Anshan Old-Industry Life Memory Interview — Case 21 (Angang front-line worker)
Description
The respondent is from the 1960s generation and worked at Angang (Anshan Iron & Steel) himself as a front-line operator, entering the plant in the 1980s through a family arrangement. He learned the trade by apprenticeship under a master (师傅带) and describes his first workday starting at 7:30 a.m. reporting to the plant office, then safety class and safety-regulation training in the workshop alongside colleagues. During the late-1990s/early-2000s restructuring he reports 'some changes,' says he stayed in his original post (留原岗), was notified by leaders verbally, and that the biggest impact was on his family. He judges his old skills as 'not very useful' afterward, with diligence and punctuality being what transferred. He stays in frequent contact with old colleagues, has visited an Angang museum/memorial, and did not want his children to follow him into a similar work unit. He mentions still keeping a work ID/badge and a work uniform but attached no photographs of them, and on the object-registration card he wrote only that the material is for 'research background' use. No personal names, ID numbers, addresses, or phone numbers appear anywhere in the responses.
世代 / generation: 1960s · 身份 / role or relationship: worker (本人在鞍钢，一线操作) · 提及的物件与场所 / objects and places recalled: 工作证/厂牌 (work ID / factory badge) — mentioned in Q31, no photo attached；工作服 (work uniform) — mentioned in Q31, no photo attached
In their own words selected highlights, verbatim, de-identified
学好技术 工厂中先学会吃苦。
对工厂的认真守时。
一份工作 一种身份
Full interview parallel text
The complete question-and-answer record, in the order the respondent answered it (37 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？
QRoughly which generation are you from?
答1960年代
AThe 1960s.
问您与鞍钢/相关单位的关系？
QWhat is your relationship to Angang / a related work unit?
答本人在鞍钢
AI worked at Angang myself.
问您当年大概做哪一类工作？
QRoughly what kind of work did you do back then?
答一线操作
AFront-line operation.
问您大概在哪个时期参加工作？
QRoughly in which period did you start working?
答1980年代
AThe 1980s.
问您愿意说说当时为什么进这个单位吗？（学校分配 / 家里安排 / 自己选择 / 亲友介绍…）
QWould you say why you entered this work unit? (school assignment / family arrangement / own choice / referral by relatives or friends...)
答家里安排就业
AEmployment arranged by the family.
问您还记得刚参加工作时的一天吗？带我从早到晚走一遍：几点上班、先去哪、主要做什么、和谁一起。
QDo you remember a day when you first started working? Walk me through it from morning to night: when you started, where you went first, what you mainly did, and with whom.
答早7:30到厂部报到，去车间学习，上安全课讲安全规程，安全培训，和同志们一起。
AAt 7:30 a.m. report to the plant office, go to the workshop to learn, attend a safety class covering safety regulations, safety training, together with the comrades/colleagues.
问当时学技术主要靠什么？
QHow did you mainly learn the trade back then?
答师傅带；学技术主要靠师傅带。
AA master taught me (apprenticeship); learning the trade mainly relied on a master's guidance.
问您觉得当年最重要的本事是什么？（技术，或吃苦、细心、配合、经验、判断力）
QWhat do you think was the most important skill back then? (technical skill, or endurance, care, cooperation, experience, judgment)
答学技术
ALearning the technical skill.
问「单位」对生活影响大吗？体现在哪些方面？
QDid the 'work unit' greatly affect life? In what ways?
答其他
AOther.
问先用您自己的词：那时候大家对鞍钢/单位的感觉，像什么？然后再挑：□一份工作 □一个大家庭 □一个社区 □一种身份 □不好说
QFirst in your own words: back then, how did people feel about Angang / the work unit — what was it like? Then pick: a job / a big family / a community / an identity / hard to say.
答一种身份；一份工作 一种身份
AAn identity; a job and an identity.
问那段时间，单位或岗位有没有明显变化？
QDuring that time, was there any obvious change in the work unit or your post?
答一些变化
ASome changes.
问您当时大概属于哪一类？
QRoughly which category did you fall into at the time?
答留原岗
AStayed in the original post.
问单位一般怎么通知这些变化？
QHow did the work unit usually announce these changes?
答领导口头
AVerbally from leaders.
问当时对您影响最大的是？
QWhat affected you most at the time?
答家庭
AFamily.
问岗位变化后，您或身边同事一般去了哪里？
QAfter the job changes, where did you or nearby colleagues generally go?
答留原单位
AStayed at the original work unit.
