Emperor Cuckoo: Human interest in China

Waiting for children to visit is their greatest source of spiritual support
等儿女看望成最大精神支撑  Děng ér-nǚ kànwàng chéng zuìdà jīngshén zhīchēng

Around the holidays, quite a few volunteer teams arrive at the old folks home to comfort the elderly; they bring fresh flowers and fruit, warmth and compassion to old people who have no one to rely on, and they are greeted by the smiles of the elderly.  But those kinds of days are rare; when there is no such "comforting," how do these old people get by?
节假日前后，会有不少单位、志愿者团队到养老机构慰问，他们带着鲜花和水果、温暖和爱心看望那些年迈无依的老人，老人们用自己的笑容迎接他们的到来。但这样的日子毕竟很少，在没有“慰问”的平常日子里，老人们是怎么生活的呢？
Jié-jiàrì qiánhòu, huì yǒu bùshǎo dānwèi, zhìyuànzhě tuánduì dào yánglǎo jīgòu wèiwèn, tāmen dàizhe xiānhuā hé shuíguǒ, wēnnuǎn huo àixīn kànwàng nàxiē niánmài wúyī de lǎrén, lǎorénmen yòng zìjǐ de xiàoróng yíngjiē tāmen de dàolái.  Dàn zhèyàng de rìzi bìjìng hěn shǎo, zài méiyǒu "wèiwèn" de píngcháng rìzi lǐ, lǎorénmen shì zěnme shēnghuó de ne? 
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[Photo:  When "Auntie" Shan is not busy, she goes on the web and watches soap operas or plays games  
单大妈没事的时候就上网看电视剧、玩游戏  Shān dàmā méishì de shíhou jiù shàngwǎng kàn diànshìjù, wán yóuxì]

On October 23, a routine day, the reporter conducted interviews at several homes for old folks in Luoyang (Henan province), to investigate the conditions for everyday life for the elderly. 
10月23日，一个寻常的日子，记者走访了洛阳几家养老机构，探访老人们的日常生活状态。
10 yuè 23 rì, yí gè xúncháng de rìzi, jìzhě zóufǎng le Luòyáng jǐ jiā yánglǎo jīgòu, tànfǎng lǎorénmen de rìcháng shēnghuó zhuàngtài. 

Elderly people sit around in small groups, wait for dinner, wait for bedtime, look forward to visits by their children.  What else can they do but wait?  Their eyes are bad, their hearing is not good, their joints are stiff, and they don't have much physical energy.  In the past they raised sons and daughters who, like them, could not eat, play or move by themselves, and these days, they cannot move about, and for various reasons have left their homes, and have come here.
老人们三三两两坐在阳光里，等待吃饭、等待睡觉、等待子女来探望。除了等待，他们还能做什么呢？眼睛花了，耳朵聋了，关节僵，连力气也没有了。他们曾经养育着同样不能自己吃、自己玩、自己动的儿女，如今，他们不能动了，却因为种种原因，离开家庭，来到这里。
Lǎorénmen sānsānliǎngliǎng zuò zài yángguāng lǐ，děngdài chīfàn, děngdài shuìjiào, děngdài zínǚ lái tànwàng.  Chúle děngdài, tāmen hái néng zuò shénme ne? Yǎnjing huāle, ěrduo lóngle, guānjié jiāngle, lián lìqi yě méiyǒu le.  Tāmen céngjīng yǎngyùzhe tóngyàng bùnéng zìjǐ chī, zìjǐ wán, zìjǐ dòng de ér-nǚ, rújīn, tāmen bùnéng dòng le, què yīnwèi zhọ̌ngzhǒng yuányīn, líkāi jiātíng, láidào zhèlǐ.

Fashionable "Auntie" Shan sings, goes on the web and has video chats with her daughter, who's gone abroad. 
时尚的单大妈  唱歌、上网，还会和国外女儿视频聊天
Shíshàng de Shàn dàmā chànggē, shàngwǎng, hái huì hé guówài nǚ'ér shìpín liáotiān 

Before retiring, eighty-year-old Shan Yeping worked at the management office of the Luhun reservoir (in Luoyang); in her youth she was the artistic backbone of the workplace; she loved to sing.  When she was older,  Auntie Shan suffered a dislocated disk and had surgery a few times, now it's difficult for her to move about, and she can't travel. Two years ago, her daughter went to the US, and she moved to these apartments for the elderly.  
80岁的单业平老人退休前是陆浑水库管理局的工作人员，年轻时是单位的艺术骨干，喜好唱歌。上了年纪后，单大妈患了腰椎间盘突出症，做过几次手术，如今行动不便，不能远行。两年前，女儿去了美国，她便住进老年公寓。
80 suì de Shàn Yèpíng lǎorén tuìxiū qián shì Lùhún shuǐkù guánlǐjú de gōngzuò rényuán, niánqīng shí shì dānwèi de yìshù gǔgàn, xǐhào chànggē. Shàngle niánjì hòu, Shàn dàmā huànle yāozhuī jiānpán tūchū zhèng, zuòguò jǐ cì shǒushù, rújīn xíngdòng búbiàn, bùnéng yuǎnxíng. Liǎng nián qián, nǚ'ér qùle měiguó, tā biàn zhùjìn lǎonián gōngyù. 

After she came to live here, Auntie Shan noticed a lot of old people were idle and had nothing to do, or were sitting around in small groups talking too much, and it was easy for someone to fly into a rage, so she decided everyone should sing, to enrich their lives and exercise their lungs.  
住进来以后，单大妈看到不少老人闲着没事，坐在一起闲话说多了还容易“闹气”，便决定带着大家唱歌，既丰富生活，又能锻炼肺活量。
Zhùjìn lái yǐhòu, Shàn dàmā kàndào bùshǎo lǎorén xiánzhe méishì, zuò zài yìqǐ xiánhuà shuōduō le hái róngyì "nào qì," biàn juédìng dàizhe dàjiā chànggē, jì fēngfù shēnghuó, yòu néng duànliàn fèihuóliàng. 

Every morning at 8 a.m., about seven or eight old people follow along with Auntie Shan in practicing singing, sometimes between ten and twenty people join, and they all sing for half an hour.  Auntie Shan is very attentive, she arranges the lyrics for the songs, prints them out, puts a copy in everyone's hands.  Some of the elderly are illiterate, but they do their best by squinting to identify words, and in this way they learn to sing and learn to read.  
每天上午8点，七八位老人跟着单大妈练歌，人多时有十几个，每次唱半个小时。单大妈很细心，把老歌歌词整理好，打印出来，人手一份。有些老人不识字，但还是眯着眼，努力地辨识着，边学唱歌边识字。
Měitiān shàngwǔ 8 diǎn, qī-bá wèi lǎorén gēnzhe Shàn dàmā liàn gē, rén duō shí yǒushí jǐ gè, měicì chàng bàn gè xiǎoshí. Shàn dàmā hěn xìxīn, bǎ lǎo gē gēcí zhénglǐ hǎo, dǎyìn chūlái, rén shǒu yí fèn. Yǒuxiē lǎorén bù shí zì, dàn háishì mīzhe yǎn, nǔlìdì biànshízhe, biān xué chànggē biān shízì. 

