驻蓉荷兰小哥的城市创意|Discovering the Underlying Creativity of the City

荷兰，素有“创意之国”和“设计之邦”的美誉。创意产业是荷兰9大经济发展强劲行业之一，极简主义和创意精神仿佛已深入到当地人的骨子里。在成都，有一位对“城市创意”颇有心得的荷兰小哥。他对成都的“城市创意”有何见解呢？今天发布君就带你去听一听。

The Netherlands has been nicknamed by some as the "country of creativity"and "nation of designers". The design industry is one of nine major industries driving the Dutch economic expansion, and it seems as if minimalism and the creative spirit have been imprinted into the genes of the Dutch people. In Chengdu lives a young Dutchman with a unique perspective about urban creativity. What is his opinion of Chengdu’s urban creativity? Today I will bring you his story.

荷兰小哥

Michiel Roosjen

中文名吴致远，创意荷兰产业促进中心中国首席代表，About Asia创始人。2009年首次来华，迄今居蓉5年有余。

Michiel Roosjen, or Wu Zhiyuan in Chinese, is the Chief Representative China of Creative Holland and founder of About Asia. He first visited China in 2009, and has been in Chengdu for more than five years.

非真实的构想

Unreal Scenario

毕业那年，全球遭遇经济危机，将自己视为世界公民的Michiel决定来中国，因为“这里有很多事情正蓄势待发。”而此前，他受到了美国作家乔尔·科特金著作《全球城市史》的启发，作者在书中引出了对现阶段中国城市状况及前景的思考。Michiel希望切身地探究中国的城市发展。 

The world was stuck in an economic crisis the year he graduated. Michiel, who saw himself a global citizen, decided to come to China because "a lot of things are going on here." Inspired by the work of American writer Joel Kotkin, The City: A Global History, that illustrates the past, current and future state of cities, Michiel felt a desire to explore the urban development in China and see it for himself. 

同大多数外国人一样，Michiel从学习汉语开始一点点了解中国。如今，9年过去了，虽在中国生活得舒适惬意，他却不能将这九年的生活做任何一句话式的简言概述。Michiel分享了所知外籍圈对中国的一个通感：很多外国人来中国第一天时，自信满满地认为自己能写一本关于中国的书，但是随着在中国的时间愈长，对中国的了解愈深，愈发不敢轻易书写中国。Michiel强调：“中国的文化很不同，复杂多元，你自以为了解它，你发现自己不过是一知半解。” 

Like most foreigners, Michiel began with the studying of the Chinese language and then came to learn about China bit by bit. Nine years have passed and today, even though he lives a comfortable life here in China, he is unable to succinctly summarize his life in the past nine years within a single sentence. According to him, many foreigners feel confident that they can write a book about China on their first day of arriving. However, the longer they stayed, and the more they found out about China, the more they conclude it is rather difficult to state or write anything, "as China is so flexible in many ways you just cannot get a grip on it." Michiel stressed, "China has complex and diverse cultures. You thought you knew it well back then, but you really don't."

看不见的城市

Invisible City

来中国没多久，Michiel便与另外两位伙伴“隔空”创业了，当时他生活在厦门。令人啧啧称赞的成都美食曾一度让他望而却步。“担心食物全是辣的。”他说，“荷兰的美食很单调，但是我喜欢，那是家乡的味道。”2013年，他移居成都，如今5年有余，他已将成都视为“第二故乡”。但成都之所以留住他的心，却并非那些受人瞩目的“城市名片”。 

Not long after moving to Xiamen, China, Michiel started a business in China as well, jointly with two partners in other cities. He was once quite fearful of the world-famous cuisine of Chengdu. "I was worried that all of the food there would be super spicy," he said. "Dutch cuisine is plain, but I like it." In 2013, he moved to Chengdu. He has stayed here for more than five years and regarded it now as "his second hometown." However, the main reason he sticks around, are for other things than the typical Chengdu qualities. 

中国新旧交融的文化或许是吸引外国人来看看的重要原因，这是显而易见的。而城市的魅力，有时不是轻易可见的。“哲学、书法、茶文化等确实是中国的名片，成都也确实以休闲慢生活被人津津乐道。”Michiel说，“但是，我在成都感受到的，却是一种强烈的能量，尤其是年轻人以独特的方式做自己的事情。青年文化在尝试创新。”这种新，并不常见。 

It is obvious that mixture of old and new attracts foreigners, but for him the charm of the city is in those things you cannot see directly. "Chinese philosophy, and food and tea culture are indeed great values, and Chengdu also enjoys this wonderful reputation for living a leisurely and slower life. But I feel a lots of energy and excitement in Chengdu, when I look at all the young people in the city that act in their own unique ways. Youth culture is very present here. It is the new, the uncommon, and it's a great source of inspiration and innovation." 

