=There are two classes of customers at the tavern in Lu town. The scholars sit inside, sipping wine in the long robes that mark their intellectual status. The workers, dressed in short robes, drink cheaper booze outside. Only one customer wears a long robe and stands outside: Kong Yiji, a miserable scholar-turned-beggar. He is mocked by the other customers for being poor, yet clinging to his erudite image. They sneer at the way he recites classical verse and tries to teach children how to write obscure Chinese characters. Away from the tavern, Kong steals and is beaten as punishment. Yet he still crawls to the bar—leading to more mocking. When he disappears he is assumed dead.
The story of Kong Yiji was written in 1918 by Lu Xun, a celebrated Chinese satirist (pictured above). But it is being cited today by young Chinese, who relate to Kong. A record 11.6m of them are expected to graduate from university this year. Many will be unable to find work. The unemployment rate for people aged 16 to 24 in cities is nearly 20%. The cier index, a measure of labour-market competition produced by Renmin University in Beijing, shows a big gap between the number of college graduates and the number of jobs available (see chart). The phrase “out of school means out of work” is commonly seen online nowadays, as are memes about Kong Yiji.
That has annoyed the authorities, who believe today’s youth should learn a different lesson from Lu Xun’s tale. Kong Yiji could have improved his lot through hard work, but he was too pretentious to step off his intellectual pedestal, says a commentary on the website of cctv, China’s state television. The implication is that Kong was to blame for his own suffering—as are today’s young people, whose degrees, like Kong’s robe, have made them too arrogant and lazy to do low-skilled jobs.
The government and its backers extol young people who they regard as anti-Kongs. The Communist Youth League recently highlighted a young woman from Jiangsu province called Wei Qiao. Ms Wei was praised by Xi Jinping, China’s leader, for moving to the countryside and becoming a “new farmer”. Young people should learn to “roll up their pants and enter the fields”, said the league. Similarly, state media profiled a young university graduate, referred to as Ms Huang, who earns a living collecting garbage for recycling in Henan province. Office jobs are boring, says Ms Huang in the video. “We should not be shackled by our educational degrees.”
Chinese netizens have ridiculed these reports. “Why don’t we all stop going to school, go turn screws in factories, and save ourselves 15 years of effort?” asked one Weibo user. “My parents spent their lives working in factories and saving money to give me this scholar’s robe. How can I take it off?” asked another. A young vlogger poked fun at how the state expects endless positivity from young people. In a sarcastic music video about “sunny-spirited Kong Yiji” he sings, “I went to school to help China rise, not to be some delivery guy.” It was viewed 3m times before it was censored.
At a recent forum Yu Hua, a novelist, was asked for his views on all this. The problem is not the scholar’s robe, but the job shortage, said Mr Yu, adding that he knew a publisher who had received more than 6,000 applications for six openings. The only solution is to seek economic growth so that more jobs are created, he said. China’s gdp grew faster than expected in the first quarter. But the weak labour market for graduates—and memes about Kong Yiji—are likely to persist for some time.
鲁镇的酒馆里有两类顾客。士人坐在里面，身穿标志着他们知识身份的长袍，品味着美酒。工人们身穿短袍，在外面喝便宜的酒。只有一个顾客穿着长袍站在外面：孔乙己，一个悲惨的从士人变成乞丐的人。他因为贫穷而又依然保持着博学的形象而被其他顾客嘲笑。他们嘲笑他背诵古代诗歌的方式，嘲笑他试图教孩子们如何书写晦涩的汉字。在酒馆之外，孔乙己偷窃并被当作惩罚而殴打。然而，他仍然爬到酒吧 —— 导致更多的嘲笑。当他消失时，人们认为他已经死了。
《孔乙己》这个故事是由中国著名讽刺作家鲁迅于 1918 年所写（上图）。然而，如今这个故事被年轻的中国人引用，他们与孔乙己产生共鸣。今年预计有 1160 万的年轻人将从大学毕业。其中许多人将无法找到工作。城市中 16 至 24 岁人群的失业率接近 20%。北京人民大学制定的劳动力市场竞争指数 “次轶” 显示，大学毕业生的数量与可用职位数量之间存在巨大差距（见图表）。如今，在线上常见的说法是 “毕业即失业”，关于孔乙己的表情包也很常见。
这引起了当局的不满，他们认为当今的年轻人应该从鲁迅的故事中学到不同的教训。中国国家电视台 cctv 网站上的一篇评论指出，孔乙己本可以通过努力工作改善自己的境况，但他太矫情，不愿意从知识的高度上走下来。暗示是孔乙己应该对自己的苦难负责 —— 就像今天的年轻人一样，他们的学位就像孔乙己的长袍一样，使他们变得傲慢和懒惰，不愿意做低技能的工作。
政府及其支持者赞扬那些被视为反孔乙己的年轻人。共青团最近高调介绍了来自江苏省的一名年轻女性魏巧。中国领导人习近平称赞魏巧搬到农村成为一名 “新农民”。共青团表示，年轻人应学会 “卷起裤腿，进入田野”。同样，国家媒体报道了一名名叫黄女士的年轻大学毕业生，她通过回收垃圾谋生于河南省。黄女士在视频中说，办公室工作很无聊。“我们不应该被自己的学历所束缚。”
中国网民嘲笑了这些报道。“为什么我们不都别上学，去工厂拧螺丝，省下 15 年的努力？” 一名微博用户问道。“我的父母一辈子在工厂里工作，省钱给我这件士人的长袍，我怎么能脱掉？” 另一名用户问道。一名年轻的视频博主以幽默的方式讽刺了国家对年轻人期望无尽的积极乐观态度。在一首讽刺的音乐视频中，他唱到 “阳光灿烂的孔乙己”：“我上学是为了让中国崛起，不是为了当外卖小哥。” 该视频在被审查前被观看了 300 万次。
在一个近期的论坛上，小说家余华被问及他对这一切的看法。余华表示，问题不在于士人的长袍，而在于就业岗位的短缺，他补充说他认识一个出版商，他们收到了超过 6000 份申请，但只有六个职位空缺。唯一的解决办法是寻求经济增长，以便创造更多的就业机会。中国的 GDP 在第一季度增长速度超出预期。但是，毕业生的就业市场疲弱以及关于孔乙己的表情包很可能还会持续一段时间。