Eating Bitterness: Stories from the Front Lines of China's Great Urban Migration

by Michelle Dammon Loyalka

Every year over 200 million peasants flock to China’s urban centers, providing a profusion of cheap labor that helps fuel the country’s staggering economic growth. Award-winning journalist Michelle Dammon Loyalka follows the trials and triumphs of eight such migrants—including a vegetable vendor, an itinerant knife sharpener, a free-spirited recycler, and a cash-strapped mother—offering an inside look at the pain, self-sacrifice, and uncertainty underlying China’s dramatic national transformation. At the heart of the book lies each person’s ability to “eat bitterness”—a term that roughly means to endure hardships, overcome difficulties, and forge ahead. These stories illustrate why China continues to advance, even as the rest of the world remains embroiled in financial turmoil. At the same time, Eating Bitterness demonstrates how dealing with the issues facing this class of people constitutes China’s most pressing domestic challenge.

Genres: China, Nonfiction

264 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2012

About the author

Michelle Dammon Loyalka is a freelance journalist who lived in China for nearly 15 years. She has spoken on issues related to China's migration and urbanization at venues including the United Nations, the US Department of Housing and Urban Development, and the National Committee on US-China Relations.

Her work on the psychological repercussions of China's rapid development has earned her both an Overseas Press Club scholarship and the O.O. McIntyre Fellowship. She has freelanced for publications including The New York Times, BusinessWeek, Inc., Fast Company and the San Francisco Business Times. In China she appeared on a variety of talk shows and co-hosted a call-in radio program in Mandarin.

She holds a master's degree from the Missouri School of Journalism and currently lives in Northern California.

Reviews

[Christine · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the best books on Chinese migrants that I've read. Many China hands might compare this to Leslie T. Chang's 'Factory Girls.' Differs in that Loyalka tells the stories of migrants in Xi'an (less developed western China as opposed to booming southern China in Chang's book) who have less education and skills than Chang's subjects. Loyalka also leaves herself out of the narrative completely so that the focus remains on the characters.

This is strong, absorbing writing that describes the hardships faced by city-village people without infantilizing or romanticizing or turning them into victims. One of my favorite chapters is about a family of farmers-turned-landlords, who are the last to vacate their soon-to-be-demolished building. These 'nail house' stories are popular in western media coverage of China, the residents often portrayed as poor, uselessly defiant victims of greedy developers. But Loyalka shows us how this family has greatly benefited from the purchase of their land, and the only way they've been 'victimized' is by being so financially secure and idle that the head of the family becomes a mahjong/gambling addict. A refreshing take on an often discussed phenomenon. The other stories are similarly engaging, perfect blends of personal narrative and historical/sociological background (just enough for a general reader).

(My only gripe has nothing to do with the writing, but at how expensive the book is - it's published by a university press - which limits its audience. With such easy, accessible writing, I wish it had gotten a more commercial publisher and wider publicity, like Chang's book. I only heard about Loyalka at all because my husband, a writer, received a review copy of an anthology that included her writing. We were blown away and hunted down her book.)

[Lora Cooper · Rating 5 out of 5]

It is difficult to imagine oneself in the shoes of the remarkably resilient Chinese migrants in this absorbing book. Loyolka has vividly given us the stories of six plucky peasants whose living conditions include an abandoned garage with no water and a single light bulb, a cardboard box atop a pile of old newspapers, an apartment for 5 which is scheduled to be torn down at any moment. We get glimpses of the upper class in the story of a nanny who works for a family that owns 2 cars and a vacation villa in the country.
Unlike Leslie Chang's "Factory Girls", these migrants do not have the education needed for ready made factory jobs. Therefore most of them surprisingly become peasants cum entrepreneurs. They often make their own jobs becoming fresh food vendors, junk recyclers, running dingy storefronts etc.
Often these erstwhile farmers don't know what to do with themselves after their land has been bought. They turn to Buddhism ...or become addicted to gambling. Some become materialistic in the extreme. Others are "embarking on a search for meaning...resurrecting traditional philosphies."

[Julie Laporte · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 stars. 5 if you're interested in the Chinese culture, specifically the incredibly massive migration from rural to urban. Incredible collection of real peoples' stories, very diverse as well, in terms of the ages of the characters, and their means. Inter-generational aspects and the evolution of the rural Chinese sociology examined, but not to exhaustion--but to intrigue. Really fascinating. I truly feel like I have a much better grasp of this aspect of Chinese culture.

