名校畢業生：高材“低”就

The “Butcher” and “Pork King”

who graduated from Peking University

北大畢業的“屠夫”和“豬肉大王”

People who just graduated from the universities can hardly choose selling pork as their career. However， Lu Buxuan， a gifted scholar from Peking University， has become the most famous butcher in China. He won the first place of Chang’an County， Shaanxi Province in the college entrance examination of arts and entered the Department of Chinese in Peking University， but ended up selling pork on street for life. The news about an elite student from Peking University selling pork spread all over China， and provoked heated discussions about whether it’s a waste of talent. However， several years later， Chen Sheng， who also graduated from the Peking University， gave up his position in civil service and entered the field of pig-breeding. It took less than two years for him to open nearly 100 chain stores of pork in Guangzhou with the business volume of 20 million. His brand became the largest chain store for pork in Guangzhou or even the entire Guangdong Province， and he was called the “Pork King” in Guangzhou. At present， the two people have established a “butcher school”， and the stores have expanded to Beijing from Guangzhou. Their business is booming.

作為剛畢業的大學生，幾乎不可能把賣豬肉作為職業的選擇。然而北大才子陸步軒恐怕是中國最著名的屠夫。他當年以陜西省長安縣高考文科狀元的身份考入北大中文系，后來卻在街頭以賣豬剁肉為生。數年前這位北大才子當屠夫的新聞曾一度傳遍中國的大江南北，并引發了人們關于此行為是否浪費人才的大討論。然而數年之后北大才子陳生放棄公務員職位，悄悄進入養豬行業，在不到兩年的時間在廣州開設了近100家豬肉連鎖店，營業額達到2個億，成為廣州乃至廣東最大的豬肉連鎖店，人稱廣州“豬肉大王”。如今，他倆一起開辦的“屠夫學校”，已經把豬肉鋪從廣州開到了北京，事業做得可謂是風生水起。

“Market Security” from Tsinghua University

清華畢業的“市場保安”

Zhang Xiaoyong was the Number One Scholar of Changsha County in the college entrance examination of sciences in 1991； the Merit Graduate of Tsinghua University in 1996； and a white-collar with high salary in Guangzhou in 2000. However， all these are the past. Nowadays， he is a security guard at the Mawangdui pottery market in Changsha， with the salary of 2000 yuan. Although the payment is low， he is very content. As he said， “I am not the kind of person who does not an opportunity to use his talent， but when dreams and reality come clashing together， I choose to be reconciled to the situation.”

張曉勇，1991年長沙縣高考理科狀元；1996年清華大學優秀畢業生；2000年廣州外企的高薪白領……這些都已經是過去，現在，他只是長沙馬王堆陶瓷市場的一名普通保安，月薪兩千元。拿著不高的工資，卻依然很知足。誠如他自己所言，“我不是懷才不遇，只是當夢想與現實發生激烈碰撞時，選擇安于現狀。”

“Box Lunch Buddy” from Fudan University

復旦畢業的“盒飯小哥”

Zhao Yu entered the Department of Journalism of Fudan University in 2004 to get the Bachelor Degree， and in 2008 he has become the owner of two restaurants. As early as in the sophomore year， Zhao Yu bought a batch of packed meal and started his own business. He could earn 8000 yuan to 9000 yuan at that time. In the second semester of the junior year， Zhao Yu worked part-time in a company. He asked about the salary of people around him. The answers were： 2000 yuan， 3000 yuan and something like that. Those frustrating answers made Zhao Yu think about a lot. “Should I find a job？ I can earn much more money only by selling packed meals.” In the senior year， a schoolmate of Zhao Yu sold a restaurant because of poor operation and Zhao Yu borrowed some money and bought it. Three months later， Zhao Yu started thinking about expanding the business scale， and selling packed meals at the gate of the university became his first choice.

