In a country grappling with a growing income disparity, two popular Chinese writer-directors are weighing in from opposite sides of the wealth gap with a pair of high-profile films aimed at China's young movie-goers.

贫富差距是中国面临的一个问题，两位高人气的中国作家兼导演分别从贫和富这两个对立面出发，为中国的年轻影迷奉献了两部特色鲜明的电影作品。

Guo Jingming's 'Tiny Times 3' is the third installment¹ of a film franchise² adapted from his own novels of the same name, following last year's 'Tiny Times' and 'Tiny Times 2.' The stories explore the friendships and romantic entanglements³ of four young women living in Shanghai and soaking up all the wealth and glamour⁴ around them.

郭敬明的《小时代3》(Tiny Times 3)是《小时代》(Tiny Times)系列电影的第三部，改编自郭敬明的同名小说，去年推出过《小时代》和《小时代2》。故事讲述了四个生活在上海、集财富和魅力于一身的女生在友谊和情感上遇到的纠葛。

'The Continent,' from Han Han, is a tragi-comedy road movie centering on two men -- a teacher in a rural school and an unemployed⁵ loafer -- who leave their backwater home on an island off the coast of eastern China and venture across the country.

韩寒导演的《后会无期》(The Continent)是一部公路题材影片，是一出悲喜剧。故事讲述了在中国东部沿海一个小岛上两个年轻人（一名乡村教师和一名无业流浪者）背井离乡的旅途中的经历。

The long-time rivalry⁶ between the two authors, both 31 years old, ignited when Mr. Han won a prominent national writing competition, known as the New Concept, in 1999, two years before Mr. Guo took the crown in the same competition. The two men now have more than 30 million followers⁷ each on Weibo, China's Twitter-like microblog.

这两位作家目前都是31岁。1999年韩寒在新概念全国作文比赛中夺魁，而郭敬明两年后在该比赛中夺冠。之后二人一直都处于相互竞争的关系。如今他们各自在微博上拥有超过3,000万粉丝。

Just as they do in their novels, the writers project two distinct styles onto the big screen.

正如二人的小说一样，他们的电影也呈现出两种不同的风格。

Mr. Guo builds a fantasy world for his readers and audiences, a sparkling world that many young Chinese dream about: big-name fashion labels, Bentleys, Champagne⁸ in glistening⁹ ballrooms¹⁰, and dates with successful and attractive men.

郭敬明为他的读者和观众营造了一个梦幻般的世界，这也是很多年轻人梦寐以求的生活：穿着大牌、开着宾利(Bentleys)、在舞厅喝着香槟、与英俊潇洒的成功人士约会。

Mr. Han, meanwhile, tilts¹¹ to the other direction, showing an unflattering side of society: two 'nobodies' who can only afford to stay at shabby hotels, eat at dusty noodle joints¹², and wash up at a dirty restroom in a deserted¹³ factory.

而韩寒则倾向于相反的方向，展示的是社会的真实一面：两个只住得起破旧旅店，在落满灰尘的面摊填饱肚子，在废弃工厂的肮脏厕所洗漱的小人物。

As of Aug. 4, 'Tiny Times 3' had earned 517 million yuan ($83.8 million) since opening on July 17, while 'The Continent,' which opened a week later, has pulled in 514 million yuan, according to data from the state-run China Film News.

据官方报纸《中国电影报》的数据显示，截至8月4日，《小时代3》自7月17日上映以来的票房为人民币5.17亿元（合8,380万美元），上映时间比《小时代3》晚一周的《后会无期》取得了人民币5.14亿元的票房。

The first two installments¹⁴ of 'Tiny Times,' which opened in June and August of 2013, were among the highest-grossing films in China last year, with cumulative¹⁵ ticket sales of about 780 million yuan.

分别于2013年6月和8月上映的《小时代1》和《小时代2》排在中国去年票房收入最高的电影之列，总计票房约为人民币7.8亿元。

The 'Tiny Times' movies have been panned by film critics for their decadent¹⁶ imagery, and an opinion piece last year in the state-run People's Daily criticized the first installment as 'full-blown materialism¹⁷ worship.'

小时代》系列电影因影片中人物的颓废形象而受到电影评论家的抨击，中国官方报纸《人民日报》去年还在一篇评论文章中批评《小时代1》是纯粹的拜金主义。

'The Continent,' on the other hand, has been embraced by critics for its keen wit on contemporary values. On douban.com, a major Chinese film portal, the film has a 7.4 rating out of 10 from the website's users, with one comment noting that the film tells the 'reality and dream' of young people in China. ('Tiny Times 3' has a 4.4 rating.)

但《后会无期》则因对当代价值的敏锐洞察而受到评论家的赞美。在中国主要的电影门户网站豆瓣上，该网站用户给《后会无期》的评分是7.4分（满分为10分），其中有一条评论称，该片讲述了中国青年人的现实与梦想。（《小时代3》的评分为4.4分。）

The movies attempt to reflect the contemporary lives of young Chinese, many of whom identify with the films' characters as they sometimes lose their way in the pursuit of better lives. Rapid economic development has seen them come of age along with the emergence¹⁸ of individualism and consumption -- familiar modern trappings with their peers in Western countries.

