ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Leslie T. Chang - Journalist
In her reporting and writing, Leslie T. Chang explores the lives of workers in China, focusing on the experience of women.

Why you should listen

Leslie T. Chang's book Factory Girls: From Village to City in a Changing China traces the lives of Chunming and Min, two young women working in Dongguan, a factory city in South China. Leaving their home villages far behind in pursuit of work, Chunming and Min are part of an estimated 10 million young migrants (estimated to be 70 percent women) who work in China's booming factories. These migrants live in a "perpetual present," forging individual and nontraditional lives amid the breakneck pace of manufacturing.

As Chang gets to know these two women and others, she reveals the harsh realities of China's spectacular industrial growth, and also explores her family's own history of migration from mainland China.

Chang lived in China for a decade as a correspondent for The Wall Street Journal. She is now based in Egypt.

More profile about the speaker
Leslie T. Chang | Speaker | TED.com
TEDGlobal 2012

Leslie T. Chang: The voices of China's workers

张彤禾:中国工人的声音

Filmed:
1,558,400 views

关于全球化发展的争议,正在如火如荼地进行,而我们所缺失的,就是聆听工人们的声音——数百万的人民迁移至中国的工业城市,或者其它新兴的地区去为我们制造在全球销售的产品。演讲者张彤禾寻找到了一些在中国蓬勃发展的城市里打工的女性,并讲述了关于她们的故事。
- Journalist
In her reporting and writing, Leslie T. Chang explores the lives of workers in China, focusing on the experience of women. Full bio

Double-click the English transcript below to play the video.

