Chinese Corner: China has a betel nut problem

Chinese Corner: China has a betel nut problem

Chinese Cornerย is Jiayun Fengโ€™s weekly review of interesting nonfiction on the Chinese internet.


Chewing to death

ไฝ ๆฐธ่ฟœๅซไธ้†’้‚ฃไบ›่ฃ…็ก็š„ๆงŸๆฆ”็—ด่ฟท่€…
You can never wake up the betel nut enthusiasts who pretend to be asleep
By ้พš่็ฆ Gลng Jฤซngqรญ
March 16, 2019

Betel nut, as innocuous as it seems, is in fact deadly. And this is not a new finding, because in a reportย released by the World Health Organization in 2003, the agency provided sufficient scientific evidence to raise awareness about the danger of chewing the nut, which can lead to various diseases such as oral cancer.

Despite its carcinogenic nature, betel nut, which gives consumers a buzz on par with six cups of coffee, has a massive market in China, where people casually pick up the habit of chewing it at a young age and gradually become reliant on it to stay energetic. In some areas, consuming the nuts is even considered a symbol of status, which blind millions of nut enthusiasts to the potential lethal costs.

Itโ€™s hard to change Chinese peopleโ€™s perceptions of betel nut because compared to nicotine and alcohol, whose detrimental effects on human health have been extensively studied and reported, the danger of betel nut still hasnโ€™t gained adequate media coverage. What makes things worse is that in places like Hunan Province, where chewing betel nut is deeply ingrained in its culture, local governments are inclined to leave the growth of the nut industry unchecked due to its economic contributions.

tao chongyuan

The tragic tale of Tao Chongyuan

้™ถๅด‡ๅ›ญ๏ผš่ขซ้ฎ่”ฝไธŽ่ขซๆŸๅฎณ็š„
Tao Chongyuan: The obscured and the impaired
By ่‘›ไฝณ็”ท Gฤ› Jiฤnรกn
March 26, 2019

Roughly a year ago, Tรกo Chรณngyuรกn ้™ถๅด‡ๅ›ญ, then a 25-year-old graduate chemistry student at Wuhan University of Technology, jumped to his death from a school building. In search for the cause of his suicide, Taoโ€™s families and close friends discovered that he had long been a victim of emotional and physical abuse inflicted by his supervisor, Professor Wรกng Pฤn ็Ž‹ๆ”€. A deep dive into Taoโ€™s fraught relationship with Wang later revealed that the instructor had a disturbing history of abusive behavior. In order to manipulate his students into toxic relationships with him, Wang utilized a combination of classic techniques, including constant verbal insults to make his victims feel worthless, occasional rewards for what he viewed as โ€œgood behavior,โ€ and outright intimidation and retaliation.

Deeply saddened by Taoโ€™s death and irritated by Wangโ€™s long-term misconduct, Taoโ€™s parents and sister filed a civil suit against the teacher last year, asking for 1.28 million yuan ($191,000) in compensation and a public apology from Wang. After rounds of negotiations, the two parties recently reached a settlement, with Wang agreeing to compensate Taoโ€™s family 650,000 yuan ($97,000). But the apology he delivered, in Taoโ€™s sisterโ€™s eyes, demonstrated no sincere remorse for his despicable actions, and Wang, despite being barred from mentoring students since the incident, remained at his teaching job without any form of punishment by the university.

In an attempt to seek justice for Tao, journalist Ge Jianan spent half a year talking to the deceasedโ€™s acquaintances at school and in his personal life. What she found is included in this heart-wrenching article, in which she writes:

โ€œIn those days, he was insecure, anxious, and lonely. I did my best to approach him and I wrote this story to commemorate him, as a victim who used to be around but unseen in most peopleโ€™s eyes.โ€

Related reading:

้™ถๅด‡ๅ›ญๅงๅง๏ผšๅช่ƒฝ่ฟ™ๆ ท็ฎ—ไบ†ๅ•Š๏ผŒ่ƒฝๆ€ŽไนˆๅŠž๏ผŒๅธŒๆœ›ๆˆ‘ไปฌๅฏไปฅๅผ€ๅง‹ๆ–ฐ็”Ÿๆดปย Tao Yuanchongโ€™s sister: We left it at that. What else can we do? I hope we can start a new life.

deyunshe

Xiangshengโ€™s pivot to a new age of fandom

ๆ”ป้™ทๅพทไบ‘็คพ
Conquering Deyun Club
By ไป‰ๆณฝ็ฟ” ZhวŽng Zรฉxiรกng
March 17, 2019

Like many other traditional Chinese performing arts, crosstalk, or xiร ngshฤ“ng ็›ธๅฃฐ, was once on the verge of obsolescence in an age where the main consumers of entertainment are young people. But in recent years, xiangsheng has come back in vogue, thanks to Deyun Club ๅพทไบ‘็คพ, which is arguably the most popular group of crosstalk artists in China. Led by Guล Dรฉgฤng ้ƒญๅพท็บฒ, a prominent crosstalk performer with a sharp business acumen, Deyun Club has successfully adapted to the social media age, cultivating a legion of passionate young fans who idolize charismatic comedians like pop stars.

Driving school

Chinese driving instructors are probably the worst teachers on this planet

ๆ•™็ปƒ๏ผŒๆˆ‘ไธๆƒณๅญฆ่ฝฆไบ†๏ผŒๆ•™ๆˆ‘้ช‚ไบบๅง
Teacher, I donโ€™t want to learn how to drive anymore. Can you teach me how to curse?
By ไฝ•้ขœ
March 18, 2019

Driving schools in China are full of abusive teachers, and itโ€™s simply accepted by the general public without much critical attention. Because there are so many trainees hoping to obtain driving licenses and so few instructors available in the market, the disparity has turned driving schools into a world of unhealthy power dynamics, where aggressive, impatient, and bad-tempered teachers can behave like giant bullies, and students no choice but to tolerate the abuse because of Chinese law, which requires drivers to attend a driving school before taking a written test.

This weekโ€™s things that I read and liked: