Feng Jicai

In his article "Spring Festival travel rush is a cultural phenomenon", Feng Jicai deeply expounds the cultural significance contained in the Spring Festival travel rush, pointing out that it is not only a unique transportation phenomenon in Chinese society, but also an important embodiment of the Chinese national culture. 春运是一种文化现象 Spring Transport Is a Cultural Phenomenon 冯骥才 Feng Jicai （孟庆升、刘士聪译） 如今，报知春节迫近的已经不再是腊八粥的香味，而是媒体上充满压力的热火朝天的春运了。每入腊月，春运有如飓风来临，很快就势头变猛，愈演愈烈；及至腊月底那几天，春运可谓排山倒海，不可阻遏。 Today, the advent of Spring Festival is no longer heralded by the aroma of laba porridge1, but by the hustle and bustle of Spring transport, or “Spring travel” from the passengers’ point of view, that gets thickly covered in the media. When the year enters its twelfth lunar month, “Spring transport” gets under way like a hurricane, gathering momentum each day. Toward the end of the month, it sweeps all over the country with an overwhelming force. 每每此时我都会想，世界上哪个国家有这种一年一度上亿人风风火火赶着回家过年的景象？ When this happens, I cannot help wondering if there is such a thing in any other country that, once a year, millions upon millions of people rush home for their New Year. 我们一直把春运当做一种客运交通的非常时期，并认为这是中国社会发展到现阶段千千万万农民进城打工带来的特殊的交通狂潮，春运的任务只是想方设法完成这种举世罕见的客运重负。 We look at “Spring transport” as a special periodof passenger transport, and think of it as a crazy traffic torrent resulting from the movement of hundreds of thousands of rural people into the cities for employment, a phenomenon…

The so-called wealthy area is obviously a place where wealthy people gather. The article reflects the attitude of three people, one American, one Japanese and the other Chinese, towards the rich areas in their respective countries. It goes without saying that they all enjoy the life in wealthy areas, which is a natural human trait. 富人区(1) ◎ 冯骥才 在洛杉矶，一位美国朋友开车带我去看富人区。富人区就是有钱人的聚居地。美国人最爱陪客人看富人区，好似观光。到那儿一瞧，千姿夭态的房子和庭院，优雅、宁静、舒适，真如人间天堂(2)。我忽然有个问题问他：“你们看到富人住在这么漂亮的房子里，会不会嫉妒？” 我这美国朋友惊讶地看着我，说： “嫉妒他们？为什么？他们能住在这里，说明他遇上了一个好机会。如果将来我也遇到好机会，我会比他们做得还好！” 这便是标准的“老美”式的回答(3)。他们很看重机会。 后来在日本，一位日本朋友说他要陪我看看不远的一处富人区。原来日本人也有这种爱好(4)。日本富人区，小巧、幽静、精致，每座房子都像一个首饰盒，也挺美(5)。我又想到上次问过美国人的那个问题，便问日本朋友： “你们看到富人们住着这么漂亮的房子，会嫉妒吗？” 这个日本朋友稍稍想了想，摇摇头说：“不会的。”继而他解释道，“如果一个日本人见到别人比自己强，通常会主动接近那个人，和他交朋友，向他学习，把他的长处学到手，再设法超过他。” 噢，日本人真厉害。(6)我想。 前不久，一位南方朋友来看我，闲谈中说到他们的城市发展得很快，已经出现国外那种“富人区”了。我饶有兴趣地打听其中的情形(7)，据说有的院子里还有喷水池，车库，门口有保安，还养大狼狗。我无意中再次想到问过美国和日本朋友的那个问题，拿来问他： “有没有人去富煅区参观？” “有呀，常有人去看。但不能进去，在门口扒一扒头而已。” 这位南方朋友说。 “心理反应怎么样？会不会嫉妒？” “嫉妒？”他眉毛一扬，笑道，“何止嫉妒，恨不得把那小子宰了！” 我听了怔住。 The Wealthy Quarter ◎ Feng Jicai In Los Angeles，an American friend of mine drove me to an affluent quarter for a visit．It was a place inhabited by the rich．Americans like to take their guests to see it as if on a sightseeing tour．Standing before me were houses and courtyards of a great variety of shapes，looking elegant，quiet and comfortable like in an earthly paradise．I suddenly put this question to him，“Don't you feel jealous of guys living in beautiful houses like these？” He looked at me in astonishment and said， “Jealous？Why？They live here because they've met with a good opportunity．If I should also find a good opportunity in the future，I can do even better.” The answer he gave was typical of Americans．Americans set great store by an opportunity. Later，when…