00:16
Hi你好. So I'd like to talk a little bit about the people
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嗨。今天我想来探讨一下
00:19
who make the things we use every一切 day:
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这些为我们制造日常用品的人们:
00:21
our shoes, our handbags手袋, our computers电脑 and cell细胞 phones手机.
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例如我们的鞋子,手提包,电脑,还有手机。
00:25
Now, this is a conversation会话 that often经常 calls电话 up a lot of guilt有罪.
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这个话题时常让我们觉得很内疚。
00:29
Imagine想像 the teenage青少年 farm农场 girl女孩 who makes品牌 less than
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想象一下,一个年轻的农村女孩给你缝制跑步鞋
00:33
a dollar美元 an hour小时 stitching拼接 your running赛跑 shoes,
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可每个小时还赚不到一美金,
00:36
or the young年轻 Chinese中文 man who jumps跳跃 off a rooftop屋顶
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又或者是那个加班为你组装iPad的中国小伙子
00:38
after working加工 overtime随着时间的推移 assembling组装 your iPadiPad的.
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在加班之后从楼上跳了下来。
00:43
We, the beneficiaries受益者 of globalization全球化, seem似乎 to exploit利用
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我们,是全球化的受益者,
00:46
these victims受害者 with every一切 purchase采购 we make,
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可每笔交易却似乎都是在剥削那些受害者,
00:49
and the injustice不公正
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而这种不公平
00:50
feels感觉 embedded嵌入式 in the products制品 themselves他们自己.
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似乎也深深烙印在这些产品之中。
00:54
After all, what's wrong错误 with a world世界 in which哪一个 a worker工人
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总而言之,这个世界到底怎么了?
00:56
on an iPhone苹果手机 assembly部件 line线 can't even afford给予 to buy购买 one?
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一个在组装iphone生产线上的员工却买不起一台iphone?
01:00
It's taken采取 for granted理所当然 that Chinese中文 factories工厂 are oppressive压抑,
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人们理所当然地认为,中国的工厂就是应该被压榨的,
01:03
and that it's our desire欲望 for cheap低廉 goods产品
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因为我们渴求便宜的产品
01:05
that makes品牌 them so.
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造成了这样的局面。
01:08
So, this simple简单 narrative叙述 equating等同 Western西 demand需求
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很显然,西方社会的需求
01:11
and Chinese中文 suffering痛苦 is appealing吸引人的,
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和中国人对他们遭遇的申诉被连接在一起,
01:14
especially特别 at a time when many许多 of us already已经 feel guilty有罪
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尤其是当我们中的很多人已经因为我们对世界影响
01:17
about our impact碰撞 on the world世界,
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而感到了内疚,
01:19
but it's also inaccurate不准确 and disrespectful不恭.
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然而,这是不正确的,也是不尊重他人的。
01:23
We must必须 be peculiarly独有的 self-obsessed自恋 to imagine想像 that we
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我们极其自恋地去想象着
01:26
have the power功率 to drive驾驶 tens of millions百万 of people
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我们有力量去操控地球另一边
01:29
on the other side of the world世界 to migrate迁移 and suffer遭受
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千万的人民,让他们以如此可怕的方式
01:32
in such这样 terrible可怕 ways方法.
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去遭受痛苦或者迁移。
01:35
In fact事实, China中国 makes品牌 goods产品 for markets市场 all over the world世界,
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事实上,中国制造的产品遍布全球,
01:38
including包含 its own拥有, thanks谢谢 to a combination组合 of factors因素:
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也包括他们自己的市场,这要归结于许多因素的综合:
01:41
its low costs成本, its large and educated博学 workforce劳动力,
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低成本,大量受过教育的劳动力,
01:45
and a flexible灵活 manufacturing制造业 system系统
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还有有弹性的工作制度
01:47
that responds响应 quickly很快 to market市场 demands需要.
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这些都快速地迎合了市场的需求。
01:50
By focusing调焦 so much on ourselves我们自己 and our gadgets小工具,
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我们因为太专注于我们自身和产品上,
01:53
we have rendered呈现 the individuals个人 on the other end结束
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所以忽视了产业链另一端的个体的存在
01:56
into invisibility隐形, as tiny and interchangeable通用
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将他们看成是可以随时被替换的,微小的
01:59
as the parts部分 of a mobile移动 phone电话.
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像手机零件那样。
02:02
Chinese中文 workers工人 are not forced被迫 into factories工厂
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中国工人并不是因为我们对于iPods的无限渴求
02:05
because of our insatiable贪心 desire欲望 for iPodsiPod播放器.
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而被迫进入工厂的。
02:07
They choose选择 to leave离开 their homes家园 in order订购 to earn money,
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他们选择离乡背井,是为了赚钱,
02:10
to learn学习 new skills技能, and to see the world世界.
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为了学习新的技能,以及为了看看这个世界。
02:14
In the ongoing不断的 debate辩论 about globalization全球化, what's
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在对全球化发展趋势的辩论中
02:17
been missing失踪 is the voices声音 of the workers工人 themselves他们自己.
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我们缺失的,是聆听工人们自己的声音。
02:20
Here are a few少数.
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以下就是一些例子。
