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September 3, 2013

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Heeding the call to reform, they honed its success

By Wang Yanlin | September 3, 2013, Tuesday | Print Edition

Editor’s Note:

When Chinese President Xi Jinping urged the nation to pursue the “Chinese Dream,” he triggered a public dialogue about people’s expectations and how they are fulfilled. In this week’s installment of Shanghai Daily’s weekly series exploring this topic, we look at the dreams of the 1960s generation.

People born in the 1960s spent their childhood in one of the hardest eras of modern China and entered adulthood during a heyday of economic and social transformation. They are now the backbone of the Chinese miracle.

Aged between 44 and 53, some have entered the inner circles of China’s political leadership as ministers or provincial chiefs. Many have become successful businessmen — people like Alibaba founder Jack Ma, Baidu CEO Robin Li and Yu Minhong, head of China’s largest private educational service provider, New Oriental Corp.

As opinion leaders, they are household names like writers Yu Hua, Wang Shuo and Su Tong; CCTV anchor Bai Yansong and Sally Wu, a hostess with Phoenix TV who is famous for an interview she did with former Premier Zhu Rongji.

Among them are also the first generation of rock stars, supermodels and well-known athletes. Gymnast and now business tycoon Li Ning and volleyball player Lang Ping, who’s now coach of the national team.

Of course, not everyone born in the 1960s has emerged with high-profile success stories. The majority lead ordinary but productive lives, working hard and shouldering the responsibility of looking after both their parents and children.

But their spirits are interwoven and their common dreams defined China as it is today.

“Our generation is idealistic,” says Shen Dingli, a professor of international relations at Fudan University. “There is a clear cut line between right and wrong in our minds. We are patriotic, taking the dream of national rejuvenation as our responsibility in heart and soul.”

 

This generation has experienced one of China’s most dramatic transformations of modern times. They were mere children when the upheaval of the “cultural revolution” began in 1966. It ended 10 years later, enabling most of them to have uninterrupted educations and the opportunity to go to universities.

Yet many of their early perceptions were honed during a time when the turbulent period deeply affected everyday life. They grew up believing in the justice of the state and the idea of self-sacrifice as a heroic gesture.

Shen Minte, a professor at Communication University of China, says the country seemed to develop new set of genes after the “cultural revolution.”

The new mantra that enveloped them was echoed in then Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping’s famous words: “Practice is the sole criterion for testing truth.”

“Chinese tradition has it that people had to be obedient — to parents and teachers when they are young and to company bosses when they grow up,” Shen said in a recent lecture organized by Voice & Value magazine. “That is because parents, teachers and bosses used to be considered bigger commanders of truth. The end of the ‘cultural revolution’ heralded a new era when people were no longer slaves of traditional ideology. The opportunity to try something new and unknown was becoming possible.”

As China opened its doors to the world under a policy adopted in 1978, the 1960s generation found themselves confronted with an unparalleled array of choices.

Many followed Deng’s 1992 exhortation to engage in bolder reforms and chose to “plunge into the sea of business” (xia hai 下海) by starting their own companies.

Some of them, such as Guo Guangchang, chairman of China’s largest private investment company Fosun Group, are now among the wealthiest people in China.

“We were lucky enough to catch the first wave of China’s modernization.” Guo says. “Those were the years to make people’s blood run hot and dreams come true.”

Now entering their 50s — an age in China that symbolizes “knowing one’s fate” (zhi tian ming 知天命) — some people born in the 1960s are keen to pursue spiritual values. Some are returning to traditional arts, such as ancient musical instruments, calligraphy and painting. Some take active roles in charities, and some have even chosen to embark on new careers.

Cui Yongyuan, 50, a former CCTV talk-show host known for his natural, relaxed style, initiated a campaign in 2006 to urge people to revisit the route of the Long March, undertaken by the People’s Liberation Army in 1934 to evade pursuit by the army of the Kuomintang.

It transverses some 12,500 kilometers and took the army more than 370 days to complete. The famous march laid the foundation for the final victory of the PLA and became an emblem of the unconquerable Chinese spirit.

In 2007, Cui started a charity fund under his name to collect money for training rural teachers. The idea for the fund came from his experiences in western China, where he encountered so many untrained volunteers functioning as local teachers.

Cui also has recorded a “verbal history” by recording the memories of more than 4,000 elderly people, at an average age of about 85.

People born in the 1960s are usually very modest by nature. Some were willing to talk to Shanghai Daily for this “Dream” series but said they preferred not to be identified because they didn’t want to draw attention to themselves.

Some said they no longer harbor grand dreams for the future but rather look back on many of their dreams come true and see it as a positive platform for future generations to fulfill their ambitions.

 

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