A few of the old people have lost all their teeth, so they can't sing the words clearly; some songs sound like spoken parts in opera, and there's a mix of northern and southern accents, there are all kinds of sounds. "Anything goes, this isn't a singing contest," says Auntie Shan,  "Getting together is a way of passing time for these old folks." 
在这些老人中间，有牙齿掉光的，唱歌“跑风”；有唱歌就像念白，南腔北调，啥声音都有。“这有啥，又不是歌咏比赛。”单大妈说，“老人们聚在一起，就图个消磨时间。”
Zài zhèxiē lǎorén zhōngjiān, yǒu yáchǐ diào guāng de, chànggē "pǎo fēng" yǒu chànggē jiù xiàng niànbái, nánqiāngběidiào, shá shēngyīn dōuyǒu. "Zhè yǒu shá, yòu búshì gē yǒng bǐsài." Shàn dàmā shuō, "Lǎorénmen jù zài yìqǐ, jiù tú gè xiāomó shíjiān." 

The old people who are healthy are able to sing; the others act as the audience; they are unable to sing along, but they sit in their wheelchairs and listen attentively, sometimes they hum along with the melodies, or use their frail hands to tap out a beat.
能唱歌的老人是属于“健康”的，还有些老人是专职听众，他们无法跟着歌唱，但他们坐在轮椅上，依然听得认真，跟着曲调哼着，用颤巍巍的手打着节拍。
Néng chànggē de lǎorén shì shǔyú "jiàn kāng" de, hái yǒuxiē lǎorén shì zhuānzhí tīngzhòng, tāmen wúfǎ gēnzhe gēchàng, dàn tāmen zuò zài lúnyǐ shàng, yīrán tīng dé rènzhēn, gēnzhe qǔdiào hēngzhe, yòng chànwēiwēi de shǒu dǎzháo jiépāi. 
    
Shan Yeping has a cell phone, she keeps it very clean and hangs it on a chain of woven red silk with jade, "These days few people call, but it serves very well as an alarm clock," Auntie Shan says. 
单业平有个手机，打理得干干净净，挂着红色丝线和玉石编织的手机链，“现在也没啥人给我打电话，拿着当个闹钟也不错。”单大妈说。
Shàn Yèpíng yǒu gè shǒujī, dǎlǐ dé gāngānjìng jìng, guàzhe hóngsè sīxiàn hé yùshí biānzhī de shǒujī liàn, "Xiànzài yě méi shá rén gěi wǒ dǎdiànhuà, názhe dāng gè nàozhōng yě búcuò." Shàn dàmā shuō. 

Recently, Auntie Shan relied on her daughter's friend to buy her a laptop computer, and the staff at the apartments helped her get onto the Internet.  So Auntie Shan's life has been enriched, and when there is nothing to do, she can go on the web and watch films, or play cards, and on weekends she is able to talk to her daughter.
前不久，单大妈托女儿的朋友买了一台笔记本电脑，公寓管理员帮她扯了网线。单大妈的生活更加丰富了，没事上网看电影，玩纸牌游戏，周末还能和女儿视频聊天。
Qiánbùjiǔ, Shàn dàmā tuō nǚ'ér de péngyou mǎile yì tái bǐjìběn diànnǎo, gōngyù guánlǐyuán bāng tā chěle wǎngxiàn. Shàn dàmā de shēnghuó gèngjiā fēngfù le, méishì shàngwǎng kàn diànyǐng, wán zhǐpái yóuxì, zhōumò hái néng hé nǚ'ér shìpín liáotiān. 

"The other old people must envy you, right?"
“其他老人都很羡慕您吧？” "Qítā lǎorén dōu hěn xiànmù nín ba?"

"How could they not?  They all say, this 80-year-old is still going at it,"  says Auntie Shan, laughing. "Going on the computer stimulates my interest in life; otherwise, I'd be bored to death."
“可不是？都说80岁的人了，还鼓捣这个。”单大妈笑着说，“弄个电脑，增加点生活情趣，要不然可没意思。”        "Kě bú shì？Dōu shuō 80 suì de rén le, hái gǔdǎo zhè ge." Shàn dàmā xiàozhe shuō, "Nòng gè diànnǎo, zēngjiā diǎn shēnghuó qíngqù, yàobùrán kě méi yìsi." 

"Why didn't you go to America with your daughter?"
“为啥不跟着女儿到美国去？” "Wèishá bù gēnzhe nǚ'ér dào Měiguó qù?"

"I don't want to rely on my daughter, or cause her trouble."  Auntie Shan seemed dignified as she said that all of her activities and friends are in Luoyang, if she were to go to America, she wouldn't be able to speak the language, no one would know her, it would be very boring.  Her daughter has to work, she has her own daughter to look after, going there would only make her daughter's life harder.  "Here, my monthly pension is more than I can spend, in America, I wouldn't have enough money to spend!"
“我不想依赖女儿，给她添麻烦。”说到这里，单大妈的表情显出几分凝重，她说，自己的单位和朋友都在洛阳，如果去了美国，语言不通，谁也不认识，肯定很无聊。女儿要上班，还要照顾孩子，去了只会添麻烦。“在这里，我每月的退休金花不完，到了美国，那点钱就不够花喽！”
"Wǒ bù xiǎng yīlài nǚ'ér, gěi tā tiān máfan ." Shuō dào zhèlǐ, Shàn dàmā de biǎoqíng xiǎnchū jǐfēn níngzhòng, tā shuō, zìjǐ de dānwèi hé péngyou dōu zài Luòyáng, rú guǒ qùle Měiguó, yǔyán bùtōng, shuí yě bú rènshí, kěndìng hěn wúliáo, nǚ'ér yào shàngbān, hái yào zhàogù háizi, qùle zhǐ huì tiānmáfan... Zài zhèlǐ, wǒ měi yuè de tuìxiūjīn huā bùwán, dàole Měiguó, nà diǎn qián jiù búgòu huā lou!" 

Apart from not wanting to rely on her daughter, 80-year-old Auntie Shan doesn't want to have to depend on anyone.  Doing her own laundry and washing her own hair are part of her everyday life, she does her best not to have anyone help her. When the weather is nice, she pushes her wheelchair and goes shopping at the local market.
除了不想依赖女儿，80岁的单大妈也不想依赖任何人。目前，洗衣服、洗头发等日常生活单大妈都自己做，尽量不要别人帮忙。天气好的时候，她还推着轮椅，到附近的超市购物。
Chúle bù xiǎng yīlài nǚ'ér, 80 suì de Shàn dàmā yě bù xiǎng yīlài rènhé rén. Mùqián, xǐ yīfu, xǐ tóufa děng rì háng shēnghuó Shàn dàmā dōu zìjǐ zuò, jǐnliàng búyào biérén bāngmáng. Tiānqì hǎo de shíhou, tā hái tuīzhe lúnyǐ, dào fùjìn de chāoshì gòuwù.

