The Virtues of Living in the Countryside
Our society worships urban life. Government and developers have been constantly expanding cities to the countryside because of their conviction, which is “better city, better life”. People living in the country try their hardest to get a permanent urban residence certificate or simply leave for the big cities to find jobs.
Wouldn’t any peasant gladly sign with the devil just to be in the city? Isn’t countryside a place to be disliked? Perhaps it sounds strange to say so, but I believe the answer is “No.” Living in the city is often convenient, but living in the countryside has distinct advantages.
When living in the city, you are apt to be obsessed with all kinds of seductions. When I was just a kid, I often went to arcade with my friends to play video games, and was even seduced to Internet bar a couple of times to “keep pace with the fashion”, and actually, there are more other selections you can make for recreation now, for example, KTV, shopping center, and so on. When my father took me to the countryside each week, I felt that I was confronted with the anguish of going to the purgatory because nothing there was as funny and attractive as the things I enjoyed in the city, and I just sat there, like a fool. Sometimes, I even pleaded with my father not to take me to the old house and just let me be home. When he refused me, I would shout and scream at him for being so brutal to let me “get in touch with the nature”, which I didn’t care about at all. How could I stay in a poor, backward place doing nothing when everybody else would be enjoying the fun and convenience of urban life? I would really be mocked and scoffed by my friends when they talked about the games they had played together last week and I had no chance and idea to cut in. But as I grow older, I often wonder how those people manage to tolerate living with the armored concrete every single day of their life. Now, however, I am beyond the agonies of leaving for the countryside. I treasure every second I spend in the countryside breathing fresh air, enjoying sunshine, catching fishes in the river, reading a book silently, or even just napping in the front yard. I still appreciate the convenience provided by the city, but I am no longer slave to the urban life. And peasants, I’m embarrassed to admit, even more than citizens, have always seemed to be at the mercy of the city. Now, I will go to the theater for a spectacular, or go to the shopping mall for various commodities. Yet I no longer feel nervous and bored when living in the countryside, instead, I feel it a great pleasure to be there.
Living in the countryside is preferable to living in the city in another way. Obviously, the polluted air, water and food worsen citizens’ health condition, preventing them from leading a quality life. The unrelenting pressure of work often drive you crazy, which is another way to damage your health. Also, the noises from everywhere destroy your rest in that good night. However, these things would never happen in the countryside where spring is an always time. There’s no pollution, so you can breathe deeply as much as you want; no pressure, so you can relax yourself and enjoy the sunshine; no noise, so you can have a deep sleep with companionable silence. In other word, living in the city has become kind of suffering to people. It’s no wonder that, despite the citizens’ superior facade, they often live an unhappy, unhealthy, and miserable life.
But the greatest benefit of living in the countryside is enjoying the real life as a human being. We all know that humans are kind of social animal, which means that they need to be loved and cared by others. However, they barely feel such warmth of life when living in the city, because everyone else just focuses on their own business and neglects to help and care for others, especially when other people are in emergencies. Passers-by refused to save the old falling on the road, the rescuer was charged by the one who was just rescued, and solitary persons disconsolately wander in the city everyday with no one caring for him…choosing to live in the city means living with loneliness. It means being ignored by everyone else when simply walking on the street. It means you might not be rescued when confronted with some accidents until someone is “kind” enough to call 120. By way of contrast, the countryside is a paradise. People there are genuine and friendly to you and are willing to help you at any time. And because ancestral villages are very common in China, you will find the bond between you and other villagers are even stronger. People visit each other from time to time, chatting, laughing, and drinking. They farm together, and harvest together, enjoying the time spent together. When someone’s in trouble, they come to his help directly without being swayed by considerations of gain and loss. Isn’t that the harmonious life we have been pursuing?
Most Chinese blindly accept the idea that the city is automatically better than the countryside. But a human life contradicts this premise. There is a great deal of happiness to be found as we live in the countryside. It’s no wonder that, nowadays many billionaires prefer to living in the countryside. The truth doesn’t surprise me at all because I know that wise people always recognize what’s the best!

