Anshan Family and City Memory Interview — Descendant / Younger-Generation Edition — Case 17
Description
The respondent is a 1990s-generation member of an Anshan steel (Angang) family who also worked at Angang for a time. They grew up in Anshan proper, personally lived through the 1990s-era changes, and describe their parents' work unit as a 'big family' whose main legacy was pride, endurance and a sense of identity/honor. They once left Anshan for a coastal/southern city to work in tourism, but returned to care for their parents and now live in Anshan again working in manufacturing/engineering. Their written answers foreground personal freedom ('freedom above all') alongside a pull toward stability and family duty. They still keep in touch with the parents' old colleagues, value the memory of family and children's stories in industrial history, and hope the next generation stays in Anshan, though they downplay how much the old work-unit ties still matter today.
世代 / generation: 1990s · 身份 / role or relationship: Descendant / younger-generation member of an Angang (Anshan Iron & Steel) family who also briefly worked at Angang themselves; left Anshan and returned, currently living in Anshan
In their own words selected highlights, verbatim, de-identified
和家里人去厂里洗澡 (Going to the factory bathhouse with my family — Q12)
自由至上 (Freedom above all — Q22, on deciding to leave/stay/return)
基本一样 (Basically the same — Q42, on old work-unit community vs. an ordinary city community)
Full interview parallel text
The complete question-and-answer record, in the order the respondent answered it (55 exchanges). The Chinese is the respondent’s own wording, transcribed from the photographed pages; illegible passages are marked 【难辨】 / [illegible] rather than guessed. The English is a working translation by the editor, not part of the source.
Left column: respondent’s Chinese, as written · Right column: editor’s working translation
问您大概是哪一代人？
QWhich generation are you roughly from?
答1990年代
A1990s
问您和鞍钢/相关单位的关系？
QWhat is your relationship to Angang / a related work unit?
答自己也曾在
AI also worked there myself
问您小时候主要在哪里成长？
QWhere did you mainly grow up?
答鞍山市区
AAnshan city proper
问您现在大概生活在哪里？
QWhere do you live now?
答仍在鞍山
AStill in Anshan
问您现在从事哪一类工作/学习？
QWhat kind of work/study are you in now?
答制造/工程/技术
AManufacturing / engineering / technology
问您对九十年代那段变化的记忆，主要来自？
QYour memory of the 1990s changes mainly comes from?
答我自己亲身经历过
AI experienced it myself
问小时候，家里长辈常提鞍钢/单位吗？
QAs a child, did the elders often talk about Angang / the work unit?
答经常
AOften
问先用您自己的词：长辈提到单位时是什么感觉？
QIn your own word first: how did the elders feel when they mentioned the unit?
答骄傲
APride
问鞍钢/单位对家庭生活影响大吗？
QDid Angang / the unit have a big impact on family life?
答一些
ASome
问主要体现在哪些方面？
QMainly in which aspects?
答身份感/荣誉感
ASense of identity / honor
问小时候您觉得父母的单位更像什么？
QAs a child, what did your parents' unit feel more like?
答大家庭
AA big family
问有没有一个具体的小事，让您小时候感到「单位」就在你们家生活里？（一次分房、一次厂庆、食堂、澡堂、生病去厂医院…）
QWas there a specific small thing that, as a child, made you feel the 'unit' was part of your family's life? (a housing allocation, a factory anniversary, the canteen, the bathhouse, going to the factory hospital when sick...)
答和家里人去厂里洗澡
AGoing to the factory bathhouse with my family
问那段时间，您家有没有明显变化？
QDuring that time, did your family change noticeably?
答没太大
ANot much
问主要是哪些方面？
QMainly in which aspects?
答家庭气氛
AFamily atmosphere
问长辈当时的工作状态？
QWhat was the elders' work status at the time?
答换岗
AChanged posts / reassigned
问家里会讨论「以后孩子要不要留在鞍山」吗？
QDid the family discuss whether the kids should stay in Anshan?
答经常
AOften
问如果讨论过，长辈是什么态度？先选，再讲一件具体的事或一句他们说过的话。
QIf it was discussed, what was the elders' attitude? Choose first, then tell a specific thing or something they said.
答留鞍山
AStay in Anshan
问您是否曾离开鞍山学习/工作/生活？
QHave you ever left Anshan to study/work/live?
答是，离开又回来了
AYes, I left and came back
问若离开，大概在什么时候？
QIf you left, roughly when?
答为照顾家人
ATo care for family
问离开鞍山的主要原因？
QMain reason for leaving Anshan?
答工作机会
AJob opportunity
问若您留在/回到鞍山，主要原因？
QIf you stayed in / returned to Anshan, the main reason?
答照顾父母
ATo care for my parents
问带我回到您决定走 / 决定留 / 决定回来的那个时刻：当时在想什么？是什么让您拍板？
QTake me back to the moment you decided to leave / stay / come back: what were you thinking? What made you decide?
答自由至上
AFreedom above all
问如果您离开了：当时去了哪类地方？
QIf you left, what kind of place did you go to?
答沿海/南方城市
AA coastal / southern city
问落脚在哪类行业？（大概即可）
QWhat kind of industry did you settle into? (roughly)
答旅游业
ATourism
问现在比在鞍山，过得怎样？
QCompared to Anshan, how is life now?
答差不多
AAbout the same
问这次离开是？
QThis departure was?
答暂时
ATemporary
问您身边同龄人，离开的多还是留下的多？
QAmong your peers, did more leave or more stay?
答差不多
AAbout even
问您觉得年轻人离开鞍山，最主要因为什么？
QWhy do you think young people mainly leave Anshan?
