A Finance Prodigy Trades a Gilded Education for Homelessness, Surviving on $14 a Month
Zhao Dian, 32, once moved from Shanghai to New Zealand at age 10 and grew into a finance prodigy with two bachelor’s degrees and three master’s degrees, circling the globe from Sydney to New York, Beijing to Paris. Yet the headlines hide a more fragile truth: he chose homelessness, surviving on 100 yuan a month. The life Zhao walked away from was built on relentless parental pressure and a culture of prestige. He recalls a distant relationship with his father, who punished him for being left-handed, and a mother who did not understand his struggles. For him, the pursuit of status and schooling felt like a shackle rather than a ladder.
In This Article:
A Childhood of Achievement, a Shadow of Pressure
Growing up, Zhao’s brilliance was treated as currency. He earned two bachelor’s degrees and three master’s degrees in finance while living in multiple cities—Shanghai, Sydney, New York, Beijing, and Paris. But behind the diplomas lay a chilly family dynamic: a father whose discipline was harsh and a mother who could not understand Zhao’s loneliness. The pressure to perform never seemed to end, and Zhao began to question whether this path really protected him or trapped him.
Loneliness, Belonging, and the Simple Joy of Washing Dishes
After years abroad, Zhao faced profound loneliness and searched for belonging among fellow Chinese expatriates. In Paris, he took a job in the kitchen of a Chinese restaurant, where he discovered happiness in performing simple tasks. He recalls the moment that changed his view: “Washing dishes could bring happiness, so why wait for an ideal job?”
A Radical Turn: Returning Home and Choosing the Streets
In 2023 Zhao returned to China, taking work as a waiter at a local beer festival and in a hotel. Last year he relocated to Dali, Yunnan, and made the radical decision to live on the streets. His daily rhythm is simple: wake at 7am, retire by 9pm, with occasional showers at hostels. He sustains himself by eating at free vegetarian restaurants and relies on hotel facilities for laundry, living on about 100 yuan per month, with roughly 2,500 yuan saved.
What Zhao’s Story Asks of Us: Redefining Success
Zhao’s journey challenges the common blueprint of success in a fast-growing society. It highlights the mental toll of parental pressure and prestige culture, and it suggests that happiness can be found in ordinary moments and acts of care. His life invites readers to rethink how we define value, and to consider what a meaningful life could look like when wealth and status aren’t the only measures of worth.
