The Latest Directive on My Birth Certificate

Mar 24 2008

The Latest Directive on My Birth Certificate

Published by Jianjun at 4:05 pm under Culture,Life

My parents for the first time showed me my birth certificate (1971). It’s interesting to see the following paragraph printed at the top of that document:

Birth Certificate 最新指示
The Latest Directive

要使全体干部和全体人民经常想到我国是一个社会主义的大国，但又是一个经济落后的穷国，这是一个很大的矛盾。要使我国富强起来，需要几十年艰苦奋斗的时间，其中包括执行厉行节约、反对浪费这样一个勤俭建国的方针。

All cadres and the whole people must be reminded frequently that our nation is at the same time a big socialist country and a poor country with a backward economy, which is a big contradiction. In order for our country to become prosperous and strong, we need to endure hardship and struggle for a few decades, which includes practicing the policy of constructing the nation adhering strictly to thriftiness and opposing wastefulness.

Ah, cultural revolution was still going on at the time.

Another interesting thing is the document was typeset in both Traditional and Simplified Chinese characters, indicating the work to simplify the writing system was still underway.

The last line of the Birth Certificate indicates the document was necessary when applying for the newborn baby’s Hukou（户口 – household registration record）and benefits.

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6 responses so far

6 Responses to “The Latest Directive on My Birth Certificate”

# Nadineon 24 Mar 2008 at 5:14 pm

How interesting! Thanks for sharing. I like the ‘opposing wastefulness’ instruction…

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# Jianjunon 24 Mar 2008 at 5:26 pm

I searched on the Internet to see if there are any such documents, but found none. My Birthday Certificate is now sort of famous.

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# Carrieon 17 May 2008 at 12:01 am

Hi Jianjun,

This is a really interesting post. I’m still working through your site. How long have you been a translator? What do you like best about your job?

I just wanted to stop by and introduce myself. We’ve chatted a few times on Twitter and I like to know who’s following me and vice versa. Your blog is really really good. I started at your most recent post and worked my way back and I’m really impressed. Keep up the great work. This is what I love best about Twitter — the opportunities it presents for meeting people from all walks of life.

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Jianjun reply on May 17th, 2008 9:02 am:
Carrie, thanks for dropping by… {seesmic_video:{“url_thumbnail”:{“value”:”http://t.seesmic.com/thumbnail/mowQXmQL1U_th1.jpg”}”title”:{“value”:”Carrie, thanks for dropping by… ”}”videoUri”:{“value”:”http://www.seesmic.com/video/6vvDMS1W2P”}}}

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Jianjun reply on May 17th, 2008 9:09 am:
Carrie,

I want to say Twitter works magic. Although many people would also say it ‘wastes’ a lot of time, it brings in information no other places bring.

People often think it’s a modern form of IRC/chatroom. To some extent, it is. But what’s different is the people chatting there and the quality of the ‘chat’.

Twitter rocks…

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# Carrieon 17 May 2008 at 10:00 am

What a wonderful surprise to wake up to this morning! Thank you for taking the time to answer my questions. I know I’ve found a new friend to drop in on.

I admire your aptitude for language learning. I started learning Chinese when I moved to China in 2003. In 2006, I moved to Taiwan with my fiance and I’ve continued with my language studies, but I’m not a full-time student. Therein lies the key. I found my language studies progressed much more quickly in China because there were less folks to converse with in English and I had to use it everyday. I miss China every day. It’s especially nice to have found someone else who can keep me connected.

Twitter continues to amaze and astound me each and every day. Your comments and analysis are bang on. I’m pleased to meet your acquaintance Jianjun!

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