The Virtues of Living in the Countryside
Our society worships urban life. Government and developers have been constantly expanding cities to the countryside because of their conviction, which is “better city, better life”. People living in the country try their hardest to get a permanent urban residence certificate or simply leave for the big cities to find jobs.
Wouldn’t any peasant gladly sign with the devil just to be in the city? Isn’t countryside a place to be disliked? Perhaps it sounds strange to say so, but I believe the answer is “No.” Living in the city is often convenient, but living in the countryside has distinct advantages.
When living in the city, you are apt to be obsessed with all kinds of seductions. When I was just a kid, I often went to arcade with my friends to play video games, and was even seduced to Internet bar a couple of times to “keep pace with the fashion”, and actually, there are more other selections you can make for recreation now, for example, KTV, shopping center, and so on. When my father took me to the countryside each week, I felt that I was confronted with the anguish of going to the purgatory because nothing there was as funny and attractive as the things I enjoyed in the city, and I just sat there, like a fool. Sometimes, I even pleaded with my father not to take me to the old house and just let me be home. When he refused me, I would shout and scream at him for being so brutal to let me “get in touch with the nature”, which I didn’t care about at all. How could I stay in a poor, backward place doing nothing when everybody else would be enjoying the fun and convenience of urban life? I would really be mocked and scoffed by my friends when they talked about the games they had played together last week and I had no chance and idea to cut in. But as I grow older, I often wonder how those people manage to tolerate living with the armored concrete every single day of their life. Now, however, I am beyond the agonies of leaving for the countryside. I treasure every second I spend in the countryside breathing fresh air, enjoying sunshine, catching fishes in the river, reading a book silently, or even just napping in the front yard. I still appreciate the convenience provided by the city, but I am no longer slave to the urban life. And peasants, I’m embarrassed to admit, even more than citizens, have always seemed to be at the mercy of the city. Now, I will go to the theater for a spectacular, or go to the shopping mall for various commodities. Yet I no longer feel nervous and bored when living in the countryside, instead, I feel it a great pleasure to be there.
Living in the countryside is preferable to living in the city in another way. Obviously, the polluted air, water and food worsen citizens’ health condition, preventing them from leading a quality life. The unrelenting pressure of work often drive you crazy, which is another way to damage your health. Also, the noises from everywhere destroy your rest in that good night. However, these things would never happen in the countryside where spring is an always time. There’s no pollution, so you can breathe deeply as much as you want; no pressure, so you can relax yourself and enjoy the sunshine; no noise, so you can have a deep sleep with companionable silence. In other word, living in the city has become kind of suffering to people. It’s no wonder that, despite the citizens’ superior façade, they often live an unhappy, unhealthy, and miserable life.
But the greatest benefit of living in the countryside is enjoying the real life as a human being. We all know that humans are kind of social animal, which means that they need to be loved and cared by others. However, they barely feel such warmth of life when living in the city, because everyone else just focuses on their own business and neglects to help and care for others, especially when other people are in emergencies. Passers-by refused to save the old falling on the road, the rescuer was charged by the one who was just rescued, and solitary persons disconsolately wander in the city everyday with no one caring for him…choosing to live in the city means living with loneliness. It means being ignored by everyone else when simply walking on the street. It means you might not be rescued when confronted with some accidents until someone is “kind” enough to call 120. By way of contrast, the countryside is a paradise. People there are genuine and friendly to you and are willing to help you at any time. And because ancestral villages are very common in China, you will find the bond between you and other villagers are even stronger. People visit each other from time to time, chatting, laughing, and drinking. They farm together, and harvest together, enjoying the time spent together. When someone’s in trouble, they come to his help directly without being swayed by considerations of gain and loss. Isn’t that the harmonious life we have been pursuing?
Most Chinese blindly accept the idea that the city is automatically better than the countryside. But a human life contradicts this premise. There is a great deal of happiness to be found as we live in the countryside. It’s no wonder that, nowadays many billionaires prefer to living in the countryside. The truth doesn’t surprise me at all because I know that wise people always recognize what’s the best!