02:23
Bao Yongxiu永修: "My mother母亲 tells告诉 me to come home
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包永秀(音译)说:“我妈妈让我回家结婚
02:26
and get married已婚, but if I marry结婚 now, before I have fully充分
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但是如果我还没有让自己得到充分的发展
02:30
developed发达 myself, I can only marry结婚 an ordinary普通 worker工人,
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就结婚,我只能嫁给一个平凡的工人,
02:34
so I'm not in a rush."
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所以我根本不着急。”
02:37
Chen Ying: "When I went home for the new year,
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陈颖(音译)说:“我过年回家的时候
02:40
everyone大家 said I had changed. They asked me,
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每个人都说我变了,他们问我:
02:43
what did you do that you have changed so much?
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你怎么会有这么大的改变?
02:46
I told them that I studied研究 and worked工作 hard. If you tell them
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我告诉他们,我很努力地学习和工作,
02:49
more, they won't惯于 understand理解 anyway无论如何."
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即便你想给他们讲更多,他们反正也不能理解。”
02:53
Wu Chunming刘春明: "Even if I make a lot of money,
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吴春明(音译): “即使我赚了很多钱
02:56
it won't惯于 satisfy满足 me.
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也无法满足我自己。
02:58
Just to make money is not enough足够 meaning含义 in life."
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赚钱并不是生活全部的意义。”
03:03
Xiao Jin: "Now, after I get off work, I study研究 English英语,
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肖金(音译)说: “现在我下班以后,就会去学英语
03:07
because in the future未来, our customers顾客 won't惯于
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因为在不久的将来,我们的客户将不仅仅是中国人,
03:09
be only Chinese中文, so we must必须 learn学习 more languages语言."
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所以,我们需要学习更多的语言。”
03:13
All of these speakers音箱, by the way, are young年轻 women妇女,
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以上的话,都是出自一些年轻女孩的口,
03:16
18 or 19 years年份 old.
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她们仅仅18、19岁。
03:19
So I spent花费 two years年份 getting得到 to know assembly部件 line线 workers工人
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因此,我花了两年时间去了解流水工作线上的工人们
03:22
like these in the south China中国 factory city called Dongguan东莞.
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例如在中国南部的一个工业城市——东莞。
03:26
Certain某些 subjects主题 came来了 up over and over:
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有一些主要的问题不断的重复着:
03:28
how much money they made制作,
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他们到底赚了多少钱,
03:30
what kind of husband丈夫 they hoped希望 to marry结婚,
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她们想要嫁给怎样的人,
03:32
whether是否 they should jump to another另一个 factory
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他们是否想要跳槽
03:35
or stay where they were.
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还是留在一个工厂内。
03:37
Other subjects主题 came来了 up almost几乎 never, including包含
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另一些话题,则几乎不被提起
03:39
living活的 conditions条件 that to me looked看着 close to prison监狱 life:
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例如:在我眼中如牢狱般的生活条件
03:42
10 or 15 workers工人 in one room房间,
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10-15个工人住在一个房间里,
03:45
50 people sharing分享 a single bathroom浴室,
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50个人公用一个厕所,
03:48
days and nights ruled统治 by the factory clock时钟.
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日以继夜地按照工厂的要求来作息。
03:51
Everyone大家 they knew知道 lived生活 in similar类似 circumstances情况,
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他们每一个人都知道,即便是住在如此的环境里面
03:55
and it was still better than the dormitories宿舍 and homes家园
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也会比他们在中国农村的老家的条件
03:58
of rural乡村 China中国.
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好得多
04:00
The workers工人 rarely很少 spoke about the products制品 they made制作,
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工人们很少谈论他们制造的产品,
04:03
and they often经常 had great difficulty困难 explaining说明
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他们往往很难解释清楚
04:05
what exactly究竟 they did.
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他们到底做了什么。
04:08
When I asked Lu Qingmin李庆明,
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我访问了吕清民(音译)
04:09
the young年轻 woman女人 I got to know best最好,
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这个年轻的女孩是我最了解的,
04:12
what exactly究竟 she did on the factory floor地板,
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我问她她在工厂里到底从事什么工作
04:14
she said something to me in Chinese中文 that sounded满面 like
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她用中文告诉我,听起来像是
04:16
"qiu xi."
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“秋西。”
04:18
Only much later后来 did I realize实现 that she had been saying
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很久以后,我才知道她说的是
04:21
"QCQC," or quality质量 control控制.
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"QC",也就是质量监控。
04:24
She couldn't不能 even tell me what she did on the factory floor地板.
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她竟然都不能告诉我她在工厂里做的是什么。
04:28
All she could do was parrot鹦鹉 a garbled乱码 abbreviation缩写
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她能做的就只是模仿一个英文缩写的发音
04:31
in a language语言 she didn't even understand理解.
