But I think I'm turning Japanese.
You'll never be Chinese
61–70 of 188 posts
Re: You'll never be Chinese
#62> Schools do not produce well-rounded, sociable, self-reliant young people with inquiring minds. They produce winners and losers. Winners go on to college or university to take “business studies.”
Scarily reminiscent of education in the U.S.
Re: You'll never be Chinese
#63As lionhearted said, a mix of good points and bitterness, but 甜 and 酸 always go well together, don't they?
I think the most poignant section was this:
>A deal had been struck. Deng had promised the Chinese people material wealth they hadn’t known for centuries on the condition that they never again asked for political change. The Party said: “Trust us and everything will be all right.” >Twenty years later, everything is not all right.
But I would disagree with the overarching theme that the problem of an ascendant China / China in general / etc. is that China is too inward-looking, that "You'll never be Chinese." I know you'll never be Japanese, but I think China and its people and culture are quite different; I didn't spend as much time living in China or studying Chinese as the author, but in that time and in my experiences I think there is a lot more interest and openness of people (and many elites) than is given credit.
Unfortunately, there are huge structural and institutional barriers too...
Re: You'll never be Chinese
#64While the article may have good points, I was once told not to burn any bridges when leaving. It is an illusion that you can change things while giving up the fight. Unless you leaving is an illusion for some other agenda.
Depends what you are leaving, sometimes it is good to make sure that going back whatever it is not an option. Having lived there for that long there will be times in the future where he will feel nostalgic need to go back, perhaps try again.. at which point he will look at this piece and know that he will never be able to run business or work in China again a good thing in this case
Re: You'll never be Chinese
#65Even though Chinese ideals/opinions tend to be NOT as diversified as, say Canadians, doesn't mean all Chinese think the same. Some of the main causes, and by no means the only causes for "racism": 1, those you don't understand, you don't trust -- vast of Chinese have not met many foreigners and Chinese culture tend to differ greatly from western cultures. 2, as noted, China is a very segregated country, you get discr…
Good points. Just a reminder though - i am sure you know this - that "China man" is a derogatory term for Chinese and has a racist tone to it.
Re: You'll never be Chinese
#66"blowing your nose in a handkerchief is disgusting." I am curious, where in the world is that acceptable (especially during lunch) and where disgusting..
Blowing your nose in public is disgusting to me personally. I dont care if you use a napkin or hankerchief whatever. I am amazed to see people blowing their nose in public without any embarassment.
That's a curious world view. People should be embarrassed by things you personally find disgusting, even if they're within accepted social norms? And you are amazed that people do things are socially acceptable? Pardon me if I say that I find that a bit self-centered.
I'm not sure where you live, but at least in the US, it's acceptable to discreetly blow your nose in many public situations (the dining table not being one of those).
For full disclosure, I should mention that my nose runs a bit more than most. ;)
Re: You'll never be Chinese
#67Earlier quoted context omitted.
> Likewise, Mandarin is the Manchu language... the ethnic minority that conquered China and became the Qing. The Han (majority) now speaks the minority's language Say what? Mandarin Chinese was originally spoken by Han Chinese only and is nothing like the original language spoken by the Manchu (save for a few loanwords). The Manchu language is from the Tungusic language family, and has absolutely no genealogical rela…
Mandarin is not totally unrelated to Manchu. There are a lot of loan words in Mandarin from Manchu, for example, 姑娘, 罗嗦, 邋遢, 马虎, 麻利, 别扭, and lots of other common phrases. More importantly, Mandarin is heavily influenced by Manchu in other ways, for example, tones. Southern languages like Cantonese, Minnan have more tones (Cantonese 9, Minnan 8, vs Mandarin 5). Some Chinese believe Mandarin is a language polluted/redu…
Or my favorite food - 萨其马, also known as Shaqima in Manchu, or чак-чак in Tatar, or шек-шек in Kazakh.
Re: You'll never be Chinese
#68"blowing your nose in a handkerchief is disgusting." I am curious, where in the world is that acceptable (especially during lunch) and where disgusting..
Blowing your nose in public is disgusting to me personally. I dont care if you use a napkin or hankerchief whatever. I am amazed to see people blowing their nose in public without any embarassment.
What is there to be embarrassed about?
Re: You'll never be Chinese
#69Earlier quoted context omitted.
>>I hope the Chinese are able to take criticism better than the west. Westerners can't get over their superiority complex. Actually, most Chinese people I've met, especially those who were born and raised in mainland China, have a massive superiority complex. In every type of discussion comparing the West to China, they keep bringing it up the fact that China has thousands of years of history, and has invented things…
I've noticed the same thing - but I've interpreted as an inferiority complex. As a Chinese, I feel like the Chinese feel an incredible need to prove themselves. After all, the 19th and 20th centuries have been one crushing defeat after another. The yearning and obsession with past achievements (like, 500+ years past) is symptomatic of a general lack of confidence in the present state of Chinese society. You meet a lo…
That's an interesting perspective. I'm actually Turkish, and Turkey definitely has the same king of yearning and obsession for the achievements of its predecessor, the Ottoman Empire. That said, it's a bit different because Turks tend to have a real inferiority complex, as opposed to one that is disguised by the pretense of superiority like the Chinese. I wonder why this is.
Re: You'll never be Chinese
#70Earlier quoted context omitted.
Blowing your nose in public is disgusting to me personally. I dont care if you use a napkin or hankerchief whatever. I am amazed to see people blowing their nose in public without any embarassment.
That's a curious world view. People should be embarrassed by things you personally find disgusting, even if they're within accepted social norms? And you are amazed that people do things are socially acceptable? Pardon me if I say that I find that a bit self-centered. I'm not sure where you live, but at least in the US, it's acceptable to discreetly blow your nose in many public situations (the dining table not being…
"I find that a bit self-centered."
I get that a lot so you are probably right :). I agree that in the US, it is an accepted social norm (I live in the US too) but I was just stating my personal opinion on the matter.
As for your own nose,blow away :). I promise to behave if I am around you