By Jay Mark Caplan
Last month we held our 8th BUTTER Youth Conference, an event for Chinese youth to spread ideas and share stories. Now we want to share three of those stories with you.
These three BUTTER speakers represent very diverse interests:
Little Lion (小狮) is a Taobao online clothing shop owner and photographer who traveled the country to do fashion magazine- style photo shoots with her customers.
David (大卫) is a hip- hop battle MC active in the Beijing underground.
Li Wei (李伟) is an IT pro and cat fanatic who runs a Cat Hotel on the side.
But despite these differences, these three youth are alike in that they put their passion into personal interests, and in the next few years we are sure to see more like them.
Until recently, Chinese youth devoted most of their energy unswervingly to achieving a middle- class life, leaving little room for outside interests.
And while the middle class dream is still going strong, youth are losing faith that their devotion will be rewarded. The upshot of all the disillusionment and futility is that many more Chinese youth are investing in hobbies and interests that represent alternate forms of fulfillment and personal worth.
Whatever the implications, these are interesting people with great stories to tell, so have a look!
Little Lion
David
Li Wei
