Survey: How do you view the online initiative to boycott the sale of Yellow River water? Recently, an uproar has swept through the internet - a "boycott movement" against the sale of Yellow River water.
The incident originated from a Chinese person residing in the U.S., who received as a gift from an American classmate - a beautifully packaged bottle of Yellow River water. This story, which appeared on November 11th on Tianya Community, stirred the emotions of netizens, prompting the initiation of a "boycott" campaign with the claim that "selling Yellow River water is equivalent to selling the blood of our mother." A minority of netizens, however, felt that such a boycott was somewhat pedantic.
Netizen Post: Received "Yellow River Water" while studying in the U.S.
"Should I feel ashamed or moved by this?" In the post, the netizen "April Wind Whisper" first shared a set of photos. The pictures displayed an exquisite red gift box labeled with the words "Yellow River Water," followed by a line of English: WATER FROM THE YELLOW RIVER. Upon opening the box, a golden yellow velvet wrapped a glass bottle, bearing the same label as the outer box. Inside the bottle was the "Yellow River water," slightly murky with sediment at the bottom.
After sharing the photos, "April Wind Whisper" explained the backstory. Having studied in the U.S. since 1995, he settled down after graduation and only returned home every two years after starting a family. One weekend, he attended an American classmate's birthday party where the host had promised him a surprise. This "surprise" turned out to be a beautifully packaged bottle of Yellow River water. Touched by homesickness, "April Wind Whisper" burst into tears upon seeing the gift. Initially assuming his classmate had secretly brought it from China to alleviate his homesickness, he later learned that it was purchased from an international trade website. Now, he keeps this bottle of "Yellow River water" from his homeland on his cabinet, unsure whether he should feel ashamed or moved. "Moved because I instantly received water from my homeland, like reuniting with the embrace of a mother; ashamed because this item was given by a foreign friend, why don't we ourselves have such awareness?"
Netizen Controversy: Should the Sale of Yellow River Water Be "Boycotted"?
Unexpectedly, this post touched a patriotic nerve in some netizens, leading to numerous boycott threads appearing on various forums, sparking heated discussions. As a result, some websites launched surveys asking whether the sale of Yellow River water should be boycotted.
Opposing View: Selling Yellow River Water Equals Selling Mother's Blood
"How can Yellow River water be sold?" Seeing the photo of the yellow liquid, many netizens angrily voiced their opposition. They believe that the Yellow River, which has nurtured generations of Chinese descendants, is great and sacred. Those who devise schemes for profit regarding the river water tarnish the face of the nation. Some even wrote sharp criticisms: "Regardless of the fact that Yellow River water is national public property, it is also the emotional foundation of the Chinese nation. Selling Yellow River water is equivalent to selling the blood of our motherland!" Everyone condemned those selling Yellow River water as being blinded by profit and losing the moral bottom line of the Chinese people.
Supporting View: Too Extreme
In each "boycott" thread, there were also netizens with differing opinions. On the Yahoo forum, netizen "hawk-flying99" analyzed that those who buy Yellow River water could be divided into two types: scientific researchers and overseas enthusiasts of the Yellow River. He countered, "Every year, much Yellow River water flows into the sea, so why not criticize the sea? What's wrong with letting individuals keep Yellow River water?"
Tianya netizen "yisuiyikurong" also believed that selling Yellow River water was not inappropriate, considering such "resistance" too extreme and overlooking the key point: Why would someone want to spend money to buy this small bottle of Yellow River water?
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Selling Yellow River Water, Precedents Exist
In fact, "selling Yellow River water" existed long before. In 2005, a book titled "Marketing in China" described the entrepreneurial journey of Wang Xiaofei, a university graduate: Wang realized that people leaving their homeland would miss it, so he packaged water from the source of the Yellow River, calling it cultural water or ideological water, priced at 50 yuan per bottle. Overseas Chinese who left home as children and returned when older were deeply moved by this water, resulting in rapid sales.
In the same year, writer Zhang Xianliang injected a few drops of Yellow River water into a gourd-shaped bottle, tied it with a Chinese knot, and sold it in the film city he founded, priced at 10 yuan per bottle. According to Zhang Xianliang, the sales of Yellow River water were consistently good, with tourists competing to buy it. He earned hundreds of thousands of yuan annually from this idea and later applied for a patent for this creative concept. At the time, many related reports praised Zhang for ingeniously integrating Chinese sentiment and traditional cultural elements into his commercial behavior, deeming the idea classic. However, controversies arose, with people questioning why a drop of Yellow River water could be sold for the "astronomical price" of 10 yuan, criticizing it as using Chinese culture and natural resources for hype.
Reporters: Xiao Yingpei Fang Xin
Source: Tianfu Morning Post