The One-Time Importance of Danwei in China

Danwei (单位, or work units) had declined in importance in China over the years, but their all embracing nature in taking care of their employees and employees' family members is still sorely missed by some.

Not surprising, given that what the danwei had been able to provide, over the decades, had been even more encompassing than Heaven Almighty himself.

As Chinese writer Xie Sizhong (解思忠) noted, the danwei was responsible for one's housing, medical care, injury expenditures, and retirement pension. The danwei also took care of childbirth and children's education, and even "the supply of hot water, baths, groceries, foodstuffs during festive occasions, before and after-work transportation, spring excursions, summer cooling goodies, storage of cabbage during winter (pictured), even cremation after death, holding memorial services, making arrangements to store one's ashes, and even erecting tombs."

In his book 国民素质忧思录 (A Chronicle of Worries and Contemplation about the Caliber of Our Citizens, 香港三联书店, 1998), Xie detailed a survey conducted sometime before 1998. The survey noted that the three most difficult situations for ordinary Chinese to endure in life were said to be: 1) Children getting involved in accidents, 2) death of one's spouse, and 3) being dismissed from one's work unit.

In vivid language alluding to pigs and birds, Xie wrote about the reluctance, even difficulties, of some former state-owned employees in leaving a system that had ensured cradle-to-grave benefits.

"甚至是已频临破产, 抢救无望, 也不愿, 不敢去到市场经济的大潮中去闯荡. 就像母猪已奄奄一息, 小猪却一面斜眼四处观望, 一面还叼着干枯的奶头, 恋恋不舍地不肯离去一样."

("Even if the firms were on the brink of bankruptcy and it was impossible to salvage them, (state-owned employees) were nevertheless unwilling, or did not have the courage, to ride the waves of an open-market system. It is almost like a mother pig who is on the brink of death, and the little pigs are looking around sideways on the one hand, yet sucking on the dried tits on the other, finding it difficult to tear themselves away from the dying mother pig.")

"市场经济的实行, 就像打开了鸟笼; 久困其中的小鸟也许一时还茫然不知所向 - 外面广阔的天空和美丽的大自然诚然是一种诱惑, 但外面的风霜雨雪和艰难险阻也会使其望而生畏."

("The implementation of a market economy is like opening the door to a bird cage. Perhaps the little bird which had once been confined in the cage felt temporarily lost with its new-found freedom, and do not know which way to go once it had been released. The boundless skies and beautiful nature out there are certainly tempting, but the accompanying stormy winds, frost and snow, not to mention the difficulties, had also made it an extremely daunting move.")