What kind of 20 years have it been? It's so well written

-- Redirected from a cold philosophical blog post

introduction

I remember that in 1994, when the whole family moved from the large corridor and one-room dormitory to the new one-bedroom house, they looked out from the balcony and the fields behind them.

Soon, however, the view was blocked by the newly built buildings in the compound.

When I was in junior high school in 1995, Xi'an's High-tech Development Zone was initially formed, and I remember that some students transferred to the newly established High-tech No. 1 Middle School. From time to time, we also ride our bikes to Gaoxin No. 1 Middle School after school to "connect". At that time, the location of Gaoxin No. 1 Middle School was already on the edge of the high-tech zone, and there were very few pedestrians.

By the time I was in high school in 1998, I had to ride my bike for a long time to the edge of the high-tech zone, where the newly built residential buildings and new-style residential complexes were the most vibrant places in Xi'an.

Around 2001 or 2002, the university class organized a bicycle ride to Gaoguan Waterfall for a spring outing, and it took more than an hour to roughly see the edge of the high-tech zone.

Many years later, I was reminded of this process when I was in Shanghai and wandered through the streets of his memory that existed beyond recognition. When I talked about it, I suddenly felt a little embarrassed. I can't help but want to weave together the fragments of China's development in the past 20 years for 20 years to look back on.

One

On May 8, 2011, after attending the wedding of his middle school classmates in Suzhou, he arrived in Shanghai by bullet train. I met the American owner at the Manhattan (Bund) Business Hotel, not far from the Bund. He had just gotten off the plane and hadn't had much serious dinner, and I had some wontons and noodles at a street shop, so we decided to go out to eat together after a conversation.

The hotel is very close to Nanjing East Road, although I know that the affordable restaurant will not be opened on Nanjing Road, but if you want to find a good taste, I am afraid it is more reliable to walk along Nanjing East Road.

As we walked, we chatted, and the mentor mentioned that he had been to Shanghai in his early years and had lived there for a short period of time. He said it was his mother-in-law who was based in Shanghai as a representative of a U.S. company. It is said that she didn't want to come, so she made a lot of requests in the hope of intimidating the management.

Of course, on the other hand, if you are really sent, at least you won't live too badly. One of her conditions was that it had to be close to the city centre and it had to be a bungalow. Fortunately and unfortunately, the company really found such a place, which is said to be the mansion of the former **, with a monthly rent of 10,000 US dollars. This happened in the 90s.

At this point, we had walked deep into Nanjing East Road for a while, and I suddenly saw Pizza Hut, so I jokingly asked my mentor, "Do you want to try Pizza Hut in China?" ”

The boss smiled: "Whynot? i‘mopentoeverything。 ”

At that time, I was still a little skeptical of the boss's statement, but a few days later, I ate Sichuan food with the boss, and after hearing that the boss was brave enough to gnaw chicken feet, I realized that he was really opentoeverything.

Speaking of which, Pizza Hut is also a classic joke of Chinese students in the United States. This fast-food restaurant, which is almost a little more upscale in the United States, has been transformed into a mid-to-high-end restaurant in China. Most Americans were surprised by this. However, compared to the inflated prices of Häagen-Dazs, the restaurant, which literally translates to "pizza house", at least in China, can make the décor and food look reasonably price-appropriate.

When I ordered, I found that there was a considerable difference in the description of the size of the pizza between China and the United States. We ordered a regular-sized seafood pizza and when we came up, we thought it was a single serving. But the taste is better than those high-end pizzerias in the United States, at least I think so.

So the boss talked about a lot of past events. For example, when he came to China in his early days, he didn't know what he ate on the plane, he was not accustomed to the water and soil, and when he traveled to Xi'an, he vomited in the Shaanxi History Museum. Because of this incident, he was always a little resistant to taking a Chinese airline flight. I knew that before.

However, this time, for special reasons, he chose a Chinese airline. I asked him how his experience was. He was full of praise for the flight, saying that the flight actually had power outlets behind each seat. He said he had never seen him fly within the United States. To be honest, I haven't seen it either, I've flown with United and Delta, and most of them are older.

Then the boss mentioned that he rode the maglev and felt good. So it is said that most of China's things are more advanced than those of the United States.

