the “left-behind children” phenomenon is further exacerbated by the scarcity of accessible childcare, particularly education, for migrant families (Gaetano 124). As migrant workers maximize work hours for income, they are unable to entirely fulfill their parental responsibilities. This is exemplified by Spring Grass’s decision to leave Penny at the hostel with Sister Zhang (Qiu 18.1), in essence, temporarily rendering her as a left-behind child too. Despite the heightened importance of childcare and educational services for migrant families, access remains elusive due to the imposition of illicit fees levied on nonresidents (Gaetano 116). If migrant families do opt to relocate with their children, the burden of childcare is overwhelmingly shouldered by migrant mothers. This is depicted as Spring Grass chooses to bring Penny along with her to Haizhou but is entirely responsible for her needs while Rivers Ho maintains his job at a restaurant. Moreover, exorbitant healthcare costs at urban hospitals (Gaetano 125), further dissuade migrant families from keeping their children with them.

The living conditions of migrant workers in urban landscapes, and subsequently each of these factors, are overwhelmingly tied to the Chinese housing registration system– hukou. The agricultural or rural hukou, allows employers to exploit migrant workers and pay paltry wages which in turn lead to poor housing conditions, the lack of job security and domesticity, as well as the inability to sustain an urban life with their children. Similarly, while the cost of living in urban centers is undeniably higher than in the rural countryside or small cities, the agricultural hukou further exacerbates these costs. Migrant workers are ineligible for subsidized housing (Tong et al. 2) and are required to pay an “arbitrary and illicit” tuition fee to admit their children to urban schools (Gaetano 116). As such, the dual social structure instituted by the hukou system is responsible for the left-behind children in rural China.

Therefore, in order to prevent the fragmentation of countless migrant families and remedy the “left-behind children” phenomenon, it is imperative for the Chinese government to strictly enforce a reform in the housing registration system. Increasing the ease of hukou transferability and subsequently the access to equal wages (in comparison to urban counterparts), along with access to education and healthcare will allow parents to relocate with their children more feasibly. In addition, social workers must be encouraged and supported to rehabilitate estranged children and reconnect them with their parents. Simultaneously, the government must seek to broaden employment opportunities and social welfare systems in the Chinese countryside in order to mitigate the compulsion of urban migration. In theory, post-reform China promotes the “small family ideal” and emphasizes the need for close parental support (Gaetano 115), however, to truly realize this outcome, the government must embrace immediate reform.

Word Count: 1369

Work-Cited:

Foreign Correspondent, “The Young Generation Left Behind in China” (Documentary)

Gaetano, Arianne M. “Migrant Working Wives and Mothers”, Out to Work, University of Hawai’i Press, pp. 99-129

Jiang, Wenran. “Prosperity at the Expense of Equality: Migrant Workers are Falling Behind in Urban China’s Rise”, Confronting Discrimination and Inequality in China, University of Ottawa Press, pp. 16-29

Qiu, Shanshan. “Spring Grass”, Chapters 17-22

Tong L, Yan Q, Kawachi I. “The factors associated with being left-behind children in China: Multilevel analysis with nationally representative data.”, 2019, PLoS ONE 14 (11): e0224205