Three stars.
One connection.
This is the full circle.
This is Roundtable with me, Steve Heatherly, and Fei Fei.
Okay, fair warning.
The next segment always sounds like a bad idea at first.
Three stories from earlier this week that have absolutely nothing in common.
No shared theme, no shared logic, no shared universe.
And yet by the end of this, we promise they will click.
So today we invite Fei Fei to pick the three stories of the week and find out the link.
Yeah.
So first of all, we have on Monday show, we talked about the quantified self.
Basically, it's a concept where you use these measurable metrics to track your physical and mental health.
So by proactively collecting these data, you can manage your lifestyle or you can expand your own self-awareness.
Yeah, so it's basically a rise in China and also elsewhere in the world that young people, especially young people, are putting numbers on their daily life to better understand their physical and mental health.
You know, just count the steps they walked, hours they slept, cups of water drank.
So basically measuring every aspect of their life.
But is it a good thing or is it a bad thing?
If you go too far, then the numbers can start to control you.
I've never really gotten into this kind of life.
Lifestyle, is that the right word?
Where you're keeping track of everything all the time?
But some people are really into it, and I suppose it has its advantages and disadvantages.
Especially when you compare data with your friends and colleagues.
It's a fun thing to do.
Oh, she is the perfect candidate for the quantified self.
She loves data.
She loves analysis.
So yeah, so it fits for some people.
You're at one end of the extreme, and I think I'm at the other end of the extreme.
Yes, but it definitely was a very fun topic.
Yeah, yeah.
And then next on Wednesday, we talked about the 10-year fishing ban on the Yangtze River.
This fishing ban that began on January the 1st 2020 was covered in 332 conservative areas and it was expanded in 2021 to a full 10-year ban.
Yeah, so we just wrapped up our three-part episode talking about Yangtze River.
Yeah, that was the first episode.
The first one is about the fishing ban.
I would say it's a very bold move because it involved more than 230000 fishermen and also involve an investment of 27 billion yuan.
But somehow the government still decided to go ahead with this decision, with this ban, simply because, you know, because of overfishing, has pushed the ecosystem to the brink.
The refrigerator was empty, so to speak.
And that's why the dolphins we talked about it on that segment the dolphins, the cute little dolphins, sorry porpoises started to disappear because they didn't have.
One of the reasons is because they didn't have enough food for themselves.
But now, over the last years, the porpoises have started to reappear.
So there's plenty of examples why that fishing ban was working.
Yes, and I remember when I was in college, I majored in something related to environmental protection.
And I think the country's environmental protection strategy, as well as policies, have always been adjusted and changing in a way.
At the very first time.
It's like who has polluted the area?
Who's responsible for the cleaning up of it?
And if you did some damage to the area, as long as you make up for it, it's fine.
But later on it becomes that, no matter what you're doing, you're supposed to think out a plan to simultaneously construct a the project that you have, but also protect the environment and make sure it does not deteriorate in any way.
So same logic goes to the no fish to biological recovery kind of policy.
They assess the situation and decide on no fishing for not forever, but for a long enough period of time.
And we talked.
Well, you guys talked about how people have transferred from one area, let's say fishermen, to other industries.
And that's also quite, it paints the picture of the development of that area in that period of time.
But I think it's worth the pain, especially if you're considering those fishermen Which, if overfishing is pushing the ecosystems to the brink, if the number of fish is also declining in the river, their livelihood is not sustainable anyway.
It's a proactive move.
Yeah, the job wouldn't exist anymore anyway.
So now it's taking a more proactive method, transforming them into other roles, like I think.
Very interestingly, a lot of them turn to ecotourism businesses and even patrolling along the river to cut those who are fishing illegally in the river.
It's very interesting.
Nice story.
What's next?
The third one finally is from the Thursday, the cry cry horse.
This stuffed horse came with an unexpected flaw.
Its mouth had been stitched upside down.
Instead of a cheerful smile, the little horse looked unmistakably gloomy, quickly earning a nickname as Cry Cry Horse, because it looks like it's crying.
