作者：木弓五世 木弓独响    

 

《警察与赞美诗》是美国作家欧·亨利创作于1904年的经典短篇小说，曾入选中国高中语文教材。小说描绘了流浪汉苏比在严冬中为求温饱而屡次试图犯罪入狱却屡屡失败，最终在教堂聆听赞美诗时心灵受到感化，却意外被捕的荒诞故事。该小说深刻揭示了美国社会贫富分化、底层民众生存困境以及资本主义司法制度的荒诞性，使一代又一代的中国学生通过文学作品认识到资本主义社会的罪恶。

然而，这种文学中描绘的资本主义的荒诞与悲剧却在我国现实中接连浮现：2008年9月，湖南衡阳祁东县的七旬老人付达信因生活无着，在北京火车站抢劫女生，被捕后直言“希望能判重一点”，以求在监狱中获得基本生活保障；2021年8月，浙江永康市打工青年陈某因经济窘迫、流落街头，为获得食宿而抢劫超市；2025年10月26日，37岁的曹某在上海浦东某金店砸碎柜台玻璃，动机竟同样是寻求监狱庇护……这些事件不再是欧•亨利《警察与赞美诗》的文学讽刺，而是现实版“求生型犯罪”的真实而残酷的写照。

一个健全的社会本应具备层层防护机制：社会救助体系为真正需要者提供庇护；心理健康服务及时干预绝望情绪；就业支持系统帮助个体重建谋生能力；政府组织则承担起兜底保障的责任。然而，当这些系统存在漏洞或衔接不畅，便有人从缝隙中坠落。当基本生存成为奢望，铁窗竟成为某些人眼中最后的“避风港”。

这些为求生而触法者，其行为虽违背法律，但其背后的求生本能却折射出社会保障体系中某些未被阳光照亮的角落。人天生具有追求幸福、维护尊严的权利。当一个人为生存主动放弃自由与尊严，当“监狱生活成本”低于“自由生活成本”，当铁窗内的三餐暖食胜过街头的饥寒交迫，这已不仅是个人悲剧，而是全社会必须正视的命题，更是执政者亟需回应的国家议题。

让每一位国民体面、有尊严的生活，是对执政者治理能力的基本要求。然而现实中，农村贫寒子弟上升通道狭窄，城市平民在生存线上挣扎，资源分配不均加剧了社会断裂。部分年轻人因看不到希望而选择“躺平”，不恋爱、不结婚、不生育，人口面临断崖式下滑，社会活力受到抑制，集体迷茫情绪蔓延。容身之所与温饱之需本是最基本的生存保障，却有一些人被背道而驰的疯狂碾得粉碎，被迫走向极端。

当颤抖的手在众目睽睽之下实施毫无技术含量的抢劫，只为换取牢房中的一餐一宿；当犯罪不为财富，只为获取一张“监狱门票”；当监狱成为理想中的避难所，而自由与尊严成为遥不可及的奢望，那么社会的健康秩序必将受到侵蚀，整个社会大厦长期积累的问题一定积重难返，轰塌之日定然摧枯拉朽，猝不及防。

近期上海曹某抢劫金店案引发社会广泛关注与舆论同情。可以预见，他将如付达信老人一样获得宽大处理。付达信不仅获得减刑与生活照顾，出狱后更入住新房，享受特困养老补助，过上“想吃什么就吃什么”的生活，其荒诞经历甚至被当地政府包装为“老有所养”的正能量故事。

鲁迅曾言：“打断你的腿，再给你一副拐杖，然后告诉你，没有我，你连路都走不了，所以你要懂得感恩。”

我不知还有多少类似的《警察与赞美诗》的现实版故事未被公开，但中国人素来有将“丧事”办成“喜事”的传统，以彰显仁义与治理成效。故事公开与否，各有其逻辑与考量。当然，我们衷心希望，在有人递出“拐杖”之前，不曾有谁的腿被先行打断，感恩方能顺理成章，尊严才能真正回归。

编辑：胡丽莉    校对：熊辩 翻译：沈美花

Mu Gong: The Societal Affliction of Surviving Behind Bars

Authors: Mu Gong V, Mu Gong Du Xiang

Abstract: Drawing parallels from The Cop and the Anthem to real-world “survival crimes,” this article exposes the existential plight of marginalized groups and the shortcomings of the social security net. It calls for attention to the conditions of those at the bottom of society, and the preservation of basic human dignity and hope.

