A few weeks ago, I wrote about the “ant people” (or “ant group”, 蚁族, which incidentally didn’t then pop up as a word on my Sogou Chinese input program, but now does). “Ant people” refers to young people with a high level of education who work low-paid jobs and live together in crowded apartments or dorms, usually on the edge of big cities. They’re similar to ants in that they’re intelligent, weak, and live in groups, and their fate has gotten a lot of media attention in the past few months.
Today QQ news ran a story on “ant people” in Wuhan (“江蚁” — Sogou doesn’t list that one as a word yet). According to the article, Wuhan has the largest number of university graduates of any Chinese city, with the total number of graduates in 2009 reaching somewhere around 250 000. Although no one knows for sure how many of these young people end up in low-income jobs, according to estimates there could be anywhere from around 50 000 to 100 000 “ant people” in Wuhan.
One of the “ant people” interviewed for the article works in a photo studio, with a salary of 1000 yuan per month. She shares a room with two others in a similar situation, and her share of the rent is 260 yuan per month. They don’t have a kitchen, so for breakfast she has 热干面, (hot and dry noodles, a Wuhan specialty) or 素粉 (plain noodles), for lunch it’s 盒饭 (a boxed lunch with rice and one or a few pre-prepared dishes) for less than 5 yuan, and then something simple for dinner, for a total of less than 10 yuan per day. To help cover monthly expenses, some people take on monthly jobs, and others roll out blankets or set up small stalls to sell things on the street after work.
The author of the article points out that although the “ant people” phenomenon, with its own specific characteristics, is new, the 80s and 90s saw the unemployed youth (待业青年) and the “north and south drifters” (南漂北漂). In each generation, young people lead difficult lives. What particularly defines the difficulties facing the generation born in the 80s is the growing gap between rich and poor and the lack of a social safety net to protect those who fall behind. The issue certainly seems to have struck a chord with young people all over China — even many whose lives aren’t as difficult as those of the “ant people” can still relate to the struggles of finding a job and saving up for a house, and share the dream of a safe and stable future.
Regarding the Ant People in Wuhan post, I found it interesting and would like to an interview with the writer. Please contact me at the email above of at 010-6627-1203. Thanks.
i heard that chinese government plan to raise the number of new university students by 10% next year. the number of “ant people” is going to grow up. by the way, this phenomenon has occurred in europe few years ago. the number of university graduates is too high, but chance to find a job without any experience is too low. so people with university degrees has to take jobs, where little qualification is needed.
In my opinion, the situation in china now is quite good, standard of living is higher than it ever was. comparing the lives the “ant people” live these days and the lives of people with low income in 70s and 80s, those were really hard times in chinese history.