scruta

I was on an overnight train back from HK, and I was having trouble sleeping. I often become very anxious when I travel. I attribute this to the fact that traveling always puts me in a state of limbo where I can see clearly where my life has been and where it is going. Before I know it, I have been going over things in my past for hours.

In an effort to try and break myself away from self-study, I decided to take a walk through the train. While I did so, I saw a framed poster of a poem of eight lines. Behind it was a picture of two doves flying over an idyllic vista of the Great Wall, surrounded by lush green trees radiating from a spongy pool of red at the bottom of the poster. Overall, the poster had the effect of one of those rather cheesy motivational posters you see in the offices of middle managers. I was only able to read about half of the poem, so I decided to copy it down and check it when I got back to Shanghai. Here’s what it said:

树立社会主义荣辱观

以热爱祖国为荣、以危害祖国为耻，

以服务人民为荣、以背离人民为耻，

以崇尚科学为荣、以愚昧无知为耻，

以辛勤劳动为荣、以好逸恶劳为耻，

以团结互助为荣、以损人利己为耻，

以诚实守信为荣、以见利忘义为耻，

以遵纪守法为荣、以违法乱纪为耻，

以艰苦奋斗为荣、以骄奢淫逸为耻。

After researching a bit online, it turns out that it is Hu Jin Tao’s famous declaration Eight Honors and Eight Shames. Here’s a translation:

A Look at the Contributions and Harms to the Formation of a Socialist [Society]

Love, do not harm the motherland.

Serve, don’t disserve the people.

Uphold science; don’t be ignorant and unenlightened.

Work hard; don’t be lazy and hate work.

Be united and help each other; don’t gain benefits at the expense of others.

Be honest and trustworthy, not profit-mongering at the expense of your values.

Be disciplined and law-abiding instead of chaotic and lawless.

Know plain living and hard struggle; do not wallow in luxuries and pleasures.

(NOTE: The translation isn’t mine, and isn’t the most literal translation I found, but it’s the best for meaning. It’s apparently from the China Youth Daily. I got it here. There are several other translations included as well.)

From what I’ve observed of life in Shanghai, I can understand the need to display this pronouncement on a Shanghai-bound train…