I explained that it was a matter of renewal. The United States already had these things when early versions of them came out. After China developed, it used the latest version when buying and building, and the United States didn't want to spend a lot of money to update it because it already had it, and it would not be updated until this batch was decommissioned.

The boss roughly agreed.

At this time, I think back to 10 or 20 years ago, I really feel emotional. At that time, the United States and Japan were synonymous with advancement. Nothing is more advanced in China than in the United States. No, I'm not talking about production. Not even the more advanced ones bought.

Two

On the last day of the international conference, the conference organizers arranged a night cruise on the Huangpu River. Actually, this is not the first time I've been on a cruise here. The first time was in 2006 when I participated in the award ceremony of the Graduate Mathematical Contest in Modeling. In just five years, many new scenery has been added to the riverside buildings.

The day after the international conference, the boss struggled to correct the overdue exam papers, and insisted on going out for a walk to find out how he felt back then. He said that he liked the Bund very much, so he stayed on the Bund every time he came. I guess maybe it's because this part hasn't changed as much as the others. But on this day, he wanted to go to the "Mao's little wife's mansion" (tutor's words) where he lived back then.

Luckily, we found it. This place is now called Donghu Hotel, in the middle of the city, a green space, several villa-style bungalows. I'm actually curious about what the price of this place in the 90s is today, where the monthly rent was tens of thousands of dollars. Unfortunately, I couldn't find it on the Internet. The instructor said that there were not so many villas in this place back then, and I remember that there was an outdoor swimming pool, but it looks like it may have been filled in later and villas were added.

We walked around the streets for a long time, and he seemed a little more silent than usual. Until I saw an old street, the second floor of the street was still hung with the "flag of all nations", and the first floor of the street was mostly small storefronts, and the old people were playing poker on the street. The mentor excitedly said, "Yes, that's what it was like back then. ”

Then I realized that he was looking for the street of his memory. And what I saw before was just an unrecognizable past.

From the surrounding area of this small street, it is almost developed on the left and right. Maybe in a few years, it will disappear too.

Standing on that street, you can look beyond the fence behind the street and see the construction site in the distance, and the towering tower cranes. I remembered the pun joke again: "thenationalbirdofaise." (China's national bird is the crane/tower crane)

It is said that more than half of the world's tower cranes are being constructed in China. The country is changing so quickly and dramatically that it has probably exceeded the expectations of many foreigners. Not only that, but it has also exceeded the expectations of many Chinese people.

Three

When I was young, I was exposed to all kinds of examples of foreign superiority. For example, how Japanese elementary school students are so good in summer camps, how Japan insidiously buys Chinese resources and sinks them offshore for later use; For example, how high the income of Americans is, how good the house is, and how big the TV is.

At that time, foreign countries were really "tall and complete".

At that time, there were not only developed countries, but also the Asian Four Little Tigers and Four Little Tigers. It's as if a country is stronger than China.

In fact, to this day, there are still many people who are accustomed to using the sentence structure "you look at foreign countries, you will xxxx" to illustrate China's disadvantages and weaknesses. It's just that the scope of this "foreign" is getting smaller and smaller.

22 years ago, I was too young to remember many things. When I grew up, I looked back at that period of history, and I was really embarrassed.

Mr. Liu, who is now in prison, wrote the shocking words that he hoped that China would become a colony for another 300 years, probably inspired by Hong Kong's development. And now a Chinese Protestant pastor in North America co-wrote a documentary called "River Death". The general implication is that China's culture is so poor that it must be fully Westernized in order to develop.

When I was in junior high school, I first read some articles that focused on the comparison between China and foreign countries and China issues. I remember that at that time, the salary of university teachers was only more than 300 yuan, and it was difficult to retain people. One of my father's college classmates, a talented radar researcher, eventually went to Canada to work as a small programmer in a snowy province. Although it is difficult to find anyone to play mahjong there, a year's salary is almost enough to cover his entire life in China - according to the calculation of a lifetime at that time.

I was young at the time, so I didn't think much of it. Looking back now, there always seemed to be a pessimistic flavor in the atmosphere back then.

At that time, not to mention the United States, even Japan was a mountain that China could not climb. I remember a magazine saying that China's labor cost advantage is meaningless, because Japanese workers are much more efficient than China's. It is said that one Japanese worker can top 200 Chinese workers.