Source: 《新华网》2011-10/25 "养老院老人吃喝不愁 等儿女看望成最大精神支撑" online

Students warm themselves by running around
学生要靠跑步取暖  Xuésheng yào kào pǎobù qụ̌nuǎn

Yesterday, the weather reports indicated that the temperature in Xi'an was between 35 and 40 degrees farenheit.  Mingxin Elementary School has units to heat the rooms, and although the rule is that when the temperatures are below 40 degrees the heating can be turned on, in many of the classrooms it hasn't been turned on.  The children are treated differently, though, because in many of the offices for the teachers, the heating is up and working. 
昨日，天气预报显示，西安气温为2℃至5℃。在靠空调取暖的明欣小学里，虽然学校有规定，气温低于5℃就能开空调，但大多数教室的空调并没有打开。与学生们待遇不同的是，多间教师办公室的空调都在运转。
Zuórì, tiānqì yùbào xiǎnshì, Xī'ān qìwēn wèi 2℃ zhì 5℃. Zài kào kōngtiáo qụ̌nuǎn de Míng Xīn xiǎoxué lǐ, suīrán xuéxiào yǒu guīdìng, qìwēn dīyú 5℃ jiù néng kāi kōngtiáo, dàn dàduōshù jiàoshì de kōngtiáo bìng méiyǒu dǎkāi. Yǔ xuéshengmen dàiyù bùtóng de shì, duō jiān jiàoshī bàngōngshì de kōngtiáo dōu zài yùnzhuǎn.

[Cartoon: Classroom freezing, teacher's office nice and toasty]

Recently, a citizen named Wang informed our newspaper that his child is attending school at Mingxin Elementary, in the Xizhakou neighborhood, and because the school has no central heating, the students have to rely on the heating units.  But each year, the heating units can be turned on only after December 10th, so the beginning of winter is when the children suffer the most.  
近来，市民王先生向本报反映，自己的孩子在西闸口附近的明欣小学上学，由于学校没有集中供暖，学生冬季取暖只能靠空调。但是空调只是在每年12月中旬才会开启，所以每年入冬时，是孩子最遭罪的时候。
Jìnlái, shìmín Wáng xiānsheng xiàng běnbào fǎnyìng, zìjǐ de háizi zài Xīzhákǒu fùjìn de Míng Xīn xiǎoxué shàngxué, yóuyú xuéxiào méiyǒu jízhōng gōngnuǎn, xuésheng dōngjì qụ̌nuǎn zhǐnéng kào kōngtiáo. Dànshì kōngtiáo zhǐshì zài měi nián 12 yuè zhōngxún cái huì kāiqǐ, suọ̌yǐ měi nián rùdōng shí, shì háizi zuì zāozuì de shíhou.

Yesterday morning at 7:40, the reporter arrived at Mingxin Elementary, and at the entrance to the school, the reporter watched many parents leaving their children at school, and then interviewed a few of the children.  "How are your classrooms heated in winter?" "There is a heating unit, but it hasn't been turned on.  A few days ago, after class we went outside and ran around a little and then didn't feel cold, but in the past few days, the classroom has been really cold, running around hasn't helped," several students told the reporter. 
昨日上午7时40分，记者来到明欣小学，在校门口记者看到，此时不少家长正陆续送孩子到校，记者随即采访了几名学生。“你们教室冬天用什么取暖？”“有空调，但是没开。前几天我们下课出去跑几圈就不冷了，不过这几天教室里特别冷，跑步都没用。”几名小学生告诉记者。
Zuórì shàngwǔ 7 shí 40 fēn, jìzhě láidào Míng Xīn xiǎoxué, zàixiào ménkǒu jìzhě kàndào, cǐshí bùshǎo jiāzhǎng zhèng lùxù sòng háizi dào xiào, jìzhě suíjí cạ̌ifǎngle jǐ míng xuésheng. "Nǐmen jiàoshì dōngtiān yòng shénme qụ̌nuǎn?" "Yǒu kòngtiáo, dànshì méi kāi. Qiánjǐtiān wǒmen xiàkè chūqu pǎo jǐ quān jiù bù lěng le, buguò zhè jǐ tiān jiàoshì lǐ tèbié lěng, pǎobù dōu méiyòng," jǐ míng xiǎoxuéshēng gàosu jìzhě.

At 8 a.m., as the reporter entered the school grounds, a guard at the gate told the reporter that the school relies on heating units for heating, and all the units now were turned on.  Outside the building, the reporter saw that the doors to many of the classrooms were wide open and students were coming and going.  Behind the school building, on the outside walls, for each classroom there were two heating units, but none was operating. 
上午8时许，记者进入学校，门卫告诉记者，学校是靠空调取暖，现在空调都已经打开。记者在教学楼下看到，大部分教室大门敞着，一些学生进进出出。在教学楼楼背面，每个教室外墙上都悬挂了2台空调主机，而这些空调主机大都没有运转。
Shàngwǔ 8 shí xǔ, jìzhě jìnrù xuéxiào, ménwèi gàosu jìzhě, xuéxiào shì kào kōngtiáo qụ̌nuǎn, xiànzài kōngtiáo dōu yǐjing dǎkāi. Jìzhě zài jiàoxué lóuxià kàndào, dàbùfen jiàoshì dàmén chǎngzhe, yī̠xiē xuésheng jìnjìnchūchū. Zài jiàoxué lóu lóu bèimiàn, měi ge jiàoshì wài qiáng shàng dōu xuánguà le 2 tái kōngtiáo zhǔjī, ér zhèxiē kōngtiáo zhǔjī dàdōu méiyǒu yùnzhuǎn.

Going up to the building's second floor, where there are six classrooms in total, the reporter went around to each one, and found that only two of them had the heating turned on.  In one of the classrooms where there was no heating, the reporter saw several students in the room wearing gloves and playing around.  But, in several of the offices for teachers, the reporter discovered that the LED screen on the heating unit indicated that the room temperature was 85 degrees.
走上教学楼二层，这里一共有6间教室，记者绕着教室走了一圈，发现只有两间教室空调是打开的。在一间没有开空调的教室内记者看到，一些学生带着手套在室内玩耍。然而，在几间老师办公室内，记者却发现，空调上的液晶屏显示温度是30℃。
Zǒushàng jiàoxué lóu èr céng, zhèlǐ yị̄gòng yǒu 6 jiān jiàoshì, jìzhě ràozhe jiàoshì zǒule yī quān, fāxiàn zhị̌yǒu liǎng jiān jiàoshì kōngtiáo shì dǎkāi de. Zài yī jiān méiyǒu kāi kōngtiáo de jiàoshì nèi jìzhě kàndào, yī̠xiē xuésheng dàizhe shǒutào zài shìnèi wánshuǎ. Rán'ér, zài jǐ jiān lǎoshī bàngōngshì nèi, jìzhě què fāxiàn, kōngtiáo shàng de yèjīng píng xiǎnshì wēndù shì 30℃.

School authorities say that if the students feel cold, they can turn on the heat.
校方称学生感觉冷就可开空调  Xiàofāng chēng xuésheng gǎnjué lěng jiù kě kāi kōngtiáo

When the weather is this cold, why are most of the heating units in the classrooms only there for decoration?  The school's principal, Sun Airong, said that there are two reasons why the heating has not been turned on: One is that the rule is, when the temperature is below 35 degrees, the heat can be turned on, and since the arrival of winter, temperatures consistently have been above that level.  The other reason is that, although it seems today's temperatures would allow the heating to be turned on, some of the students don't want it on.   The reason is that the ventilation system isn't good, and it's easy to be infected and fall ill.
这么冷的天气，为什么大多班级空调成了摆设？明欣小学校长孙爱荣说，教室不开空调有两个原因：一是学校规定只有教室温度低于5℃，各班级才能把空调打开。入冬以来，气温一直高于这个值，所以就一直没开。另一个原因是，像今天的温度虽然可以开空调，但一些学生还是不愿意开空调。因为空调通风不好，容易传染疾病。
Zhème lěng de tiānqì, wèishénme dàduō bānjí kōngtiáo chéngle bǎishe? Míng Xīn xiǎoxué xiàozhǎng Sūn Àiróng shuō, jiàoshì bù kāi kōngtiáo yǒu liǎng gè yuányīn: yī shì xuéxiào guīdìng zhị̌yǒu jiàoshì wēndù dīyú 5℃, gè bānjí cáinéng bǎ kōngtiáo dǎkāi. Rùdōng yǐlái, qìwēn yī̠zhí gāoyú zhège zhí, suọ̌yǐ jiù yī̠zhí méi kāi. Lìngyī ge yuányīn shì, xiàng jīntiān de wēndù suīrán kẹ̌yǐ kāi kōngtiáo, dàn yī̠xiē xuésheng háishi bù yuàn yì kāi kōngtiáo. Yīnwèi kōngtiáo tōngfēng bù hǎo, róngyì chuánrǎn jíbìng.

