Chapter 11 2. I see Shenzhen Great Times

Although I haven't lived in Shenzhen for a long time, I have met many Shenzhen people, and I feel that most of them are a little "ambitious". I put the word "ambition" in quotation marks to emphasize that there is appreciation, not disparagement. The word "ambition", according to the authoritative interpretation of "Modern Chinese Dictionary", refers to the huge but not divided desire for territory, power or fame. However, if you think about it carefully, no one will become a Shenzhen native in order to occupy a piece of territory.The Land Law of the People's Republic of China has long declared clearly that every square meter of the 9.6 million square kilometers of land is owned by the state and collectives.Even if you are a billionaire, you can only buy the right to use a small piece of land with money within 20 to 30 years, up to 60 to 70 years.Therefore, it can be said with certainty that a person who becomes a Shenzhen native with a "huge and undivided desire" to occupy the territory is either a lunatic or a fool. The essential motivation and ultimate goal of those who "speculate land" is not to try to occupy it, but to try to make money in the process of "speculating" it.

I don't think there are too many people who became Shenzhen people for the sake of power.Because as far as the power arena is concerned, Shenzhen is too small after all.How can the power stage in Shenzhen, which is too small, satisfy the psychology of those who have "huge but not excessive desire" for it?Unless you are frustrated and down on other big stages of power, you will turn to a small stage of power to seek comfort.What's more, Shenzhen has established a blueprint for developing into a commercial city from the very beginning.One of the characteristics of commercial cities is that political power guarantees and serves the laws of commerce.In a typical commercial city in the commercial era, the first favorite is a successful businessman, and the second is a politician.A person who harbors a "huge but undivided desire" for political power may not find a good feeling in Shenzhen!

Probably not many people go to Shenzhen for fame.After much deliberation, besides singers, who else would it be?He or she just regards Shenzhen as an ideal training ground or training camp.Once you have accumulated experience and improved your quality, you will jump from the springboard of Shenzhen to Beijing. More people, the reason why they rush to Shenzhen from all over the country is mainly for the word "profit", right? The ancients said: "The prosperity of the world is all for profit; the world is full of hustle and bustle, all for profit." The word "profit", I emphasize, is not its commercial connotation, but its sociological connotation.

Since a person lives in a society, he is a social person, and it is impossible not to consider his own interests.It includes an income that guarantees a relatively decent material life, full freedom to choose a profession that can give full play to one's expertise or intelligence, passion and impulse to participate in fair competition, and a social environment that facilitates the realization of self-worth. I think that more people are driven and attracted by the word "profit" in sociological connotation, so people from other places resolutely become Shenzhen people, right? If the word "benefit" in such a sociological connotation can be talked about with the word "ambition", then having this kind of "ambition" is really worthwhile for contemporary Chinese people. What a joy.Especially for contemporary young people, if they don't even have such a little bit of "ambition", it is really not a blessing for a country, a nation, or an era.

For a country, a nation, and an era, if most of its people, especially most of its young people, can have the above-mentioned "ambition", it will surely be stable and prosperous, develop at a high speed, and its future will be bright. beautiful and bright. In my opinion, Shenzhen is China's first typical "immigrant city".Perhaps, it is also the city with the most young people and the highest knowledge structure in the country?Especially the last two points, it can be said that it complements Shenzhen's youthfulness and Shenzhen's modern concept as the main body.Whether they chose Shenzhen, or Shenzhen chose them.

In the early 1980s, a college classmate of mine, a well-known writer in Ningxia, planned to transfer to Shenzhen.Later, due to various factors other than my wish, I didn't get it done, and when I talked about it, I regretted it. Another college classmate of mine, the former deputy director of the editorial department of Guizhou People's Publishing House, also came to seek my help because he planned to be transferred to Shenzhen. Later, he failed due to various factors other than his wishes, but so far he is "undeterred". . As for myself, after I moved from Beiying Diao to Tongying at the end of 1988, my housing situation improved greatly, and I finally gave up the idea of ​​changing from a Beijinger to a Shenzhener.Otherwise, although I feel that I lack fate with Shenzhen, I can also be classified as a person with "undead heart".It can be seen that the people who once wanted to go to Shenzhen and become Shenzhen people are much less than those who have already gone to Shenzhen to become Shenzhen people, right?

