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Idle rich opt for rural life of 'lazy men'
(Xinhua)
Updated: 2006-01-16 09:20 The idle rich, or those who
want out of the rat race, are seeking an idyllic getaway life in the
countryside, joining what they call "lazy men's clubs."
The rich who want to duck out
of a rat race come back to villages and return to
naive. [baidu] | "I want to quit the fierce
competition and I don't want to make any more money," said Li Jianneng, former
director of the Guangzhou City Administration of Parks and Gardens. In his 40s,
he is now a member of a "lazy men's club" - an emerging national phenomenon.
He built a brick-and-log house by himself, and he has few appliances. He has
a bookshelf, books, a sofa and a teapot.
Every morning, Li goes fishing in the pond in front of his house, and then
rows a boat across the pond to a garden where he picks vegetables and fruits for
lunch.
He chats with other members of the lazy men's club in the afternoon,
exchanges ideas on their hobbies and sometimes shows others his calligraphy and
photographs.
Thirteen families have joined the lazy men's club in Guangzhou, including
lawyers, public servants, owners of private enterprises, doctors and real estate
agents.
They rented 670,000 square meters of farmland on the outskirts of Guangzhou,
then worked together to build houses, plant vegetables (organic only), raise
poultry and share the revenue, living a self-sufficient life.
Dating back to more than 1,500 years ago, ancient Chinese poet Tao Yuanming
described his ideal pastoral life.
Li and his fellows have realized Tao's dream.
One of the founders of the lazy men's club, surnamed Long, turned over
company operations to a manager three years ago - he wanted out.
"I spent three days fishing every week, and met many lazy men. The idea of
setting up a club came naturally," he said.
Pastoral life in the lazy men's club is a new option for elites who struggled
to succeed, said a lawyer surnamed Ke, a member of the club.
"Young people seeking ease and comfort are not welcome in this club because
they do not carry out their responsibilities toward their families and the
society," said Ke.
To become a member, one needs to be rich but not be obsessed with money.
Similar clubs have sprouted around Chongqing, Shanghai and other cities.
The emergence of lazy men's clubs also shows that some people pay more
attention to their spiritual lives after getting rich, said Li Yingsheng, a
sociology professor at the People's University of China.
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