“If I chose to be a white-collar， I may have to live in a relatively faraway place for the cheap rent， like， about 1000 yuan per month. The transportation expenditure will be like 300 yuan. Water and electricity supplies will cost around 200 yuan. For meals， even the cheapest take-out food will cost 10 yuan， plus midnight snack， so about 35yuan per day， and 1000 yuan a month. Beverages and cigarettes will need another 500 yuan. In addition， I also have to pay for the mobile phone. In this way， 4000 yuan is not enough for each month. If I start up my own business， like selling the packed meals， and work part-time as swimming coach or something else， I can make 10，000 yuan a month. It’s kind of a director-level white-collar”， said Zhao Yu， “and most importantly， I can arrange my time as I will. I will be free.”

復旦新聞系2004級本科畢業生趙宇，2008年已是兩家飯店的小老板。早在大學二年級，他就開始經營飯店。創業初期，趙宇批發了一批盒飯，開始做起了自己的小生意，一個月至少可以賺八九千元錢。大三下學期，趙宇在一家公司兼職。問完身邊所有人的工資，“2000元、3000元……”一個個讓人沮喪的答案讓趙宇深思，“我要去找工作嗎？光是賣盒飯，我就能比他們賺更多的錢。”大四時，趙宇的一位校友因為經營不善，要出讓一家飯店。趙宇借錢承包了下來。3個月后，趙宇開始考慮將生意做大的項目。在校門口擺攤賣盒飯，就成了趙宇的第一選擇。

“假如我當個白領，選個偏遠的地方住，那么房租可以便宜點，一個月1500元。交通費用300元，水電費200元，吃飯就算是吃蓋澆飯也要10元錢，再加上夜宵，每天大概要35元，這樣一個月是1000元，再買點飲料和煙要500元，另外加上電話費。一個月估計4000元錢還不夠。如果我出來自己做，賣賣盒飯，再做點游泳教練之類的兼職，一個月也能賺到1萬元，多少也算是個主管的級別了。”趙宇說，“最重要的是我的時間可以自己自由支配。”

Failure or success？

失敗或成功？

There are many people who graduated from elite school but chose to abandon the traditionally ideal careers. The above-mentioned people are not alone， but not everyone can be called a success in the secular meaning.

In fact， careers cannot be categorized as “suitable for university graduates” and “not suitable for university graduates”. Confucius had three thousand disciples and only 72 of them were men of virtue. If you’re really committed to it， anything can be a success.

從名校畢業后并不選擇傳統理想職業的人有很多，并不局限于文中所列，只是并不是所有人都稱得上世俗意義上的成功。

其實，北大畢業生賣米粉和豬肉也好，清華畢業生當保安也罷，事情本就沒有“是大學生做的”和“不是大學生做的”的區別。正如孔子弟子三千，賢者也僅七十二人而已。事實證明任何一件事情，只要做好，用心去做，就都是成功的。

Many people believe that： as long as one can make contributions to society， he is a talent. More and more elite graduates choose to gain success with their miracle hands and wisdom in starting-up. At least they’ve provided experience for the current university students， and that’s a contribution to society. The essence of education is to cultivate contributing and qualified citizens， and whether the position is decent or menial is absolutely no standard. In fact， it’s impossible for all the graduates from elite universities to be scientists and politicians. Even the graduate from Harvard may choose to work as a social worker in African communities.The saying goes that “There is neither lowliness nor nobleness in careers. It’s just different labor division.” Everybody can understand this sentence but it’s really not easy to practice it.

Zhang Tianyi said in his Weibo with real name the authentication that， “If somebody asks me whether I’ve thought about what it will be like if things fail. I may say that since the first day of the opening of this restaurant， for myself， I’ve already been successful. I think， the external stuff can always be won back， and it’s not that difficult. What is really difficult is to break the shackles in our heart.

