{"id":10582,"date":"2019-11-22T12:25:21","date_gmt":"2019-11-22T12:25:21","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/chinesemoment.com\/?p=10582"},"modified":"2019-11-22T15:58:55","modified_gmt":"2019-11-22T15:58:55","slug":"what-is-your-rice-bowl-made-of","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/chinesemoment.com\/vi\/what-is-your-rice-bowl-made-of\/","title":{"rendered":"What is Your Rice Bowl Made of?"},"content":{"rendered":"
Xiao Lin’s younger sister Huihui graduated from a prestigious university two years ago. She had worked in a state-owned sector, but recently she quit. Simon is told that jobs in state-run enterprises are coveted in China; hundreds of thousands of students dream to get such a job. When Simon came across her, he couldn’t help himself from asking the reason why she quit.<\/p>\n

          t\u012bng shu\u014d n\u01d0 tiào cáo le
Simon:\u542c\u8bf4\u4f60\u8df3\u69fd\u4e86\uff1f
<\/strong>           I heard you changed your job? <\/p>\n

             èn \uff0cw\u01d2 xiàn zài zài y\u012b ji\u0101 s\u012b rén q\u01d0 yè g\u014dng zuò
Huihui: \u55ef\uff0c\u6211\u73b0\u5728\u5728\u4e00\u5bb6\u79c1\u4eba\u4f01\u4e1a\u5de5\u4f5c\u3002<\/strong>
           Yeah, I am working in a private enterprise now.<\/p>\n

             “ti\u011b fàn w\u01cen ”d\u014du bú yào le
Simon: “\u94c1\u996d\u7897”\u90fd\u4e0d\u8981\u4e86\uff1f<\/strong>
             You quit the "Iron Rice Bowl"?<\/p>\n

            y\u012bn wéi w\u01d2 xi\u01ceng yào de shì “j\u012bn fàn w\u01cen ”
Huihui: \u56e0\u4e3a\u6211\u60f3\u8981\u7684\u662f“\u91d1\u996d\u7897”\u3002<\/strong>
            Because what I want is a "Gold Rice Bowl".<\/p>\n

In the first sentence, "\u8df3\u69fd"( tiào cáo)<\/strong> literally means change or switch troughs. Today, it generally means “to move from one job to another” or “switch job professions”, similar to “jumping ship”. Huihui admitted she now works for a private company.<\/p>\n

Simon expresses that he is surprised that she gave up a job which is co<\/em>nsidered as "\u94c1\u996d\u7897"( ti\u011b fàn w\u01cen, an Iron Rice Bowl).<\/strong> An "Iron Rice Bowl" is a Chinese ex<\/em>pression referring to a job with guaranteed lifetime employment in state-run enterprise or public sector.<\/p>\n

China’s transition from a centrally-planned eco<\/em>nomy to a market eco<\/em>nomy has smashed the old guarantees, so many employees choose to switch jobs and find higher positions in private companies with better pay. So here, Huihui says she needs a "\u91d1\u996d\u7897"( j\u012bn fàn w\u01cen),<\/strong> which is a twist on this me<\/em>taphor. It refers to a better job.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n