Hung Huang: Only stupid people get bored.
Hung Huang media person and writer, born in Beijing in 1961. She has published magazines such as “iLOOK” and “TimeOut”; hosted TV talk shows “Adults Are Talking” and “Bright Talk”; starred in the film “Perpetual Motion”; founded China’s first integrated store for original designer brands, BNC. She has written columns for “Sanlian Life Weekly” and published prose collections such as “My Abnormal Life”, “Purposeless Good Life” and “Cheap Philosophy”, as well as novels such as “Miss Zhang”.
In 2011, she was selected as one of the 100 most influential people in the world by Time magazine. In 2013, she was invited to serve as a member of the board of trustees of Vassar College in the United States. In 2015, she founded a content studio and has been managing her we-media ever since, with accounts on Weibo, Douyin, and Xiaohongshu, and a total of 16 million followers across the internet.
Where are you now? What are you busy with?
Right now, it’s 7:54 in the morning. I am having breakfast and reading the news. Afterwards, I am going to Jiugong Mountain to see the cemetery.
In general, how do you spend your day?
I arrange to go into the city 2-3 times a week. When I’m at home, I mainly do three things: find material for a small video column of mine, shoot videos for several of my online stores, and finally just write something casually. If I go into the city, I always have lunch and then have a meeting. It would be different if I were in Paris. I would make breakfast for my daughter first in the morning, and then read the news. During the day, I might go to an exhibition, and possibly have lunch with a friend. In the evening, we would spend half of the time cooking at home, and the other half going out to eat. We go to a new restaurant every Saturday night.
You have lived in the inner Second Ring Road of Beijing since childhood, and then studied and worked in New York. More than ten years ago, you moved to the countryside in Changping, a suburb of Beijing. How much does urban life mean to you now?
In Beijing, urban life is relatively far away from me. It takes me 30 minutes to drive to a cinema, so urban life like watching movies casually do not belong to me. However, if there is a good movie or exhibition, I will still make the effort to go see it. The last movie I watched in a cinema was “The Golden Finger,” and the last exhibition I visited was the Matisse solo exhibition at UCCA. The word “wander” does not exist much in my life.
You studied international politics at university. Why did you choose this major? Was it related to your family?
“Definitely related to my family’s occupation. My mother worked in the Foreign Ministry, and since childhood, she made me memorize the names of all the capital cities in the world. That’s why I chose international politics as my major.”
You later ventured into the media and fashion industry, founded magazines, and served as the editor-in-chief. Zhang Yu, the former editor-in-chief of the VOGUE China, also studied law but has been working in fashion media for a long time. This is not an isolated case. Many outstanding people choose their careers based on their interests rather than their majors. Can this provide encouragement to young people so that they don’t have to worry too much about matching their majors with their careers?
I think the happiest thing is to support yourself by doing what you like. It doesn’t really matter whether your major matches your career or not.
The lines in the movie “Perpetual Motion” never feel out of place when spoken from your mouth, such as “No matter what, I have to be somewhat involved with art.. Even if I don’t make art myself, I have to fuck someone who makes art!” There is also the action of standing in front of the mirror, inhaling and tightening your waist. Is your sense of humor innate?
Some people say that humor is an expression of despair about the world, a French journalist told me. Think about it, there is nothing wrong with this. Using humor to express something suggests a complete lack of ambition, no longer struggling, and no longer making progress. Accept it and accept it with a smile, the ultimate helplessness. If you accept this definition of humor, humor is hardly innate. Because people can only develop an attitude of resignation through life experiences. Most people are born with a desire to strive and compete, and not striving is usually a learned behavior. I’m not sure if this is entirely accurate.
In “Perpetual Motion”, you were also one of the screenwriters. You created it with your friends, and you can perform naturally. You later participated in “Gone With The Bullets” directed by Jiang Wen, you played a pure actor role. Please share your experience as an actor. What kind of person is suitable to be an actor?
“I don’t think I’m cut out for acting. I deeply realized this after “Gone With The Bullets”. I remember Donald Sutherland said that he acted for free. He was paid such a high salary because he had to spend the time on waiting for the director to say “action”. Professional actors know how to wait and enjoy the process of acting. I, however, can’t wait, and I particularly dislike the process of acting. I just can’t do it. At the same time, acting is a very hard profession. The public only sees the glamorous side of actors, but they don’t realize the hard work behind the scenes. So after finishing the performance, my biggest feeling is that I have a lot of respect for actors. I respect actors more than the directors.