相信很多人都認同：只要對社會有貢獻有作為，就是人才。越來越多的名校畢業高材生，用雙手和智慧在創業中取得成功，至少為現今大學生的創業史提供了個案，這就是對社會的貢獻。如今，越來越多的人認為教育的真諦是培養對社會有貢獻、合格的公民，而不是以職業高低貴賤論英雄。其實，著名學府培養的也不可能都是科學家、政治家。即使是哈佛大學的畢業生，也有到非洲社區當社會工作者的。正所謂“崗位無高低，分工有不同”，只是做起來并不是那么容易。

張天一在他的實名認證微博中寫道，“有人問我有沒有想過事情失敗了會怎樣。我想了想，從這家餐館開業的第一天起，或許對我自己而言，我就已經成功了吧。我覺得，外在的東西，沒有可以再爭取，不難，難的是打破自己內心的條條框框。”

What is the appropriate thing？

什么才是合適？

When seeing the top students graduated from famous universities， like the “Pork King” from Peking University， the “Box Lunch Buddy” from Fudan University and today’s master who sells rice noodles from Peking University， we find that in face of tough competition and living pressure， these “excellent” talents who were raised up high by the college entrance examination are becoming much closer to the life of ordinary people that they leave the halo of the very best behind and choose to start their own business like others. So for them， what is the real appropriate thing？

As early as in 2013， when Lu Buxuan and Chen Sheng returned to their alma mater to make a speech， Peking University carried out a questionnaire survey on employment situation and their state of mind among 240 students. In terms of the opinions on “college students butchering pigs”， over 58% of them think it is a “normal career choice and nothing special”. If to sell pork is with sufficient space for development， 63% of the students would like to consider entering in this business and 10% just want to be in and think there is no difference between this one and other jobs. More than half of them agree the saying of “there is no highness and lowness in career”. Xu Zhihong， former principal of Peking University said that， “Students from Peking University can be state president， scientist and pork seller as well.”

從北大畢業的“豬肉大王”到復旦畢業的“盒飯小哥”，再到如今的北大碩士賣米粉，讓我們看到在嚴峻的競爭和生存壓力面前，這些畢業于名校的高材生，這些曾經在高考中被高高捧起的“優秀”人才，正越來越貼近尋常百姓生活，脫去類似狀元這樣的光環，選擇了像平常人一樣的創業。對于他們來說，什么才是真正合適的？

早在2013年，陸步軒和陳生回到母校演講時，北大在240名學生中開展了一次大學生就業形勢與心態的問卷調查，其中對“大學生殺豬”的看法，有超過58%的學生認為這是“正常的職業選擇，沒什么特別”。如果賣豬肉的工作具有充足的發展空間，63%的學生表示可以考慮入行，近10%的人明確愿意入行，不覺得和別的工作有什么區別。超過一半的人認同“職業不分貴賤”的說法。北大老校長許智宏說得好，“北大學生可以做國家主席，可以做科學家，也可以賣豬肉。”

In traditional idea， talents from famous universities seem that they cannot do “lower work” that they should not be in the terminal links in manufacturing， sales and services， like to sell pork and rice noodles. But a rational understanding is that， one should master a kind of technique or form a kind of thinking habit in the study period， which can play a better role in the life journey. Zhang Tianyi said in his graduation thesis address that， “No matter what the future will be like， one needs to do things he likes and experience the process not the result， so that he is working for living not living for working. Even if he has to sweep the street in the future， as long as he feels at ease， he is the winner of his own life.” When they devote themselves into their beloved industries， they have already given a new answer to the topic of “Higher education is for the sake of what”.

Besides the support from society， the understanding and support of family is of vital importance too. Zhang Tianyi’s mother once said that， “I would communicate with my child and listen to his ideas. I would like to be a mother who can applause when sit at the roadside and not to control him.” She said that， there are many parents nowadays hope their children to work on“high-end” decent jobs not on those needs to “boot on the ground”. In fact， parents should just let it go.

在傳統的觀念看來，名校畢業的高材生們似乎不能“低就”，比如他們不應該出現在制造業、銷售業、服務業的終端環節，不能賣豬肉、賣米粉。但理性的認識是，一個人在求學階段的學習，應該是掌握一種技能或是養成一種思維習慣，更好地在人生旅途上得以應用。張天一在他的畢業論文中說：“無論未來如何，能夠做自己喜歡的事情，體驗過程而非結果，生活著而不是生存著。縱使將來去掃大街，若能獲心安，也自認是人生大贏家。”當他們投身到自己熱愛的行業中去的時候，就已經給“受高等教育究竟是為了什么”這一論題展示了一個新的答案。