答收入
AIncome
问您想过以后回鞍山长期生活吗？
QHave you thought about returning to live in Anshan long-term?
答想过，可能回
AYes, I might return
问要让更多年轻人愿意留/回鞍山，您觉得最重要的是什么？
QTo make more young people want to stay in / return to Anshan, what do you think matters most?
答适合年轻人的城市生活
ACity life suited to young people
问父母那一代从鞍钢/单位生活中，传给您最多的是什么？
QWhat did your parents' generation pass on to you most from Angang / unit life?
答吃苦耐劳
AEndurance and hard work
问父母教过您具体的工作技术吗？
QDid your parents teach you specific work skills?
答教过一些
ATaught me some
问若讲过，通常是哪类（不必讲参数或内部流程）？
QIf they did, usually what kind (no need for parameters or internal procedures)?
答安全经验
ASafety experience
问父母的工作经历，对您的职业选择有影响吗？
QDid your parents' work experience influence your career choice?
答一些
ASome
问更接近哪一种？
QCloser to which of these?
答想找稳定工作
AWanting a stable job
问您有没有因为父母的经历，刻意避开或刻意选择某个职业/行业？讲讲。
QDid you deliberately avoid or choose a certain career/industry because of your parents' experience? Tell me about it.
答没有
ANo
问父母那一代最希望您得到什么？
QWhat did your parents' generation most hope you would get?
答稳定
AStability
问您升学/找工作/离开或回鞍山时，父母的老同事或单位关系帮过忙吗？
QWhen you went to school / looked for work / left or returned to Anshan, did your parents' old colleagues or unit connections help?
答不方便说
APrefer not to say
问若帮过，主要哪方面？
QIf they helped, mainly in what way?
答其他
AOther
问家里现在还和父母以前的同事、邻居、师傅、徒弟联系吗？
QDoes the family still keep in touch with the parents' old colleagues, neighbors, masters, and apprentices?
答经常
AOften
问您觉得这种老单位关系，对子女这一代还有影响吗？
QDo you think these old work-unit ties still affect the children's generation?
答基本没有
ABasically none
问以前的单位社区，和现在的普通城市社区有什么不同？（邻里、互助、熟人社会、孩子成长环境…）
QHow does the old work-unit community differ from an ordinary city community today? (neighbors, mutual help, acquaintance society, environment kids grow up in...)
答基本一样
ABasically the same
问听到「鞍钢」「钢城」，您第一反应是什么？
QWhen you hear 'Angang' / 'Steel City', what is your first reaction?
答骄傲
APride
问您去过鞍钢博物馆、孟泰纪念馆或类似场所吗？
QHave you visited the Angang Museum, the Meng Tai Memorial, or similar places?
答去过
AYes, I've been
问这些地方对年轻人有用吗？
QAre these places useful for young people?
答很有用
AVery useful
问您觉得哪些记忆最容易消失？
QWhich memories do you think are most likely to disappear?
答老邻里关系
AOld neighborly relations
问若做一个「鞍山老工业记忆」资料库，您觉得最该保存什么？
QIf you built an 'Anshan old-industry memory' archive, what should be preserved most?
答家属和子女的故事
AThe stories of family members and children
问您家是否保存过和鞍钢/单位有关的物件？（可多选）
QHas your family kept any objects related to Angang / the unit? (multiple choice)
答不方便说
APrefer not to say
问您会给孩子或晚辈讲鞍钢/鞍山的故事吗？
QDo you tell your children or juniors stories of Angang / Anshan?
答经常
AOften
问讲这些时，您更想传达什么？
QWhen you tell these, what do you most want to convey?
答技术与劳动的价值
AThe value of skill and labor
问您希望下一代以后留在鞍山吗？
QDo you hope the next generation will stay in Anshan?
答希望
AYes, I hope so
问有没有哪个问题您希望我不要记录、不要引用，或引用前必须再问您？
QIs there any question you want me not to record, not to quote, or to ask you again before quoting?
答没有
ANo
问整理好后，您想先看一遍再决定是否公开吗？
QAfter it's compiled, do you want to review it first before deciding whether to make it public?
答不用
ANo need
问以后若需要补充访谈，您是否愿意通过介绍人再联系？
QIf a follow-up interview is needed later, would you be willing to be re-contacted through the introducer?
答不用了
ANo need
问您是否愿意日后接受一次更深入的访谈？如果您的父母长辈方便，是否也愿意引荐他们一起参与？
QWould you be willing to give a deeper interview later? And if your parents/elders are available, would you introduce them to take part too?
答再说
AWe'll see
Significance to the comparison
The Anshan side of the comparison, in a first-person voice: how the danwei (work-unit) organized a whole life, what the 1990s restructuring did to it, and whether the next generation stayed or left. It is the lived-memory counterpart to the paper's question about what lets an industrial community absorb a transition.
Provenance
- Field collection
- Paper questionnaire (子女·晚辈版) completed voluntarily in Anshan, 2026; photographed page by page; transcribed and de-identified for the archive. Original held privately.
Evidence media
- Completed paper questionnaire, 22 photographed pages; 55 question-and-answer exchanges transcribed verbatim (original held privately).
Sources two independent sources, each resolving
- Anshan field collection questionnaire response, 2026 (original held privately).
- Steel & Oil archive field instrument (子女·晚辈版), 2026.
Tim Qiao, ed., “Anshan Family and City Memory Interview — Descendant / Younger-Generation Edition — Case 17,” Steel & Oil: Anshan–Houston Industrial Memory Archive, OHS-AS-116, version 0.2 (field-collected, Anshan, 2026). Citation formats and the stable-identifier scheme →