The requirements of being a beggar: Narratives of panhandling in urban China

This study examines begging stories in the Chinese metropolis of Guangzhou, written on signs, posters, or asphalt. The unusual material highlights individual backgrounds and motivations for panhandling; however, the ways they are displayed are not exclusive. The analysis reveals that the begging story is not only a genre sharing strong similarities in linguistic structure, thematic content, and rhetorical presentation but also a “narrative” in the narrow and broad senses. Beggars follow a script that combines rational and emotional arguments to convey authenticity, deservingness and innocence. The state, as the main actor shaping the environment of urban poverty, is not mentioned, yet, beggars engage with its discourses. The study shows how they reflect prevalent norms of charity and accusations of being “professional.” This result aligns with the idea that talking about poverty is an acquired skill embedded in the historical and cultural context of contemporary China.