《蜗居》直面房奴生活而走红

正在中国走红的电视连续剧《蜗居》(Dwelling Narrowness)描写了姐妹两人在繁华的大都市上海经受的各种困难，将镜头对准了大城市中不那么光鲜的一面：房价的上涨、以及由此给年轻人的理想造成的巨大打击。

在过去一个月里，这部电视剧引起了很多中国年轻人的关注和网上的热烈讨论。许多人说，上海房价的上涨是故事情节中悲剧性事件的根源，“房奴”一词已成为描写海萍这类人的常用词。

在不久前中国门户网站新浪网(Sina.com)的一次调查中，在15,000名投票者中有60%以上的人认同“这部电视剧反映了房奴的心态”的说法。在腾讯网(Tencent)一项有36万多人参加的投票调查中，大多数人认为“幸福与房子关联密切。”

一位名为“岁寒”的博客作家写道，“还房贷、吃盒饭”，已经成为房价飙升年代对白领生存状况的一种直白描摹。主人公一波三折的买房奋斗史，道出了都市无房族的困惑：攒钱的速度永远赶不上房价上涨的速度。

"Dwelling Narrowness", a hit TV series about the struggles of two sisters to make it in the dynamic metropolis of Shanghai, focuses on a decidedly less glamorous aspect of in the big city: rising property prices, and they havoc this wreaks on youthful ambitions.

Over the past month, the TV drama has drawn a great deal of attention from young Chinese who discuss the program online. Many argue that Shanghai's rising property prices are at the root of the tragic events in the storyline, and the term "house slaves" has become a popular slang term to describe people like Haiping.

In a recent (unscientific) survey by Chinese Web portal Sina.com, more than 60% of 15,000 voters agreed with the statement that "the drama reflects the public's sentiment on house slaves." Another poll by Tencent drew more than 360,000 votes, with most agreeing with the statement that "happiness is closely related to owning a home."

"Paying the mortgage and eating [inexpensive] lunch boxes is a true reflection of the living status of many white-collar young people nowadays," wrote blogger "Sui Han" (literally translated as "cold years") "The heroes" struggle for a home on this show gives voice to the conundrum faced by many people who don't have their own homes in cities…The speed of making money is lagging far behind the speed of rising home prices.'

Another commenter on Xinhua's property forum wrote, "I found our own lives depicted in this drama, everything is exposed under the sunlight. There is no way out. In the face of housing and reality, we are seriously hurting."

According to the latest report from China Index Academy, a domestic real estate research institute, as of October this year, the average house price in Beijing has reached 16,057 yuan per square meter, a 54% increase from the average price of 10,403 yuan in January. In Shanghai, the average residential price for October was 16,954 yuan per square meter, up 22% since January. Despite new measures by the Chinese government to emphasize construction of low-cost houses, the new report on housing by the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences warns that low and middle-income families are 'not well-covered' by the existing residence-guarantee system, which is intended to provide a type of rent and housing price-control. The report concluded that supporting policies haven't been well implemented.

In a post on a Tianya discussion forum, the author, Mr. Ying compares current housing price to a "wild and uNPRedictable horse." The current situation "has pushed the social problems resulting from the housing issue to their peak. The cruelty of life depicted by the drama strikes a responsive chord among every citizen who is obsessed by high property prices."

Others say it's a bit extreme to regard housing prices as the source of all sins, and that it's unfair to use property prices as a proxy for all social problems. On a Xinhua property forum, a commenter called jiangjun32 wrote that "the home is just a fuse for the ensuing tragedies" on "Dwelling Narrowness", but the underlying cause of the troubles is the character's greed and desire.