Chinese Corner: China has a betel nut problem
Chinese Corner: China has a betel nut problem
Chinese Cornerย is Jiayun Fengโs weekly review of interesting nonfiction on the Chinese internet.
Chewing to death
ไฝ ๆฐธ่ฟๅซไธ้้ฃไบ่ฃ
็ก็ๆงๆฆ็ด่ฟท่
You can never wake up the betel nut enthusiasts who pretend to be asleep
By ้พ่็ฆ Gลng 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.
Itโs hard to change Chinese peopleโs 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 hasnโt 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.
The tragic tale of Tao Chongyuan
้ถๅดๅญ๏ผ่ขซ้ฎ่ฝไธ่ขซๆๅฎณ็
Tao Chongyuan: The obscured and the impaired
By ่ไฝณ็ท Gฤ Jiฤnรกn
March 26, 2019
Roughly a year ago, Tรกo Chรณngyuรกn ้ถๅดๅญ, 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, Taoโs families and close friends discovered that he had long been a victim of emotional and physical abuse inflicted by his supervisor, Professor Wรกng Pฤn ็ๆ. A deep dive into Taoโs 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 โgood behavior,โ and outright intimidation and retaliation.
Deeply saddened by Taoโs death and irritated by Wangโs long-term misconduct, Taoโs 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 Taoโs family 650,000 yuan ($97,000). But the apology he delivered, in Taoโs sisterโs 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 deceasedโs acquaintances at school and in his personal life. What she found is included in this heart-wrenching article, in which she writes:
โIn 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 peopleโs eyes.โ
Related reading:
้ถๅดๅญๅงๅง๏ผๅช่ฝ่ฟๆ ท็ฎไบๅ๏ผ่ฝๆไนๅ๏ผๅธๆๆไปฌๅฏไปฅๅผๅงๆฐ็ๆดปย Tao Yuanchongโs sister: We left it at that. What else can we do? I hope we can start a new life.
Xiangshengโs pivot to a new age of fandom
ๆป้ทๅพทไบ็คพ
Conquering Deyun Club
By ไปๆณฝ็ฟ Zhวng Zรฉxiรกng
March 17, 2019
Like many other traditional Chinese performing arts, crosstalk, or xiร ngshฤng ็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 ๅพทไบ็คพ, which is arguably the most popular group of crosstalk artists in China. Led by Guล Dรฉgฤng ้ญๅพท็บฒ, 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.
Chinese driving instructors are probably the worst teachers on this planet
ๆ็ป๏ผๆไธๆณๅญฆ่ฝฆไบ๏ผๆๆ้ชไบบๅง
Teacher, I donโt want to learn how to drive anymore. Can you teach me how to curse?
By ไฝ้ข
March 18, 2019
Driving schools in China are full of abusive teachers, and itโs 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 weekโs things that I read and liked:
- ๅไบ็่้ไธบไปไนๆฒกๆ็ซย Why is the cat not in the Chinese zodiac
โSimply put, the Chinese zodiac probably had its roots in a foreign culture, which didnโt include the cat as an animal sign in the first place.โ - ไธญๅฝๆต่กไน๏ผ่ถๆฅ่ถโๅ ๅโย Chinese pop music is becoming more and more โintrovertedโ
- ๅไบฌ่ๆ้็้ฃๅไบบ็ฑปๅญฆย The anthropology of food in Beijingโs filthy street snacks
โIn Beijing, having expensive meals is not worth bragging about. What makes you a real foodie is eating food that has a story behind it.โ - ไธๆตทๆ่ฟ็ฎๅฒย A brief history of house demolition in Shanghai
โShanghaiโs demolition of old houses started in the 1990s and soon became a vital part of its rapid urbanization. There were myriad fascinating tales around that time. From 1991 to 2003, around 3 million people who used to live downtown were forced to move to the outskirts of the city.โ - ๅฝไธไธชไธญๅนด็ทไบบๅป็ๅก็ฝย When a middle-aged man goes to a Tarot card reading
โIn the past year, the number of her male clients saw a remarkable rise. Most of them came to her in seek of comfort. They are from 30 to 50 years old, more mature than people might think. They have steady jobs, usually in mid-level positions in companies. Some of them are CEOs or senior executives at startups. And the vast majority of their questions are about work and wealth.โ