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Surveying China’s livestreaming economy
審視中國的直播經濟

What was once a niche subculture has evolved into a $5bn business in China. In 2016 nearly half the country’s Internet users watched a livestream. “People’s Republic of Desire”, a documentary directed by Hao Wu, reveals the strange machinations of an online world where people can fulfil their most basic social needs.
曾經的利基型次文化，如今已在中國發展成價值 50 億美金的行業。2016 年，這個國家大約半數網民都看過網路直播。《虛你人生》這部由吳皓導演的紀錄片，揭示了網路世界中不尋常的套路，人們在這裡得以滿足他們最基本的社交需求。

The livestreamers themselves are usually poorly educated and unemployed: they perform online in hope of quick fame and fortune. Big Li migrated from Hubei to Beijing to work as a security guard, before striking it rich livestreaming full-time.
主播們自身通常沒受過什麼教育，也沒有工作。他們在網上表演，以期一夜成名和賺筆快錢。老李從湖北來到北京當保安，之後全職當主播發了橫財。

At the heart of the film, then, is a familiar story. Livestreaming started off full of creative, entrepreneurial and democratic potential but has since taken on a dystopian feel. Everybody can participate in the competition for clicks, views and tips in China’s attention economy, but the platform dictates the rules of the game. “I was fascinated by how a single platform could profit from rich and poor alike,” Mr Hao tells The Economist. Before pursuing film-making, Mr Hao worked at Alibaba and Yahoo, two internet companies, and he says he is sensitive to the ways in which users can be manipulated for profit.
另外，這部紀錄片的核心，則是一個常見的故事。直播最開始充滿了創造的、進取的、民主的潛質，但隨後卻染上了一層反烏托邦的色彩。在中國的注意力經濟下，每個人都能參與競爭，追求點選量、瀏覽量和小禮物，但直播平臺支配著遊戲規則。“光憑一個平臺就能既賺富人的錢又賺窮人的錢，這一點令我著迷。”皓先生告訴《經濟學人》。投身電影行業之前，皓先生在阿里巴巴和雅虎兩家網際網路公司工作過，並且表示他對操縱使用者進而牟利的手段是很敏感的。

His thought-provoking film reveals a bitter irony not limited to livestreaming: that the connection that technology was meant to provide has isolated people, too. Big Li’s family begins to fall apart. “I miss my son,” he confesses in one scene, breaking down in tears in front of millions of his fans. He turns away, as if finally realising that the faceless, flickering icons on his computer screen will not give him what he longs for.
他這部發人深省的紀錄片揭示了一種苦澀的諷刺，而且不侷限於直播業：技術本應為人們提供的聯結，卻同時孤立了人們。老李的家庭開始分崩離析。“我想念我的兒子。”他在一幕直播畫面中坦白說，當著數百萬粉絲的面感情失控，流下了眼淚。他轉過臉去，彷彿終於意識到電腦螢幕上那些沒有面容、閃閃發光的圖示，無法給予他，他真正渴望的東西。

—————文章來源 / 經濟學人

重點詞彙
survey/ˈsɜːrveɪ, sərˈveɪ/

• v. 審視

niche/nɪtʃ/

• n. 利基（市場）

machination/ˌmæʃɪˈneɪʃn/
n. 陰謀策劃

• machinations against other board members

fulfil/fʊlˈfɪl/
v. 完成；實現

• fulfil one’s ambition
• fulfil oneself

fame and fortune
名和利

• risk and reward
• friends and foes

migrate/ˈmaɪɡreɪt/
v. 移居

dictate/ˈdɪkteɪt/
v. 支配；規定

manipulate/məˈnɪpjuleɪt/
v. 操縱

• manipulate the public

isolate/ˈaɪsəleɪt/
v. 使孤立，使隔離

• a country which is isolated from the rest of the world

fall apart
解體；崩潰

• marriages fall apart
• fall apart to pieces

confess/kənˈfes/

• v. 認罪；勉強承認

break down
（感情）失控；（健康）垮掉

flicker/ˈflɪkər/
v. 閃爍

long/lɔːŋ/
v. 渴望

• long for knowledge
• long to see some old friends