I was invited to give a lecture on literary creation in the Bohai Oilfield, and met a group of young men and women literature lovers there.One day I received a letter from Shenzhen, and I opened it in confusion. It was written by one of the girls.Tell me she has been transferred to Shenzhen.Moreover, because she accompanied her father to travel in Shenzhen, she was immediately attracted to Shenzhen.In her words, "I found a certain feeling, a certain fate".So sitting on the ground became a Shenzhen native.It was father and daughter who went there, and her father was alone when he returned to Bohai.The old father understood her very much, supported her, and volunteered to go back to her original unit to handle the resignation procedures for her.

Her letter, between the lines, was full of self-satisfied confidence in life.It's as if a girl in her boudoir who was about to get married suddenly fell in love with a "Prince Charming" or was caught by a "Prince Charming". A literary youth in Baotou called me one day from Shenzhen by accident, saying that he had been employed by a company in Shenzhen.He also said that he had found "a certain feeling" and "a certain fate".First, one of his classmates went to Shenzhen and was appointed by the company to go back to Baotou to set up a subsidiary company, which "digged" him out of the unit.Later, Shenzhen sent staff to Baotou to investigate and found that his classmate was ambitious and talented, and was not good at management. He was "fired" and announced the dissolution of the subsidiary.At the same time, in several contacts with him, I found that he was quite capable, and asked him if he would like to seek development in Shenzhen.He was overjoyed, so he followed to Shenzhen.

I asked, "Did you do well?" The answer was: "I have already switched from that company to another company." I worried for him and said, "Then, it's because the first company didn't go well?" He smiled on the phone and said, "Don't worry about me. I did a good job in the first company, but the salary in the second company is higher. People go to the top! Changing jobs in Shenzhen It's a common thing!" When I was signing books in Nanjing, I met a "comrade in arms".He even pretended to line up to buy my book. He said he was no longer from Harbin.

I asked: transferred to Nanjing? He said: transferred to Shenzhen. Startled, I asked him how he felt. He smiled inscrutably and profoundly, and said, "Whether a person moves alive, does a tree die? At least the feeling is——I move alive!" The second stop of the book signing activity was Xi'an, and I met one of my middle school teachers queuing up to buy books.I haven't seen her for more than 20 years, and her hair has turned gray. I stood up respectfully and asked the teacher how he was doing. The teacher said that she has retired.Has been transferred to Shenzhen.Employed by her daughter and son-in-law's company as an old salesman.