除去社會的支持，家庭的理解與支持也至關重要。張天一的母親曾說，“我會和孩子交流，傾聽他的想法，做一個坐在路邊鼓掌的媽媽，而不是去左右孩子。”她表示，當下不少父母往往希望孩子從事“高大上”的體面職業，而不是從事“接地氣”的工作。現在看來，父母應該學會放手。

Actually， no matter to cultivate scientists or ordinary workers， the prior purpose of education is to foster a person. “Education is the cause for developing personality”， I think， the words of the former principal Cai Yuanpei has already shown the true meaning： it is not graduating from which university or what sort of job one is doing， but what kind of person he eventually becomes that matters！

Zhang Tianyi said that， to open a restaurant is his dream， his own choice and his way of living. “Just like Erlang who sells sushi in his whole lifetime in Jiro Dreams of Sushi， he is respected by others since he respects his job. If I could be like him， then my life goal will be realized then.”

事實上，不論培養出科學家還是普通勞動者，教育的首要目的是成人。“教育乃養成人格之事業也”，北大老校長蔡元培的理念已經為我們道出了真諦：關鍵不是從哪所大學畢業或者從名校畢業后從事什么樣的工作，而在于最終成為了什么樣的一個人！

張天一說，開餐館是他的理想，是堅持自己的選擇和一種生活方式。“就像《壽司之神》里賣了一輩子壽司的二郎，因為尊重職業，所以獲得他人的尊重，大概我的人生目標，就算是實現了。”

Postscript：

后記：

“If one day our society would not regard the news like ‘Peking University Student Sells Pork’ or ‘Tsinghua University Student Works as a Security Guard” as hypes and stunts and we respect every life-style and every occupation post， the society can be called normal and probably many problems can be readily solved at that time. At least the college students’ employment could not be that difficult.” – Zhang Tianyi， the founder of “Fu Niu Tang”

The overall employment situation of China is very severe. According to the statistics from the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security， the number of graduates in colleges and universities in 2014 is 280，000 more than that of 2013 to an all-time high， and this year is called “a harder employment season” compared with 2013’s “the hardest employment season”. In such a situation， should the employment of graduates from famous universities be of great eminence？ Should they follow their career aspirations or satisfy the vanity psychology of others？ In fact， in front of invisible occupational discrimination and utilitarian employment concept， if one can do not cater to the secular bias， respect his own judgment and bravely take the life path that suits for himself， then it would be enough.

“如果有一天，我們的社會不再以‘北大學生賣豬肉’、‘清華學生當保安’這樣的新聞當炒作和噱頭，我們尊重每一種生活方式、尊重每一個職業崗位時，我們的這個社會才算是一個正常的社會，或許我們很多的問題都會迎刃而解。至少，大學生就業，不會如此困難了。”

——“付牛堂”創始人張天一

目前中國就業形勢整體非常嚴峻。人力資源和社會保障部新近發布的數據顯示，2014年中國高校畢業生人數比2013年增長28萬人次，再創歷史新高，較之2013年的“最難就業季”被稱為“更難就業季”。在如此形勢下，名校畢業生就業就一定要出類拔萃嗎？到底應該順從自己的職業意愿還是滿足他人的虛榮心理？其實，在這充滿隱形的職業歧視和功利的就業觀念下，不去迎合世俗偏見，尊重自己內心的判斷，勇敢地走一條合適自己人生軌跡的道路就可以了。

In the Global Financial Center at Chaoyang District， Beijing， there is a small restaurant named “Fu Niu Tang” that just opened in April， 2014. It exclusively sells Changde rice noodles of Hunan Province. This restaurant is barely 37m2 and has only 14 tables， but the business is very busy and it’s crowded every day. Three months after its opening， the second branch store was opened in Chaowai SOHO of Beijing. You will never guess that what kind of person the owner is. Actually， one of the founders of this shop Zhang Tianyi obtains the Master Degree of the Law School of Peking University. In fact， the other three bosses of “Fu Niu Tang” are graduate student， MBA and former Civil Servant. Is it really “beneath” the elite graduates for them to choose jobs like this？ At present， there are more and more university graduates， especially elite graduates， choose the careers suitable for the life goals in a more free and casual way.