后会无期》试图反映中国当代青年人的生活。很多中国青年人觉得自己就像电影中的人物，因为他们有时也会在追求更好的生活中迷失方向。经济的迅猛发展使中国青年人成长于一个个人主义和消费主义兴起的时代，使他们与西方国家的青年人一样陷入现代化的诱惑。

Mr. Guo, who runs a well-established publishing house, is a successful businessman. He represents a major segment of China's youth: smart, hardworking, self-made and politically ambivalent¹⁹. 'I don't know politics, so I don't pay much attention to political news,' he said in an interview.

郭敬明经营着一家知名出版社，是一个成功的商人。他代表了中国很大一部分年轻人：聪明、勤奋、自力更生、不关心政治。他在接受采访时说：“我不懂政治，所以也不关心时政消息。”

'Nobody is in the position to judge how you enjoy material goods if you earn them by your hard work and talent,' said Mr. Guo, who grew up in a small city in Sichuan province and now lives in a villa²⁰ in downtown Shanghai. 'When we watch 'Gossip Girl' people envy their lives, but when it comes to the same kind of Chinese drama, people say it is 'moral pollution,' ' he said, referring to the U.S. teen drama and criticism from critics over his films.

郭敬明说：“没有人有权评判你如何享受物质生活，如果这种生活是你通过你的才华和辛苦工作得来的。”郭敬明在四川省的一个小城市长大，目前他住在上海市中心的一栋别墅中。在谈到人们对他的电影的批评时，郭敬明说：“我们看《绯闻女孩》的时候，人们羡慕她们的生活，但涉及到中国类似的剧情时，人们就会说这腐蚀了道德。”

'Maybe it is not 'Tiny Times' that is shallow, but the big times that we live in,' said Li Li, producer of the latest 'Tiny Times' film.

小时代3》的制片人李力说，也许肤浅的不是《小时代》这部电影，而是我们生活的这个大时代。

Mr. Han's novels are also adored by many young people who, like him, read political news and occasionally criticize the government, but aren't necessarily ready to demonstrate their discontent by challenging authorities or sacrificing their material lives.

许多年轻人也喜欢韩寒的小说，他们和他一样读时政新闻，偶尔也会批评政府，但不一定愿意通过挑战政府或是牺牲物质生活的方式表达不满。

Instead of pushing the limits as some political dissidents are doing in China, Mr. Han devotes his time to racing²¹ cars amid his writing.

韩寒没有像中国的有些政治异见人士那样挑战政府的底线，而是在写作之余热衷于赛车。

'I shoot films, but I don't flatter anyone,' Mr. Han said at a recent press conference. He credits box-office 'miracles' from other young directors in the past two years with giving him 'more freedom in creation.'

韩寒近日在一个新闻发布会上说，他拍电影，但不试图取悦任何人。他称过去两年其他年轻导演创造的票房奇迹给了自己更多的创作自由。

Compared to Mr. Guo, Mr. Han is more notable as an opinion leader on political issues. His commentaries, including those that point to social ills such as official corruption²², helped him gain popularity with the generation born in the 1980s, when the country began to open up and reform its economy.

和郭敬明相比，韩寒在政治问题上的舆论领袖身份更引人注目。他的一些言论（包括针对官员腐败等社会问题）为他赢得了“80后”群体的支持。“80后”人群都生于中国刚开始对外开放进行经济改革那个年代。

'Han Han's generation experienced the chaos²³ in the 1990s and later got access to truth thanks to the Internet,' said Fang²⁴ Li, producer of 'The Continent.' 'To me, Han Han is not rebellious²⁵ at all but simply daring to tell the truth.'

后会无期》制片人方励说，韩寒这一代人经历了上世纪九十年代的纷纷扰扰，后来又因为互联网的普及接触到了真相，在他看来，韩寒一点都不叛逆，他只是敢于吐真言。

Though soaked with the same satire²⁶ as Mr. Han's novel, 'The Continent' is less politically conscious than his novels and previous commentaries. (China's rigorous film censorship system is stricter than the country's publishing industry.)

虽然《后会无期》和韩寒的小说一样充斥着同样的讽刺元素，但影片和他的小说以及以前的言论相比政治意识弱了一些。（中国的电影审查制度比出版审查制度更为严格。）

'He does pay a lot of attention to social reality in the film, but not deliberately²⁷ showing it,' said Mr. Fang, a veteran producer of art-house films. '['The Continent'] is a film for mass audiences,' he said. 'If you shoot something that cannot pass censorship, what is the point of making it?'

艺术电影老牌制片人方励说，韩寒在影片中对社会现实给予了大量关注，但又没有特意凸显社会现实。他说，《后会无期》是面向大众的，如果你拍一部不能通过审查的电影，那拍片还有什么意义？

In the face of a growing demand for local movie productions, Messrs. Guo and Han, who aren't professionally trained filmmakers, are already looking toward their next projects.

在本土电影制作需求不断升温之际，并非科班出身的郭敬明和韩寒已经开始期待他们的下一个作品。

The fourth installment of 'Tiny Times' is slated²⁸ to hit theaters early next year, while Mr. Han is considering shifting genres²⁹, recently telling local media that his next film could be science fiction.

第四部《小时代》预计将在明年年初登陆影院，而韩寒也在考虑拍摄其他题材的电影，他近期向当地媒体透露，下一部电影可能是科幻题材。