About whether there are rules for heating the offices for the teachers, Sun Airon replied that, taking into consideration the need for teachers to do their jobs, their rooms don't fall under this rule. 
至于老师办公室开空调是否也有这样的规定，孙爱荣回答说，因为考虑到老师办公需要，所以办公室空调开关时间不在这个规定范围内。
Zhìyú lǎoshī bàngōngshì kāi kōngtiáo shì-fǒu yẹ̌yǒu zhèyàng de guīdìng, Sūn Àiróng huídá shuō, yīnwèi kǎolǜ dào lǎoshī bàngōng xūyào, suọ̌yǐ bàngōngshì kōngtiáo kāiguān shíjiān bụ̀zài zhège guīdìng fànwéi nèi.

Three hours after the reporter finished the interview and left the school, Sun Airong called to tell the reporter that from November 15, when public heating was turned on in the city, the school had already arranged for someone to come and check the heating units.  Now all the units freely can be turned on or off, the teachers can turn them on, or designated students can turn them on.  "As of now, all the units are working normally, even if the teacher isn't there, if the students feel cold, they can turn it on," said Sun Airon.
记者采访离开学校过了3个小时后，孙爱荣校长打来电话告诉记者，从11月15日市集中供暖开始，学校就已经派人检查过空调。如今班级空调开关自由，既可以由上课老师打开，也可以由指定的学生打开。“现在每个班级的空调都能正常运行，即使老师不在，只要学生感觉到冷都可以打开。”孙校长说。
Jìzhě cạ̌ifǎng líkāi xuéxiàoguo le 3 ge xiǎoshí hòu, Sūn Àiróng xiàozhǎng dǎ lái diànhuà gàosu jìzhě, cóng 11 yuè 15 rì shì jízhōng gōngnuǎn kāishǐ, xuéxiào jiù yǐjing pài rén jiǎncháguo kōngtiáo. Rújīn bānjí kōngtiáo kāiguān zìyóu, jì kẹ̌yǐ yóu shàngkè lǎoshī dǎkāi, yě kěyǐ yóu zhǐdìng de xuésheng dǎkāi. "Xiànzài měi ge bānjí de kōngtiáo dōu néng zhèngcháng yùnxíng, jíshǐ lǎoshī bụ̀zài, zhǐyào xuésheng gǎnjué dào lěng dōu kẹ̌yǐ dǎkāi," Sūn xiàozhǎng shuō.

Source: 《西安晚报》  2011-12-08: "西安一所小学学生要靠跑步取暖 老师办公室30℃"  online

A veteran recounts how he and his war buddies took a pledge by tattooing their names on their arms ... 

[0:00-0:20]  Reporter:  A veteran, now more than 80 years old, began searching more than half a century ago for the remains of his fallen war buddies, and has spent thirty years erecting a memorial for them ... He built a shack for himself next to it, and has never left ... And this is because, 70 years ago, nine young men took a pledge by tattooing their arms ... 

[0:20-0:57]   Veteran: You see, on my arm, my name is Ou Xingtian ... Reporter: But that was so many years ago, how did you pierce your arm? ...  Veteran: At the time, we used an ink brush, and we used black ink to write with, and after we wrote, we used a needle to pierce again and again, once you began piercing, the blood would flow, the ink would pour in and couldn't come out, it was in there ... Reporter:  You pricked yourself?  Veteran: Yes, I did it myself ... Reporter:  How could you stab your flesh like that? ... Veteran:  But I don't remember any pain ... Reporter: You didn't have any impression of pain? ... Veteran: At that time, no, no impression of pain at all ... 

[0:57-end]  Reporter:  His name is Ou Xingtian, on his arm he carved his own name, he was 14 years old, and this was a pledge he took with eight of his classmates ...  

Source: CCTV-1 《看见》 2011-12/11: "一个为战友守陵的老兵" [online at YouTube]

Loyalty's Doorway
忠义之门   Zhōngyì zhī mén  

In Changchun, there's a small restaurant that has banners decorating the doorway with couplets that read, "If you are not patriotic, you can't come in" and "If you don't respect your parents, you can't come in," and these have become a hot topic among citizens.  
在长春一家小吃店门口出了一幅对联，写着“不爱国”“不孝父母”者禁入，引起市民热议。
Zài Chángchūn yījiā xiǎochīdiàn ménkǒu chūle yī fú duìlián, xiězhe “bù àiguó” “bụ̀xiào fùmǔ” zhě jìn rù, yị̌nqǐ shìmín rè yì.

[Photo: A citizen entering the small restaurant 
市民进入小吃店 Shìmín jìnrù xiǎochīdiàn] 

This restaurant is in the neighborhood of Changchun's Pingyang Street, and if it weren't for the couplets reading "If you are not patriotic, you can't come in" and "If you don't respect your parents, you can't come in," there would not be much difference between this small restaurant and many others. The couplets are made of stainless steel, and in the sunlight are slightly dazzling.
这家小吃店位于长春市平阳街附近，如果不是有这副“不爱祖国者禁入”、“不孝父母者禁入”的对联，它和别的小吃店并没有什么两样。这副对联使用不锈钢制成的，在阳光的照耀下，微微晃光。
Zhè jiā xiǎochīdiàn wèiyú Chángchūn shì Píngyáng jiē fùjìn, rúguǒ bụ̀ shì yǒu zhè fù “bù ài zǔguó zhě jìn rù”, “bụ̀xiào fùmǔ zhě jìn rù” de duìlián, tā hé bié de xiǎochīdiàn bìng méiyǒu shénme liǎngyàng. Zhè fù duìlián shǐyòng bụ̀xiùgāng zhìchéng de, zài yángguāng de zhàoyào xià, wēiwēi huàng guāng.

