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Chen Yuhang doesn’t know why, but every year when Spring Festival arrives, the 25-year-old civil servant feels a natural impulse to go home. Not to the one he rents in Beijing, but the old apartment back in Jiangxi province. It’s not an easy ride.
不知為何，每年一到春節，25歲的公務員陳宇航（音譯）就禁不住想回家——那個江西老宅，而不是這個他在北京租來的家。雖然回家的路途并不輕松。
“It’s like a seasonal spike of emotions. You go through all that toil of taking three trains to get home because you just know you have to go back, no matter what,” said Chen.
“就好像是一次季節性情感爆發一樣。縱使需要乘坐三次火車，你也無論如何都要回去，”陳宇航說。
It’s a feeling Chen shares with most people in China at this time of year.
每年的這個時候，很多中國人都有著和陳宇航一樣的感受。
What makes home so unique in the Chinese value system, and how its definition is changing according to social values, serves as a key to understanding the character of China as a nation.
那么，到底是什么讓“家”在中國人的價值體系里如此無可取代？“家”的定義又是怎樣隨著社會價值觀發生改變的？這是了解中華民族品質的關鍵。
Family with social functions
家庭的社會職能
Ye Tao, a researcher specializing in folklore at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, says the deep roots of family culture come not only from the warmth of being with relatives, but also because the family, as a unit, has long been regarded as an important part of the social mechanism.
中國社會科學院民俗學專家葉濤（音譯）說，家文化之所以根深蒂固，不僅僅是因為舉家歡聚的溫情，更源自于一直以來，家作為一個整體被視為社會體系的一個重要組成部分。
“As Confucius said: ‘cultivate the self, regulate the family, govern the state, then lead the world to peace’,” explains Ye. “The family has been an integral part of the social order since the very beginning of China’s cultural development and extends its impact to the present day.”
葉濤解釋道：“孔子云：‘修身齊家治國平天下’，中國文化發展從始至今，家一直是社會秩序不可分割的一部分。”
That’s why China’s long history of a communal and collective lifestyle is so fundamental in shaping people’s attitudes toward home: it is not only a place to live, but also a social responsibility.
這就是為何在塑造中國人家庭觀念方面，這種歷史悠久的集體社會生活方式會如此重要。家不僅只是一處居所，更是一份社會責任。
Challenged norm
受到挑戰的傳統
With the growing mobility of the population, young people are leaving home to pursue better education and career opportunities. This trend is challenging family-based traditions.
隨著人口流動性的與日俱增，年輕人走出家門去追求更好的教育和工作機會。這個趨勢正在挑戰中國以家庭為基礎的傳統。
Shi Jiepeng, a researcher at the Institute of Chinese History at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, explains that with horizontal kinships becoming weaker, the urge to reunite with close, or vertical, family members — siblings, parents and grandparents — is becoming stronger.
中國社科院中國歷史研究所研究員史杰鵬（音譯）表示，隨著旁系親屬關系日漸淡薄，和直系家庭成員——兄弟姐妹、父母、祖父母團圓的欲望也就變得越來越強烈。
“The family planning policy has forged strong emotional bonds in smaller families,” said Shi. “It is an inevitable process of society.”
“計劃生育政策使得小家庭成員間的情感紐帶更加堅固，”史杰鵬說，“這是社會發展不可避免的一個過程。”
Finding escape
心靈港灣
In defining the function of homes for Chinese people, especially the young, Ye Tao says that finding an escape from the rushing tempo of their daily lives serves as the primary incentive for people to go back home today. “Young people are under mounting pressure from all sides,” said Ye. “Home is a shelter where they can return to a simple lifestyle, although only for a brief period of time.”
說到家對中國人，尤其是年輕人所起到的作用，葉濤表示，現如今，想要逃離飛快的生活節奏、尋找一處心靈港灣是人們想要回家的主要原因。“年輕人面臨著方方面面、與日俱增的壓力，”葉濤說，“家可以讓他們返璞歸真，回歸簡單生活，盡管這樣的生活很短暫。”
“The warmth of home is the best chicken soup for the soul,” added Shi Jipeng.
史杰鵬補充道：“家的溫暖才是最好的心靈雞湯。”