It is impossible to surpass the United States in terms of economic aggregate, even to surpass Japan.

When I think back to China's development, I always like to mention such a representative post. That is, someone posted on Tianya that according to China's GDP growth rate, it will roughly surpass Japan in 2030. And the vast majority of people do not believe. I asked myself, if I had read this post in 2005, I would have been skeptical.

At that time, there were two main reasons for refuting it: one was that Japan would not stagnate, and the other was that China could continue to maintain such a rate of development.

Four

In 1999, the United States bombed the Chinese Embassy in the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia.

Everyone is indignant, but what can be done, even a political layman like me knows that a war with the United States is impossible. No, it's not that it's impossible to start a war, it's that it's simply impossible to win.

One Berkeley student at the time said he was actually considering whether he should rent a car, buy some nitro fertilizer and gasoline and make a "one-way trip" to Washington. He said that at that time, the United States was in full swing, and it was especially felt in the United States. At that time, he probably thought that only such a way of thinking could be countered.

It's true that few people could have imagined the development that followed.

It was depressing at that time.

So when 911 happened in 2001, there was a lot of laughter in the universities, talking about the injustice of the United States.

Someone would probably say that this is not humanitarian enough. But what I would say is that this schadenfreude is actually much more human.

However, it also means that there is simply no effective way for us to return an eye for an eye. Schadenfreude is actually the act of the weak. Because the strong are often capable of revenge.

At that time, Shuilou's "super-British catching up with the United States" was still a classic joke, which meant the same as "Yelang arrogant" and the like.

Five

When I first entered high school, I always had a question, and one day I couldn't help but ask Mr. Ren, who teaches geometry.

I said, if you look at the minute hand and the hour hand, let's say the two are 180 degrees apart, and when the minute hand reaches the position of the hour hand, the hand actually moves forward 15 degrees. If the minute hand goes forward another 15 degrees, then the hand has moved forward more than one degree during that time. According to this law, it seems that the minute hand will never catch up with the hour hand, but this does not seem to be the case. So Mr. Ren smiled and taught me the concept of infinite series. That's when I realized that there is a limit to this thing.

When refuting the 2005 Tianya Forum post, many people felt that when China caught up with Japan's economic aggregate that year, it would have already developed to a higher level. How can China catch up? And no one expected that this limit between China and Japan would come so quickly.

Six

Actually, I was an optimist since I was a child.

My primary school homeroom teacher was an old-fashioned teacher with no formal teacher education. She used nicknames, humiliation, threats and other means to deal with students. I was a late sensible person, so I always spoke in class, so I was very unpopular with him. I remember today that after I won a prize in a math contest in elementary school, she commented that "the blind cat met the dead mouse".

Moreover, the next batch of students ushered in the first batch of regular normal graduates hired by the school. From their descriptions, I felt that the teacher was more amiable and respectful of the students.

So I thought that things were getting better day by day.

When China joined the WTO, there were two major currents of thought in society: one was that those wolf-like foreign capital would eat up all Chinese capital after it came in. The other is that we can become as strong as wolves when we dance with wolves. In fact, they are all free minds.

At that time, a senior brother believed in the former, and I had some arguments, and finally seemed to make a bet, but when it became clear, everyone forgot about it. In recent years, I contacted again and found that this senior brother had returned to China to work after graduating from the United States with a doctorate.

At that time, my optimism was not substantiated in any real way. Even if there were, I probably didn't believe that the Chinese represented by those friends around me would lose to foreigners as a whole. Speaking of those ghostly friends, I'm really the least talented. Some of them have been reading poetry since elementary school. I remember when I was in elementary school watching Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck, I went to a friend's house to play, and I saw a book about the Middle East war next to the Transformers picture book in his bookcase. He spoke of these things, and he was the first to speak. I remember when he was in the third or fourth grade, he thought it was boring to play "fight for the top" and "level up", so he taught himself bridge, and we heard that bridge was difficult and we didn't want to learn it, so after a few days he pretended to "recently learned a new poker game" and let us learn to play bridge for a day. There is also a friend who has been self-taught since he was a child, and has made various tabletop games from elementary school to high school, and even includes a simple set of tabletop RPGs, and five or six different versions of tabletop strategy games, which are quite game-friendly.