I was surprised and asked the teacher: Does Shenzhen also welcome people of your age? The teacher smiled and said: "In Shenzhen, people are not judged by age or qualifications, but by actual work ability. I never imagined that after teaching all my life, I would be able to throw myself a few times!" If you are not careful, there will be one or two familiar people around you who will change into Shenzhen people.Once they become Shenzhen people, I get the impression that they are all a few years younger, have a little more confidence and optimism in life, and feel better about themselves. When Chinese people meet, they will inevitably complain first about their workplace, then about the city and province they live in, and then about the whole of China.Many people feel that their talents are underappreciated, that their intelligence and ability are suppressed, and that they live a useless and wronged life. As far as I think, their complaints may have their own reasons and basis. However, Shenzhen people are generally not like this.They rarely complain about Shenzhen.Maybe it was because they were willing to go there in the first place?But it is clearly not entirely, it is clearly a principle shared by Shenzhen people that everyone abides by. I don't believe that no one who has gone to Shenzhen still feels that his talents are underappreciated, no one still feels that his intelligence and ability are restricted and suppressed, and no one still feels that he is useless, wronged, and tired compared with others.But the Shenzhen people I have contacted generally do not complain. Today, compared with ordinary Chinese, this is especially commendable. Their non-complaints seem to show their other self-esteem and self-confidence to others. It seems that Shenzhen is like a kind of school, which educates another kind of contemporary Chinese. I have been to Shenzhen once.So far, only once. I really wanted to transfer to Shenzhen.In the end, I completely dismissed the idea. One of the reasons is that Shenzhen seems too far away for me, a northerner, so far away that it is not just the south, it is almost like a foreign country; the second reason is precisely because I have been to Shenzhen once. Let me talk about the first reason first.I was born in Harbin.Until I went to the countryside, I never left it.Today, my old mother, two younger brothers and a younger sister are all in Harbin.The younger siblings are all married, and the old mother takes turns living with them.Harbin also has many of my classmates and comrades-in-arms.Family affection plus friendship, as far as I think, should be the most important connotation of the so-called hometown concept or hometown complex?No matter what the world says about it, the characteristic of my generation is that the concept of hometown or the hometown complex is difficult to get rid of.I even go so far as to think that it is the shadow that poverty casts on me and most of my contemporaries, psychologically and emotionally.Our parents paid too much for us in the poor years and endured a lot of hardships.We always hope to live around them, at least not too far away from them, in order to be able to fulfill our obligations as children and filial piety more often. When I graduated from Fudan University in 1977, I had three assignment options—Harbin, Beijing, and Shanghai.I did not hesitate to fill in the volunteer to go to Harbin.He firmly expressed his disapproval of staying in Shanghai.Some erroneous factors made me a Beijinger.For me at the time, this was the closest choice to my hometown, my parents and younger siblings, and my family and friendship.People may not believe it, but even though it only takes 17 or 18 hours by train from Beijing to Harbin, within 14 or 15 years, I only went back 7 or 8 times.I go back almost every two years.It shows that for a person who is too attached to his hometown, far or near, sometimes it seems to be a psychological distance. I went to Shenzhen in 1986.At that time, I went to Guangzhou Huacheng Publishing House to revise the manuscript.After the revision, Miss Chen, the director of the editorial department, and my editor-in-charge, a typical girl from Guangzhou, accompanied me to Shenzhen.It was already afternoon by then, and I walked around the city, went to Shatoujiao the next day, and returned to Shenzhen after dark.Left early on the third day.So in my impression, it seems that I went to Shatoujiao, but passed through Shenzhen. It only took me an hour to walk back and forth in Shatoujiao, and I got separated from Sister Chen and the others.I bought three mangoes in Sha Tau Kok to eat.I don't think the things in that small street are really cheap, nor do I feel that there is anything particularly attractive to me that can arouse my impulse to buy.Even a little regret.For a person who is extremely lacking in enthusiasm and desire to buy, to spend a whole afternoon in such a small street, it is not enough to just rely on a leisurely mood.So I watched two movies at the only cinema on that side street.The first scene was "Huang Tianba", and the second scene was "Huang Tianba", both of which were filmed by our Beijing Film Studio (I was still in Beijing Film Studio at the time). During the short time in Shenzhen, I found time to visit a painter transferred from Harbin to Shenzhen Art Museum.In Harbin, his family of four lived in two lofts.In Shenzhen, he lived in four bedrooms and one living room.The living environment is quite beautiful.There is a market nearby, so it is very convenient to buy anything.Especially seafood, non-staple food, and vegetables, in my opinion, are extremely rich, and the