‘Punk Health’ Foods Are Popular with China’s Youth中国青年热衷“朋克养生”

魏丽莎／文　叶子／译

Sometimes， rebellion means goji berries in your beer.

有时，叛逆就是在啤酒里加枸杞。

Goji berries in beer. Chinese medicinal herbs infused in coffee. Staying up all night， but eating a bowl of bird’s nest soup to feel better. You get the gist.

往啤酒里加枸杞；用咖啡冲泡中草药；熬个大通宵，再用一碗燕窝汤来恢复状态；这种操作的要点，你懂的。

For the last couple of years， a seemingly oxymoronic concept has been adopted by a broad cross-section of young， urban people in China. “Punk health，” or péngkè yǎngshēng， means pairing a vice with a seemingly healthy ingredient.

近几年来，一种看似矛盾的理念为中国各个阶层的广大城市青年所接受。“朋克养生”就是将不良的生活方式与看似健康的饮食搭配到一起。

“People born in the 80s and 90s are almost in their 40s and 30s now， but they also don’t want to follow the same conventional health advice as their parents， like drinking hot beverages or just eating goji berries，” explains Chen Bai-ling， a Chinese fitness blogger who has written about the concept before. “But they’re also realizing that they have to take care of their body， so this is their form of compromise.”

“80后和90后現在也都三四十岁了，他们不想像父母那样遵循老一套的养生理念，比如喝热饮，或者只是吃枸杞。”曾写文介绍“朋克养生”的中国健身博主陈柏龄解释说，“他们也意识到了必须照顾好自己的身体，所以这是他们妥协的方式。”

The term “punk health” first appeared on the Chinese internet in 2017 and reached its apex in 2019， with a slew of1 articles and videos describing the phenomenon. One news report， for example， featured a 22-year-old girl in China who slept at 3 a.m. every night， but put on five face masks every day to help soothe her increasingly tired skin.“It’s not only self-deprecating， but also a trendy attitude towards life，” writes one article.

“朋克养生”一词于2017年首次出现在中国互联网上，其热度在2019年达到鼎盛，当时有大量文章和视频介绍这一现象。例如，一篇新闻报道介绍了一名22岁的中国女孩，她每天凌晨3点钟睡觉，但每天敷5张面膜来补救她日显疲态的肌肤。“这不仅是自嘲，也是一种时尚的生活态度。”一篇文章写道。

Brands have been quick to cash in on2 the concept. Several wellness companies received an influx of financing from venture capital firms to jump on the punk-health bandwagon3. The goal is to create a product to give customers a shortcut to an otherwise healthy and balanced lifestyle.

各品牌迅速从这个理念中寻到商机。风险投资公司给保健品公司投钱，是为了让他们能赶上“朋克养生”这股潮流。他们的目标是研发一种产品，为顾客提供一条可以达成另一种健康均衡生活方式的捷径。

And it has proven to be wildly lucrative. One granola bar that was marketed as a meal （similar to Soylent， but solid form） made $3 million USD in monthly sales only half a year after it launched.

事实证明，这种做法的利润极其丰厚。一款作为正餐销售的格兰诺拉燕麦棒（类似索伦特营养公司的代餐饮料，只是采用了固体形态），上市仅半年，月销售额就达到300万美元。

Many such products take cues from4 traditional Chinese medicine， but add a rebellious twist. There are energy drinks infused with dates or hawthorn， coffee with donkey gelatin （thought to help nourish the blood）， and candy infused with melatonin to help insomniacs sleep. While many of these foods aren’t necessarily new or novel， they embody the concept in their marketing and sleek branding. The goal is to offset “bad behavior” by consuming something virtuously healthful.

许多“朋克养生”产品模仿中药，但添加了叛逆的新元素。有的功能饮料中泡着红枣或者山楂；有的咖啡中加入了阿胶（据信可补气血）；有的糖果中含有褪黑素，能帮助失眠症患者入睡。这类食品中的大多数并不一定是新上市或者新研发出来的，但品牌在营销和打造自身时尚形象时，都会赋予这类食品“朋克养生”的概念。此举旨在以食用合乎养生之道的食物抵消“不良生活习惯”对健康造成的伤害。

One current commercial frontrunner is Ye Yu Cha， or Night with Tea. These are tea blends specially designed especially for hard-partying night owls. The tea bags come filled with healthful-sounding ingredients like ginseng， goji， tangerine peel， sea buckthorn， and licorice. The idea is that you drink the concoction after a long night out to balance out5 the effects of staying awake for too long. However， on top of each tea package， underneath the brand name， is advice to “sleep earlier tomorrow.”