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而这个语言是她根本就不懂的。
04:35
Karl卡尔 Marx马克思 saw this as the tragedy悲剧 of capitalism资本主义,
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马克思认为这就是资本主义的悲哀
04:38
the alienation异化 of the worker工人 from the product产品 of his labor劳动.
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疏远了工人与他们所制造的产品。
04:42
Unlike不像, say, a traditional传统 maker制作者 of shoes or cabinets橱柜,
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与传统的鞋匠或者木匠不同,
04:46
the worker工人 in an industrial产业 factory has no control控制,
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工人在工厂没有控制权,
04:49
no pleasure乐趣, and no true真正 satisfaction满意 or understanding理解
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在她所做的工作中,没有快乐,
04:53
in her own拥有 work.
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没有真正的满足或理解。
04:55
But like so many许多 theories理论 that Marx马克思 arrived到达 at
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但同许多马克思
04:57
sitting坐在 in the reading room房间 of the British英国的 Museum博物馆,
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坐在英国图书馆的阅读室里想出来理论一样,
05:00
he got this one wrong错误.
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这一点,他错了。
05:03
Just because a person spends her time
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仅仅因为一个人用她的时间
05:05
making制造 a piece of something does not mean
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去制造一件物品,并不代表
05:08
that she becomes that, a piece of something.
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她就变成了这件物品。
05:10
What she does with the money she earns收入,
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她用她赚的钱去做了什么
05:13
what she learns获悉 in that place地点, and how it changes变化 her,
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她在那个地方学到了什么技能,以及她如何被改变
05:17
these are the things that matter.
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这些才是重要的。
05:20
What a factory makes品牌 is never the point, and
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一个工厂制造什么并非重点,
05:22
the workers工人 could not care关心 less who buys购买 their products制品.
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工人们也不在乎谁买了他们制造的产品。
05:26
Journalistic新闻 coverage覆盖 of Chinese中文 factories工厂,
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记者报道了关于中国工厂的新闻
05:29
on the other hand, plays播放 up this relationship关系
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另一方面,也强调了
05:31
between之间 the workers工人 and the products制品 they make.
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工人与产品之间的联系。
05:34
Many许多 articles用品 calculate计算: How long would it take
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很多文章都在计算:
05:37
for this worker工人 to work in order订购 to earn enough足够 money
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这些工人要工作多久,赚来的钱
05:39
to buy购买 what he's making制造?
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才够买一件他们制作的产品?
05:42
For example, an entry-level-line入门级的行 assembly部件 line线 worker工人
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举个例子,一个初级组装生产线的工人
05:44
in China中国 in an iPhone苹果手机 plant would have to shell贝壳 out
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在中国组装iPhone配件
05:48
two and a half months'个月 wages工资 for an iPhone苹果手机.
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要倾其2个半月的工资才能买一台iPhone。
05:51
But how meaningful富有意义的 is this calculation计算, really?
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但说真的,这些计算有任何意义吗?
05:55
For example, I recently最近 wrote an article文章
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再举个例子,我最近写了一篇文章
05:57
in The New Yorker纽约客 magazine杂志,
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登在纽约客杂志上,
05:58
but I can't afford给予 to buy购买 an ad广告 in it.
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但是也供不起我在杂志上登一个广告。
06:01
But, who cares管它? I don't want an ad广告 in The New Yorker纽约客,
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但是,谁在乎?我不需要在纽约客上登广告
06:03
and most of these workers工人 don't really want iPhonesiPhone手机.
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其实,大部分的工人,也不是真的需要iPhone。
06:06
Their calculations计算 are different不同.
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他们的计算方式是不同的。
06:08
How long should I stay in this factory?
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我在工厂要待多久?
06:10
How much money can I save保存?
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我能存多少钱?
06:13
How much will it take to buy购买 an apartment公寓 or a car汽车,
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我需要多少钱才能买个房子,买辆车,
06:15
to get married已婚, or to put my child儿童 through通过 school学校?
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才能结婚,或者足以送我的小孩去学校?
06:20
The workers工人 I got to know had a curiously好奇 abstract抽象
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这些我试图去了解的工人们
06:23
relationship关系 with the product产品 of their labor劳动.
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对他们和产品之间的联系有着很抽象的解读。
06:26
About a year after I met会见 Lu Qingmin李庆明, or Min,
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大概在我遇到陆青敏,也就是小敏的一年后
06:30
she invited邀请 me home to her family家庭 village
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她邀请我去她农村的家做客
06:32
for the Chinese中文 New Year.
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过春节。
06:34
On the train培养 home, she gave me a present当下:
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在回家的火车上,她给了我一个礼物:
06:36
