Ourlivesarevastlydifferentfromthoseofourpredecessors.ArealizationstruckmewhilevisitingmuseumsinXi’an,glancingatagriculturaltoolsusedforacoupleofmillennia;thetoolsthatwerewieldedbymyparentsandtheirelderstogetustothispointinourliveswerenowrelicsthatIwaslookingatinamuseum.
MyParents
Myfatherandmotherwerebothorphans.By1978,myfather,26,andmymother24,werealreadyparentstotwokids,whichwascommonbackthen.
Atthattime,weandadozenotherhouseholdswereinaproductionteam.Teensandadultsgot“workpoints”(indicatingthequalityandquantityofla-bor)throughworkinginagriculturalcollectiveunits,oraproductionteam,totradeforfood,meat,cloth,andothersupplies.
Ihavevividmemoriesoffoodshortagesbetweentwoharvestsinearlysummerwhenmomwouldonlycookricemixedwithsweetpotatoshredsforthewholefamily.Thiscontinuedtotheautumnof1978whenChinamadethebigdecisiononreformoftheeconomicsystem.Butitwasnotuntillate1981thatmyfamilybegantoreapbenefits.Thatyear,farmingfamiliesnolongerdevotedmostoftheireffortstocollectiveproduction,butinsteadsignedcontractswiththevillageortowntocultivateagivencroponaparticularpieceofland.Goodthingscameinpairs.Thatyear,weusheredinanewfamilymember:mylittlebrother,andbecameafamilyoffive.
Withourownland,thingschanged.Myfatherdidnothavetotoilfor10workpointseverydayasassignedtoworkforthecommune.Heworkedforhimselfandthuswasfullofenergy,andwentallout,goingtothefieldsbeforesunriseeverydayandtakinggoodcareofthecrops,whichbroughtustwoharvestseveryyear.Duringtheslackseason,heworkedonatreefarm,car-ryingwoodtomakeextramoney.
In1984,anewlanddistributionplanwasimplemented,mylittlebrother,whowasthreeyearsold,wasalsogivenasmallpieceofland.Morelandledtobiggerharvests.Myfathertradedexcesscropsforamotorwithwhichhemadetofutoselltoourneighbors.Thesmallbusinessbroughtsomeextraincomesothatwewerenotalwaysstrappedforcash.Myfather’singenuitygraduallyallowedhimtotalrelieffromfarmwork.Helearnedhowtobuildstovesfrommudbyhimself,grewakindofriceespeciallyusedasseeds,andpickedupaknackforgrowingandbakingtobacco.Later,ascommercialeconomygrewquicklynationwide,myfatherjoinedthegrouptogrowandbakesweetpotatoshreds,aspecialtyfrommyhometownsoldinbothChineseandglobalmarketsbackthen.
Myparentsworkedfromearlymorningtillmidnightforyears.Theirhardworkdidnotmakeuswealthy,butdidgiveusagoodlife.Theypaidourtuitionfeesontopofagriculturalexpenses,transportationcosts,andotherspending.Ontopofallthat,myparentsrebuiltourhousefromtworoomsintosixbedroomsandtwolivingrooms.
TheyworkedhardfortwodecadestoprosperagainstthebackgroundofChina’sreformandopeningup.Inthelate1990s,myeldersisterfinishedcollegeandwenttowork,andmylittlebrothermadeittocollege.Aswewereembarkingonabrandnewlife,myfatherdecidedtoretirefromheavywork.
MySiblingsandI
Inourchildhood,myeldersisterandIneversufferedfromhunger.Ourclothes,thoughnotmany,wereenoughtowear.Wemadeclaypuppiesandcars,strawsandalsandnecklacesjustlikemomdidinherchildhood.
Intheautumnof1982,whenmysisterwenttokindergarten,Iwasfiveandmybrotherunderone.Momneededtotakecareofhim,somysistertookmealong.Sometimestheteacher’shomewasourclassroom,andothertimesapublicroomoftheproductionteamwas.Laterwemovedintoadedicatedschoolbuilding.
