日韩精品久久一区二区三区_亚洲色图p_亚洲综合在线最大成人_国产中出在线观看_日韩免费_亚洲综合在线一区

Global EditionASIA 中文雙語Fran?ais
Opinion
Home / Opinion / Kang Bing

Thrift good for all, new generations should be taught

By Kang Bing | China Daily | Updated: 2025-05-13 07:14
Share
Share - WeChat
A student uploads a photo of his empty plate to a WeChat mini program called Clear Plate at the canteen of his school. Photo provided to CHINA DAILY

As a child, I was taught by my parents and teachers to be thrifty. Not a single grain of rice should be wasted on the dinner table. Worn-out clothes should continue to be worn even, if needed, after patching up. These were some of the advice I was given and I followed them because they came from elders and, more importantly, I had no choice but to live a frugal life.

Being an agrarian society for several thousand years, China almost always struggled to feed its people due to frequent droughts, floods, earthquakes, and war. To survive the disasters, mostly natural but also manmade, the Chinese people learned to be frugal and save for a rainy day. With the passage of time, frugality became second nature for the Chinese people.

During my childhood half a century ago, food was rationed. The fixed amount of ration given to households was not enough to meet the dietary or nutritional needs of most people, especially children and youths. Hunger was a reality for us. I clearly remember the night when all the boys in my school dorm woke up and began banging spoons on their rice bowls because they could no longer bear the pangs of hunger.

Growing up in those tough times, I know the value of food and practice frugality. So much so that thrift has become a "part of my genes". No wonder when President Xi Jinping said there was a rule in his family — both his parents were revolutionaries and, later, high-ranking officials — that not a single grain of rice should be left in the rice bowls, I readily related to it. In fact, all Chinese families at the time had the same rule.

It saddens me sometimes to think that my generation, or the generation after me, will be the last to believe in frugality. While we had to toil to fill our stomachs and learned to always save for a rainy day, the younger generations seem immune to such worries and necessities. Since food and consumer goods are abundant today — they can be delivered at your doorstep at the click of a few keys on your smartphone — the younger generations seem to think "thrift" is just a word from a dictionary of the past.

China has launched several "empty plate" campaigns to stop food wastage. Now, the central authorities have launched a new round of discipline inspection to deter officials from wasting public resources by organizing extravagant feasts, using government vehicles for personal purpose or traveling on government funds. The fact that many rounds of such campaigns have to be conducted to prevent food wastage indicates it is difficult to control, let alone end, wastefulness and corruption. The reason: most people today don't adhere to the tradition of frugality.

China's history tells us that whenever people abandoned the practice of thrift and indulged in extravagance, it faced a socio-economic crisis irrespective of how prosperous or powerful the country was. Fully aware of history, the central authorities are taking measures to ensure people remain true to the tradition of frugality.

But it is becoming increasingly difficult to persuade the new generations to practice thrift, because they are not worried about starvation now that quite a few can afford Louis Vuitton handbags, and luxury cars. In fact, to boost domestic consumption, governments at different levels have launched even trade-in programs to encourage people to get rid of their old household electrical appliances, cars and smartphones, and buy new ones at subsidized prices.

Although I know the higher authorities have reasons to promote the trade-in program, I still think the early disposal of the appliances is a waste of resources. I sincerely hope the disposed appliances find new homes and continue to serve households instead of being smashed into scrap.

It seems the meaning of thrift has changed from what it was during my time. But I believe the concept and significance of thrift remain the same. I hope we will develop into a society where wasting food is looked down upon and indulging in extravagance using public funds a crime.

Kang Bing

The author is former deputy editor-in-chief of China Daily.

Most Viewed in 24 Hours
Top
BACK TO THE TOP
English
Copyright 1995 - . All rights reserved. The content (including but not limited to text, photo, multimedia information, etc) published in this site belongs to China Daily Information Co (CDIC). Without written authorization from CDIC, such content shall not be republished or used in any form. Note: Browsers with 1024*768 or higher resolution are suggested for this site.
License for publishing multimedia online 0108263

Registration Number: 130349
FOLLOW US
主站蜘蛛池模板: 欧美八区 | 青青青青久久久久国产的 | 亚洲视频 欧美视频 | 日本中文在线 | 加勒比 テカ痴女の猛烈交尾 | 波多野结衣亚洲 | 2021中文字幕亚洲精品 | 国产精品毛片一区二区在线看 | 狠狠久久| 最新国产精品 | 国产裸体bbb视频 | 91在线入口 | 色婷婷一区二区三区四区 | 亚洲久草 | 日韩一区二区免费视频 | 2019天天干天天操 | 国产视频一区二区在线观看 | 男女又黄又刺激B片免费网站 | 91婷婷色 | 久久99精品视香蕉蕉 | 在线观看日韩中文字幕 | 久草精品视频 | 91短视频在线免费观看 | 国产亚洲综合在线 | 久久日本精品99久久久久 | 日韩免费视频一区二区 | 激情综合视频 | 午夜视频网址 | 97福利社 | 成人毛片免费播放 | 女人被添全过程A片久久AV | 国产高清在线精品一区二区三区 | 成人亚洲A片V一区二区三区婷婷 | 国产欧美一区二区三区久久人妖 | 欧洲免费无线码二区5 | 欧美激情bbbbbxxxxⅹ | 久久天堂网| 精品免费国产一区二区三区 | 国产一区二区三区久久久久久久久 | 色橹橹欧美在线观看视频高清免费 | 久久久久无码国产精品一区 |