a Coach教练 brand change更改 purse钱包 with brown棕色 leather皮革 trim修剪.
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一个棕色皮质的Coach牌零钱包。
06:41
I thanked感谢 her, assuming假设 it was fake,
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我谢了她,虽然我很自然地认为这应该是个山寨的产品,
06:42
like almost几乎 everything else其他 for sale拍卖 in Dongguan东莞.
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就好像东莞在出售的大部分产品一样。
06:46
After we got home, Min gave her mother母亲 another另一个 present当下:
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回家以后,小敏给了她妈妈另一个礼物:
06:50
a pink Dooney的Dooney & Bourke伯克 handbag手提包,
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一个Dooney & Bourke牌的粉色手提包,
06:52
and a few少数 nights later后来, her sister妹妹 was showing展示 off
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几天以后,她的姐姐正在展示
06:54
a maroon栗色 LeSportsacLeSportsac的 shoulder bag.
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一个红褐色的LeSportsac单肩包。
06:58
Slowly慢慢地 it was dawning拂晓 on me that these handbags手袋
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慢慢地,我好想明白了
07:01
were made制作 by their factory,
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这些东西都是她们工厂生产的
07:03
and every一切 single one of them was authentic真实.
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每一件东西,都是正品
07:07
Min's分钟 sister妹妹 said to her parents父母,
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小敏的姐姐告诉她父母
07:09
"In America美国, this bag sells塞尔斯 for 320 dollars美元."
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“在美国,这个包要卖320美金。”
07:12
Her parents父母, who are both farmers农民, looked看着 on, speechless说不出话来.
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她的农民父母看了看,无言以对。
07:15
"And that's not all -- Coach教练 is coming未来 out with a new line线,
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还有,Coach正在推出一系列新产品2191
07:18
2191," she said. "One bag will sell for 6,000."
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她说:“这个好像要卖6000。”
07:23
She paused暂停 and said, "I don't know if that's 6,000 yuan or
145
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她停顿了一下:“我不知道是6000人民币,还是
07:27
6,000 American美国 dollars美元, but anyway无论如何, it's 6,000." (Laughter笑声)
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6000美元,无论如何都是6000啦。” (笑声)
07:33
Min's分钟 sister's姐妹 boyfriend男朋友, who had traveled旅行 home with her
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小敏姐姐的男友也回到家
07:35
for the new year, said,
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与她一起过年,
07:37
"It doesn't look like it's worth价值 that much."
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他说:“看起来不值这么多钱。”
07:40
Min's分钟 sister妹妹 turned转身 to him and said, "Some people actually其实
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小敏的姐姐对他说:“有的人
07:43
understand理解 these things. You don't understand理解 shit拉屎."
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就是懂这些东西,你懂啥。”
07:47
(Laughter笑声) (Applause掌声)
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(笑声)(掌声)
07:51
In Min's分钟 world世界, the Coach教练 bags包装袋 had a curious好奇 currency货币.
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在小敏的世界里,Coach包包有一个很奇怪的价值。
07:55
They weren't exactly究竟 worthless无用, but they were nothing
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它们虽然不是一文不值,但是相比起它们的实际价值
07:58
close to the actual实际 value, because almost几乎 no one they knew知道
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还是相差甚远,因为她们所结识的人里面
08:00
wanted to buy购买 one, or knew知道 how much it was worth价值.
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几乎没有人想要买,也没有人知道这值多少钱。
08:04
Once一旦, when Min's分钟 older旧的 sister's姐妹 friend朋友 got married已婚,
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有一次,小敏大姐的一个朋友结婚
08:08
she brought a handbag手提包 along沿 as a wedding婚礼 present当下.
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她带着一个手提包作为给新人的礼物。
08:10
Another另一个 time, after Min had already已经 left
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又一次,小敏已经离开手提包的工厂了
08:13
the handbag手提包 factory, her younger更年轻 sister妹妹 came来了 to visit访问,
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但她的小妹妹来看她的时候
08:16
bringing使 two Coach教练 Signature签名 handbags手袋 as gifts礼品.
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带了两个经典款Coach作为礼物。
08:20
I looked看着 in the zippered拉链 pocket口袋 of one,
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我打开一个有拉链的口袋
08:22
and I found发现 a printed印刷的 card in English英语, which哪一个 read,
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看到一张卡片写着一些英文:
08:26
"An American美国 classic经典.
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“美国经典。
08:29
In 1941, the burnished磨光 patina绿锈
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1941年那些表皮磨光的
08:32
of an all-American所有美国 baseball棒球 glove手套
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美国棒球手套
08:34
inspired启发 the founder创办人 of Coach教练 to create创建
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启发了Coach的创始人
08:37
a new collection采集 of handbags手袋 from the same相同
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促使其研发了一个新系列的手提包:
08:39
luxuriously豪华地 soft柔软的 gloved-hand戴着手套的手 leather皮革.
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奢华、柔软的的表面和手套的皮质一样。
08:42
Six skilled技能的 leatherworkers制革 crafted精雕细琢 12 Signature签名 handbags手袋
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6名技巧纯熟的皮革工人制造12只经典款手提包
08:46
with perfect完善 proportions比例 and a timeless永恒 flair风骚.
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他们有着精准而快速的手艺。
08:50
They were fresh新鲜, functional实用, and women妇女 everywhere到处