Atthattime,compulsoryeducationwaspromotednationwide.Asweallhadbrothersorsisters,teacherswerebusyeitherpersuadingchildrenwhowerestayat-homebabysittersordidfarmworkintoeducation,orbuildingclassrooms.Whennewclassroomsinourmiddleschoolwerealmostinuse,mylittlebrotherhadalreadybeguntositinclassintheprimaryschool.
Allthreeofusweregoodatschool,thecreditofwhichwenttomyparentsastheyalwaysmanagedtopayforourtuitionfeesandlivingexpensesasscheduled,allowingoureducationtobeuninterruptedbybreaks.However,manyofourclassmatesdroppedouttomakemoneyasfarmersorworkersfortheirfamily.
In1995,mysisterwasenrolledinateachingcollegewiththetuitionwaived.IgotadmittedtoTsinghuaUniversitywithascholarship.In1997,mysistergraduatedandwentbackhometoworkasamiddleschoolteacher.In1999,mybrothergotadmittedtoauniversityinBeijing,andhistuitionwasfourtimesthatofminewhenIwenttocollege.In2002,IcompletedmygraduatestudyandfoundajobinaresearchinstituteinBeijing.
Mybrotherfinishedcollegethesameyear,buthiscareerwasnotsmooth.Hefirstworkedinaprivatecom-panyinBeijingforeightyears,andresignedashiscompanywasblightedbythe2008financialcrisis.HewenttoXiamenin2010andworkedintheITindustry,whichturnedouttobearisingstar.Hissalarydoubledinthesixyearsthatfollowed.Infact,overthepastdecade,alloursalariesatleasttripled.
Noweachofushasboughtapartmentsincitiesandhassomesavings.Ourincomes,thoughsufficientfordailyexpenses,arenotenoughforustoeatoutsidefrequently.Wetraveleveryyear.OurChildren
Mydaughterwasborninlate2004.Beforeshewasborn,weinvitedmyparentstolivewithusinBeijingandoftenwentonexcursionsontheweekends.AsIonlyhadatwo-monthmaternityleave,myparentsshoulderedtheresponsibilityoftakingcareofmybabygirllikemostChineseparentsdo.
Dayspassed.Mombecameapillararoundthehouse,butdadcouldn’tfitinhere.LaterhewentbacktoourhometownalonewhilemomstayedinBeijingwithme,helpingwithhouseholdchoresandtakingmydaughtertomusic,drawing,ordancingclasses.
Mostparentsofmygenerationhaveonlyonekidastheone-childpolicyinstructed.Soaftergettingrich,inspiteofChina’sfreecompulsoryeducation,theyspendamajorityoftheirincomeandenergyontheextracurriculareducationofthechild,whichisparticularlytrueofaveragefamiliesinbigcitieswherespendingonchildren’seducationaccountsforhalformoreoftheirexpenses.Ourfamilyisnoexception.Wespendalotonprenatal,pre-kindergarteneducation,andextracurricularclasses.
In2013,wespentonesixthofouryearlyincometosendourdaughterona10-day-longcollegetourinEurope,aroutineforlotsofchildreninbigcities.Atpresent,oneinthreechildrenofmycolleaguesgoabroadduringtheirwinterandsummervacations.
Lastyear,my13-year-olddaughtergotadmittedtoarenownedprivatemiddleschool.Priortothat,shewasonarandomcomputer-generatedwaitinglistforpublicschools.Wedidnotwanttotakeariskwithhereducation,sowesenthertothepresentoneinthehopethatshemighthaveabetterchanceofmakingittotopuniversities.Mydaughter’sEnglishliteracyisequivalenttothatofacollegestudentinmytime.Oneinfiveofherclassmatesareconsideringself-paidundergraduatestudyinWesternuniversities,whilewhenIwasastudent,mostofmyclassmateswenttograduateschoolsintheU.S.onlyonscholarships.
Myniece,whogoestoschoolinasmalltown,hasatotallydifferentexperience.Sheisfiveyearsolderthanmydaughter,andthisJunetookhercollegeentranceexamination(gaokao)butdidnotgetthegradesrequiredtogetintohighlyrankeduniversities.LasttimeIsawher,shewasconsideringwhethertotakethegaokaoagainthenextyearorgotoanordinaryuniversityandwaitforfutureopportunitiesforbetteroptions.
JIANGFUMEIisaBeijing-basedfreelancer.