Pens for Ploughshares: Urban Workers Return to Rural Hometowns(a)

Pens for Ploughshares: Urban Workers Return to Rural Hometowns

『返乡进行曲，号角再起』

　　In the wake of Taiwan's many years of rapid economic development, problems such as excessively long work hours and increasingly distant interpersonal and familial relationships are becoming issues for our society. When young workers from rural areas compare the rising cost of city life with their low starting salaries, the urban rat race loses still more of its luster. Taiwan's working-age population has long flowed out of the countryside and into the cities in search of better opportunities. This trend has begun reversing course over the last decade, with many rural areas seeing the return of familiar faces.

　　Times are changing, which is helped by the contemporary redefinitions of success. Where there used to be widespread envy for the highly-paid, white-collar lifestyle, we now see many people choosing personal fulfillment over the acquisition of wealth. This makes the prospect of leaving the city for one's rural hometown still more appealing. As a result, growing numbers of people who have chosen to pursue careers in the city are now asking themselves if they are truly living the life they want. Some are going further, giving up white-collar, urban jobs to take up farming and other pastoral pursuits, going into the creative and cultural industries in an effort to inject a new vibrancy to their neighborhoods, or applying their professional skills to the revitalization of their hometowns. These individuals haven't failed to make it in the city. Instead, their desire to get back to the country represents a first step on their path to settling down. Naturally, the benefits from all these people returning home don't run just one way. While some individuals are busy reinvigorating their hometowns, others are learning life lessons for themselves.

　　随着多年来台湾经济的快速发展，超时工作及人际与家庭关系逐渐疏离等问题已成了我们社会所面临的课题。来自乡村地区的年轻人若拿城市地区日渐高涨的生活费用和他们很低的起薪来做比较，便会觉得城市中永无休止的竞争更失其光环。台湾的工作人口长期以来都由乡村地区涌入城市去找寻更好的工作机会。而随着许多熟面孔返回乡村地区，这样的趋势在过去 10 年来已开始逆转。

　　时代在改变，而现今社会对于成功也有不同的定义。过去，高薪的白领生活让大多数人称羡不已，但现今我们看到许多人选择追求自我的实现，而非获取财富。这使得人们离开城市返回故乡的前景更具有吸引力。结果，愈来愈多选择在城市追求职业生涯的人现在开始问自己，他们是否真的过着自己想要的生活。有些人更进一步地放弃了白领阶级的城市生活，而投入农耕及追求其他的田园生活、加入文创产业为小区注入活水，或是运用专业让家乡重现活力。这些返乡的人并不是在城市里遭到挫败。相反地，他们返乡的渴望代表了他们安定下来的第一步。很自然地，所有这些返乡的人所带来的好处并不只是单向的。有些人忙于为家乡注入活水，而其他人则在自己的人生课程中上了一课。