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这些手提包新颖,具有相当的功能性,世界各地的女人都喜欢
08:53
adored崇拜 them. A new American美国 classic经典 was born天生."
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一个新的美国经典诞生了。”
08:58
I wonder奇迹 what Karl卡尔 Marx马克思 would have made制作 of Min
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我想知道马克思是否会被小敏
09:00
and her sisters姐妹.
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和她的姐妹所影响。
09:02
Their relationship关系 with the product产品 of their labor劳动
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她们与产品之间的关系
09:05
was more complicated复杂, surprising奇怪 and funny滑稽
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更复杂、惊奇而且有趣
09:07
than he could have imagined想象.
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这都超出他的想象。
09:09
And yet然而, his view视图 of the world世界 persists仍然存在, and our tendency趋势
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但是,他对这个世界的观点没变,而我们却将
09:12
to see the workers工人 as faceless不露面 masses群众,
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这些工人们看成是一群上不了台面的群体,
09:15
to imagine想像 that we can know what they're really thinking思维.
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想象一下,假如我们可以了解工人们的真实想法。
09:19
The first time I met会见 Min, she had just turned转身 18
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我第一次见到小敏的时候,她刚满18岁
09:22
and quit放弃 her first job工作 on the assembly部件 line线
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她刚刚辞去在一家电子设备工厂的
09:25
of an electronics电子产品 factory.
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组装生产线的工作。
09:27
Over the next下一个 two years年份, I watched看着 as she switched交换的 jobs工作
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接下来的两年,我看着她换了5次工作,
09:30
five times, eventually终于 landing降落 a lucrative有利可图 post岗位
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最后固定在一个比较赚钱的职位
09:33
in the purchasing购买 department of a hardware硬件 factory.
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是在一个硬件工厂的采购部门。
09:36
Later后来, she married已婚 a fellow同伴 migrant农民 worker工人,
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不久,她嫁给了一个打工仔,
09:39
moved移动 with him to his village,
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然后移居到了他的村子,
09:41
gave birth分娩 to two daughters女儿,
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生了两个女儿,
09:43
and saved保存 enough足够 money to buy购买 a secondhand二手 Buick别克
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他们存够了钱给她买了一辆二手别克车
09:46
for herself她自己 and an apartment公寓 for her parents父母.
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给她的父母买了房子。
09:50
She recently最近 returned to Dongguan东莞 on her own拥有
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最近她独自回到东莞
09:53
to take a job工作 in a factory that makes品牌 construction施工 cranes起重机,
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在一个起重机工厂里找了份工作,
09:57
temporarily暂时 leaving离开 her husband丈夫 and children孩子
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暂时与她村里的丈夫和孩子
09:59
back in the village.
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分居两地。
10:01
In a recent最近 email电子邮件 to me, she explained解释,
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在最近的一封邮件里,她解释:
10:03
"A person should have some ambition志向 while she is young年轻
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“人们年轻的时候,应该有所抱负
10:07
so that in old age年龄 she can look back on her life
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那么在他们老的时候,回首过去
10:10
and feel that it was not lived生活 to no purpose目的."
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就不会觉得这一生都毫无意义。”
10:15
Across横过 China中国, there are 150 million百万 workers工人 like her,
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在中国,有1亿5千万像她一样的工人,
10:19
one third第三 of them women妇女, who have left their villages村庄
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其中三分之一,是离乡背井的女性,
10:22
to work in the factories工厂, the hotels酒店, the restaurants餐馆
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她们在工厂、酒店、餐厅
10:26
and the construction施工 sites网站 of the big cities城市.
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或者是大城市的建筑工地工作。
10:28
Together一起, they make up the largest最大 migration移民 in history历史,
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这么算来,是她们创造了历史上一个庞大的人口迁移的数字,
10:32
and it is globalization全球化, this chain that begins开始
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而这个产业链的起点,就是“全球化”的风靡
10:35
in a Chinese中文 farming农业 village
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从中国的农村
10:37
and ends结束 with iPhonesiPhone手机 in our pockets口袋 and Nikes耐克 on our feet
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到最终进入我们口袋里的iPhone和脚上的耐克
10:41
and Coach教练 handbags手袋 on our arms武器
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还有手中的Coach手提包
10:44
that has changed the way these millions百万 of people
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这改变了数百万人的
10:46
work and marry结婚 and live生活 and think.
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工作、婚姻、生活和思想。
10:51
Very few少数 of them would want to go back
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他们其中很少有人
10:53
to the way things used to be.
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愿意回到过去的生活。
10:55
When I first went to Dongguan东莞, I worried担心 that
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我第一次去东莞的时候,我很担心
10:59
it would be depressing压抑 to spend so much time with workers工人.
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担心与工人相处的时间会很压抑沮丧。