The Cop and the Anthem is a classic short story written by American author O. Henry in 1904, which was once selected for Chinese high school language and literature textbooks. The story depicts the absurd tale of Soapy, a homeless man who, in the harsh winter, repeatedly tries to commit crimes to get into prison for food and shelter but fails every time. Ultimately, his soul is moved while listening to an anthem at a church, only for him to be unexpectedly arrested. The novella profoundly exposes the wealth gap, the survival dilemmas of the underclass, and the absurdity of the capitalist judicial system in American society, allowing generations of Chinese students to recognize the “evils of capitalist society” through literature.

However, the capitalist absurdity and tragedy depicted in this literature are now manifesting one after another in China’s reality. In September 2008, Fu Daxin, a septuagenarian from Qidong County, Hengyang, Hunan Province, who had no livelihood, committed a robbery against a female student at the Beijing Railway Station. After his arrest, he bluntly stated that he “hoped for a heavier sentence” in order to secure basic livelihood guarantees in prison. In August 2021, Chen, a young migrant worker in Yongkang, Zhejiang Province, who was destitute and living on the streets, robbed a supermarket simply to obtain food and shelter. On October 26, 2025, a 37-year-old individual surnamed Cao smashed the counter glass of a gold shop in Pudong, Shanghai; the motive was identically to seek refuge in prison… These incidents are no longer the literary satire of O. Henry’s The Cop and the Anthem, but a true and cruel portrayal of real-life “survival crimes.”

A healthy society should possess layers of protection mechanisms: the social assistance system provides shelter to those truly in need; mental health services intervene timely in moments of despair; employment support systems help individuals rebuild their ability to earn a living; and government organizations assume the responsibility of a bottom-line safety net. However, when these systems have loopholes or fail to connect smoothly, people fall through the cracks. When basic survival becomes a luxury, iron bars unexpectedly become the final “safe haven” in the eyes of some.

For those who break the law to survive, although their actions violate the law, the underlying survival instinct reflects the corners of the social security system that have not been illuminated by sunlight. Humans are inherently endowed with the right to pursue happiness and maintain dignity. When an individual voluntarily relinquishes freedom and dignity for survival, when the “cost of living inside prison” is lower than the “cost of living in freedom,” and when the warm meals behind bars surpass the hunger and cold on the streets, this is no longer just an individual tragedy. It is a proposition that the entire society must face, and furthermore, a national issue that rulers urgently need to address.

Allowing every citizen to live decently and with dignity is a basic requirement of a ruler’s governance capacity. Yet in reality, the upward mobility channels for impoverished rural youths are narrow, urban commoners struggle on the subsistence line, and the unequal distribution of resources exacerbates societal fracture. Some young people, seeing no hope, choose to “lie flat” (tangping)—refusing to date, marry, or bear children—leading to a precipitous decline in population and the suppression of societal vitality, while a collective sense of confusion spreads.

Shelter and warmth should be the most fundamental guarantees of survival, yet some people are crushed to pieces by a frantic reality that runs counter to these needs, forcing them toward extremes.

When a trembling hand commits a completely amateurish robbery in broad daylight just to exchange for a meal and a bed in a prison cell; when crime is committed not for wealth but merely to acquire a “ticket to prison”; when prison becomes an ideal sanctuary while freedom and dignity become unattainable luxuries—then the healthy order of society will inevitably be eroded. The long-accumulated problems of the entire societal edifice will surely become irreversible, and the day of its collapse will be devastating, swift, and catching everyone unprepared.

The recent case of Cao robbing a gold shop in Shanghai has garnered widespread societal attention and public sympathy. It is foreseeable that he, like the elderly Fu Daxin, will receive lenient treatment. Fu Daxin not only received a reduced sentence and livelihood care, but after his release, he even moved into a new house and enjoyed special hardship elderly care subsidies, living a life where he could “eat whatever he wanted.” His absurd experience was even packaged by the local government as a “positive energy” story of “the elderly being provided for.”

Lu Xun once said: “Break your legs, hand you a pair of crutches, and then tell you: without me, you wouldn’t even be able to walk, so you must know how to be grateful.”

I do not know how many similar real-life versions of The Cop and the Anthem remain undisclosed, but the Chinese people have long held a tradition of “turning funerals into weddings” (transforming tragedies into celebratory events) to demonstrate benevolence and governance efficacy. Whether a story is made public or not has its own internal logic and considerations. Of course, we sincerely hope that before anyone hands out “crutches,” no one’s legs will have been broken first—only then can gratitude be natural, and only then can dignity truly return.

Editor: Hu Lili

Proofreader: Xiong Bian

Translator: Shen Meihua