[HSK 4] 公交车上的婚育提问 - Questions About Marriage and Childbearing on the Bus

A Shenzhen bus uses a question to spark public discussion about the meaning of having children.

公交车上的婚育提问 - Questions About Marriage and Childbearing on the Bus [HSK 4]Download the app here:

• Chinese Short Dialogue | App Store
• Chinese Short Dialogue | Google Play

Available in 8 languages on the app:

Chinese Listening | 중국어 리스닝 | 中国語リスニング | Аудирование по китайскому языку | Nghe tiếng Trung | Mendengarkan bahasa Mandarin | Escucha en chino | การฟังภาษาจีน | Chinesisches Hören | Écoute du chinois | Ascolto cinese | Audição em chinês | चीनी सुनना | الاستماع إلى اللغة الصينية

《English Translation》

优子: Teacher Liu, today I saw a Shenzhen bus online. It had a line on it: “Is it worth spending twenty years raising a child?” I was really shocked.
刘娜: Yeah, that design has been going viral lately. It doesn’t directly say whether you should have children or not—it uses a question to make everyone think for themselves.
优子: In Japan, buses usually wouldn’t display a question like that. At first I felt a bit pressured, like it was questioning my life choices.
刘娜: A lot of Chinese netizens feel the same way. They think it can make people anxious, especially young people.
优子: But I also saw some people say it’s good, because there’s no standard answer and everyone can share their own thoughts.
刘娜: Right. Some even call it a “public philosophy class.” Discussing life questions in everyday settings is actually quite rare.
优子: I think this approach is really unique. It makes me want to understand more about how Chinese society views marriage and family nowadays.
刘娜: Exactly. Sometimes a simple question can make people think seriously more than a slogan can.