The restaurant owner's name is Zhao Zilong; he calls his place "Loyalty's Doorway".  He says his goal in hanging these banners is constantly to encourage himself to be patriotic and to respect his parents.  "These are the foundations for how to conduct oneself, if you don't respect your parents, nothing else matters," Zhao Zilong says.  He put the couplets up about five years ago; at first they were self-adhesive, now they are made of stainless steel. 
小吃店的老板名叫赵子龙，他称自己的店门叫“忠义之门”。他说，挂上这幅对联的目的是为了时刻鞭策自己要热爱祖国，孝敬父母。 “这是做人的基础，如果连自己的父母都不能好好孝敬，做其他事情都是没有意义的。”赵子龙说。他在五年前挂起了这副对联，原来是用不干胶做的，后来老化了，现在改用不锈钢了。
Xiǎochīdiàn de lạ̌obǎn míngjiào Zhào Zǐlóng, tā chēng zìjǐ de diàn mén jiào “Zhōngyì zhī mén”. Tā shuō, guàshang zhè fú duìlián de mùdì shì wèile shíkè biāncè zìjǐ yào rè'ài zǔguó, xiàojìng fùmǔ. “Zhè shì zuòrén de jīchǔ, rúguǒ lián zìjǐ de fùmǔ dōu bùnéng hǎohāo xiàojìng, zuò qítā shìqing dōu shì méiyǒu yìyì de.” Zhào zǐ lóng shuō. Tā zài wǔ niánqián guàqǐle zhè fù duìlián, yuánlái shì yòng bù gàn jiāozuò de, hòulái lǎohuà le, xiànzài gǎiyòng bụ̀xiùgāng le.

At lunchtime, the little restaurant is very busy, and many of the customers know the owner.  They say Zhao Zilong is a very warm person and often after people eat there, they make friends with him.
午饭时分，小店的生意非常红火，来的客人大多和老板熟悉。他们说，赵子龙人很热情，经常来吃饭，就和他交上了朋友。
Wǔfàn shífèn, xiǎodiàn de shēngyi fēicháng hónghuo, lái de kèren dàduō hé lạ̌obǎn shúxī. Tāmen shuō, Zhào Zǐlóng rén hěn rèqíng, jīngcháng lái chīfàn, jiù he tā jiāoshàngle péngyou.

But there also are a few customers who think these couplets make it hard to avoid suspicions of marketing hype.
不过也有顾客表示，挂起这副对联，难免有炒作之嫌。
Buguò yẹ̌ yǒu gùkè biǎoshì, guàqǐ zhè fù duìlián, nánmiǎn yǒu chǎozuò zhī xián.

Source: 《京华网》2011-12-10: "小吃店挂对联'不爱国不孝父母'者禁入" online

Where's the compensation? 
赔偿在哪里?  Péicháng zài nạ̌li?

In Jiangxi's Dexing city, Jiangxi Copper Mining Group and subsidiary companies for many years have been discharging pollution into the Le'an River, endangering the lives of one hundred thousand people who live downstream.  Facing questions from the people, the companies that are polluting rely on a 20-year-old ruling that set the standard amount for compensation which, if distributed across all the people who have been harmed, wouldn't amount to even one yuan [about 15 cents].
在江西德兴市，江西铜业集团下属的多家矿山企业，多年将工业废水排入乐安河，祸及下游数十万群众。面对群众质疑，排污企业仍依据20年前一次调查结论的标准赔偿，摊到受害群众手上，人均不足一元。
Zài Jiāngxī Déxìng shì, Jiāngxī Tóngyè Jítuán xiàshǔ de duō jiā kuàngshān qǐyè, duō nián jiāng gōngyè fèishuǐ pái rù Lè'ān Hé, huòjí xiàyóu shù shíwàn qúnzhòng. Miànduì qúnzhòng zhìyí, páiwū qǐyè réng yījù 20 niánqián yị̄cì diàochá jiélùn de biāozhǔn péicháng, tān dào shòuhài qúnzhòng shǒushang, rénjūn bùzú yīyuán.

[Photo: Deng Guilian, who lives in Leping city, Mingkou town, Dai village, bitterly tells the medical history of her 11-year-old son, who suffers from blood in the urine, which he got from drinking polluted river water  
乐平市名口镇戴村村民邓桂莲拿出病历痛诉11岁的儿子因喝了受污染的水患“肾小球性血尿”的情况 Lèpíng shì Míngkǒuzhèn Dàicūn cūnmín Dèng Guìlián náchū bìnglì tòngsù 11 suì de érzi yīn hēle shòu wūrǎn de shuǐ huàn “shènxiǎoqiú xìng xiěniào” de qíngkuàng]

A hundred thousand people have suffered because of the polluted Le'an River, but the companies that are polluting and the environmental protection bureau all say the same thing, the most serious pollution has to be blamed on "history."  The reason is, as early as the Tang and Song dynasties (600 - 1100), Dexing city had a history of mining copper, so the main pollution is from the historical waste produced in the mining areas, and modern businesses should not be held responsible for the past. 
数十万群众深受乐安河污染之苦，但当地矿山企业和环保部门却异口同声，将主要责任推到“历史”头上。理由是：德兴早在唐宋年间就有采铜历史，污染主要是由于历代废弃的采矿区产生的，现代企业不应代历史受过。
Shù shíwàn qúnzhòng shēnshòu Lè'ān Hé wūrǎn zhī kǔ, dàn dāngdì kuàngshān qǐyè hé huán-bǎo bùmén què yìkǒutóngshēng, jiāng zhǔyào zérèn tuī dào “lìshǐ” tóushàng. Lǐyóu shì: dé xìng zǎo zài Táng Sòng niánjiān jiù yǒu cǎi tóng lìshǐ, wūrǎn zhǔyào shì yóuyú lìdài fèiqì de cǎi kuàngqū chǎnshēng de, xiàndài qǐyè bùyīng dài lìshǐ shòuguò.

As the mining companies have continued to expand, the harm from pollution in Leping city downstream affects 9 city-townships and about 420,000 people. In Leping city, Mingkou town, Dai village, a resident told the reporter, because the upstream pollution has been very heavy, Dai village is called "Oil City," and there are more than 450 acres of land that cannot be farmed.  In the past twenty years, not a single person has passed the physical exam for entrance into the military, and more than 70 people suffer from cancer.
随着上市公司江西铜业下属的德兴铜矿等矿山企业不断扩张，下游的乐平市深受污染之害，涉及9个乡镇约42万人。在乐平市名口镇戴村，村民告诉记者，由于乐安河上游多年来污染严重，素有“油料村”之称的戴村已有2800多亩地无法耕种，近20年来全村没有一人通过征兵体检，仅癌症患者就有70多名。
Suízhe shàngshì gōngsī Jiāngxī Tóngyè xiàshǔ de dé xìng tóngkuàng děng kuàngshān qǐyè bụ̀duàn kuòzhāng, xiàyóu de Lèpíng shì shēnshòu wūrǎn zhī hài, shèjí 9 ge xiāng-zhèn yuē 42 wàn rén. Zài Lèpíng shì míng kǒu zhèn dài cūn, cūnmín gàosu jìzhě, yóuyú Lè'ān Hé shàngyóu duō nián lái wūrǎn yánzhòng, sùyǒu “yóuliào cūn” zhī chēng de Dàicūn yǐ yǒu 2800 duō mǔ de wúfǎ gēngzhòng, jìn 20 niánlái quáncūn méiyǒu yī rén tōngguò zhēngbīng tị̌jiǎn, jǐn áizhèng huànzhě jiù yǒu 70 duōmíng.