“The times have created many opportunities, but it seems that they lack sustainability. Every new medium is replaced by another in three to five years. Nobody talks about managing WeChat Official Accounts anymore, short videos have already taken over, and live streaming is in full swing. In the face of rapid changes in the times, do you feel tired, or do you embrace the challenge and become stronger with each passing day?”
“It’s okay, I like new things.”
For a period of time, in any Starbucks in Beijing or Shanghai, someone might be talking about a big project with a financing of tens of millions of dollars. Meanwhile, a word is becoming popular abroad: FIRE, financial independence retire early. This is a rare moment when China and Western developed countries are on the same page, with the whole country pursuing financial freedom. Those who achieve financial freedom begin a new chapter in their lives: finding what they love to do most. Do you think finding what you love most and pursuing financial freedom are two separate things? What do you think about financial freedom?
“If you can do what you love and make a living from it, financial freedom really becomes unimportant. I have actually seen many people with financial freedom turn around and search for what they truly love to do, which can be quite torturous.”
Whether in the West or Asia, the mainstream definition of success is very similar and must be identifiable to the public: either being famous in a field, or making a lot of money, and the sooner it is achieved, the better. The mainstream turns a blind eye to a person’s spiritual growth. Some people achieve “success” when they are young, but later experience dramatic reversals in life and fall off the “altar”, often due to mental reasons. But it seems that we can understand this mainstream preference, because spiritual things are invisible, have no standards of judgment, and are very personal life. They can only influence a person subtly. How do you think we should define a person’s “success”?
In the public eye, success is measured in “seconds,” while individual perception of success is measured in “lifetimes.” Everyone is pursuing instant success, which may be a problem. And it’s not just an individual problem, but also a social one. Everyone is eager for instant success, leading to crazy exploitation of social and natural resources. However, the sense of accomplishment brought by this kind of success is temporary and quickly fades away. If you can dedicate your entire life to doing something you enjoy, regardless of ups and downs, you will still persist.
Personally, I believe that our society’s concept of success is too narrow, with only three standards: becoming rich, becoming an official, and becoming famous. I believe that the definition of success should be diversified, including completing a research project you like; writing a book, not necessarily a best-seller; being a good teacher who is loved by your students, rather than just getting them all to attend prestigious school. We need to learn to measure success from multiple dimensions.
The writer Eileen Chang was born into a famous family. Her grandmother was the daughter of Li Hongzhang, a minister of the Qing Dynasty. Eileen Chang graduated from the University of Hong Kong and later moved to the United States. Her aunt wanted her to return to Shanghai and left her property, but she firmly refused. In her later years, she live alone in Los Angeles and was only discoered a week after her death. You also come from a famous family. Your maternal grandfather, Zhang Shizhao, is a famous patriotic democrat. Your mother is a diplomat and your stepfather is the former Minister of Foreign Affairs. You studied, worked, and lived in the United States, but later you chose to return to China to settle down. How do you understand Eileen Chang’s choice back then? As your daughter “Pink Lover” grows up and studies abroad, are you likely to move abroad again in the future? Do you have the concept of settling down in a particular place as your lifestyle?
I don’t have much of a national concept. People should just stay where they feel comfortable, it’s not that complicated. It doesn’t matter where you were born or whether you have an aunt who leaves you property. I don’t have a concept of settling down. I’m from Beijing, and my strong connection to this city is mostly because my best friends live here. My daughter will make her own choices, and I can’t just follow her everywhere like a tail. That would be too annoying. With modern transportation, it’s easy to meet. I won’t move abroad just because she is there, and I won’t ask her to come back just because I’m here. We are all adults and should have our own choices.
In the past, Chinese were scattered all over the world. Now, due to the development of technology, they have become a specific Internet group: they speak Chinese, like Chinese culture and Chinese food, and care about domestic development. The famous dancer Jin Xing’s new talk show “Jinxing See the World” will be launched in Singapore, targeting overseas Chinese around the world. Have you also considered producing talk shows overseas? Your TV talk shows “Adults Are Talking” and “Bright Talk” were both excellent. Why did you stop them later?
