Quote:
Originally Posted by tony20009
??? Say what??? You could not be louder, stronger or wronger!
I might not rebut your comment were you to have made them specifically with regard to one or several governmental policies or actions, but picking up a fallen old man from off the street isn't at all a governmental action. Moreover, you can rest assured that if nobody helped the man up -- something that is a literal impossibility -- a policeman would eventually show up and do so, just as one would in U.S. or any other Western country. Additionally, unlike American culture, the Chinese one values seniority.
There are over a billion people in China. I'm sure you can find examples to illustrate the claims you made above. I am in the PRC almost every week and have worked there for nearly a decade now.
What you claim above isn't at all what I've observed. Not from total strangers whom I just see going about their business. Not from the people whom I meet but don't otherwise know. Not from the people whom I know.
In fact my experiences and observations have been exactly the opposite. So much so that I think Chinese people may be the most generous, interpersonally outgoing, humble, curious and helpful people I've come across in all my travels.
Cocky, arrogant and self-centered? Those are traits I am sure some Chinese people have, but as a culture, I just don't see it. I think culturally, those traits are more typically American, not Chinese.
- Humility: http://www.ipedr.com/vol29/24-CEBMM2012-Q00050.pdf
- Arrogance: As a Manifest Destiny governmental policy, I can see why one might cite arrogance as a trait. (http://thediplomat.com/2010/07/china...ous-arrogance/) I would ask, however, if the Monroe Doctrine/Manifest Destiny was good for the goose (USA/UK), why is it not good for the gander (China)?
If there is one thing I've observed the Chinese to be very good at doing, it's emulating the successful acts of others. China's imperialist moves aren't so different than those of many Western countries. Moreover, Western nations have a long history of sticking their noses in other coutries' business and taking the stance that they know best. It's at least a bit disingenuous that now Western nations see it as arrogant when China adopts similar policy positions.
As for arrogance being part of the core nature of the Chinese people, individuals, I really don't see that at all, quite the opposite in fact. Certainly no more so than is anyone who is by a third party told what they should or should not do, think or say.
You write that you've first hand experience in China. I'd think from that experience you'd know quite well that for more so than in most Western countries that there are two Chinas: the Chinese government China and the people of China. In my experience in the PRC, what I observe from the government and what I observe from the people are vastly different observations and attitudes.
All the best. |
I didn't say I have firsthand experience IN China, I have firsthand experience in dealing WITH Chinese people, and with living around this area, dealing with an increasing amount of Asian business owners, and having Asian clients in the course of business, it's fair to say that I'm not pulling things out of a hat or pigeonholing people based on a narrow observation.
You perhaps lucked out and you're probably in a better side of town, or they're just friendlier around you, a "老外 [Lao Wai = Foreigner]", especially if you work in international trade... There are some companies that hire foreigners to sit in the executive boardroom just to look better to investors! Laowai's are hot commodities there, and perhaps the only reason you haven't seen it is because you're not Chinese. If you are, then please disregard this paragraph.
Also not just Chinese, but lots of Asians in general... They can show one side to the public; the organized, professional, outgoing and generous side with a Porsche Cayenne and designer clothes, but once they are out of sight of their homies, he drives that Cayenne into a working-class neighborhood into a rundown house reeking of cigarettes and clothes that hasn't been washed in a month, hates going out and wishes the people he was hanging out with earlier "would just die already"... I know this person personally and saw both sides, plus 2 other similar people.
But for me, I haven't gotten along with Tianjin people, who are often boisterous and unforgiving, and that's 3 out of 5 that I've dealt with on a regular basis, and that 4th one was only because he reconciled, and I rarely talk to the 5th guy enough to make a sufficient aggregate. Also, plenty of people from Beijing and Shanghai fit the bill as to what I described... A good percentage encounters I've had with Mainland Chinese people have not been pleasant.
But note that I'm not saying all of them are bad, but there are also times that you encounter some people that hide their true identity until about 3 months later, kinda like getting into a relationship with a closeted psycho.