This past April, Dexing city, Xiangtun town, Wuxing village found there were ten children with lead in their blood that exceeded standard levels.  The people from that village believe that the copper and lead mining companies that have been built right next to the village have brought about this disaster. Zhou Huaxiu, a villager, said the factories discharge smoke and dust that contain lead, and when it rains, the land is stained yellow.  The mining company in the village neighboring Dexing city, Sizhou town, discharges polluted waste water.  Zhang Chunying, a resident, said: "Because of the pollution, when people hear that vegetables have been grown in that area, no one in the market will buy them."
今年4月，德兴市香屯镇五星村查出数十名儿童血铅超标。当地村民认为，都是临村而建的江西铜业集团下属企业金德铅业公司“惹的祸”。村民周花秀说，厂里排出的烟尘里有铅，碰到下雨天，染得地面都是黄的。德兴市泗洲镇下家畈村紧邻德兴铜矿流出的水渠。村民张春英说：“因为污染，一听说是下家畔村种的菜，市场上没人敢要。” 
Jīnnián 4 yuè, Déxìng shì Xiāngtúnzhèn Wǔxīngcūn cháchū shù shí míng értóng xuè qiān chāobiāo. Dāngdì cūnmín rènwéi, dōu shì lín cūn ér jiàn de Jiāngxī Tóngyè Jítuán xiàshǔ qǐyè jīn dé qiān yè gōngsī “rě de huò”. Cūnmín Zhōu Huāxiù shuō, chǎng lǐ páichū de yānchén lǐ yǒu qiān, pèngdào xiàyǔtiān, rǎn de dìmiàn dōu shì huáng de. Déxìng shì Sìzhōuzhèn xiàjiā fàn cūn jǐnlín dé xìng tóngkuàng liúchū de shuǐqú. Cūnmín Zhāng Chūnyīng shuō: “Yīnwèi wūrǎn, yī tīngshuō shì xiàjiā pàn cūn zhǒng de cài, shìchǎng shàng méi rén gǎn yào.”

Even so, given the huge amount of damage the pollution has caused, the companies that are polluting are offering compensation of a trifling 180,000 yuan [$30,000.00] based on the results of an investigation done 20 years ago.  Because the compensation is so low, some of the citizens are extremely angry, and have said they "don't understand."   And even if there were compensation, those who have been harmed "would never take it."  Cai Qingfu, the assistant director of the environmental protection bureau, explained: "With regard to Leping city, the pollution has affected more than 400,000 people, so if the 180,000 yuan were paid, each person on average would receive less than one yuan."
然而，与污染造成的巨大损失相比，排污企业仅有的赔偿，依据的竟是20年前的一次调查结果，只有区区18万余元。由于赔偿非常低，一些群众怨气较大，表示“很不理解”。即便这点赔偿金，受害群众大都反映“从未领到”。对此，乐平市环保局副局长蔡庆福解释说：“对于乐平市受污染影响的40多万人来说，18万元赔偿款如果发下去，人均还不到1块钱。”
Rán'ér, yǔ wūrǎn zàochéng de jùdà sǔnshī xiāngbǐ, páiwū qǐyè jị̌nyǒu de péicháng, yījù de jìngshì 20 niánqián de yị̄cì diàochá jiéguǒ, zhị̌yǒu qūqū 18 wàn yú yuán. Yóuyú péicháng fēicháng dī, yī̠xiē qúnzhòng yuànqì jiàodà, biǎoshì “hěn bù lị̌jiě”. Jíbiàn zhè diǎn péichángjīn, shòuhài qúnzhòng dàdōu fǎnyìng “cóngwèi lǐngdào”. Duì cǐ, Lèpíng shì huánbǎojú fù júzhǎng Cài Qìngfú jiěshì shuō: “Duìyú Lèpíng shì shòu wūrǎn yị̌ngxiǎng de 40 duō wàn rén lái shuō, 18 wàn yuán péicháng kuǎn rúguǒ fā xiàqu, rénjūn hái bụ̀dào 1 kuài qián.” 

But, what the local environmental protection bureau and those responsible at the mining companies say are not the same thing.  The director of Dexing city's environmental protection bureau, Pan Bing, said: "The most important reason for the pollution is the 'original souce of waste water' in ancient and abandoned mining canals." 
然而，当地环保部门和矿企有关负责人却又说法不一。德兴铜矿环保部主任潘兵说，“造成污染的原因主要是古代遗弃的采矿通道形成的‘老龙废水’。"
Rán'ér, dāngdì huán-bǎo bùmén hé kuàng qǐ yǒuguān fùzérén quèyòu shuōfa bùyī. Déxìng tóngkuàng huán-bǎo bù zhǔrèn Pān Bīng shuō, “Zàochéng wūrǎn de yuányīn zhǔyào shì gǔdài yíqì de cǎikuàng tōngdào xíngchéng de ‘lǎo lóng fèishuǐ’."

In recent years, Dexing copper mining investment in environmental protection has exceeded 200 million yuan, and now completely handles the discharge of waste waters, and there is no possibility of pollution in the area, and the quality of the middle and lower reaches of the Le'an River water already has undergone tremendous improvement.  About this, Leping city's environmental protection bureau's chief, Huang Lin, affirmed that the surface water tests normal.
”近几年德兴铜矿的环保投入已超过2亿元，完全实现了污水处理达标排放，不可能出现污水外排现象，乐安河中下游的水质已经得到很大改善。对于这一说法，乐平市环保局长黄林给予肯定，理由是目前地表水监测正常。
"Jìn jǐ nián Déxìng tóngkuàng de huán-bǎo tóurù yǐ chāoguò 2 yì yuán, wánquán shíxiànle wūshuǐ chǔlǐ dábiāo páifàng, bù kěnéng chūxiàn wūshuǐ wài pái xiànxiàng, Lè'ān Hé zhōng-xiàyóu de shuǐzhì yǐjing dédào hěn dà gǎishàn. Duìyú zhè yī shuōfa, Lèpíng shì huán-bǎo júzhǎng huáng lín jị̌yǔ kěndìng, lǐyóu shì mùqián dìbiǎoshuǐ jiāncè zhèngcháng.

But when the reporter challenged this assertion, the head of Leping city environmental monitoring station, Tang Jianjun, said that frankly the worst pollution is from heavy metals in the soil, and due to a lack of equipment, Leping city's environmental bureau has never tested this.  He believes that if the quality of the water surface alone is tested, there's no way to measure whether the heavy metals exceed standards.
但面对记者质疑，乐平市环境监测站站长唐建军坦言，重金属污染危害最大的是土壤，由于缺乏设备，乐平市环保部门从未做过这一检测。他承认，仅靠地表水监测，根本没法测出重金属是否超标。
Dàn miànduì jìzhě zhìyí, Lèpíng shì huánjìng jiāncè zhàn zhànzhǎng Táng Jiànjūn tǎnyán, zhòngjīnshǔ wūrǎn wēihài zuìdà de shì tụ̌rǎng, yóuyú quēfá shèbèi, Lèpíng shì huán-bǎo bùmén cóngwèi zuòguo zhè yī jiǎncè. Tā chéngrèn, jǐn kào dìbiǎoshuǐ jiāncè, gēnběn méifǎ cèchū zhòngjīnshǔ shì-fǒu chāobiāo.

Source: 《每经网综合报道》 "江铜被曝污染数十万人 环保局称责任在唐朝"  online

Blind Chinese Folk Singer Zhou Yunpeng interviewed; performs Hai Zi's "September"

First clip is part of a recent interview with CCTV1; the second clip is the opening few minutes of Zhou Yunpeng's performance of Hai Zi's poem): 

[0:00 - 0:15]  Reporter: You are unable to see, how is it that you are on trains traveling from place to place?  Zhou Yunpeng:  After I went blind, I had an even greater thirst for travel, this gives my body endless exercise, and I get a little news from the outside world, experience new things ...