I think that how can China, which these people represent, lose to foreigners in equal competition.

In fact, looking back over the years, what I have always believed in is the intelligence of the Chinese. With such brilliant intelligence, we can't lose.

But I always use the word "someday". I didn't expect everything to go so fast.

Seven

The majesty of the Asian Four Little Tigers was shattered by the financial turmoil very early.

Europe and the United States have said sourly that China's government is unruly and has actually instructed the Hong Kong authorities to directly intervene in the financial market, which is a hooligan. When I heard that, I actually snickered. Since then, I have understood that the market rules advocated by Europe and the United States have their intentions. It was many years later that I realized that the political system advocated by Europe and the United States also had the pragmatist considerations behind it.

Ninety-seven years ago, Hong Kong's elites boasted that Hong Kong's economy would not be in trouble, so the only concern was that the central government would intervene in its politics. As a result, after the return, it was precisely the economy that went wrong. In fact, Hong Kong people should have thought that after the reform and opening up, Hong Kong's status as China's gateway would gradually dissipate. There is no one in this world who is interested in building a territory that belongs to China but is not loyal to China into a financial center. In fact, if the central government does not intervene in its politics, it is equivalent to intervening in its economy, and China needs a financial center, but it does not need a financial center that is not loyal to China's interests.

Starting from Hong Kong, the four little dragons broke the gong one after another. The chaos brought about by Taiwan's initial democratization caused strong internal friction. For 10 years, there has been no effective economic stimulus, not even a plan. The democratic government and the developed regions have actually stagnated the economy without a crisis.

The quality of life of Korean people has also been understood by everyone with the popularity of Korean dramas. Not to mention the tragic situation of South Korean companies running away overnight after the financial crisis. There is also the act of comedy that takes the origin of everything for himself.

Singapore's nickname, "Li Jiapo", has gradually become known, and many people have become disgusted because of his active advocacy against China several times.

For a moment, the aura of the four little dragons was shattered. They have changed from "foreign" or "developed regions" to "South Korea", "Singapore", and "Hong Kong". They are still developed, but many of China's thinking has added four words after these countries and regions: "But that's it."

More important, however, is that Chinese mainland's industries are gradually beginning to compete directly with them.

They are no longer out of reach.

Seven

In 2010, Japan's total GDP surpassed that of Japan. It's only been 5 years since the post, which most people don't agree with, was published. Although we know today that the person forgot to calculate inflation and exchange rate changes in addition to the GDP growth rate. But even if you knew that, it would have been hard to believe the prophecies, especially when they came so quickly.

Today, people say, "We have more than 10 times the population of Japan, so what is there to be happy about?" ”

That's true. In fact, if you think about it the other way, the Chinese population is 3 or 4 times that of the United States, so what is impossible for the total amount to exceed that of the United States? Does the U.S. have any special technology or capability to ensure that their total efficiency in producing value is four times higher than that of China?

What seems natural today was incredible just a few years ago.

With my little knowledge of history, it seems that this kind of thing has not happened very often in human history.

Eight

Some people once said that the Chinese are scattered, and it is impossible to unite in the event of a catastrophe, let alone achieve the height of Japan's disaster relief.

Then there was the Great Tokai Earthquake.

In just one month, Japan's image was shattered.

The slow response to the disaster, the lack of volunteers, the lack of relief for the victims for a long time, the repeated expansion of the nuclear accident, the refusal of the Self-Defense Forces to participate in the nuclear accident relief at the beginning, the lack of young people to volunteer to solve the nuclear disaster, the dull and frightening bureaucracy, and the chaebol who did not hesitate to risk the health of the whole people and their children and grandchildren for the sake of economic interests, all suddenly made many Chinese feel that this Japan is very strange.

This is the next generation of Japan who was praised by everyone in the author of "The Contest in Summer Camp"? This is the Japanese army that once was able to wake the Chinese from their dreams? This is the Japanese industrial system, which is known for its responsibility and efficiency?

Countless post-80s generations who have been depressed by "The Contest in the Summer Camp" have made a lot of sarcasm in the author Sun Yunxiao's blog. Perhaps it was the sudden discovery that none of the exaggeratedly resilient Japanese elementary school students had grown up to be Japanese adults with a sense of responsibility and dedication.

