經濟衰退 中國工人在絕望中尋找希望

SHENYANG, China — Not long past the break of dawn, after downing a bowl of hot porridge and dropping off his son at school, Zhang Yuzeng made his way to a street corner near the Nanyun River. There, under the poplar trees, he rummaged through his toolbox.

中國瀋陽——天剛剛破曉，張宇增（音）匆匆喝下一碗熱粥，把兒子送到學校，而後就來到南運河附近的一個街角。在那裏的楊樹下，他開始在工具箱裏翻找些什麼。

Pliers, check. Club hammer, check. Cigarettes, check.

鉗子，有了。榔頭，有了。香菸，有了。

Mr. Zhang hung a sign on his scooter — “Electrician, carpenter, plumber” — and pumped a techno mix through his headphones. Then he waited.

張宇增在他的電瓶車上掛了一塊牌子——“電工、木工、水暖工”——耳機裏播放着舞曲大串燒。他開始等待。

“There is no other way,” he said. “If you don’t show up, you won’t be able to make a penny.”

“沒有辦法，”他說。“如果你不來這兒，你一分錢都掙不到。”

Nearly every morning for the last two years, Mr. Zhang, 42, has advertised his skills and looked for work here at the Lu Yuan labor market in Shenyang, one of northeast China’s largest cities. Not so long ago, his prospects were decent: A day of painting walls or fixing toilets could fetch $50 or more.

在中國東北部最大的城市之一瀋陽，42歲的張宇增過去兩年來幾乎每天早上都要到魯園勞務市場，展示他的工作技能，尋找工作機會。就在不久前，他的前景還是不錯的：刷牆或修馬桶的工錢，一天下來曾經達到50美元甚至更多。

But as the economy has slowed and parts of the northeast have fallen into recession, temporary jobs have grown scarce in Shenyang. Restaurants are cutting back, and construction companies are struggling to pay workers. For the few remaining positions, the daily rate has dropped below $30.

然而隨着經濟放緩，東北的一些地區陷入衰退，瀋陽的臨時工機會日漸稀少。餐館在裁人，建築公司發不出工錢。所剩的那幾個職位，日薪也降到了30美元以下。

At the Lu Yuan market, the days begin with muted promise, as hundreds of workers gather along the banks of the Nanyun before sunrise, smoking cigarettes, eating sunflower seeds and sharing jokes.

魯園市場的每一天是在些許希冀中開始的，數以百計的工人天還沒亮就聚集在南運河邊，抽菸磕瓜子，講笑話。

There are cooks who were once famous for elaborate buffets but now go hungry at night, and maids who spend their days tidying closets but live in squalid rooms that cost $1.50 per night. The workers wave signs and show off their tools, and pounce at the sight of halting cars.

這裏面有廚師，曾經以製作豐盛的自助餐著稱，如今要餓着肚子度過長夜；有白天給人整理衣櫥，晚上睡在1.5美元一晚的骯髒房間裏的保姆。工人們舉着牌子，擺出他們的工具，一見到有車停下來就涌上去。

By early afternoon, after the street cleaners have swept away the last of the morning’s plastic wrappers and the construction vans have disappeared, the workers set out for home. Some wander the streets, depressed and defeated.

到了午後時分，環衛工人把地上的塑料包裝紙清掃乾淨，建築工地的麪包車也都走了，工人們陸續開始回家。有的在街上游蕩着，顯得絕望而沮喪。

Shenyang, with a population of over eight million, was once a boom town, with its economy growing by 10 percent as recently as 2012. But under the pressure of a property glut and a downturn in manufacturing, the economy has slowed; last year, it grew by 3.5 percent.

擁有逾800萬人口的瀋陽曾經是個快速增長的城市，直到2012年經濟增速還達到10%。但是在房地產過量供應和製造業滑坡的衝擊下，經濟開始放緩；去年增速爲3.5%。

Mr. Zhang moved to Shenyang from the countryside when he was 18. With his knack for laying electric cables, he had grown accustomed to working almost every day.