[0:15 - 0:48]  Reporter:  People who don't get it might say: When you arrive in a city, what new things you experience are you able to talk about, for example, you don't have any visual stimulus ...  Zhou Yunpeng:  But there are ... at the very least I'm on a new road, when I come to a new city, the name of the road is different from others, the way people speak, those are all new things -- this is the Qiantang River, I guess -- Reporter:  How did you know? --  Zhou Yunpeng: We're crossing a bridge ... I can tell from the sound ... There's a kind of hollowness, an emptiness ... 

[0:48 - end]  Reporter: From 1995, when he went to Beijing, to 2004, before he published his first music, for those ten years, according to his own account Zhou Yunpeng was penniless and wandered about living a vagrant's life ... Reporter:  When you were ill, didn't you have anyone to rely on? ... Zhou Yunpeng: Falling ill ... I didn't get sick all that much .... Isn't it true that if you don't want to give yourself an excuse or a reason to fall ill, it's really hard to fall ill ... It's not sudden anxiety but a kind of continual feeling of being ill at ease ... The feeling of being an underground river ... Reporter: Back then, his friend "Desert Boat" wrote about what Zhou Yunpeng's life was like ... He was drunk and sitting on the ice-cold concrete ground, he didn't want come into the room, he was banging his blindman's cane on the ground...   Zhou Yunping: I think the first thirty years of my life were really stressful ...  
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Source: For the interview with CCTV-1 [YouTube]
Source: For Zhou Yunpeng's full performance of Hai Zi's "September"  [YouTube]

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Background for Zhou Yunpeng
Born in 1970, in Liaoning (Shenyang), Mainland Chinese folk singer and poet; in his early childhood, an eye disease led to total blindness at the age of nine.  He attended schools for the blind; in 1994, he graduated from Changchun University with a major in Chinese.  In 2005, his musical career began to take off, in 2007 he released "Chinese Children" (《中国孩子》"Zhōngguó háizi"), featuring sad and sentimental songs about children lost in natural disasters in China. 

Background for Hai Zi
[From the Wiki]  Hai Zi (Chinese:海子, March 1964 - 26 March 1989) is the pen name of the Chinese poet Zha Haisheng (Chinese:查海生). He was one of the most famous poets in Mainland China after the Cultural Revolution. He committed suicide by lying on the path of a train at the age of 25.

Don't offend the teacher
不要得罪老师

A kindergarten teacher is getting married, and surprisingly gives an invitation to each child in the class.  On the afternoon of December 3, someone posted on the web that this happened to her colleague.  After the post was published, people on the internet unanimously denounced the teacher as "obsessed with money."  But in this situation, many parents are forced to keep their opinions to themselves; having conducted interviews randomly among a number of parents of schoolchildren, the reporter unexpectedly discovered that all the responses were the same:  The kindergarten teacher is not to be offended.
幼儿园老师结婚，竟然给全班孩子发请帖。12月3日上午，一名网友在网络上发布了她同事的遭遇。帖子一发出来，网友们众口一词，声讨这位老师“想钱想疯了”。但针对此事，多数家长却敢怒不敢言，记者随机采访了几位幼儿园学生家长，得到的答案居然很一致：幼儿园老师得罪不起。
Yòu'éryuán lǎoshī jiéhūn, jìngrán gěi quánbān háizi fā qị̌ngtiě. 12 yuè 3 rì shàngwǔ, yī̠ míng wǎngyǒu zài wǎngluò shàng fābùle tā tóngshì de zāoyù. Tiězi yīfā chūlai, wǎngyǒu men zhòngkǒuyīcí, shēngtǎo zhè wèi lǎoshī “xiǎng qián xiǎng fēng le”. Dàn zhēnduì cǐshì, duōshù jiāzhǎng què gǎn nù bù gǎn yán, jìzhě suíjī cạ̌ifǎngle jǐ wèi yòu'éryuán xuésheng jiāzhǎng, dédào de dá'àn jūrán hěn yị̄zhì: yòu'éryuán lǎoshī dézui bùqǐ.

[Cartoon: An invitation  请帖 Qị̌ngtiě]

Kindergarten teachers are not paid a lot and aren't highly valued, but there's a consensus among parents that the teachers are not to be offended.  Actually, behind the ordinary work of being a kindergarten teacher, everyone understands there is this "hidden rule":  And who is brave enough to risk destroying a child's life by offending the teacher?
幼儿园老师非权非贵，家长却对其有着“得罪不起”的共识。究其原因，在于幼儿园老师这一平凡职业的背后，运作着大家心照不宣的“潜规则”：谁愿冒着让孩子遭殃的风险去得罪老师？
Yòu'éryuán lǎoshī fēi quán fēi guì, jiāzhǎng què duì qí yǒuzhe “dézui bùqǐ” de gòngshí. Jiū qí yuányīn, zàiyú yòu'éryuán lǎoshī zhè yī píngfán zhíyè de bèihòu, yùnzuòzhe dàjiā xīnzhàobùxuān de “qián guīzé”: shuí yuàn màozhe ràng háizi zāoyāng de fēngxiǎn qù dézui lǎoshī?

Therefore, even if this teacher is "obsessed with money," after discussing the problem of "whether or not to go" among themselves, many parents fear their only choice is to fall in line and pay the money to avoid disaster; they flatly refuse to show even the slightest sign of disrespect. From the parents' point of view, even if they have no personal relationship with the teacher, it's reasonable and customary to have a wedding, and there's the possibility their child will be given extra attention, so how could anyone turn down the invitation?  For the teacher, the happy gift is a kind of cover-up: when the money is handed over, everyone can avoid any suspicion of bribery, there's no psychological problem, and it all resembles a kind of polite form of payback. But it is worrisome that as each side echoes the other, the normal conditions for education instantly disappear.
于是，即便这位老师“想钱想疯了”，众多家长在“去不去都难”的纠结之后，恐怕也只能选择随行就市、花钱消灾，而断然不敢有半点不敬。对于家长来说，即便自己与老师没有私交，但办喜事凑份子本来就有世俗意义上的合理性，而且还可能额外让孩子得到一些照顾，岂能不随？对于老师来说，用办喜事来做遮羞布，收钱时就避免了索贿的嫌疑，没有了心理障碍，更像是一场和谐的礼尚往来。令人担忧的是，在一唱一和之中，教育的正常状态瞬间就没了踪影。
Yúshì, jíbiàn zhè wèi lǎoshī “xiǎng qián xiǎng fēng le”, zhòngduō jiāzhǎng zài “qù bù qù dōu nán” de jiūjié zhīhòu, kǒngpà yě zhǐnéng xuǎnzé suíhángjiùshì, huāqián xiāozāi, ér duànrán bù gǎn yǒu bàndiǎn bụ̀jìng. Duìyú jiāzhǎng lái shuō, jíbiàn zìjǐ yǔ lǎoshī méiyǒu sījiāo, dàn bàn xǐshì còu fènzi běnlái jiù yǒu shìsú yìyìshàng de hélǐ xìng, érqiě hái kěnéng éwài ràng háizi dédào yī̠xiē zhàogu, qǐnéng bù suí? Duìyú lǎoshī lái shuō, yòng bàn xǐshì lái zuò zhēxiūbù, shōuqián shí jiù bìmiǎnle suǒhuì de xiányí, méiyǒule xīnlǐ zhàng'ài, gèng xiàng shì yī chǎng héxié de lǐshàngwǎnglái. Lìngrén dānyōu de shì, zài yị̄chàngyị̄hè zhīzhōng, jiàoyù de zhèngcháng zhuàngtài shùnjiān jiù méile zōngyǐng.