Michiel曾经收到一个来自中国香港的高薪offer，他专门飞去了香港，在明媚的午后享受怡口的粤菜，畅想着即将开启的新篇章。但是，即便是在香港返蓉的航班上，他依然对是否接受新的工作机遇举棋不定。他拿出一张白纸，一一写下香港的好与不好。忽而，他转念一想：“为何不写一写成都呢？”他刚在白纸上写下两个词，便做出了留在成都的决定。 Playfulness和randomness，这就是他眼中的迷人成都。 

Michiel once received a high-paying job offer from a company in Hong Kong, China. He flew to Hong Kong, China and enjoyed the nice Cantonese cuisine on a sunny afternoon and got in the mood of jumping into a new chapter in life here. However, he was still uncertain about whether to accept the new job on the airplane back to Chengdu. He took out a blank piece of paper and wrote down the pros and cons of Hong Kong, China. It then occurred to him, why not put them down for Chengdu as well? He made his final decision on staying in Chengdu after writing down just two words: Playfulness and randomness - that is the charm of Chengdu, he thought. 

即便多次在不同的社交场合见到Michiel，即便他总是用暖橙色般的笑容相迎，依旧可以感受到他身上有一种内敛的自我约束。他一边形容自己有些“控制狂”，不喜欢非计划的事务陡然发生，一边又享受成都的趣味性和偶然性。他大概是矛盾的。“这都是我，成都教我更放松，教我如何生活。” 

Even though Michiel is a familiar face in many social gatherings, and even though he is always beaming with a smile as vibrant as the iconic orange of the Dutch football team jersey, his innate and natural self-restrain can still be perceived. He described himself as a "control freak" because he does not like the idea of no plan while he is really into the playfulness and randomness of Chengdu. He contradicts his own thoughts and feelings. "It is all me. Chengdu teaches me how to relax, and how to live."

不可知的创新

Unpredictable innovation

三人共创的公司，后来因志向差异，Michiel如今成了仅存的创始人。创业之路并不好走，尤其他不想做传统商人，他的终极梦想是：持续地贩卖创意。 

Michiel became the only founder of the company when his partners went separate ways. Starting a business is not easy, especially as he does not want to be a traditional businessman. His ultimate dream is to keep on bringing new ideas to the market. 

给创意赋予商业价值，是一场“看不见的博弈”。首先，创意本身在诞生之前是看不见的。“成都的创意藏在小型机构和组织中。而且很多都是青年团队，他们之所以能实现，是因为精神驱动。”于此，Michiel以极简主义为例，他说：“极简主义看似简单和廉价，但事实上极简是极为复杂的。在去繁留简的过程中，一点点抛开多余之物，只留下创意最直击人心的部分。极简主义其实是一种思维，同理于寻找创意的本质，它是在寻找人的本质需求。” 

It's a huge challenge to give creativity the commercial value it deserves. It is often an "invisible game." People get used to only look at a final result, while reaching to this result takes many attempts. "Chengdu's creativity is hidden in small institutions and organizations. Many of them are young teams and are driven by a spirit to make the next new thing work." Michiel took minimalistic design as an example, "Minimalism may seem simple and cheap, but actually simplicity is extremely complicated. Often it starts by making something complex, and then strip it down, take away all the unnecessary parts to reach the innermost core of the creation. Minimalism is a philosophy. It is looking for the essential needs of people, and in this way I am looking to explore the essential need of creativity."

人民南路一栋大楼的屋顶天台，城市的日落在等待着他。个头蛮高的他，很快被成都温柔的晚霞环抱。身为荷兰人，这样明亮的橙，是他熟悉的颜色。

Hit by a beam of light of a Chengdu sunset, this tall entrepreneur is standing on the rooftop of a building on Renmin South Road. The gentle orange glow of this sunset matches well with this Dutchman.

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摘自《HELLO Chengdu》杂志

Excerpted from HELLO Chengdu magazine

撰稿| 刘昕怡

By  Lenore Liu

编辑| 俊娴

Edited by Junxian