“哭哭马”走红网络：中国年轻人的不快乐 - 纽约时报双语版

When Vivian Hao, a 39-year-old editor in China’s Anhui Province, came across the red horse plushie on social media, she felt a pang of recognition. The toy, meant to spread holiday cheer, seemed to capture something deeper about modern life.

39岁的薇薇安·郝（音）是中国安徽省的一名编辑，当她在社交媒体上看到这款红色小马毛绒玩具时，心头涌起一阵共鸣。这款旨在传递节日喜悦的玩具似乎捕捉到了现代生活的某种深层特质。

The plushie first appeared last year in a shop in eastern China. It has stumpy legs, a golden bell around its neck and lettering on its side that reads, “wishing you instant wealth.” It also bears a conspicuous manufacturing error: Its mouth is sewn upside down, turning what should have been a content smile into a picture of melancholy.

这款毛绒玩具最早于去年现身中国东部的一家店铺。它有着短粗的腿，脖子上挂着一枚金色铃铛，侧身绣着“马上有钱”字样。它还有一处明显的制作瑕疵：嘴巴被缝反了，本是满足的笑容反而变成了一脸愁容。

Known as the “crying horse,” the glum toy has become an online sensation in China ahead of the Lunar New Year, the country’s biggest holiday, which begins on Feb. 17. The “crying horse” hashtag has appeared more than 190 million times on Douyin, the Chinese version of TikTok, and inspired a winking joke: Take the crying version to work, leave the smiling one at home.

在中国最重要的节日春节（2月17日开始）来临前，这款被称为“哭哭马”的丧气玩偶意外走红全网。在抖音平台上，“哭哭马”话题标签出现超过1.9亿次，还催生了一句调侃：哭哭马带上班，笑笑马留在家。

The toy’s sudden popularity has resonated beyond novelty. Many young Chinese workers have embraced it as a symbol of their exhaustion and disillusion.

这款玩具的爆火绝非单纯的猎奇。许多中国年轻打工人将它视作自身疲惫与幻灭感的象征。

“Its expression perfectly reflects the helplessness of an office worker,” Ms. Hao said. She bought four, two sad and two smiling.

“它的表情简直是打工人无助状态的完美写照，”薇薇安·郝说。她一口气买了四只，两只哭脸、两只笑脸。

Such is the horse’s relatability that Zhang Huoqing, the 46-year-old shopkeeper who first sold it, has struggled to meet the demand — both domestic and overseas — of around 15,000 units a day, even after adding a dozen production lines to produce both the crying and smiling versions, according to China’s state broadcaster.

据中国官方媒体报道，这款玩偶的共鸣度之高，让最初销售它的46岁店主张火青（音）难以满足国内外每天约1.5万只的订单需求。据中国官方媒体报道，即便增设了十余条生产线同时生产哭脸版和笑脸版，仍供不应求。

Ms. Zhang, who runs her shop from the world’s largest wholesale small-commodities market in Yiwu, sells most of the toys through offline channels and has recently begun selling them directly via social media video streams. She declined an interview, citing exhaustion.

张火青的店铺开在全球最大的小商品批发市场义乌，她的玩具主要通过线下渠道销售，最近才开始尝试社交媒体直播销售。她以疲惫为由婉拒了采访。

In the Chinese zodiac, 2026 is the Year of the Fire Horse, a cycle that comes around once every 60 years and symbolizes ambition, growth and burning intensity. Many young Chinese workers have embraced the crying horse as a symbol of the opposite.

在中国生肖纪年中，2026年是火马年，这个60年一轮回的年份象征着抱负、成长与炽热的冲劲。中国职场上的许多年轻人却将哭哭马视为相反的象征。

In past decades, China’s rapid economic growth lifted 800 million people out of poverty and gave rise to a flourishing middle class. But, analysts say, growth and wages have since stagnated, and prospects for social mobility have dimmed. For many young people, the once-idealized life of striving now evokes drudgery, exhaustion and disappointment.

过去数十年，中国经济的高速增长让8亿人脱贫，催生出蓬勃壮大的中产阶层。但分析人士指出，如今经济增速与薪资水平双双陷入停滞，社会流动前景趋于黯淡。曾经被奉为圭臬的奋斗人生在很多年轻人看来只剩下劳碌、疲惫与失落。

Those sentiments are reflected in the backlash to “996” culture — the expectation of working from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m., six days a week, promoted by prominent figures in the country’s tech sector. They can also be seen in online descriptions of modern life as “garbage time,” an American sports term for the final minutes of a game, when the outcome is already decided but players must still go through the motions.

这种心态体现在大众对“996”文化的抵触情绪中——这种由国内科技界知名人士倡导的工作模式要求员工每周工作六天，每天从早上九点工作到晚九点。在网络上，现代生活被形容为“垃圾时间”，这个源自美国体育界的术语，指比赛末尾胜负已定，但选手仍需走完过场的那段时间。

The crying horse joins a growing list of cultural symbols, from “lying flat” to memes about burnout, that reflect a generation questioning the value of relentless work.

继“躺平”和关于倦怠的网络梗图之后，“哭哭马”也加入不断增多的文化符号，折射出一代人对无休止工作价值的质疑。

Spending and lifestyle habits reflect that disaffection, too. Many young Chinese people now seek relief through rural escapism or by simply staying in bed. They are less inclined to spend money flaunting wealth or material success, and are more likely to seek out items that offer emotional comfort or immediate pleasure — like the sad horse.

消费与生活方式也映射出这种失落感。如今许多中国年轻人或逃身乡野、或卧床躺平，从而寻求慰藉。他们不再热衷于为炫富或彰显物质成就，更愿意购买能带来情感慰藉或即时愉悦的物件——比如这只丧气的小马。

Jessica Lan, who works at travel agency in China’s Guangdong Province, said she keeps one on her office desk for company during long workdays.

就职于中国广东省一家旅行社的杰西卡·兰（音）说，她在办公桌上摆了一只“哭哭马”，陪伴自己度过漫长的工作日。

“I’m a donkey, actually,” she said. “A horse is less tired than me.”

“其实我就是头驴，”她说。“马可比我轻松多了。”

翻译：纽约时报中文网

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