I feel like we all should learn about this topic, as it is prominent on the global scene. It's an easy read, too...and mostly appropriate and accessible (in reading level) to many ages.

[Krista · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed the inside look this book offered on life in China. Particularly how I was able to see what drove people and what they valued. Each chapter focused on a different person. It was interesting what drove each & what they were willing to do to get their families ahead in the world. From the fruit sellers who lived in a windowless room so their daughter could have a better future to the knife sharpener who had virtually nothing, but sent money back to the village to his wife who lived in an eight room house; I thought each vignette was interesting and gave different insights to life in China. A very enjoyable book.

[KC Cui · Rating 3 out of 5]

Really rich subject matter but I don't feel the author was equipped to handle either the scope or the literary aspects necessary to capture that richness... of course it's a lot of information for a slim volume but I think it was too easy to forget that the stories were taking place in basically the same place. Which really hurts the aim of the book which was to bring together the visible wealth and invisible struggles of people making the whole machine function, so if a reader aka myself gets the impression that these stories are self contained, that defeats the purpose. And a more elegant writing style couldve really elevated the subject matter imo. It was somewhat stilted and awkward to move between the concrete details and the author's social/political analysis drawn out of the anecdotes; I felt these elements were clumsily integrated

But still worth a read 4 anyone interested in the subject matter. I don't know how the individuals and the values and the milieu would come off to someone without much background in modern China but I found it all to be both informative and accurate in the places that were familiar to me (down to small details like "farmer" becoming an increasingly commonplace insult meaning "uncultured")

[Howling Rabbit · Rating 3 out of 5]

For the first two chapters I found this book compelling but then I ran into problems with the next two. "The Teenage Beauty Queens" did not address any of the issues one would think that would be of concern; the desire to be made to fit into a social role that seems exploitative... to fit into a socially mandated expectation of conformity... doubled with the fact that these are all teenagers being manipulated into such roles. Believe me, I do not consider myself a "woke" person at all... but this kind of media and state control is just ugly. What's going to happen to all these young women when they can no longer fit into such positions? The book doesn't even begin to question.
The "Ever Floating Floater" contains an error so big that it seriously undermines whatever sympathy one would have to the people featured in it. It claims that rural workers who recycle items found in obtained from households have to PAY for the privilege. Yet, according to a search I made, this is totally false. Why would such people have to pay for helping people get rid of their waste? These workers get paid for doing so.

[Ivy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Learned so much and gained exposure to some incredibly diverse lifestyles. I can think of nothing negative to say about this book. It's a great book for anyone!

[Freddie Tuson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Super interesting and well written. Would love a 2026 version of this to see what has changed/stayed the same

[Ella · Rating 4 out of 5]

The transition from a rural to an urban landscape of any developing civilization takes its toll on those at the bottom of society. Short stories on individuals form a collective of the migrant experience, illustrated by introspective quotations to illustrate the obstacles they face and the sacrifices they make.

Above all, the author shows the ability of the Chinese to "eat bitterness," a direct result of its history. Even now, when China's GDP doubles every 7 years at the rate it's going, the government cannot face the enormity and complexity of transitioning to the rural migrants to urban life. Thus, China is a nation with a migrant population stuck in limbo, somewhere between the nation's traditional past and its modernized future.

[Heather · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an excellent companion book to "Beautiful Forevers" by Katharine Boo. It follows a similar format in that the author follows individuals in a Chinese "city village" - basically a village with a urban city built around it, only to be razed to build a road. The grit and determination of all the individuals is inspiring. Yet, the growing enui and sense of displacement are also major theme of the book. The individuals who left their village for a a better economic future feel lost - they are not welcomed in their home villages or fully accepted by city dwellers. As the world grows more urbanized, this sense of displacement will grow.

[Brendon · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book opens the readers eyes to a world hard to understand from an American perspective. The idea of being tied to the location of your birth is foreign to the individualist mentality most people have. A great read for anyone wanting to gain insight into the inner workings of Chinese society

[Joe Tee · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am not a great reviewer, so I will keep this short. I really enjoyed all of the stories in this book. It can be a bit slow and methodical at times, but I really enjoyed the style and all of the great insight I was able to gather. Each different person profiled told a unique and cool story.

[Devin · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was an easy read. Great narrative storytelling. Well researched and documented non-fiction it moves along well as it shows vignettes in the lives of average urbanites of China.