張宇增在18歲那年從鄉下來到了瀋陽。靠着裝修佈線的手藝，他已經習慣了幾乎每天都有活幹的生活。

Now, sometimes more than a week passes without work. He worries that his wife, a waitress, might leave him. They have a 10-year-old son and a 20-year-old daughter, and their savings of about $3,000 are dwindling.

如今他有時會連續一週以上沒有工作。他擔心作服務員的妻子會離開他。他們有一個10歲的兒子和一個20歲的女兒，他們大約3000美元的積蓄正日漸減少。

“I’m sad,” he said. “I’m a man in my 40s, and I can’t give my family happiness.”

“我挺難過的，”他說。“我是個男人，今年四十幾了，卻給不到家裏人幸福。”

As Mr. Zhang spoke, a beggar named Wang Baocheng appeared. Mr. Wang hobbles through the Lu Yuan market each day carrying a black trash bag filled with clothes and a statue of a monkey that he keeps for good luck.

張宇增說話的時候，一個名叫王寶成的乞丐出現了。他每天都會揹着一個黑色垃圾袋在魯園市場裏蹣跚走過，袋裏除了衣服，還有一隻他認爲會給他好運的猴子雕像。

This morning, his forehead was bruised and almost entirely purple. He tried to persuade a manager at a heat insulation factory that he was fit for work. The manager was dubious, accusing him of having a drinking problem.

今天早上，他的前額有一塊幾乎已經是紫色的淤青。此前他試圖說服一個隔熱材料廠的經理給他一份工作。經理不太相信他，指責他有酗酒的習慣。

“If you don’t hire me, I will lie underneath your car right now,” Mr. Wang threatened.

“如果你不要我的話，我就鑽到車軲轆裏去，”王寶成威脅道。

The man offered a 50-renminbi bill, about $8, and Mr. Wang took it and stumbled away.

那人遞給他一張50元人民幣面額的鈔票，約合8美元，王寶成接過錢，步履蹣跚地走開了。

On another corner, Zhao Yan, 58, a widow, struggled to get attention from potential employers in passing cars. She was looking for painting work, but said it had become more difficult for older laborers, many of them illiterate, to land jobs. She wore a blue hat with a Superman shield to set herself apart.

在另外一個角落裏，58歲的寡婦趙豔（音）難以獲得乘小汽車從旁邊經過的那些潛在僱主的注意。她想找一份刷油漆的工作，但她說上歲數的勞動者——其中很多都不識字——越來越難以找到工作。她頭戴一頂帶有超人盾牌圖案的藍帽子，以顯示自己與衆不同。

“It’s like a war,” she said. “Bosses are picky. They will choose younger people over me.”

“和打仗似的，”她說。“老闆都挑得很，他們都喜歡找年輕的，不喜歡找我們這樣年紀的。”

Ms. Zhao said she often did not have enough money for food, subsisting on pastries that cost a few cents. “Other people can eat cooked rice, but I only get porridge,” she said.

趙豔說她手頭經常連買食物的錢都湊不夠，只好吃售價爲幾毛錢的小吃。“別人能吃上乾飯，而我只能喝粥。”

On a sidewalk near a gazebo, a group of construction workers cracked open eggs that had been boiled in tea. They joked that they lived in “lantian lüguan,” meaning “the blue sky hotel,” or outdoors.

在一個涼亭附近的人行道上，一羣建築工人正在剝茶葉蛋的殼。他們開玩笑說，他們住的是“藍天旅館”，意思是住在戶外。

Still, some were confident the economy would eventually rebound.

不過，一些人仍然相信經濟終將反彈。

“It can’t always be like this,” said Huang Wei, 58, an electrician. “It’s just like the stock market. After it declines, it will bounce back. But you never know how long that will take, and it’s hard for ordinary people to estimate. Fate is in the hands of the state.”

“不可能總這樣吧，”58歲的電工黃偉（音）說。“這和股票一樣，跌了就會升。不過也說不清楚要多久，我們老百姓很難估計，怎麼着都是國家說了算。”

In a nearby exhibition hall, dozens of cooks gathered with cards pinned to their shirts identifying their specialties: pancakes, noodles, dumplings. They dressed neatly but not too neatly, they said, so the bosses would know they had experience. Workers who exaggerate their skills are often chased out of kitchens, they added.

