中国留学生陆万祯绑架案和中国“炫富”文化

来自中国大陆的留学生陆万祯遭暴力绑架后被释放，这一消息近期来一直成为头条新闻。暴力罪行固然令人震惊，但更耸人听闻的是陆所畸形拥有的，其父母提供的让人眩晕的资产 - 白色兰博基尼，劳斯莱斯和揽胜豪华车队。据称，陆曾在社交媒体网站上大晒其豪车照片。虽然绑架的确切动机仍然在警方调查之下，据各种传言称，绑架与这名22岁学生拥有的巨额财富有关。

The international student from China who was violently kidnapped and released by a group of people have dominated the headlines for days. But apart from the shocking crimes involved, it was Lu’s dazzling assets from his parents -- a white Lamborghini, a Rolls-Royce, and a Range Rover have made the news more sensational. Lu had allegedly posted the pictures of the luxury cars on social media site. While the exact motive of the kidnapping is still under the police investigation, speculations abound that it was related to the massive wealth that the 22-year-old student owns.



在中国，能赚个盆满钵满者倍受人仰慕，炫富者更是难以掩饰其自负和自豪。去年，一股“炫富挑战”之风在社交媒体风头强劲，仅仅两周内便在微博上引来逾100万个张贴。穿着时髦的年轻女子纷纷晒照出风，将一幅幅假装摔倒于昂贵物品丛中的照片频频现于社交网站，其中一幅风靡网站的照片中，一名女子横卧人行道上，价值数千美元奢侈品散落周围。

Making excessive wealth could be a success story in China and flaunting it can bring ego and pride. In Oct. last year, a growing trend in China dubbed the "flaunt your wealth challenge" generated more than a million posts on Chinese social platform Weibo within two weeks. Young women are dressing to the nines then pretending to fall and spill all their costly items around them. An image of a young woman, lying face down on a pedestrian crossing with luxury items worth thousands of dollars scattered around her, has instantly gone viral on the Chinese social media.

炫耀财富的行为的确凸显了购买了不断增强的中国中产阶级的崛起。对于那些几乎未曾见识过外面的世界，也从未触及过巨额财富的人士来说，一夜暴富的巨变会带来很大的不安全感。他们刹不住驾驶法拉利在赛道上飙车，使用金色iPhone发短信的冲动，也无法遏制通过炫耀物质财富以获得身份象征和某种优越感的欲望。

The act of showing off wealth also highlights China’s rising middle class with rapidly growing purchasing power.  For those who had little exposure to the outside world and limited history of handling a fortune, the sudden windfall can bring a great sense of insecurity. They feel the urge to go drag racing in Ferraris while texting on gold iPhones, showcasing material wealth ostentatiously to get a status symbol and a sense of superiority.



但是，在北美，身份不依赖于金钱，富人们也不会张扬受隐私保护的财产。很多西方父母也不愿将他们的财产转给他们的后代。 从童年贫穷中崛起并积累了巨额财富,全球最成功的流行歌星之一Sting说，他的孩子不会从他1.8亿英镑的收入中受益。 “我希望我的三个儿女将继续干活挣钱......我没有太多的遗产留给他们。”前苹果首席执行官，白手起家的亿万富翁史蒂夫•乔布斯，其净资产达到102亿美元，但他却告诉他的女儿说：“她别想从他那里得到任何东西。”

However, in North America, personal identities are mostly independent of money, and wealth is calmly enjoyed and protected as privacy. Western parents are reluctant in passing their fortune to their offspring. Sting, one of the world’s most successful pop stars who has risen from an impoverished childhood to amass a vast fortune, said that his children should not expect to benefit from his £180 million earnings. “I expect my three sons and daughters to work… There wouldn’t be too much left for them to inherit.” Steve Jobs, the former Apple CEO, A self-made Millionaire and Billionaire whose net worth reached $10.2 billion had told his daughter that “she won’t get anything from him.” 

但这股“炫耀财富”之风却难以刮到北美校园。在北美文化下，当地华裔学生接受自力更生的价值观，依靠自我奋斗踏上致富之路。他们摈弃校园里奢侈的生活方式，也不愿意白白接受父母提供的大笔捐赠。有些华裔学生甚至将父母为他们所做的贡献和努力视为他们必须偿还的“债务负担”。

The flaunting your wealth trend cannot find any place in North American campus. Under North America culture influence, local students embrace the value of self-reliance and are encouraged to earn the fortune on their own. They frown up a luxury lifestyle at a campus and are reluctant to take a big free handout from their parents. Some even take their parents’ contributions and efforts made for their education as a “burden of debt” that they must pay back.


 
《纽约时报》发表的一篇文章讲述了第二代亚裔美国人的故事，这位华裔学子的中产层父母为他的成功做出了很大牺牲，甚至便卖了住房而搬到农场以支付他的大学学费。 “我为此感到深深内疚，”他写道，意指其父母为支持他的学业成长而做出的超出常人的奉献和牺牲。

An essay published on NY Times has told the story of a second generation Asian American whose middle-class parents sacrificed their quality of life – including selling their home and moving to a farm to pay for his college tuition. “I am torn by guilt,” he wrote, referring to his parents’ extraordinary measures to support for his academic growth.

华裔父母为子女教育付出的代价促使他们努力工作并取得高成就。亚裔美是该国学术最成功的族裔。2018年被哈佛大学录取的学生中保持了SAT最高平均成绩的是亚裔学生，而不是其任何其他种族。

The costs that the Asian American parents paid for their children’s education have motivated them to work hard and to achieve high. Asian Americans are the most academically successful races in the country. In 2018, Asian Americans held the highest SAT average in Harvard’s admitted students pool than other races.

的确，财富可以带来灾难，缺乏财富可以变为成功的动力。

Indeed, wealth can bring a disaster and lacking it can be a drive to succeed.