Tribal struggles

Lian Si, 29, is a post-doctoral fellow at Peking University who has attracted much attention for his new book, The Ant Tribe, which focuses on college graduates in Beijing who are intelligent but less powerful and poorly paid. China has an "infestation" of them. It took Lian and his team two years to conduct research in the seven communities in Haidian and Changping districts, including Tangjialing, Shahezhen and Xiaoyuehe, where poor university graduates live.

What got you interested in this subject?

I read an article about a newly graduated college student's life in Beijing in the China Weekly News in the summer of 2007 and I was shocked by his experience after school. I was worried for young people like him. They have big dreams and ambitious plans, but have limited chances to realize them.