1985是个挺神奇的年份。
非要归类的话，大概是混沌中立。
人们预期的东西方大战没有发生。意识形态的战争貌似告一段落。比如戈尔巴乔夫和里根在日内瓦握了个手。四年之后柏林墙被推倒了。但也不能说人类世界迎来短暂的和平，无论是非洲还是中东还是南美，没有一处是平静的。
前不久说到海南环岛骑行的事儿，骑到海棠湾的时候我还（戴着头盔穿着骑行服）路过刷了一下免税店。买了啥记不清了，就记得在gucci店里还自拍了一下，你还真别说，骑行裤就是显腿长。
海南+免税这个事情最早可以追溯到四十年前。前几天在看《激荡三十年》，刚刚好讲到了海南汽车倒卖事件。虽然这件事在1985年初被快速摁住了，但海南从此以后就不再是完全贫穷偏远的孤岛了。
海南只是其中一个地方，汽车也只是一个例子，1985年其实全国各地都在从欧洲日本进口各种电器，设备和生产线。有引进后发现用不了的，有上当受骗买了洋垃圾的，有做出产品卖不掉的，等等等等吧。这本书里面对此评价是这样的：
“在1985年前后，世界还是观察到了一个封闭良久的社会主义国家尝试着参与国际资本游戏的努力，尽管这种努力显得有点笨拙。”
2025年的今天，在四十年之后，大家用上了国产的但比欧洲更加先进的家电和数码产品，国内的品牌也逐渐打开了欧美市场。
1985年的时候，出国留学很热，很多人费劲一切功夫往外跑。在十多年二十多年后，很多人又跑回了国内，引领了IT产业和互联网产业，比如张朝阳回来做了搜狐网，比如唐骏后来成为了微软中国大区总裁。
2025年的今天依旧有人想出国留学，也有人觉得国内的生活质量更高。哪边更好已经变成了一个值得犹豫值得争论的事情。
如果说1985年大家唱着《明天会更好》的时候只是表达一种期望，2025的我们可以很骄傲的确认，是的，确实更好。当然，2025翻唱的这首歌本身除外（小破站可以找到对比视频）。
如果说《明天会更好》这首歌是华语乐坛的里程碑，另外一个里程碑也在1985年。4月10日，北京工体迎来第一个在中国办演唱会的欧美乐队，威猛乐队（当时还叫威猛乐团）。据说崔健还去听了现场，转年就发布了《新长征路上的摇滚》。这一年年底，Beyond办了他们的第一场演唱会，大概也就两千人去了，还亏了钱。
四十年过去了，2025年的今天，赶上了流行音乐和摇滚这班车的大家已经摇过，滚过，愤怒过，也迷惘过，如冰川融化奔流咆哮后逐渐融入一百万条不同的河流分支，现在有喜欢后摇的，有喜欢新金属的，复古disco也不错，大家都有自己的选择。讨论哪些是alternative似乎变得没有意义，主流又是什么呢，很难定义。
1985国内还没有开始实现双休日，就算你不想卷一周也只休一天。1995年改成了双休日，但是2025年我们似乎兜兜转转又回来了。父母那一代总爱讲他们有多苦，我感觉自己也没少吃苦，所以到底是哪一代最苦最累，很难评。
我个人观点是在和平年代大家都是及格线以上的，65或者78分没有本质差别。
80年代是我心中最好的年代，现在也是最好的年代。
“对少数幸运者来说，世界就像一座开放的巨大游乐场。而对大多数人来说，当希望像沙漠中的花一样绽放时，欲望和痛苦的间隙也有了短暂的喘息”。 – 《照片里的20世纪全球史》
最后的最后，希望世界和平。
1985 was a relatively magical year.
If I had to categorize it, it would probably be a period of chaotic but neutrality.
The anticipated East-West war didn’t happen. The ideological war seemed to have come to an end. For example, Gorbachev and Reagan shook hands in Geneva. Four years later, the Berlin Wall fell. But it can’t be said that the world ushered in a brief period of peace; whether in Africa, the Middle East, or South America, nowhere was tranquil.
Not long ago, I was thinking about my cycling trip around Hainan Island. When I reached Haitang Bay, I (wearing a helmet and cycling gear) stopped by a duty-free shop. I don’t remember what I bought, but I do remember taking a selfie in a Gucci store ;D. And you know what? Cycling shorts really do make your legs look longer in the foto.
The Hainan + duty-free concept can be traced back to 40 years ago.
A few days ago, I was reading the book “The Turbulent Thirty Years,” which happened to cover the Hainan car resale scandal. Although this matter was quickly suppressed in early 1985, Hainan then was no longer a completely poor and remote isolated island.
Hainan was just one example, and the vehical industry was just one example as well. In 1985, all over China was importing various electrical appliances, equipments, and production lines from Europe and Japan. Some of these imports turned out unusable, some were bought as counterfeit goods, some produced products that couldn’t be sold, and so on. This book describes it this way:
“Around 1985, the world observed a long-closed socialist country attempting to participate in the international capital game, albeit somewhat clumsily.”
Today, in 2025, 40 years later, people use domestically produced but more advanced home appliances and digital products than the European counterparts, and domestic brands have gradually opened up the European and American markets.
In 1985, studying abroad was very popular, and many people made so big effort to go overseas, US, UK, Japan, etc. More than a decade or two later, many returned back to China, leading the IT and internet industries. For example, Zhang Chaoyang returned to found Sohu.com, and Tang Jun later became the president of Microsoft China.
Today, in 2025, some people still want to study abroad, while others feel that the quality of life in China is higher. Which side is better has become a matter of comparision and debate.
If in 1985, when people sang “Tomorrow Will Be Better,” (fyi, it is a very very famous song), it was merely an expression of hope, then in 2025, we can proudly confirm that yes, it truly is better.
If “Tomorrow Will Be Better” is a milestone in Chinese pop music , another milestone also occurred in 1985. On April 10th, the Beijing Workers’ Stadium welcomed the first Western band to hold a concert in China: Wham! (then called Wham! Band). It’s said that Cui Jian even attended the concert, and the following year, with his band they released “Rock ‘n’ Roll on the New Long March.” At the end of that year, Beyond (a super famous Chinese band afterwards) held their first concert, which only attracted about two thousand people and resulted in a loss, didn’t make money.
40 years have passed. Today, in 2025, those who caught the wave of pop and rock music (been considered as alternative) have rocked, rolled, been angry, and been confused. Like glaciers melting and roaring, they’ve gradually merged into a million different river branches.
Now, some like post-rock, some like nu-metal, and retro disco is also good; everyone has their own choices. Discussing what constitutes an alternative seems meaningless nowadays. Everybody is a little bit alternative.
In 1985, China hadn’t yet implemented two-day weekends; you only had one day off per week. Two-day weekends were introduced in 1995, but in 2025, it seems we’ve come full circle – some companies request employee to work on Saturdays as regular. Our parents’ generation always talks about how hard they suffered, but somehow I feel that I suffered a lot myself as well, so it’s hard to say which generation suffered the most.
The 1980s were the best era in my heart, and now, 2025, is also the best era.
“For a lucky few, the world is like a vast, open playground. For most, however, there is a brief respite between desire and suffering, when hope blossoms like a desert flower.” – A Global History of the 20th Century in Photographs
Finally, I wish for world peace.
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