Throwback Thursday is when we trawl through the That's archives for a work of dazzling genius written at some point in our past. We then republish it. On a Thursday.
By Karoline Kan
Reaching out for help on the Internet is a tricky proposition at the best of times. But back in 2008, one girl was willing to place her entire life in the hands of web users.
“I’m so tired after all these years adrift in Beijing, sometimes I even think about committing suicide... Today, I’ve decided to hand my remaining life to you, my friends on the Internet. I will live a life arranged by you,” she wrote.
This post on www.mop.com, one of China’s best-known Internet forums, set off a frenzy of interest in the identity of the mystery appellant, who turned out to be Chen Xiao, 25, (pictured above, right) the owner of a clothing store in Beijing. Chen later posted her ID card picture, phone number and QQ account, announcing, “I am ready to be reborn.”
Chen’s life changed and she documented her every development: from attending a flag-raising at Tiananmen Square to volunteering at rest homes and trying out new dishes, all were events experienced and photographed by Chen. She quit her job and decided to start making money out of it, selling her ‘time’ on the country’s first online time shop, Chen Xiao’s Rest of My Life.
Clients can choose to hire Chen, or others like her, for almost any length of time, to do practically anything. Chen has kept sick patients company, delivered food to street workers, apologized on behalf of someone else and photographed tourists smiling on the Great Wall for an NGO (her highest-paying task, at RMB2,000 for a New Year’s Day’s work).
"You can pay someone to let you beat them up — provided it's under 30 minutes and you're a woman under 30."
Of course, as some have pointed out, isn’t selling time the same as work? “It’s different,” insists Michael Li, who works at a Top 500 E-commerce company by day. Li sells his spare time only to those of his choosing. “I do tasks that are interesting and new, at a price that embodies the value of my time... We cost more than regular wage-earners and if buyers accept that, it means they respect the concept.”
For Li, selling his time allows him to do things he might not have tried – and get paid for it. He photographed himself with a placard reading ‘I Love You’ at 10 famous spots in Beijing for a client’s valentine gift; he comforted one woman who had just broken up with her boyfriend; when a wedding organizer realized a delayed flight would mean an inauspicious empty seat at the banquet, it was Li who filled the spot. He was even hired to help buy luxury cars at the Beijing Auto Show, because the buyer believed that his Western-educated background conferred good taste.
Today, there are nearly 40 pages of shops selling time on Taobao and their services cover almost every conceivable requirement. You can pay a seller named Xuezuxiaomao RMB20 to shout and scream at him for five minutes. Or you can hire someone to vent your rage on physically – provided the beating goes on no longer than 30 minutes and is administered by a 'woman under 30 years old.'
A researcher from the Chinese Academy of Social Science says that time-selling is not necessarily a new kind of phenomenon, but is, rather, a new way of marketing an age-old concept. “Essentially, the content is not new and is similar to some errand companies,” Li kaiyu told Chinese media. “By giving it a name, ‘time selling’, the concept draws attention.”
Chen’s original post – the one that started it all – is still online, along with the 20,000-plus replies it prompted. As the first entrepreneur of her kind, she is relatively famous now, which has led some to make the claim that the whole thing was an elaborate PR stunt. If so, this is not something that bothers those that have followed in her wake.
“Maybe the case of Chen was [a gimmick] produced by some Internet marketers. But to the other followers like me, it doesn’t matter,” shrugs a philosophical Li. “It inspires me that the Internet is amazing and, anyway, life should be c olorful.”
This article first appeared in the January 2013 issue of That's Shanghai. To see more Throwback Thursday posts, click here.
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