聚集在附近一個展廳裏的數十名廚師，襯衣上彆着能表明自身特長的卡片：烙餅，麪條，餃子。他們衣着整潔，但又並非過於整潔，他們說這樣一來老闆就會知道他們有經驗。他們還說，誇大廚藝的人常常被趕出廚房。

Outside the hall, a bulletin board promoted a government buzzword, entrepreneurship, and urged residents to start their own businesses. The display offered brief biographies of an eclectic set of role models — including Walt Disney, the inventor James Watt and the radio pioneer Guglielmo Marconi — and explained how the toy manufacturer Mattel has turned Barbie dolls into valuable collector’s items.

展廳外，一塊公告板被用於推銷政府部門天天唸叨的熱詞——創業——並敦促居民自主創業。公告板上簡明地列出了沃爾特·迪斯尼(Walt Disney)、發明家詹姆斯·瓦特(James Watt)、無線電先驅古列爾莫·馬可尼(Guglielmo Marconi)等來自不同領域的榜樣的履歷，還闡述了玩具製造商美泰(Mattel)是如何把芭比娃娃變成昂貴藏品的。

“Innovation is the inexhaustible source of the progress of a nation,” read one slogan.

其中一句口號是，“創新是一個民族進步的不竭動力。”

Workers ignored the display, gathering by the nearby noodle stands to smoke instead.

工人們不理會展板，而是聚在附近的麪條攤旁邊吸菸。

Mr. Zhang sat on a stool in his corner, passing the day listening to music and talking with friends. He had polished and organized his tools, tucking them away in towels and plastic bags.

張宇增坐在一張凳子上，待在自己的角落裏，靠聽音樂和與朋友聊天打發時間。他擦亮了自己的工具，並將它們進行整理，用毛巾和塑料袋裹好。

When a black BMW 740Li stopped on the street, Mr. Zhang and several electricians rushed to the passenger window. A man needed help hanging a light. After a few minutes of negotiations, the car sped away: The man had refused to pay more than $30, and the workers said the job was too far away to be worth taking.

當一輛黑色的寶馬740Li在街道上停下來時，張宇增和幾名電工衝向了乘客一側的車窗。一名男子想找人幫忙裝燈。經過幾分鐘的討價還價後，那輛車疾馳而去。那名男子最多隻願出30美元，工人們則表示工作的地方太遠，不划算。

On days like this, Shenyang can seem especially gray. The river flows slowly. Arguments break out over jobs, sometimes turning violent. People talk about solving their problems by jumping into the river. Usually, they are joking.

在這樣的日子裏，瀋陽可能看上去特別沉悶。河裏水流緩慢。工作機會可能會引發爭吵，有時甚至會演變成暴力衝突。人們說着通過跳河來解決自己的問題的話。不過通常，他們只是在開玩笑。

Mr. Zhang said he often felt frustrated by the uncertainty of the job market. As a child growing up in a village in the eastern province of Shandong, he had dreamed of becoming a soldier. But his family did not have the connections to get him into the military, and he did not attend high school.

張宇增說，他常常會因爲勞務市場的變幻無常而感到惱火。在山東的一個村子裏長大的他，孩提時曾夢想着成爲一名軍人。但他家沒有能讓他參軍的關係。他也沒上過高中。

When he moved to Shenyang in 1991, his ambitions were revived, and he became a carpenter, thinking he could one day be a boss. “I was like a newborn calf, unafraid of tigers,” he said, invoking a Chinese proverb.

1991年去瀋陽時，他有了新的抱負，成爲了一名木匠，想着自己有一天能當上老闆。“我當年是初生牛犢不怕虎，”他說。

Now, Mr. Zhang said, he had no choice but to return to the Lu Yuan market each morning, even if his prospects are dim. “I have no other options,” he said.

現在，張宇增說，他除了每天早上回到魯園勞務市場外別無選擇，哪怕找到活兒乾的希望渺茫。“我沒有其他選擇了，”他說。

A friend motioned to the water. “There’s always the river,” she said.

一個朋友指向了那條河。“你可以跳河啊，”她說。