中国年轻人为啥喜欢“精芬”？

Finland has come under the spotlight on Chinese social media in the past few months – not because it’s the happiest country in the world, but due to Finnish people’s habit of avoiding unnecessary socializing.

在过去的几个月间，芬兰在中国社交媒体上成了热议的话题 —— 并不是因为它是全球幸福感最高的国家，而是由于芬兰人有避免不必要社交的习惯。

The term “jingfen”, which is pronounced the same way as the Chinese word for “schizophrenia”, has been given a new meaning in China. Now, it refers to being “spiritually Finnish”. This usage was inspired by a comic called Finnish Nightmares. Matti, the main character in the comic, is a typical Finn who fears small talk and doesn’t like people entering his personal space.

中文里读起来和“精分”(精神分裂症)一样的“精芬”一词，在国内被赋予了全新的含义。“精芬”如今指的是“精神上的芬兰人”。这一用法来源于一部名为《芬兰人的噩梦》的漫画。漫画主角马蒂是个典型的芬兰人。他害怕闲聊，也不喜欢他人进入自己的个人空间。

“Matti tries his best to do to others as he wishes to be done to him: to give space, be polite and not bother with unnecessary conversations,” said Karoliina Korhonen, the comic’s creator.

“马蒂努力做到己所不欲，勿施于人：他尊重他人的空间，待人接物彬彬有礼，不会无聊闲扯烦扰别人，”漫画作者卡罗利娜·科尔霍宁如此表示。

Chen Si, 26, who studied in Finland for her bachelor’s degree, told Sixth Tone that in Finland, “You don’t expect someone to sit beside you if there are other seats available”.

在芬兰上大学的26岁学生陈思(音译)在接受《第六声》采访时表示，在芬兰，“如果其他地方有空位的话，别人是不会挨着你坐的。”

Why has this seemingly awkward social conduct struck a chord with so many young Chinese people?

那么，为什么这些看似有些尴尬的社交举止却引起了如此多中国年轻人的共鸣?

This may be because today’s young people seem to need more privacy and space than any previous generations. “It has inspired many of them to silently rebel against unwanted socialization, which makes them feel uncomfortable,” reported website Culture Trip.

这或许是因为，如今的年轻人比以往任何一代人都更需要隐私和个人空间。“这让他们不少人都开始无声地反抗起那些让他们感到不适的多余社交，”“文化之旅”网站报道称。

The phenomenon has also been attributed to the one-child policy, under which today’s young people were born. As a result, most modern young Chinese people have grown up without siblings and with very few cousins.

这一现象也与如今的年轻人都是独生子女有关。如此一来，大多数现代中国年轻人的成长过程中并没有兄弟姐妹相伴，就连堂表兄弟姐妹也没几个。

“I believe that there are many more cases of jingfen in our generation compared to our parents’ generation … they find they can live alone happily,” Chen said.

“和父母那辈相比，我认为我们这一代有更多‘精芬’……他们觉得独自生活很开心，”陈思表示。

“Moreover, modern technology has changed our ways of communication. It estranges us from each other, especially young people. They might become a little anthropophobic, just like Matti,” said Yang Yixin, a professor of Finnish language and culture at Beijing Foreign Studies University.

“还有一点是，现代科技改变了我们沟通的方式。它令我们，尤其是年轻人疏远彼此。所以年轻人都有点社交恐惧，就和马蒂一样，”北京外国语大学芬兰语教授杨新异教授表示。

But living alone and avoiding unnecessary human contact doesn’t necessarily have to be a bad thing. For many people, jingfen doesn’t actually mean refusing to socialize. Instead, living in a busy society that places great pressure on their shoulders, many people just want to keep some personal space for themselves. Indeed, if a person seems as introverted and unapproachable as Matti, they could still very well be warm and friendly on the inside.

但独居与避免不必要的社交并不一定是坏事。对于许多人而言，“精芬”并非真的意味着拒绝社交。生活在忙碌的高压社会之中，许多人都想给自己留点个人空间。因此，就算一个人看起来和马蒂一样内向、不好接近，但他们内心或许依然十分友善热情。