Language | Cynical Soup for Real Life “心灵鸡汤”遇上“现实反鸡汤”
There is no problem that money can’t solve. The problem is a lack of money.
Méiyǒu shénme shì shì yòng qián jiějué bù liǎo de, guānjiàn shì méi qián.
Young people needn’t worry about being broke now; there are many more such days to come.
Niánqīng rén ma, xiànzài méi qián suàn shénme, yǐhòu méi qián de rìzǐ huán duōzhe ne.
Anti-soup sayings can be quite scathing about fundamental problems in society. For all the commercials for after-school tutors that urge parents to help their children “win at the starting line” (that is, give them a leg up in their education), cynics remark that not everyone starts from the same place in the race of life, and that some gaps in status, wealth, and family background are insurmountable:
Some people do not win at the starting line. They are born at the finishing line.
Yǒuxiē rén bú shì yíngzàile qǐpǎoxiàn shang, érshì zhíjiē shēngzàile zhōngdiǎn.
The ugly duckling didn’t turn into a swan through hard work. It was born to swan parents.
Chǒuxiǎoyā biànchéng bái tiān’é, bìng bú shì tā yǒu duō nǔlì, érshì tā fùmǔ jiù shì bái tiān’é.
丑小鸭变成白天鹅,并不是它有多努力,而是它父母就是白天鹅。
These sobering sayings like to highlight the fact that hard work alone may not lead to success in one's career:
I’ve never seen a coal miner become the mine boss by digging faster and more efficiently.
Wǒ méi jiànguò yí gè méikuàng gōngrén kào wāméi yòu kuài yòu duō dāngshàngle méilǎobǎn.
Every beginning is difficult; so is the middle, and the end.
Wànshì kāitóu nán, ránhòu zhōngjiān nán, zuìhòu jiéwěi nán.
Don’t worry about the problems you can’t solve today; you may not be able to solve them tomorrow, either.
Duì jīntiān jiějué bù liǎo de shìqing, yě bú yào zhāojí. Yīnwèi míngtiān yě kěnéng háishì jiějué bù liǎo.
对今天解决不了的事情,也不要着急。因为明天也可能还是解决不了。
Their resignation reaches into their work ethic, toward which some youngsters have adopted a “Buddha-like (佛系 fóxì)” attitude—that is, they advise each other to relax a little, or at least put a stop to needless obsessing over a single goal:
Working hard does not guarantee success, but not working hard does guarantee more relaxation.
Nǔlì bù yídìng chénggōng, dànshì bù nǔlì yídìng hěn qīngsōng.
There are no difficult tasks in the world, as long as you are willing to give up.
Shìshang wú nánshì, zhǐyào kěn fàngqì.
When you learn to smash the broken jar [give up on yourself], you will find that the world is a much bigger place.
Dāng nǐ xuéhuì pòguàn-pòshuāi, nǐ huì fāxiàn zhège shìjiè huòrán-kāilǎng.
当你学会破罐破摔 你会发现这个世界豁然开朗。
No one will look down on you. In fact, no one is looking at you at all; they are all too busy.
Méiyǒu rén qiáobùqǐ nǐ, biérén gēnběn jiù méiyǒu qiáo nǐ, dàjiā dōu tǐng máng de.
没有人瞧不起你,别人根本就没有瞧你,大家都挺忙的。
Cover image from VCG