price is not much more expensive than Beijing.Of course, what I yearn for the most is the living area of ​​my friend, which is about 100 square meters.For him, it is unattainable in Harbin, and I am afraid it can only be a fantasy.For me, it is unattainable in Beijing, and I am afraid it can only be a fantasy. At that time, I was in Beijing Film Studio and only lived in a tube building with an area of ​​13 square meters. I admit very frankly that I had the idea of ​​transferring to Shenzhen several times, mainly because I fantasized about living in a spacious house.I am a person who grew up in a low mud house.A spacious house was a beautiful dream for me until 1986. The impression Shenzhen left on me is very new, modern and profound.It is so new that there are no old back streets, no hutongs that look like holes in front teeth, no so-called "shanty towns" in the south or "dilapidated housing areas" in Beijing.This is probably what many people yearn for, right?For me, it is modern, which means that in such a limited area, which is not as big as half of Beijing, there are so many high-rise buildings, and the appearance is so novel.Back then, Beijing did not build so many buildings, and the ones built were scattered. However, I think that Shenzhen Xinde did not have any meaningful history back then, nor did it form a basic cultural atmosphere.Talking about entertainment alone, it seems that there is nothing else to talk about except movies and the video hall that has just appeared. I didn't find a bookstore, only a book stand by chance.There are only colorful publications on the bookstalls, but not a single literary publication or literary book.Oh, by the way, it cannot be said that there is not a single literary book, some of which are sold from Hong Kong, and they are also clean books.There are also several dictionaries, including English-Chinese dictionaries. I thought at the time, it seems that Shenzhen is not suitable for me.Though I have no doubt in the slightest that, had I thrown myself into its arms, it would have rewarded me with better living conditions. I often reflect that writers are weird people, or people who are very wrong.The chosen living place has a long history, which may not be a good thing.A long history will flatten and deform a writer's mind.It seems that there is no history at all, and it will make the writer feel that thoughts and ideas are like a ship without anchor, light and without position.It is not good if the cultural atmosphere is too strong, as literature will be overwhelmed by the big culture.It doesn't seem to work to have no cultural atmosphere at all. In that way, the writer will feel lonely and suffocated.A writer's creative passion is sometimes inspired and spurred by the literary atmosphere. These were the main thoughts I had when I was concerned about gains and losses. When I left Shenzhen, I silently said to myself and to it in my heart—Farewell to Shenzhen, it seems that we are not destined. I couldn't help but feel a little sentimental in my heart—it was like leaving a girl. She had something to tempt me, but she didn't seem to be suitable for a good life partner.We are not married.I was deeply in love and married on impulse. I couldn't see an optimistic prospect in life. To my surprise, Shenzhen's culture and Shenzhen's economy are developing almost simultaneously.If it was a small seaside village more than ten years ago, there was no cultural environment to speak of, then along with its economic development, its cultural skeleton has also begun to form, which is different from that of many regions and countries with rapid economic development. Quite the opposite.There is almost something miraculous about this fact.I think this may be mainly because Shenzhen has a large number of educated Shenzhen people, right? Nine out of ten people in Shenzhen I have met are highly educated, and some even have master's or doctorate degrees from prestigious universities. Before I arrived in Shenzhen in 1986, there was a "Shenzhen craze" that was second only to the "going abroad craze" across the country.At that time, Shenzhen was still a daunting place for a group of young and middle-aged intellectuals.Although it has become quite lively, that kind of excitement seems to be created by another group of people. who? —— Ambitious self-employed, gold diggers in the era of "one shot for another place", downcasts who have been squeezed out of their positions in social competition, frustrated and frustrated in life... "Opening a restaurant in Shenzhen has lower taxes than opening a restaurant in any city in the country! Only idiots will pay if they open a restaurant there." "In Shenzhen, even a rural girl can earn at least five or six hundred yuan a month if she finds a job. What's more, we can't lose our strength!" "It's my wife's woman. I don't love her, and the woman I love is not married to me. My relationship is weak. I just want to leave the city where I live far away." "The kid didn't get into college, and he was so depressed. On a whim, he decided to go to Shenzhen to try his luck. Just go, maybe some good luck is waving to him there." Many people have consulted with me to hear my candid views and to support their decisions and choices.The motives that drive their decisions are often so simple that I often find it hard to know whether to support them or discourage them. Regardless of whether I support or dissuade them, they all went there back then.But some people came back soon, neither fulfilling their personal wishes in Shenzhen nor gaining any psychological comfort in Shenzhen.Some later miraculously made a fortune in Shenzhen