目前“朋克養生”领域的一个商业领跑者是“夜与茶”。该品牌的调制茶专为狂欢作乐的夜猫子调配。茶包里装满了人参、枸杞、陈皮、沙棘、甘草等听起来很健康的成分。产品理念是让你在熬完大夜后喝下调制茶，抵消长时间不睡觉对身体的伤害。然而，每盒茶的外包装上面，就在品牌名称的下方，都标注着“明天早一点睡”的建议。

But more than a collection of sleek products， punk health is a state of mind. “Another example is that you constantly stay up all night， but buy the most expensive eye cream to compensate，” Chen says. Or exercise during the day， yet binge on fried chicken right afterwards. Spend all day looking at your phone and feel bad about it， but then change the screen background to a forest to feel a little bit better. Eat a large serving of spicy hot pot， and drink a cup of chrysanthemum tea to ease the stomach. “There’s a contradiction to it， but it represents the type of contradiction that young people feel about their lives，” Chen says.

“朋克养生”不仅仅是一系列时尚的产品，更是一种心态。“另外一个例子是，你经常熬夜，但买最贵的眼霜来补救。”陈柏龄说。还有很多例子，比如：白天辛苦锻炼，之后狂吃炸鸡；整天盯着手机，心里过意不去，但把屏幕背景设置成森林就稍感舒心；吃一大份麻辣火锅，再喝一杯菊花茶来缓解对胃的刺激。“这类行为中存在一种矛盾，而这正体现了年轻人对生活抱有的那种矛盾之感。”陈柏龄解释道。

Punk health is ultimately a half-hearted attempt by young people to get a grasp on their health. It’s an achievable， relatable regimen for millennials and Gen Zers in China who aren’t old enough to seriously feel the effects of aging yet， but feel like they should start thinking about it soon. More insidiously， it’s also a reaction to the “996” work culture， in which employees are required to work from 9am to 9pm， 6 days a week. Younger workers are facing burnout and anxiety， and punk health is their way of dealing with it.

“朋克养生”归根到底是年轻人为维持身体健康所作的漫不经心的尝试。中国的千禧一代和Z世代还年轻，尚不能真正感受到衰老对他们的影响，但他们觉得自己应该尽快着手考虑这个问题。“朋克养生”对他们而言是一个可实现、能认同的养生方案。从更隐秘的层面来说，“朋克养生”是对“996”的回应。这种工作文化要求员工从早上九点工作到晚上九点，一周六天。年轻的员工们精疲力尽、焦虑不安，“朋克养生”是他们的应对方式。

“Young people are afraid of death， but they can’t escape the pressure from work，” an interviewee told China Investment Network， who conducted a survey on the trend. “Since they can’t restrain the urge to eat junk food， they indulge in punk health.”

“年轻人怕死，但又没法摆脱工作压力。”一位受访者告诉中国投资网（该网站对“朋克养生”风潮进行了调查），“既然无法克制吃垃圾食品的冲动，他们干脆沉溺于‘朋克养生’。”

The term punk health is intended to be tongue-in-cheek6， though Chen points out that its defiant appeal is fading. Instead of bolstering themselves with purchased punk-health remedies， young people are increasingly describing themselves as “salted fish” and “buddha youth”. The former is a metaphor for a dead fish， referring to a person with no ambitions. And the latter describes a disinterested generation that’s unfazed by worldly obligations.

“朋克养生”一词意在调侃，但陈柏龄指出，这个概念因具有反叛意味而吸引人，但这份吸引力如今已渐渐消退。年轻人不是用购买的“朋克养生”产品来增强自己的体质，而是越来越多地自嘲为“咸鱼”和“佛系青年”。前者是死鱼的隐喻，指没有抱负的人。后者描述的是没有欲望、不受世事所扰的一代人。

“They see their parents’ generation， who worked hard for many decades to earn money. But when they retire， they have all sorts of health problems that can’t be solved with money，” says Chen. Taking life more casually and acknow-ledging the human body’s physical limits， then， may be the biggest rebellion of all.

“他們看到父母那代人几十年来辛辛苦苦地赚钱，退休之后却出现各种用钱解决不了的健康问题。”陈柏龄说。因此，更随性地对待生活，坦然承认人体的生理局限，可能就是最大的叛逆。

1 a slew of许多；大量。  2 cash in （on sth）〈习语〉从中牟利；捞到好处。  3 jump on the bandwagon〈习语〉赶时髦；追随潮流。  4 take cues from sb/sth〈习语〉模仿……的样子做；学……的样。

5 balance out相抵；抵消。

6 tongue-in-cheek随便说说的；开玩笑的。