Yeah, this is a stitching error that went viral and now everybody wants one of these things.
Yeah, so that is also very interesting, and I think it's even more popular than the original smiley ones.
Yeah.
Definitely.
And we see that.
I think here in the Chinese society, people really, really master the skill or the possibility or the ability to self-mock a little bit occasionally.
Sometimes we talk about, oh, it's time to lying flat and do not work hard for anything.
But that's what people say.
It's not what they do.
It's their way of release the pressure a little bit.
Yeah, and it's the cute not cute or not cute cute, if that makes sense.
Yeah, people are loving this sad little horse.
Yes, that little horse goes along the same logic.
That is, instead of being smiley and optimistic all the time, they are also, you know, being a little bit self-marking and crying.
Yeah, especially considering this toy is made specifically for the Year of the Horse, the Spring Festival and that crying face, sort of adding a little bit of nuance to how you celebrate the holiday.
All right.
So for this week, we looked at how metrics are creeping into every corner of our lives, measuring our steps, our sleep, even our moods.
We examined how one of the world's longest rivers was put on pause, as the country makes sure that fishing on the Yangtze River needs to give way to nature recovery.
And we saw how a toy made wrong found fame online.
So these stories, Fei Fei, what on earth do, how they connect?
Well, so let's find out.
If we look closely, they are about the same message.
We're learning to stop pretending and start dealing with the reality.
So we are entering what I would call it the great reality check.
Think of it as your bank account.
You can keep spending, you know, day after day without checking your account.
A little here, a little there.
It doesn't feel like anything.
But until one day, you will need to open that app and finally to get your balance.
And sometimes that number shocks you.
It will be uncomfortable.
Sometimes.
Yeah.
And also sometimes scary.
But it's also something very important.
It gives you that push you cannot ignore is that it forces you to face that reality.
And it's also that moment.
When you start, you need to act from now on.
So if we look at our stories, health tracking is us checking on our physical balance.
Physical account.
The creating health is about our emotional balance.
And when it comes to the Yangtze River fishing ban, it's about the nature's account being temporarily frozen.
And it's sometimes because the phenomenon or what we do, how we do it is not changed.
But the environment has changed.
The situation has changed.
So the old ways do not apply anymore.
That also requires us to do a reality, reality, reality check.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Assessing a situation for what it actually is, then yeah, I can see how you drew the connection here.
Yeah.
And also, sometimes, a lot of the times, like your bank account... that reality is not a happy one.
And it took you some energy and bravery to face that.
But sometimes when you do the reality check, it is a very happy one.
And you realize that you are ahead of yourself a little bit in a good way.
You are at a position where your previous assessment about yourself, evaluation about your situation, has changed.
And you can be encouraged enough and bold enough and having ability enough to move forward, to go to the next step.
It's unfortunate.
Isn't it though, that we need an outside source of inspiration to do the reality check?
With the river.
The river needed to run out of fish before the ecologists were willing to make that change.
The cry-cry horse looking at that frowning face.
That was the outside inspiration for us to reflect inside.
So it seems like it always takes something, some sort of instigator to make us reflect.
But any final thought?
Yeah, here's my final thought.
Think about how many times you've said the words I'm fine today, maybe to a colleague, to a friend, even to yourself.
We say it because we live in a world that rewards polish.
We're expected to be effortlessly healthy.
Our toys should be perfect, smiling.
Our resources should be unlimited.
And it's a story we've told ourselves for decades and even centuries, until that story is starting to wear in.
And we need to face that reality and be honest with ourselves, even though that reality isn't comfortable.
But avoiding it doesn't protect us.
It only drains us.
So that's why a reality check doesn't have to be something you fear, but to be honest and face up to it, to have that reality check.
And that is a great takeaway.
And that brings us to the end of today's roundtable.
The table is round, but the perspectives are sharp.
We'll see you next time.
I'm Niu Honglin with Steve and Fei Fei.
Thank you for listening.
Bye-bye.