and became a millionaire.Some later lost their money in Shenzhen, and their previous efforts were wasted, and they never recovered from the fall. In recent years, however, the situation has been very different.The people who come to my house to consult with me about their decisions are more likely to be college graduates, or people who have been working for many years after college.They are no longer some downcasts and losers.Quite a few of them even have enviable career achievements or careers.They would rather give up the life benefits they have already obtained and go to Shenzhen without hesitation. They are also a group of people who are educated and pursue a higher level of life.I would like to say that it is they who made the city of Shenzhen form the skeleton of its culture in just ten years. Wherever there are intellectuals, there is a need for knowledge, and there is a need for culture.People in the world often combine the two fundamentally different or even diametrically opposed words "culture" and "entertainment" together as "cultural entertainment".In fact, there is a kind of absurdity in it.It should be known that where there are no intellectuals, there may be only entertainment without culture.Where there are very few intellectuals, the extremely limited cultural needs may be covered and swallowed by a large area of ​​entertainment needs.Only when intellectuals occupy a non-negligible presence in number can culture gain a foothold at the same time. After I went to Shenzhen in 1986, whenever people from Shenzhen came to my house, I always asked: "Is there a bookstore in Shenzhen now?" Now Shenzhen TV has launched several TV dramas or feature films that have received good responses across the country. Shenzhen Film Company has been listed as one of the 16 film manufacturers in the country that are qualified to make independent films. Shenzhen has its publications and newspapers, and they are further proving their existence to the national newspaper industry. As for bookstores, according to my friends in Shenzhen, not only do they already exist, but the environment for selling books is not bad, and there are quite a few varieties of books.It is also said that technical books and books of pure business nature, which are not so promising in some cities in the Mainland, seem to be especially popular in Shenzhen. I would like to say that the formation of Shenzhen's cultural skeleton will further verify the fact that in the next few years, Shenzhen is in the stage of changing its masters, and will use a very "modern" concept of time Accelerate the completion of this transitional class. I don't know whether the first few batches of people who went to Shenzhen, some of them lacked cultural quality, and became "big money" just by relying on the courage to take risks at the beginning or relying on the luck and means of money speculation, started to realize To such a threat? ——Shenzhen's future masters will ultimately not be the majority of them, but the majority of latecomers.The future masters of Shenzhen will ultimately belong to the educated Shenzhen people on the whole and belong to the ever-expanding intellectual team in Shenzhen.The period of primitive accumulation, within a short period of ten years, has been declared to be almost over.Its future history should be written with the pen of science and culture.It is actually sad to have a cultural history without economic development, no matter for a country, a nation or even a city.It is equally sad for a country, a nation or even a city to have economic development take off without cultural foil. The money of the "big money" cannot turn into culture by itself, which is their sorrow.If money makes the lives of contemporary people into two extremely simple contents - possessing it and consuming it, especially when possessing it in a greedy way and squandering it in a way of extravagance, even the "big money" We all get frustrated and bored with real life.The historical mission of educated Shenzhen people to Shenzhen includes dragging the "big money" out of the life they will get tired of sooner or later, influencing and teaching them how to manage money in a more civilized way, which is beneficial to Shenzhen's future and It is beneficial to change their own living conditions.If they refuse, they will only become a small batch of living fossils left over from the primitive accumulation period in Shenzhen.There is only one ending waiting for them-fend for themselves in the days of spending money. To this day, people of all stripes often talk to me about their thoughts— "I want to go to Shenzhen!" For them, whether to support or discourage, I am much more clear than before. For those with a higher level of education, specialties and expertise, I often enthusiastically support them, and even do some contact and introduction obligations for them. For those with a low level of education and no expertise, I often dissuade them from going, and even spare no time in explaining my reasons. Shenzhen is no longer what it was ten years ago, and it is no longer what some people imagined—a big market in the period of primitive economic accumulation. It seems to have issued its advice to the world - culture and talent, what do you have?Please think it over before coming back.If you have neither, it will be difficult for you to be a promising Shenzhener for a long time. To further deepen the reform, people are staring at Shenzhen, expecting that Shenzhen will come up with some measures that can be called "big new ideas". In anti-corruption, people are staring at Shenzhen, expecting Shenzhen to give the Chinese people nothing