“I don’t like being in front of the camera. The routine of doing a talk show can be quite annoying, with makeup and hair styling. I don’t have good looks, so doing a podcast is perfect for me and saves a lot of trouble. ‘Adults Are Talking’ was a program on The Travel Channel hosted by Wei Xiaozui. When he left, I was asked to finish the program, so I invited two friends to do it with me. ‘Bright Talk’ was a daily talk show. There are often programs that are finished but fail to pass the censorship, which made my life messy. I am always going to the studio for makeup and on my way home. I didn’t feel good about it, so I stopped doing it.”
The fashion industry especially likes to rank people according to seniority and status. When taking photos, the “C” position is important. When watching shows, the first row is important. At parties, there are also super VIP sections. We often make fun of these hierarchical game rules, but in fact, there seems to be a sense of hierarchy in every aspect of life. Banks have ordinary customers and big customers, hospitals are classified as second-class and third-class, airlines offer first-class and economy class, hotels are rated as four-star and five-star, and even soy sauce sold in supermarkets is graded as superior and first-class. Is hierarchy an inevitable phenomenon in human society? What we can do is to work hard to upgrade like in a game, or simply not participate in this social game and live like Tao Yuanming.
The grading of service facilities such as hotels, hospitals, airlines, etc. is a commercial behavior. I think it is normal to classify different levels of services. Everyone should get what they need. I would buy business class for myself, but I have a very rich friend who always chose economy class because he feels there is no need to upgrade. I think the services you can purchase do not represent your qualities and cultivation. I have to complain about some Chinese men who sit in business class. The flight attendants offer them water, meals, and even carry their heavy luggage. I rarely hear them say thank you. So I think these people, despite sitting in business class, have very poor manners and are typically what Feng Tang would call “middle-aged and greasy.” If one day I can’t afford a business class ticket, I won’t fly. However, when it comes to medical services, I will always strive for quality as it’s a matter of life and death.
There is a discussion on the Internet: Regarding physiological love and psychological love, which kind of love do you think leads to more committed love? Is there passionate physiological love first, and then psychological love, or is psychological love first and then gradually develop physiological attraction? Of course, there is a possibility that both types of love occur at the same time, which is beyond the scope of discussion.
Is this turning “love” into a chemistry lesson? Is it really that complicated? Physiological attraction may lead to a more stable relationship, or it may not, depending on the individual. Conversely, the same is true for psychological attraction. It is the most unromantic thing to break love apart and analyse love in such detail.
In an interview, you said that you no longer tear off any labels that others attach to you. When did you reconcile with the world, and was there a specific event that prompted you to stop fighting the outside world?
I haven’t reconciled, but I’ve stopped fighting because it doesn’t work. Most people think that you fell into a honeypot when you were born. If it weren’t for your family, I wouldn’t even want you to be a nanny for me. The other half of the people think that you’re amazing, you have such a good background and your English is so good, you’re a talented woman! It’s just that your appearance isn’t quite up to scratch. My response is: whatever, I know who I am anyway.
Do you think life is a one-way street? We can only move forward. Whether the past is beautiful or sad, it remains in the past. Do you feel sad about this?
I believe in retribution, everything you did in the past has an impact on your future. I’m not that sentimental or emotional, I don’t always need to be nostalgic and lament. I believe that life is reincarnated and everything is arranged by the universe. So I think it’s not a straight line, it’s a circle.
Your alumna Meryl Streep once said that her way to deal with the fear of death was to keep herself busy. How do you view the death?
I joined an organization called “living will”, which means I write down now how I want to die. For example, I don’t want traumatic emergency aid measures, I don’t want a tube inserted into my nose because I can’t eat, etc. I want to starve to death peacefully and with dignity, which would be wonderful for a fat person.Just kidding! Oh, by the way, I saw a very beautiful cinerary casket recently, and I bought one for my mother. Then I showed it to a group of people aged 30-40 at a dinner. They all thought it looked good and placed orders. Then I wanted to promote this cinerary casket on Chinese social media platform, but later I found out that I couldn’t. There is no prohibition, but you absolutely cannot buy traffic. No one will be happy if the platform recommends it to anyone. I think it’s so funny.
Regardless of practical conditions, what would you most like to do?
Extreme athlete, snowboarder.
If you could give one piece of advice to your twenty-year-old self, what would you say to her now?
Spend more time with your parents.
Do you have a favorite slogan?
Only stupid people get bored.
