The Relaxed Attitude of Tianjin People
天津人的松弛感
The Relaxed Attitude of Tianjin People
To describe the relaxed attitude of Tianjin people, we use a lighthearted approach—presenting it in the style of a joke:
1. Serious Matters
When it comes to serious matters, Tianjin people might have a different understanding than you do. My friend just arrived in Tianjin and went to transfer her household registration. While doing the paperwork, she chatted with the desk clerk and said that she plans buy crabs at the morning market. One of the police officers overheard and loudly shouted, 'Finish her paperwork first! Don’t delay the serious matter (of buying crabs)!
2. Only Mao Shan Wang Durian
Listen to the announcements at Tianjin Zoo—they sound more humorous than a normal stand-up comedy routine: “When the carnivore bears are fed, we start with 20 pounds of braised beef, and the whole salmon must be fresh, complete with head and tail. For the omnivorous bears, feeding starts with 8 durians, and only Mao Shan Wang durians are acceptable—cheap brands are not accepted. If you want to feed them well, you need to spend money. No animals eat noodles, I repeat, no animals eat noodles.”
3. Stepping on Someone’s Foot
When you accidentally step on someone’s foot in Tianjin, the response is often humorously polite: “Yesterday, a gentleman said that while he was riding the bus in Tianjin, he accidentally stepped on someone's foot. When they reached the stop, the person asked, "Brother, are you still stepping on my foot? If not, I'm getting off now.”
4. Going Home for a Dinner
People say that Tianjin folks have an impressive philosophy of life. To them, nothing in life seems too serious. This optimistic, relaxed, and carefree attitude seems to be to core of their spirit. It’s the most charming aspect of the city's warmth and friendliness.
A friend once shared this story: “Last week, I went to see off a friend off as she was transferring from a company in Beijing to a Tianjin branch. While scheduling her interview, she asked if it could be scheduled at 6:30 PM. The interviewer told her that wasn’t possible because they close at 6:00 PM and 6:30 is too late.”
I asked why they finished work so early, and my friend said, “In Tianjin, if someone works late, their parents might go to the company and cause a scene." I was shocked—everything seems less of a big deal in Tianjin.
Of course, the idea of "parents going to the company to cause a scene" is just a joke, but in the minds of Tianjin people, "going home for dinner on time" is indeed a matter of great importance.
5. About the Egg Queue
Someone asked online, “Does anyone know if you can bring your own egg when buying jianbing guozi (a type of Chinese pancake) in Tianjin, and can you even use it to hold your place in line?”
Someone replied to the post: “Tianjin girl here—yes, I can confirm that you can indeed use the egg to hold your place in line! Although I might not remember my own egg, the vendor does keep track! They’ll tell me where my egg is in the line.”
Some netizens said, “No photo, no evidence—I'd like to see some proof”.
Immediately, someone posted a picture of eggs lined up to prove the point. To further substantiate, they added: “Yesterday, I bought the fried pancake and told the vendor I wanted an extra egg, then placed my own egg in the egg slot while I went to buy soy milk and other things. When I came back, I checked where my egg was in line, and the pancake was basically ready.”
天津人的松弛感
说天津人的松弛感，我们用一种轻松的形式----段子式的讲法：
一、正事儿
关于正事，天津人的理解可能跟你不一样：我朋友刚来天津，办理转户口，上午去的，跟老爹聊天说办完了要去早市买螃蟹。里头一个警官听见了，大声喊，“先给她办!别耽误了办正事儿(买螃蟹)”。
二、限猫山王牌
你再听听天津动物园的广播，比单口相声还像单口相声：“肉食熊投喂，酱牛肉20斤起步，三文鱼整条带头尾必须冰鲜。杂食熊投喂，8个榴莲起步，限猫山王牌子，小牌子啊我们不吃。耐(爱)喂就得舍得花钱。妹(没)有动物吃挂面，重复一遍，妹有动物吃挂面”。
三、踩脚
踩了对方的脚，对方还怪客气的嘞：“昨天一位爷说他在天津乘公交车，没留神踩了人家的脚。到站了，人家问：大哥你还踩吗?不踩我下车了”。
四、回家吃饭
有人说，天津人好像有一种了不起的生活哲学。对他们来说，生活里好像没有什么大事，那种乐观、松弛、自在的状态，似乎是他们的精神底色，也是这座城市最有魅力的人情味。
有个朋友分享过这样一个故事：“上周去朋友家给她送行，朋友从北京一个公司去了天津分部，说面试的时候问面试官能不能6点半面试，面试官回她不行，6点就下班了，6点半太晚了。我说怎么这么早啊，朋友说：天津人下班晚的话，父母会去公司闹”，听完震惊了，感觉什么事放到天津都不是事儿。
“父母到公司闹”当然是句笑话，但在天津人心中，“到点回家吃饭”确实是一件无比重要的事儿。
五、关于鸡蛋排队这个事儿，
说有网友问：“有人知道天津买煎饼果子可以自带鸡蛋，而且还能用鸡蛋排队吗?”
有人在帖子下回答：“天津姑娘在此，的确是可以用鸡蛋排队的!虽然我记不住自己的鸡蛋，但老板能记住!告诉我我排到哪儿了”。
有网友说，无图无证据，“想看图”。
马上有网友晒了鸡蛋排队图，有图有证据。为了进一步证明，补充说明：“昨天买煎饼果子，告诉老板我要加鸡蛋，然后把自己带的鸡蛋放在鸡蛋槽里就去买浆子啥的，再回来看看自己的鸡蛋排到哪了，回来就基本也就摊好了”。