在中國北京朝陽區環球金融中心，有一家2014年4月剛剛開業、名為“伏牛堂”的小店，專營湖南常德米粉。這家面積不過37平方米、僅有14個座位的米粉店，竟然每天人頭攢動，生意爆棚，并且僅在三個月之后就在北京朝外SOHO開了第二家分店。誰能想到，作為這家米粉店的創始人之一的張天一竟是北大法學院的碩士研究生？事實上，“付牛堂”的其他三個老板也分別是碩士、MBA和前公務員。名校畢業生如此擇業，是否真的就是高材“低”就了呢？實際上，現在已經有越來越多的大學畢業生，特別是名校高材生，正以一種更自由、更隨性的方式，來選擇更適合自己人生目標的職業。

The “Butcher” and “Pork King”

who graduated from Peking University

北大畢業的“屠夫”和“豬肉大王”

People who just graduated from the universities can hardly choose selling pork as their career. However， Lu Buxuan， a gifted scholar from Peking University， has become the most famous butcher in China. He won the first place of Chang’an County， Shaanxi Province in the college entrance examination of arts and entered the Department of Chinese in Peking University， but ended up selling pork on street for life. The news about an elite student from Peking University selling pork spread all over China， and provoked heated discussions about whether it’s a waste of talent. However， several years later， Chen Sheng， who also graduated from the Peking University， gave up his position in civil service and entered the field of pig-breeding. It took less than two years for him to open nearly 100 chain stores of pork in Guangzhou with the business volume of 20 million. His brand became the largest chain store for pork in Guangzhou or even the entire Guangdong Province， and he was called the “Pork King” in Guangzhou. At present， the two people have established a “butcher school”， and the stores have expanded to Beijing from Guangzhou. Their business is booming.

作為剛畢業的大學生，幾乎不可能把賣豬肉作為職業的選擇。然而北大才子陸步軒恐怕是中國最著名的屠夫。他當年以陜西省長安縣高考文科狀元的身份考入北大中文系，后來卻在街頭以賣豬剁肉為生。數年前這位北大才子當屠夫的新聞曾一度傳遍中國的大江南北，并引發了人們關于此行為是否浪費人才的大討論。然而數年之后北大才子陳生放棄公務員職位，悄悄進入養豬行業，在不到兩年的時間在廣州開設了近100家豬肉連鎖店，營業額達到2個億，成為廣州乃至廣東最大的豬肉連鎖店，人稱廣州“豬肉大王”。如今，他倆一起開辦的“屠夫學校”，已經把豬肉鋪從廣州開到了北京，事業做得可謂是風生水起。

“Market Security” from Tsinghua University

清華畢業的“市場保安”

Zhang Xiaoyong was the Number One Scholar of Changsha County in the college entrance examination of sciences in 1991； the Merit Graduate of Tsinghua University in 1996； and a white-collar with high salary in Guangzhou in 2000. However， all these are the past. Nowadays， he is a security guard at the Mawangdui pottery market in Changsha， with the salary of 2000 yuan. Although the payment is low， he is very content. As he said， “I am not the kind of person who does not an opportunity to use his talent， but when dreams and reality come clashing together， I choose to be reconciled to the situation.”

張曉勇，1991年長沙縣高考理科狀元；1996年清華大學優秀畢業生；2000年廣州外企的高薪白領……這些都已經是過去，現在，他只是長沙馬王堆陶瓷市場的一名普通保安，月薪兩千元。拿著不高的工資，卻依然很知足。誠如他自己所言，“我不是懷才不遇，只是當夢想與現實發生激烈碰撞時，選擇安于現狀。”

“Box Lunch Buddy” from Fudan University

復旦畢業的“盒飯小哥”

Zhao Yu entered the Department of Journalism of Fudan University in 2004 to get the Bachelor Degree， and in 2008 he has become the owner of two restaurants. As early as in the sophomore year， Zhao Yu bought a batch of packed meal and started his own business. He could earn 8000 yuan to 9000 yuan at that time. In the second semester of the junior year， Zhao Yu worked part-time in a company. He asked about the salary of people around him. The answers were： 2000 yuan， 3000 yuan and something like that. Those frustrating answers made Zhao Yu think about a lot. “Should I find a job？ I can earn much more money only by selling packed meals.” In the senior year， a schoolmate of Zhao Yu sold a restaurant because of poor operation and Zhao Yu borrowed some money and bought it. Three months later， Zhao Yu started thinking about expanding the business scale， and selling packed meals at the gate of the university became his first choice.