Apparently, the parents pay very little money, and in exchange the child's education is "not discounted."  Seems as though it's worth the price, but when giving presents to the teacher is the norm, then that becomes part of the child's normal right to an education, and is a separate personal transaction.  When a teacher is in a seller's market, what the children receive can only be a higher cost without any improvement in service, and with no room for bargaining, the parents must accept they've wasted their money.
从表面上看，家长花的只是小钱，换回了孩子的受教育“不打折”。看似很划算，但当给老师送礼成为常态之后，便已经把本应属于孩子们的最基本的受教育权，异化成了一种交换的私有物。在以老师为中心的卖方市场里，孩子得到的只能是加价不加量的服务，毫无讨价还价的余地，家长最终也只能是照单全收的冤大头。
Cóng biǎomiàn shang kàn, jiāzhǎng huā de zhǐshì xiǎoqián, huàn huíle háizi de shòu jiàoyù “bù dǎzhé”. Kànsì hěn huásuàn, dàn dāng gěi lǎoshī sònglǐ chéngwéi chángtài zhīhòu, biàn yǐjing bǎ běnyīng shǔyú háizimen de zuìjīběn de shòu jiàoyù quán, yìhuà chéngle yī zhǒng jiāohuàn de sīyǒu wù. Zài yǐ lǎoshī wèi zhōngxīn de màifāng shìchǎng lǐ, háizi dédào de zhǐnéng shì jiājià bùjiā liàng de fúwù, háowú tǎojiàhuánjià de yúdì, jiāzhǎng zuìzhōng yě zhǐnéng shì zhào dān quán shōu de yuāndàtóu.

Following this logic, it's not just fear of offending the kindergarten teacher, but also the elementary school teacher, the middle school teacher -- which one can be offended?  If one takes this route of paying "protection money," how large will the economic burden be?  The real situation is, and the majority of parents "know this well," even if they give the money, the child may not get the extra attention.  The wedding invitation is astonishing and leaves one deeply unsatisfied; even so, with this unpleasantness in the background, won't some people just "look at this soberly" [and pay the money]?  We should rethink the whole area of education, "an unhappy wedding invitation" is like a bomb, a "demand for money," could it not have harmful consequences for all of society?  Whether teacher or parent, everyone should reflect deeply on this.
照此逻辑，得罪不起的恐怕不仅仅是幼儿园老师，小学老师、中学老师，哪一个又能得罪得起呢？这一路的“保护费”缴下去，又该是多大的经济负担？而现实情况是，就算多数家长都“深谙此理”，就算送礼送到手软，孩子也未必能得到额外照顾。这喜帖让人诧异，更让人不快，然而，在不快的背后，又有几人能对此“横眉冷对”呢？但或许，我们该反思的尚且不在教育领域，“喜帖不喜”甚至变成“炸弹”、“催款单”，是否又是社会风气的一种不良放大与折射呢？无论家长还是老师，都应当深思。
Zhàocǐ luóji, dézui bùqǐ de kǒngpà bùjǐn jǐnshì yòu'éryuán lǎoshī, xiǎoxué lǎoshī, zhōngxué lǎoshī, nǎ yī gè yòu néng dézui de qǐ ne? Zhè yị̄lù de “bǎohùfèi” jiǎo xiàqu, yòu gāishì duō dà de jīngjì fùdān? Ér xiànshí qíngkuàng shì, jiùsuàn duōshù jiāzhǎng dōu “shēn ān cǐ lǐ”, jiùsuàn sònglǐ sòngdào shọ̌uruǎn, háizi yě wèibì néng dédào éwài zhàogu. Zhè xị̌tiě ràngrén chàyì, gèng ràngrén bụ̀kuài, rán'ér, zài bụ̀kuài de bèihòu, yòu yǒu jǐ rén néng duì cǐ “héngméi lěng duì” ne? Dàn huòxǔ, wǒmen gāi fǎnsī de shàngqiě bụ̀zài jiàoyù lǐngyù, “xị̌tiě bù xǐ” shènzhì biànchéng “zhàdàn”, “cuīkuǎn dān”, shì-fǒu yòu shì shèhuì fēngqì de yī zhǒng bùliáng fàngdà yǔ zhéshè ne? Wúlùn jiāzhǎng háishi lǎoshī, dōu yīngdāng shēnsī.

Source: 《长沙晚报》2011-12/06: "'红色炸弹'不该投向孩子"  online

This video clip is from a longer segment devoted to Xiao Feng, a little boy whose parents died of AIDS, and who also has this illness ... Here we are introduced to Liu Libao, a 14-year-old boy whose mother has left him to find work in Heilongjiang; the two boys have become friends, and both are missing their parents ...
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[0:00 - 0:20]  The clip begins with Liu Libao saying that he asked Xiao Feng if he misses his parents, and Xiao Feng says, How could I not miss my parents?  Then he teases Xiao Feng for crying, and Xiao Feng says, Who's crying? and hits Liu Libao, and says again, Who's crying? You're crying and I'm also crying (we're making each other cry)  ...
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[0:20 - 0:51]  In the next segment, the two boys are shown playing together, they have an air rifle and are shooting at a plastic bottle that contains Xiao Feng's medicine ... The reporter says that the two boys met last summer, Liu Libao's mother had gone to Heilongjiang to find work, and Liu Libao feels very badly about that ... But he knows that Xiao Feng can never see his parents again, so he thinks he can totally understand Xiao Feng ... 
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[0:51 - 1:46]  The scene shifts to the place where Xiao Feng and Liu Libao met -- a public square where the grown-ups get together to dance ... The reporter says that Liu Libao noticed there were people dancing, and he wanted to learn, and Xiao Feng, who was his age, generously grabbed him and started gesturing, and so Xiao Feng and Liu Libao became the best of friends, and sometimes, when Liu Libao saw Xiao Feng having fun with other friends, he'd get a little angry, and from Xiao Feng's point of view, not only was Liu Libao a dance partner, but he was willing to talk from the heart ... 
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[1:46 -  2:01]  The reporter returns to interviewing Liu Libao, who says that once when he and Xiao Feng were lying together on some hay and chatting, Xiao Feng said to him, Why didn't my mother strangle me when I was little, why did she let me grow up and suffer so much?  And Liu Libao says he told Xiao Feng, How could that be?  If your mother had strangled you, we would never have become friends, how can you be so cold-hearted?...
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[2:01 -  end]  In the last scene of this clip, Liu Libao is at Xiao Feng's house, they are playing a hand-slapping game, and Xiao Feng's granduncle comes by and tells Liu Libao to go home, because he mistakenly believes that Liu Libao is bullying Xiao Feng ... Liu Libao says he was about to go, he just wanted to wait a little longer ... The granduncle says, "Go home right away."  Then Xiao Feng's grandaunt comes in and says that Liu Libao is her child too ... Your child? says the granduncle ... The grandaunt says, He comes here to play with Xiao Feng, how could he not be part of our family?  Then she says to the old man: You don't want him here, but I want him here ...
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Source： CCTV-[看见～周末版] 2011.12.4  围坐在他身旁