Griffiths, Michael B.; Zeuthen, Jesper - In: Journal of Current Chinese Affairs - China aktuell 43 (2014) 4, pp. 143-174
This paper argues that new interpretations of “eating bitterness” (chiku) have firmly entered the landscape of China …’s social organisation. Whereas the bitterness eaten by heroic types in China’s revolutionary past was directed towards serving … others, now the aim of eating bitterness is self-awareness. Furthermore, bitterness-eating, which once pertained to rural …