HomeTown - Whenzhou(温州)

Zhejiang Wenzhou Jiangnan Leather Factory is a leather factory founded by Huang Zuoxing in the 1990s. Huang Zuoxing then handed over the company to Huang He, his nephew. Huang He became the new company boss. Under the sole responsibility of Huang He, it has grown rapidly and become the largest leather factory company in Wenzhou. However, due to Huang He's serious obsession with gambling, he owed a huge amount of money, and even used the leather factory as a mortgage, so he eventually fled abroad with his wife.

This incident was quickly reported in the national news and caused a sensation. Some people even made a spoof song about this incident to attract customers to sell their products. Gradually this became a single story in Wenzhou, labeling Wenzhou people as untrustworthy, deceitful, and hypocritical.

But is that the whole story?

No! after Huang He escaped, he left behind the tannery and the huge amount owed. Huang Zuoxing did not escape this trouble. He spent almost the rest of his life paying off debts, using nearly 350 million. yuan to pay off workers' wages and debts owed by the company. That's the whole story. A single story describes the first half of the story, taken out of context, allowing people to have a one-sided understanding of the matter (iNEWS, 2023).

In real life, whenever I say that I am from Wenzhou, I encountered discrimination and prejudice and was often questioned about my honesty by other regions. They even used spoof music to make fun of Wenzhou, which made me very distressed.

In fact, there are many diverse stories in Wenzhou. For example, Wenzhou people are very good at doing business and have the reputation of symbol of wisdom and unity. In addition, Wenzhou also has many spectacular sceneries, such as Yandang Mountain, Nanxi River, and so on. Most importantly, Wenzhou dialect is one of the oldest dialects in China with a long history, and it is still commonly spoken in Wenzhou today.

There are many other stories in Wenzhou, but most Chinese people still perceive Wenzhou with deceit and irresponsibility based on the single story. Therefore, a single story does great harm to a region and a group, and its one-sided information will mislead people to make a correct judgment and comprehensive understanding of things.