“If I chose to be a white-collar， I may have to live in a relatively faraway place for the cheap rent， like， about 1000 yuan per month. The transportation expenditure will be like 300 yuan. Water and electricity supplies will cost around 200 yuan. For meals， even the cheapest take-out food will cost 10 yuan， plus midnight snack， so about 35yuan per day， and 1000 yuan a month. Beverages and cigarettes will need another 500 yuan. In addition， I also have to pay for the mobile phone. In this way， 4000 yuan is not enough for each month. If I start up my own business， like selling the packed meals， and work part-time as swimming coach or something else， I can make 10，000 yuan a month. It’s kind of a director-level white-collar”， said Zhao Yu， “and most importantly， I can arrange my time as I will. I will be free.”

復旦新聞系2004級本科畢業生趙宇，2008年已是兩家飯店的小老板。早在大學二年級，他就開始經營飯店。創業初期，趙宇批發了一批盒飯，開始做起了自己的小生意，一個月至少可以賺八九千元錢。大三下學期，趙宇在一家公司兼職。問完身邊所有人的工資，“2000元、3000元……”一個個讓人沮喪的答案讓趙宇深思，“我要去找工作嗎？光是賣盒飯，我就能比他們賺更多的錢。”大四時，趙宇的一位校友因為經營不善，要出讓一家飯店。趙宇借錢承包了下來。3個月后，趙宇開始考慮將生意做大的項目。在校門口擺攤賣盒飯，就成了趙宇的第一選擇。

“假如我當個白領，選個偏遠的地方住，那么房租可以便宜點，一個月1500元。交通費用300元，水電費200元，吃飯就算是吃蓋澆飯也要10元錢，再加上夜宵，每天大概要35元，這樣一個月是1000元，再買點飲料和煙要500元，另外加上電話費。一個月估計4000元錢還不夠。如果我出來自己做，賣賣盒飯，再做點游泳教練之類的兼職，一個月也能賺到1萬元，多少也算是個主管的級別了。”趙宇說，“最重要的是我的時間可以自己自由支配。”

Failure or success？

失敗或成功？

There are many people who graduated from elite school but chose to abandon the traditionally ideal careers. The above-mentioned people are not alone， but not everyone can be called a success in the secular meaning.

In fact， careers cannot be categorized as “suitable for university graduates” and “not suitable for university graduates”. Confucius had three thousand disciples and only 72 of them were men of virtue. If you’re really committed to it， anything can be a success.

從名校畢業后并不選擇傳統理想職業的人有很多，并不局限于文中所列，只是并不是所有人都稱得上世俗意義上的成功。

其實，北大畢業生賣米粉和豬肉也好，清華畢業生當保安也罷，事情本就沒有“是大學生做的”和“不是大學生做的”的區別。正如孔子弟子三千，賢者也僅七十二人而已。事實證明任何一件事情，只要做好，用心去做，就都是成功的。

Many people believe that： as long as one can make contributions to society， he is a talent. More and more elite graduates choose to gain success with their miracle hands and wisdom in starting-up. At least they’ve provided experience for the current university students， and that’s a contribution to society. The essence of education is to cultivate contributing and qualified citizens， and whether the position is decent or menial is absolutely no standard. In fact， it’s impossible for all the graduates from elite universities to be scientists and politicians. Even the graduate from Harvard may choose to work as a social worker in African communities.The saying goes that “There is neither lowliness nor nobleness in careers. It’s just different labor division.” Everybody can understand this sentence but it’s really not easy to practice it.