问以前学到的本事，后来还有用吗？
QWere the skills you learned before still useful later?
答用处不大
ANot very useful.
问哪些本事容易带到别的工作里？（认真、守时、机械经验、管理、看设备、带徒弟、与人打交道…）
QWhich skills easily carry over to other jobs? (diligence, punctuality, mechanical experience, management, watching equipment, mentoring apprentices, dealing with people...)
答对工厂的认真守时。
ADiligence and punctuality toward the factory work.
问遇到岗位变化时，谁对您帮助最大？
QWhen facing the job changes, who helped you the most?
答老同事
AOld colleagues.
问大家会互相介绍工作、打听消息、互相照顾吗？说一般情况，不必说人名。
QDid people introduce jobs to each other, share news, and look after one another? Describe the general situation, no names needed.
答会的
AYes, they did.
问有没有老同事聚会、同学聚会、饭局、微信群帮大家联系？（可只答「有/没有」）
QAre there old-colleague reunions, classmate gatherings, meals, or WeChat groups that keep people in touch? (may answer just yes/no)
答有。
AYes.
问您觉得是正式渠道帮助大，还是熟人/老同事帮助大？
QDo you think formal channels helped more, or acquaintances/old colleagues?
答都有
ABoth.
问您现在还和老同事联系吗？
QDo you still keep in touch with old colleagues?
答经常
AOften.
问您去过鞍钢博物馆、孟泰纪念馆或类似的地方吗？
QHave you visited the Angang Museum, the Meng Tai Memorial, or similar places?
答去过
AYes, I have been.
问您觉得这些地方能让年轻人了解以前的工厂生活吗？
QDo you think these places can help young people understand past factory life?
答能
AYes.
问您觉得现在年轻人还了解「钢城」这段历史吗？
QDo you think young people today still understand the history of the 'Steel City'?
答了解一点
AThey understand a little.
问您家里是否还保存和工作有关的东西？（可多选）
QDoes your family still keep anything related to your work? (multiple choice)
答工作证/厂牌；工作服
AWork ID / factory badge; work uniform.
问您的孩子或晚辈有没有进入钢铁、机械、工程、制造相关工作？
QHave your children or younger relatives entered steel, machinery, engineering, or manufacturing-related work?
答有
AYes.
问您当年希望孩子继续进类似单位吗？
QBack then, did you hope your children would enter a similar work unit?
答不希望
ANo, I did not.
问您会给孩子讲以前单位里的故事吗？
QDo you tell your children stories about the old work unit?
答偶尔
AOccasionally.
问您给下一代最想说的一句话是什么？（工作、做人、技术、吃苦、选城市、选职业…都行）
QWhat one thing would you most want to say to the next generation? (work, being a person, skills, enduring hardship, choosing a city, choosing a career... anything)
答学好技术 工厂中先学会吃苦。
AMaster a skill well; in the factory, first learn to endure hardship.
问先不看选项：如果用一个词形容以前的鞍钢/老单位，您会用哪个词？为什么？
QWithout looking at options first: if you used one word to describe the old Angang / old work unit, what word? Why?
答老钢企
AOld steel enterprise.
问您觉得这段经历中，最该被年轻人记住的是什么？
QWhat in this experience do you think young people should most remember?
答钢铁历史
AThe history of steel.
问您觉得像我这样的年轻人，最容易误解你们那一代人的地方是什么？
QWhat do you think a young person like me most easily misunderstands about your generation?
答消费观
AViews on spending/consumption.
问今天有没有哪部分您希望我不要记录、不要引用，或引用前必须再问您？
QIs there any part today you would like me not to record, not to quote, or to ask you again before quoting?
答不确定
ANot sure.
问整理好后，您想先看一遍再决定是否公开吗？
QOnce it is organized, 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 contacted again through the referrer?
答不确定
ANot sure.
问您是否愿意日后接受一次更深入的访谈，把您的故事更完整地记录下来？
QWould you be willing to give a more in-depth interview in the future to record your story more fully?
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 (职工本人版) completed voluntarily in Anshan, 2026; photographed page by page; transcribed and de-identified for the archive. Original held privately.
Evidence media
- Completed paper questionnaire, 18 photographed pages; 37 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 (职工本人版), 2026.
Tim Qiao, ed., “Anshan Old-Industry Life Memory Interview — Case 21 (Angang front-line worker),” Steel & Oil: Anshan–Houston Industrial Memory Archive, OHS-AS-120, version 0.2 (field-collected, Anshan, 2026). Citation formats and the stable-identifier scheme →