Chungshan has only developed in the last five, years or so. After 1986, a large number of outsiders migrated in, mostly from Henan, Hunan, and Shanghai. Some say that a third of Chungshan's population of 1.1 million come from outside, and this estimate is no exaggeration.

Nobody talks about "spiritual civilization.": There are definitely contradictions between the outsiders and the local people. The local people feel that this is their empire, so how could you come to "my house" to make money? But the people from outside feel that there is not enough skilled talent here, and there is not enough labor, so they need us to come and "put a shoulder to the wheel." So how can they discriminate against us? But naturally, it is the outsiders who feel more lost.

As for intellectuals, what I feel most acutely is this: After coming to Kwangtung, no one talks to you anymore about "spiritual civilization," because everyone is busy investing and thinking of ways to make money. Sartre said, "You can only use a cracked and chipped old glass to secretly drink a few glasses of vintage wine at night." I can only tell myself that in the past I wrote works for others to perform; now I make products with machines and send them out for people to use, and it's completing a work just the same. Although the purpose and the recipients are different, in my heart it's the same.

Although that's the way it is, I still feel that to develop the economy is extremely important-- especially for those of us who were hungry in the 1950's, sent down to the countryside in the 1970's, and had to pass academic examinations in the 1980's just to be able to get a foothold in society.

Grab what you see: Some people on the outside see us developing, building houses, with lots of cars, and mutual competition and discrimination among people, and become concerned that we lack spiritual culture and such. Many people also say that if the economy overheats it will create inequality between people, official corruption, avarice, and even the situation of the "big fish eating the little fish."

I feel that this is the road that must be travelled in the early stage of capitalist development, that it is normal, and that it will inevitably be travelled. I affirm the current stage of economic development; it is so much better than in the past.

Maybe some people see it as the disappearance of the countryside. I see it as a practical case of using capital to resolve difficulties. If you haven't the economy, then you haven't got anything, that's for sure.

Now in Chungshan the most popular form of entertainment for the peasants is karaoke. Almost everyone can afford it, and the leisure structure and enjoyment in the villages is no less than in the cities. Perhaps in all of this one could raise the major problem of the waxing and waning of popular and vernacular culture. But please keep a friendly and affirmative attitude when looking at these changes, and don't prejudge whether they are good or bad. Sometimes things in China are not so clear, and there is too much that one cannot believe or know about the future. You can only just grab the things you can see, and we will certainly hold on tight.