2022 May Fourth Youth Day Sharing

How quickly the Labor Day holiday has reached its final moments. Although the weather this holiday wasn't very good, and I feel like I've somewhat wasted these few days, today is May Fourth Youth Day, so I ought to write something.

I don't know why, but I always feel this year's May Fourth Youth Day is a bit desolate. Whether it's a change of mindset or some other reason, I cannot tell. Before writing these words, I thought of a Lu Xun quotation that previously made the trending searches:

May China's youth all shake off the chill, and just keep moving upward, without listening to the words of those who abandon themselves in despair. Those who can do things should do things; those who can speak out should speak out. Have a bit of heat, give off a bit of light; even like a firefly, one can still give off a little light in the darkness, without waiting for a torch.

—Lu Xun

The forerunners of those years were like faint glimmers in the dark night. Whether or not they brought change to this world, perhaps the greatest meaning is simply that "they were here"—letting people who could originally endure the darkness, because of that little spark, choose to chase the light.

Just as the Teacher wrote in that letter, those eight characters: "A single spark can start a prairie fire."

That's enough of the sentimental talk. Let me share a few stories I've heard recently (actually I had originally planned to write this on May 1st for Labor Day).

"You're Just Not Working Hard Enough"

Before the Labor Day holiday, a lot of places organized meetings like youth league sessions for young employees, and a friend told me about a little episode at one such meeting.

After the voting and such, the boss came to the meeting, ostensibly to care about the young employees' lives and to understand what difficulties everyone had at work and in life. Then some hotheaded young guy raised a question that put the boss in an awkward spot: "The pay is too low."

In theory a wage worker isn't supposed to be this unrestrained. After all, it was right in front of the boss. Most people are calling him Director This, Director That, nodding and bowing—who'd dare say something so bold? The boss isn't going to indulge you, after all: "If you don't do it, plenty of others will."

But this person just went ahead and raised it.

The boss, though, wasn't a pushover either.

He immediately shot back: Don't complain about low wages. Low wages mean you're not working hard enough. If you dislike the low pay, you can go to a piece-rate (frontline/sales) position—there's no upper limit on wages there.

My friend doesn't know what happened afterward, but the person who asked the question was probably cowed by that forcefulness and had nothing left to say.

This boss was probably from a sales background and has some skill in the art of sophistry. When you put it that way, it's actually hard to think of a rebuttal right away.

I won't comment.

The "Laborer" Who Received a Labor Medal

This one came from another friend. It feels a bit funny and a bit ironic. Before Labor Day, there's that labor medal selection, right? And their company actually nominated the boss for it, and the boss actually got selected.

Hold on. Let's first review what Labor Day actually is as a holiday.

Labor Day's full name is May First International Workers' Day. It came from workers in Western capitalist countries who used to work 14-16 hours a day, squeezed by capitalists until they had nowhere left to turn, then through strikes and marches that later even escalated to bloody struggle. In the end the capitalists figured that if this ruckus kept going it wouldn't do—drag it out too long and nobody would make any money—so they had to compromise and reach an agreement with the workers to implement the 8-hour workday.

Western workers won their rights through bloody movements, formed unions to stand against the capitalists, and later, to commemorate this progressive movement of the proletariat, May 1st was designated "International Workers' Day."

Alright, now we're clear: this holiday is the laborers' holiday. So you, the boss, a capitalist—what are you doing crashing the party? Have you no shame?

And that's not even the end of it. If you'd quietly taken the labor medal and kept a low profile, that would have been fine, and nobody would bother you. But no—hey, they're just playing—they even required everyone to post this "good news" to WeChat Moments and publicize it far and wide. That's ridiculous enough.

That's All I've Written

Due to time I can't write too much. Sharing these two little stories, I don't really know how best to comment on them.

But today is May Fourth Youth Day. The deeds of countless predecessors keep inspiring me: shake off the chill, keep moving upward. Youth are a nation's hope, and they shouldn't lose their dreams because of some decaying things.

Anyway, just study. Learn more, think more. Don't stay inside an information cocoon enjoying "tittytainment." That boss you hold in contempt may have a crooked stance, but what's the source of his confidence when he says "If you don't do it, plenty of others will"? It's that he's got a lock on a whole crowd of honest people like the older generation, who work diligently and believe that hard work leads to wealth. Our ancestors left behind a great deal of precious wisdom and experience. Speaking in grand terms, one ought to take as one's duty "to establish the heart for Heaven and Earth, to establish life for the people, to continue the lost learning of past sages, and to open peace for all generations." Speaking in smaller terms, for one's personal development, don't confine your vision to the office's little plot of land and become a despised scab who intensifies involution. Reasonably control your desires, learn more useful skills/knowledge to prepare for unexpected needs—there'll always be a time they come in handy.