to say. To rectify the financial order, rectify the real estate market, and rectify the investment environment of the development zone, people are staring at Shenzhen. Some people are eager to expose some big scandal or shady scene from Shenzhen. If it does not happen, they suspect that the world is too unreal; Living in "baptism" again and again, worrying whether the southern banner of reform and opening up, which has attracted worldwide attention, can continue to flutter?How long and how high can you hold it? Turn on the TV, almost every day there are advertisements made for various industries in Shenzhen and news or special reports about Shenzhen. Open the newspaper, there is content about Shenzhen almost every day. Shenzhen, shortly after it was formed as a city, seemed destined to be a very controversial city.It is now, and in the future, I think it must be.Controversy has spread from the official to the hearts of ordinary people. I often hear conversations like this - "Why can't it be like Shenzhen..." "Like Shenzhen?!" Even my own ideas have become quite contradictory and divided due to the influence of Shenzhen.Sometimes I advocate or agree with something, and I often say: "Shenzhen is like that!" Sometimes I contradict or oppose something, and I often say: "Can it be like Shenzhen?!" All kinds of information, measures and phenomena in Shenzhen have made many people worry, encouraged many people, confused many people, and excited many people, making many people seem to see China's depressing tomorrow, and also make many people seem to see China's depressing future. The optimistic outlook for China. Shenzhen, the controversial city, is like this, towering in the general Chinese people's field of vision.It spreads all kinds of information about it.This information often or even violently affects, impacts, changes, and renews the concepts of many Chinese people.Shenzhen doesn't seem to care about the controversy of Chinese people, and seems to be proud of it.As a popular song sings - "No matter what others say, I have to make my own choice".Not only that, but it remains the same, often creating some ingenious "hot topics" that provoke the media to follow and report.For example, in October 1993, the "Manuscript Bidding" activity was very popular. In the beginning, I was still the "supervisor" of this event.My promise to be a "supervisor" is very pious.I think this is a typical "Shenzhen-style" approach.This approach may not be worth trying.If it succeeds, it will also provide a useful experience for the book and periodical market, and all aspects of China's affairs need valuable experience, and what is lacking is valuable experience. I later resigned from the role of "supervisor" with several writers.I thought about it very carefully before deciding to resign.Can this event work like that?I am confused.I don't think it's the same as my original intention. Actually, maybe it hasn't changed.Maybe that was the original intention of the organizers at the beginning, and maybe the original intention I imagined in the beginning was the product of the too typical and traditional way of thinking of "Beijing literati". The typical "Beijing literati" thinking does not match the typical "Shenzhen-style" activities. Am I traditional?At all times and in all over the world, many literati have auctioned their manuscripts while they were alive.How about saying that literati are people who "sell literature for a living"?Proof that I don't stand for tradition. Are typical "Shenzhen-style" events too modern?The auction of the copyright of spiritual products does not seem to be a matter where we can talk about the future of modern times. This is the first direct collision between my personal concept and "Shenzhen concept".It also led to a collision between the part of my concept that has changed and the part that I still hold on to. Yes, it is the idea that transcends space and makes me feel that Shenzhen is getting closer to me.Ideas are the things that can be most juxtaposed in the same space, and are also the things that are most capable of dispelling the so-called "historical sense".In the future era, its way of existence may also be the way of existence of the final modernism, right? Today, Shenzhen already has its own history.If you don't count its "prehistory", it already has a history of a little over thirty years.It is from this history of a little more than thirty years that various typical "Shenzhen concepts" are derived.Sometimes meaning speaks louder than words.It's like when we say that a Shanghainese is "too Shanghainese", we can understand the meaning beyond the words.Of course, I absolutely do not mean to insinuate the "Shenzhen concept" here, nor do I mean to be disrespectful to Shanghainese, just to give an example. For a city, can a little over thirty years be called "history"? This reminds me of Mao Zedong's famous poem - "There are so many things that are always in a hurry, the world is turning, time is pressing, ten thousand years is too long, seize the day!" Perhaps the word "history" is a greatly compressed concept of time for our descendants?Think about it carefully, everyone can only live for seven or eighty years, why should we surrender to the long history?Changing with each passing day, and a history of ten years, this is clearly beneficial to modern people, and has absolutely no disadvantages. Shenzhen, with its greatly compressed history, makes it closer to me and many people in the world, closer, as if it is a person, we can feel its breath, smell its body odor, no matter whether you are Like me, only been there once, or haven't been at all.