11:03
I also worried担心 that nothing would ever happen发生 to them,
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我也担心他们永远不会改变,
11:06
or that they would have nothing to say to me.
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或者他们也没有什么能对我说的。
11:08
Instead代替, I found发现 young年轻 women妇女 who were smart聪明 and funny滑稽
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然而,我发现那些年轻的女性都很聪明、风趣
11:11
and brave勇敢 and generous慷慨.
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而且勇敢、大方。
11:14
By opening开盘 up their lives生活 to me,
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通过向我展示她们的生活,
11:16
they taught me so much about factories工厂
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她们教给我很多关于工厂
11:18
and about China中国 and about how to live生活 in the world世界.
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关于中国,以及如何生存在这个世界的道理。
11:25
This is the Coach教练 purse钱包 that Min gave me
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这就是小敏在回家的火车上
11:28
on the train培养 home to visit访问 her family家庭.
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送给我的Coach钱包。
11:30
I keep it with me to remind提醒 me of the ties联系 that tie领带 me
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我一直保存着它,由此提醒着我与这些
11:33
to the young年轻 women妇女 I wrote about,
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我记录过的年轻女生的联系,
11:35
ties联系 that are not economic经济 but personal个人 in nature性质,
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这些并不是因为经济而是因为个人情感的联系,
11:40
measured测量 not in money but in memories回忆.
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价值并不是在于金钱而是记忆。
11:43
This purse钱包 is also a reminder提醒 that the things that you imagine想像,
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这个钱包也是一个提醒,
11:47
sitting坐在 in your office办公室 or in the library图书馆,
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你坐在办公室或图书馆里时所想象的东西
11:50
are not how you find them when you actually其实 go out
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和你走出去真正接触的东西
11:53
into the world世界.
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并不一样。
11:54
Thank you. (Applause掌声)
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谢谢。(掌声)
11:56
(Applause掌声)
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(掌声)
12:03
Chris克里斯 Anderson安德森: Thank you, Leslie莱斯利, that was an insight眼光
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谢谢,Leslie,真的很有见地
12:05
that a lot of us haven't没有 had before.
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我们中很多人从未这么思考过。
12:07
But I'm curious好奇. If you had a minute分钟, say,
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但是我很好奇,如果你有一分钟时间
12:11
with Apple's苹果 head of manufacturing制造业,
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对Apple制造商的领导人说一些话
12:15
what would you say?
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你会说什么?
12:17
Leslie莱斯利 Chang: One minute分钟?
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一分钟?
12:18
CACA: One minute分钟. (Laughter笑声)
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是的,一分钟。(笑声)
12:20
LCLC: You know, what really impressed印象深刻 me about the workers工人
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你们知道吗,那些工人们真正启发我的
12:22
is how much they're self-motivated自我激励, self-driven自驱动,
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是他们的自我激励、自我推进
12:25
resourceful足智多谋, and the thing that struck来袭 me,
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还有足智多谋,都深深警醒着我
12:27
what they want most is education教育, to learn学习,
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他们最想要的是教育,是学习
12:30
because most of them come from very poor较差的 backgrounds背景.
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只是因为他们大部分有着穷困的家庭背景。
12:32
They usually平时 left school学校 when they were in 7th or 8th grade年级.
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他们通常中学就离开学校了。
12:35
Their parents父母 are often经常 illiterate文盲,
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他们的父母大都是文盲,
12:37
and then they come to the city, and they, on their own拥有,
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他们独自来到城市打拼
12:40
at night, during the weekends周末, they'll他们会 take a computer电脑 class,
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2125
晚上或者周末,他们去学习电脑的课程,
12:42
they'll他们会 take an English英语 class, and learn学习
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或者是学英语,
12:44
really, really rudimentary初步 things, you know,
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就是学一些真的非常非常基本的东西,你知道吗?
12:46
like how to type类型 a document文件 in Word,
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1739
例如如何在Word里面打字
12:48
or how to say really simple简单 things in English英语.
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或者用英语讲一些简单的事情。
12:51
So, if you really want to help these workers工人,
255
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所以,如果你们想要帮助那些工人
12:53
start开始 these small, very focused重点, very pragmatic务实 classes
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3223
开展一些小型、集中、基础的课程
12:56
in these schools学校, and what's going to happen发生 is,
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这会带来的结果就是
12:59
all your workers工人 are going to move移动 on,
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你的工人得到了提升,
13:01
but hopefully希望 they'll他们会 move移动 on into higher更高 jobs工作 within Apple苹果,
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3407
但是希望,他们也会晋升到Apple更高的职位中
13:04