Zhang Tianyi said in his Weibo with real name the authentication that， “If somebody asks me whether I’ve thought about what it will be like if things fail. I may say that since the first day of the opening of this restaurant， for myself， I’ve already been successful. I think， the external stuff can always be won back， and it’s not that difficult. What is really difficult is to break the shackles in our heart.

相信很多人都認同：只要對社會有貢獻有作為，就是人才。越來越多的名校畢業高材生，用雙手和智慧在創業中取得成功，至少為現今大學生的創業史提供了個案，這就是對社會的貢獻。如今，越來越多的人認為教育的真諦是培養對社會有貢獻、合格的公民，而不是以職業高低貴賤論英雄。其實，著名學府培養的也不可能都是科學家、政治家。即使是哈佛大學的畢業生，也有到非洲社區當社會工作者的。正所謂“崗位無高低，分工有不同”，只是做起來并不是那么容易。

張天一在他的實名認證微博中寫道，“有人問我有沒有想過事情失敗了會怎樣。我想了想，從這家餐館開業的第一天起，或許對我自己而言，我就已經成功了吧。我覺得，外在的東西，沒有可以再爭取，不難，難的是打破自己內心的條條框框。”

What is the appropriate thing？

什么才是合適？

When seeing the top students graduated from famous universities， like the “Pork King” from Peking University， the “Box Lunch Buddy” from Fudan University and today’s master who sells rice noodles from Peking University， we find that in face of tough competition and living pressure， these “excellent” talents who were raised up high by the college entrance examination are becoming much closer to the life of ordinary people that they leave the halo of the very best behind and choose to start their own business like others. So for them， what is the real appropriate thing？

As early as in 2013， when Lu Buxuan and Chen Sheng returned to their alma mater to make a speech， Peking University carried out a questionnaire survey on employment situation and their state of mind among 240 students. In terms of the opinions on “college students butchering pigs”， over 58% of them think it is a “normal career choice and nothing special”. If to sell pork is with sufficient space for development， 63% of the students would like to consider entering in this business and 10% just want to be in and think there is no difference between this one and other jobs. More than half of them agree the saying of “there is no highness and lowness in career”. Xu Zhihong， former principal of Peking University said that， “Students from Peking University can be state president， scientist and pork seller as well.”

從北大畢業的“豬肉大王”到復旦畢業的“盒飯小哥”，再到如今的北大碩士賣米粉，讓我們看到在嚴峻的競爭和生存壓力面前，這些畢業于名校的高材生，這些曾經在高考中被高高捧起的“優秀”人才，正越來越貼近尋常百姓生活，脫去類似狀元這樣的光環，選擇了像平常人一樣的創業。對于他們來說，什么才是真正合適的？

早在2013年，陸步軒和陳生回到母校演講時，北大在240名學生中開展了一次大學生就業形勢與心態的問卷調查，其中對“大學生殺豬”的看法，有超過58%的學生認為這是“正常的職業選擇，沒什么特別”。如果賣豬肉的工作具有充足的發展空間，63%的學生表示可以考慮入行，近10%的人明確愿意入行，不覺得和別的工作有什么區別。超過一半的人認同“職業不分貴賤”的說法。北大老校長許智宏說得好，“北大學生可以做國家主席，可以做科學家，也可以賣豬肉。”

In traditional idea， talents from famous universities seem that they cannot do “lower work” that they should not be in the terminal links in manufacturing， sales and services， like to sell pork and rice noodles. But a rational understanding is that， one should master a kind of technique or form a kind of thinking habit in the study period， which can play a better role in the life journey. Zhang Tianyi said in his graduation thesis address that， “No matter what the future will be like， one needs to do things he likes and experience the process not the result， so that he is working for living not living for working. Even if he has to sweep the street in the future， as long as he feels at ease， he is the winner of his own life.” When they devote themselves into their beloved industries， they have already given a new answer to the topic of “Higher education is for the sake of what”.

Besides the support from society， the understanding and support of family is of vital importance too. Zhang Tianyi’s mother once said that， “I would communicate with my child and listen to his ideas. I would like to be a mother who can applause when sit at the roadside and not to control him.” She said that， there are many parents nowadays hope their children to work on“high-end” decent jobs not on those needs to “boot on the ground”. In fact， parents should just let it go.

