“穷游”兴起的社会学分析——兼论穷游者与背包客的异同

A Sociological Analysis on the Emergence of “Qiongyou”:A Comparison between the Qiongyouer and the Backpacker

"穷游"是中国旅游者创造的一个极具想象力的本土概念。作为一种新兴的自助旅行形式,穷游受到了青年人的热捧和媒体的关注。通过对穷游者和背包客进行生活史访谈以及对两者进行比较,文章探索了穷游者独特的自我认同和穷游兴起背后的社会原因。研究发现,穷游者多为中低收入阶层的青年,较长的旅行时间进一步加剧了收入与支出之间的矛盾,因此尽量节约成本成为穷游者最好的选择。穷游者甚少在意旅行的休闲功能,而往往借助旅行反思自我,反思人生选择,他们的旅行可被视为吉登斯所言之"生活政治"的实践。文章指出,由中下收入阶层青年主导的穷游热既反映了社会文化价值日趋多元化,也反映了部分青年的生活危机和精神困惑。穷游的兴起也为在中国的语境下重思旅游的本质和移动的权利问题提供了生动案例。

"Qiongyou"is a concept creatively invented by Chinese travelers and widely reported in public, which literally means"poor travel"in Chinese. Its slogan"one can travel even though he has no money"not only challenges the traditional Chinese travel culture "qiongjia fulu" indicating that one should be financially equipped himself well during a trip in spite of being thrifty in his daily life, but also questions the classical statement that money and leisure time are the preconditions of tourism. The change of travel culture mirrors the dramatic social and cultural changes in China.Previous studies on qiongyouers tend to equalize this group as backpackers or low-budget travelers, but overlook the unique identity possessed by qiongyouers. Based on in-depth interviews regarding their life histories, the study explores the similarities and differences between qiongyouers and backpackers grouped by their self-identification, and discusses what social and economic elements result in the emergence of qiongyou phenomenon in China.This study finds out that qiongyouers are mainly composed of students, low-skilled, low-paid migrant workers, and young adults who admire the life of hippies. Most qiongyouers have a middle or low level of income. In contrast, most backpackers are young professionals who have middle or high level of income.Backpackers thus refuse the identification"qiongyouer"as they think they are not poor, although both groups conduct independent budget travel. In addition, qiongyouers prefer conducting long-term, long-haul travel without a clear coming-home plan, which sharpens the contradiction between their low income and travel costs.As a result, saving every penny becomes the only strategy for qiongyouers and they concern little about the recreational aspect of travel. Instead, they take the journey as a way to reflect on themselves. Qiongyouers begin to travel when undergoing life crisis such as divorce, being unemployed or in a transition of becoming mature and independent. They take the journey as an opportunity to escape from previous routine life and pursue a new lifestyle. Particularly, this new lifestyle is different from a mainstream one which encourages to find a stable job and settle down in a city. Some qiongyouers no longer believe that the mainstream lifestyle is the only desired way of living after travelling.Qiongyouers reflect on the existential questions such as who I am and what life I want to live during the journey and their self-identity becomes a reflexively organized endeavor, which is an excellent practice of"life politics"suggested by Anthony Giddens. On one hand, qiongyou becomes qiongyouers’ choice to fight against their old mechanized life. On the other hand, the long-term immerse in qiongyou increases the self-reflectivity among the young generation and endows them other alternatives for diversified lifestyles. More importantly,qiongyou is advocated and practiced by the lower social class to voice their life decision. It cannot be ignored that their right of mobility is restrained by their social identity, hence the further issues such as the relationship between life politics and emancipatory politics, the real meaning of travelling, need to be elaborated underneath qiongyou phenomenon.