and you can help their social社会 mobility流动性
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你可以帮助他们适应社会流动性
13:07
and their self-improvement自我提升.
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帮助他们得到自我的提升。
13:08
When you talk to workers工人, that's what they want.
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当你于工人们交谈,你就会知道这就是他们所要的。
13:10
They do not say, "I want better hot water in the showers阵雨.
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2674
他们不会说:我想要浴室里有更热的水
13:12
I want a nicer更好 room房间. I want a TV电视 set."
264
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1985
我想要一间更好的房间,想要一个电视
13:14
I mean, it would be nice不错 to have those things,
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我的意思是,有这些东西固然很好
13:16
but that's not why they're in the city,
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但是他们来到这个城市不是为了这些,
13:17
and that's not what they care关心 about.
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2089
而且他们根本不在乎。
13:19
CACA: Was there a sense from them of a narrative叙述 that
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3550
他们有没有说过
13:23
things were kind of tough强硬 and bad, or was there a narrative叙述
269
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3412
生活环境真的很艰苦,或者是
13:26
of some kind of level水平 of growth发展, that things over time
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自我得到提升以后,这些东西
13:29
were getting得到 better?
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也会得到相应改善?
13:31
LCLC: Oh definitely无疑, definitely无疑. I mean, you know,
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当然,当然了。我是说,大家都知道
13:33
it was interesting有趣, because I spent花费 basically基本上 two years年份
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这其实很有趣,我花了大概2年时间
13:35
hanging out in this city, Dongguan东莞,
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在东莞生活
13:37
and over that time, you could see immense巨大 change更改
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在这个时间里面,你可以看到每个人的生活
13:39
in every一切 person's人的 life: upward向上, downward向下, sideways侧身,
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都在起着巨大的变化:变得更好,变坏,或者偏离轨道
13:42
but generally通常 upward向上.
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但总体来说,都是在进步的。
13:44
If you spend enough足够 time, it's upward向上, and I met会见 people
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只要你花足够的时间,就会变好
13:46
who had moved移动 to the city 10 years年份 ago, and who are now
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如果一个人十年前来到城市
13:48
basically基本上 urban城市的 middle中间 class people,
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现在应该已经成为城市的中层阶级,
13:50
so the trajectory弹道 is definitely无疑 upward向上.
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所以总体趋势一定是变好的。
13:52
It's just hard to see when you're suddenly突然
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只不过你初入城市的时候
13:54
sucked into the city. It looks容貌 like everyone's大家的 poor较差的 and
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一下子还无法感知。看起来好像每个人都很穷
13:56
desperate殊死, but that's not really how it is.
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很失落,但这都不是真实的。
13:58
Certainly当然, the factory conditions条件 are really tough强硬,
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可以肯定,工厂的环境十分艰苦
14:00
and it's nothing you or I would want to do,
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在坐的你我都不会愿意前往,
14:02
but from their perspective透视, where they're coming未来 from
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但是比起他们所来自的地方,站在工人的角度来看
14:05
is much worse更差, and where they're going
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这都是值得的,他们也希望
14:07
is hopefully希望 much better, and I just wanted to give
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所去的地方这些都会得到改善,我只想
14:09
that context上下文 of what's going on in their minds头脑,
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把他们所想的东西陈述出来
14:12
not what necessarily一定 is going on in yours你的.
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而这些并不等同于你们所认定的东西。
14:14
CACA: Thanks谢谢 so much for your talk.
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感谢你的演讲。
14:16
Thank you very much. (Applause掌声)
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非常感谢。(掌声)
Translated by Lai Chen
Reviewed by Jing Xu

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ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Leslie T. Chang - Journalist
In her reporting and writing, Leslie T. Chang explores the lives of workers in China, focusing on the experience of women.

Why you should listen

Leslie T. Chang's book Factory Girls: From Village to City in a Changing China traces the lives of Chunming and Min, two young women working in Dongguan, a factory city in South China. Leaving their home villages far behind in pursuit of work, Chunming and Min are part of an estimated 10 million young migrants (estimated to be 70 percent women) who work in China's booming factories. These migrants live in a "perpetual present," forging individual and nontraditional lives amid the breakneck pace of manufacturing.

As Chang gets to know these two women and others, she reveals the harsh realities of China's spectacular industrial growth, and also explores her family's own history of migration from mainland China.

Chang lived in China for a decade as a correspondent for The Wall Street Journal. She is now based in Egypt.

More profile about the speaker
Leslie T. Chang | Speaker | TED.com