在傳統的觀念看來，名校畢業的高材生們似乎不能“低就”，比如他們不應該出現在制造業、銷售業、服務業的終端環節，不能賣豬肉、賣米粉。但理性的認識是，一個人在求學階段的學習，應該是掌握一種技能或是養成一種思維習慣，更好地在人生旅途上得以應用。張天一在他的畢業論文中說：“無論未來如何，能夠做自己喜歡的事情，體驗過程而非結果，生活著而不是生存著。縱使將來去掃大街，若能獲心安，也自認是人生大贏家。”當他們投身到自己熱愛的行業中去的時候，就已經給“受高等教育究竟是為了什么”這一論題展示了一個新的答案。

除去社會的支持，家庭的理解與支持也至關重要。張天一的母親曾說，“我會和孩子交流，傾聽他的想法，做一個坐在路邊鼓掌的媽媽，而不是去左右孩子。”她表示，當下不少父母往往希望孩子從事“高大上”的體面職業，而不是從事“接地氣”的工作。現在看來，父母應該學會放手。

Actually， no matter to cultivate scientists or ordinary workers， the prior purpose of education is to foster a person. “Education is the cause for developing personality”， I think， the words of the former principal Cai Yuanpei has already shown the true meaning： it is not graduating from which university or what sort of job one is doing， but what kind of person he eventually becomes that matters！

Zhang Tianyi said that， to open a restaurant is his dream， his own choice and his way of living. “Just like Erlang who sells sushi in his whole lifetime in Jiro Dreams of Sushi， he is respected by others since he respects his job. If I could be like him， then my life goal will be realized then.”

事實上，不論培養出科學家還是普通勞動者，教育的首要目的是成人。“教育乃養成人格之事業也”，北大老校長蔡元培的理念已經為我們道出了真諦：關鍵不是從哪所大學畢業或者從名校畢業后從事什么樣的工作，而在于最終成為了什么樣的一個人！

張天一說，開餐館是他的理想，是堅持自己的選擇和一種生活方式。“就像《壽司之神》里賣了一輩子壽司的二郎，因為尊重職業，所以獲得他人的尊重，大概我的人生目標，就算是實現了。”

Postscript：

后記：

“If one day our society would not regard the news like ‘Peking University Student Sells Pork’ or ‘Tsinghua University Student Works as a Security Guard” as hypes and stunts and we respect every life-style and every occupation post， the society can be called normal and probably many problems can be readily solved at that time. At least the college students’ employment could not be that difficult.” – Zhang Tianyi， the founder of “Fu Niu Tang”

The overall employment situation of China is very severe. According to the statistics from the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security， the number of graduates in colleges and universities in 2014 is 280，000 more than that of 2013 to an all-time high， and this year is called “a harder employment season” compared with 2013’s “the hardest employment season”. In such a situation， should the employment of graduates from famous universities be of great eminence？ Should they follow their career aspirations or satisfy the vanity psychology of others？ In fact， in front of invisible occupational discrimination and utilitarian employment concept， if one can do not cater to the secular bias， respect his own judgment and bravely take the life path that suits for himself， then it would be enough.

“如果有一天，我們的社會不再以‘北大學生賣豬肉’、‘清華學生當保安’這樣的新聞當炒作和噱頭，我們尊重每一種生活方式、尊重每一個職業崗位時，我們的這個社會才算是一個正常的社會，或許我們很多的問題都會迎刃而解。至少，大學生就業，不會如此困難了。”

——“付牛堂”創始人張天一

目前中國就業形勢整體非常嚴峻。人力資源和社會保障部新近發布的數據顯示，2014年中國高校畢業生人數比2013年增長28萬人次，再創歷史新高，較之2013年的“最難就業季”被稱為“更難就業季”。在如此形勢下，名校畢業生就業就一定要出類拔萃嗎？到底應該順從自己的職業意愿還是滿足他人的虛榮心理？其實，在這充滿隱形的職業歧視和功利的就業觀念下，不去迎合世俗偏見，尊重自己內心的判斷，勇敢地走一條合適自己人生軌跡的道路就可以了。