Page 80 - Journal of Library Science in China 2020 Vol.46

CHEN Geng & HU Yachun / The attribution analysis of low participation in public reading 079
among rural residents: A survey from 77 administrative villages and rural libraries in Hubei Province

restrictions, and it is still difficult to change their farmer identity and class status. The second
is to invest in cultural capital, such as education, so that they or their children can change the
current situation through the accumulation of cultural capital. In this way, many students from
poor families have changed their own and their family’s situation through the college entrance
examination and other learning channels, breaking through the original class restrictions, and
entering the city to become “new urbanite”. This also significantly improves the recognition
of the value of education and reading for many families. However, since the beginning of the
new century, the investment in education has become higher, and the employment of college
students has become more difficult. Many residents from the bottom of rural areas find that
costs such as money, time and energy do not get the expected economic returns in the process
of observing other residents or actually investing in their own children’s education. It raises
doubts about the value of education and brings forth the internal anxiety and sense of loss of
“education without prospect” . Therefore, many villagers’ internal demand and motivation for
〇a ①
reading or public reading have decreased. On the contrary, they choose to pursue more explicit
economic capital. When asked about the reason why they do not have the habit of reading,
40.7% of rural residents said the main reason was “busy making money”. One respondent
who lived near the village committee said, “What’s the use of reading? No matter how hard
the children in the village study, they can be no match for the children in the city. I find almost
no one in the village reads books. Young people all go out to work. What’s the use of reading
so many books? It’s better to make some money early.” A resident engaged in the decoration
business said, “I go out early and return late to get orders every day, and I often go on business
trips. Making money is definitely more important than reading. After all, I hope my family
can live better... I hope my children can help me do business in the future. Study is very hard
and its economic return is unsure, and it’s okay to study further after earning enough money. ”

3.3.2 The rural physical cultural life practice
In the physical practice of rural life, rural residents have inherited the agricultural production
mode and lifestyle of the traditional farming society, with an obvious distinction between busy and
slack farming seasons. During the busy season, rural residents carry out agricultural production,
and participate in some cultural, entertaining and leisure activities during the slack season. With
the continuous improvement of material life, the leisure time and content of rural residents have
been greatly expanded. However, the proportion of reading as a leisure activity in this process has
decreased rather than increased, and it is confronted with the competition and extrusion of other
forms of cultural entertainment.

① The current general understanding is not that reading is useless. Most residents believe that reading is valuable for individuals or
families, but because the return of reading cannot be achieved in time or the return is less than expected, thus forming the anxiety
of “education without prospect”. Refer to: Xie, A.L. (2017). “Reading is useless” or “reading is hopeless” —a re-understanding of
the educational concept of rural bottom residents（“读书无用”还是“读书无望”——对农村底层居民教育观念的再认识）.
Peking University Education Review（北京大学教育评论）, (3): 92-108.