While Chinese soldiers are willing to parachute into the mountains with complicated air currents and are willing to fly helicopters to rescue in the turbulent currents, Japan's nuclear accident must be solved by people in their fifties and sixties. This can't help but make people sigh that the statue of this god in Japan has fallen.

It can be said that from now on, Japan may still deserve serious consideration by the Chinese in terms of industrial technology, but from the perspective of the whole country, they are no longer our opponents.

A nation that lacks a sense of responsibility, a nation that is full of bureaucracy, may not have a long lasting superiority in technology and commerce.

In the past, we called the "United States and Japan" China's all-round economic, military, and political rivals. Now only "America" remains.

And the United States is showing signs of fatigue. Of course, it's only temporary, but it really makes many people understand that it's not perfect.

Everything, just over 20 years.

Nine

My father's classmate who moved to Canada went back around '05. At the party, I noticed that he had the most gray hair among several of their classmates. Almost all of his colleagues seemed to have a better life than he did. Yes, their income is probably much lower than his, but the quality of life has improved to the point where he now occasionally preferred not to have been to Canada in the first place.

Ten

Over the past 20 years, we have gone from believing that there is only a way out through total westernization to constituting all-round competition with various developed countries and regions.

For more than 20 years, from looking up to developed countries and regions to looking up.

For more than 20 years, the military has gradually moved from passive to active.

Over the past 20 years, we have moved from political isolation to integration.

For more than 20 years, we could not have imagined that second-tier cities like Xi'an, and middle-level groups such as university professors, could have a quality of life comparable to that of some developed countries.

This process is rare in history. And we're witnessing that change.

Of course, there are still many problems in this country, especially politically and institutionally. Some people say that the country is in a state of great distress and there is no hope of returning. But I, as an optimist, still believe that there is no reason why the Chinese who can create such an economic miracle will not find a way to change China's politics for the better.

I still remember how it was said that one Japanese worker could top 200 Chinese workers, I still remember magazines saying how lazy and undisciplined the Chinese were, I still remember how Zhang Jiadun declared that China's economic collapse was imminent, and I still remember how others said that Chinese companies could not compete with foreign companies.

However, today we are here. Our workers are no worse than the Japanese, our economy is still developing, and many of our enterprises can go out and fight for technology.

On April 29, 2011, I flew from San Francisco to Shanghai. There were also many foreigners who arrived on the same plane. Many of them are visiting China for the first time. I remember a few people with British accents walking around the Pudong airport terminal exclaiming, "lookatthisanderminal." ”

In fact, the key is not their admiration, but that I think this terminal is completely unusual.

Twenty years we've created a miracle, a miracle that we think is commonplace, nothing spectacular, and we're still moving forward.

I have never believed that any party or individual can bring about a bright future. I've always believed in Chinese people. It is hundreds of millions of Chinese with different political positions who have brought about China's economic miracle. I also believe that the Chinese can solve existing political problems – even if it takes a miracle.

Eleven

When I watched the documentary on NASLO, I used to be very envious. I envy those engineers who are fortunate enough to be born in an era of rapid development, to be able to witness and participate in such a rapid development process. I imagine that the engineers would have to stay up late a lot on the bi-weekly mission of the space, but where could there be more exciting than being involved in creating a "miracle".

China is a miracle now.

I am fortunate to be able to witness the revival of such a vast country at such a distance. I was also fortunate to have the opportunity to be a part of this process.

End

When I was at a high school classmate's wedding in Suzhou, I talked to his graduate brother about his industry, the solar industry.

He said that China's solar industry has a lot of two ends -- equipment and sales locations.

I asked if it could be improved?

He said it was improving. Whether it is raw materials or equipment, some people in China have begun to make it. However, if you want people in China to be willing to use it on a large scale, I am afraid that it will have to be upgraded one or two generations later.

I asked, how competitive are Europe and the United States?

He said that the United States is okay, Europe has been abolished, and the efficiency of engineers and operators will never be the opponent of Chinese counterparts in the future.

"They still have some technology." "But they're going to lose." ”

Look, I just like this kind of Chinese mentality.

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