Graduates find path to a good future starts with humble manual labour
Two young men, fresh out of university, find promising work in a very different kind of job market in Shanghai
In a wet market in Shanghai's Putuo district, 22-year-old Cao Bingwang and his co-worker Xiao Jian chop spareribs, pack cutlets or clean tripe, according to their customers' wishes, wielding their implements as deftly as any of the butchers at nearby meat stalls.
They call out cheerfully to passers-by, or patiently explain different cuts to customers, and wish them well when they hand over coupons. Their attitude is appreciated by the shoppers.
But there is a difference between the two young men and most others in the trade: Cao and Xiao are university graduates and their choice of profession - a labour-intensive job seen by some as demeaning - raises eyebrows.
Since the mainland brought back college entrance exams after the Cultural Revolution, university graduates have been termed as "God's favoured ones" in view of the tough exams they must pass and the glorious job prospects that follow graduation. For a time, a university diploma was a passport to a good job that required only brain, not brawn.
That is why, 10 years ago, when a man who graduated in the 1980s from Peking University - one of the most prestigious educational institutions on the mainland - was found working as a "mere" butcher in Xian , the news was a bombshell. The man told the media he was a disgrace to his alma mater and urged fellow graduates never to follow in his shameful footsteps.
However, that situation has gradually changed. The job market for newly minted graduates has deteriorated and a growing number of "God's favoured ones" have found themselves distinctly out of favour.