Blogs » Society » On Cultural Differences Between China And The US — Not Better, Not Worse

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• On Cultural Differences Between China And The US — Not Better, Not Worse
• Cat In A Hat Sits On Back Of A Bike, Is Awesome
• ‘Gu Kailai Smuggled Money With Hot-air Balloons’: Not As Cool As It Sounds
• Cast Your Vote for Shanghai's Best Pizza
• Olympics Roundup: Yi Siling wins Games’ first gold, 16-year-old Ye Shiwen’s world-record swim, and women’s basketball upsets Czech Republic
• Interviews of Children Inside Hong Kong Anti-National Education Protest
• Watch: Hong Kongers protest against patriotism lesson plans
• Females Duke It Out In Female Way, By Which We Mean With Hair-Grabbing
• The Situation Is Excellent: The Week That Was At Beijing Cream
• Did Paul McCartney Need A Teleprompter At The Opening Ceremony?
• Dwyane Wade Tweeted Congratulations To Sun Yang (China’s Next Liu Xiang?)
• Ai Weiwei on the London 2012 opening ceremony
• After Becoming First Chinese Man To Win Swimming Gold, Sun Yang Wanted To Tell The South Koreans Something

On Cultural Differences Between China And The US — Not Better, Not Worse Posted: 29 Jul 2012 08:03 PM PDT I spent 4th grade in a public elementary school in Aix-en-Provence, France, and my 11th grade in an Istanbul, Turkey, high school.  Since graduating from law school, not a single year has gone by where I haven't spent at least some time in a foreign country.  Many times when someone of one nationality/culture/ethnicity complains about another nationality/culture/ethnicity, the complaint is based more on differences than objective quality.  But sometimes I (all of us?) need a reminder of this… The Journey of Beginnings blog has a great reminder, entitled, I love you = Wo Ai Ni? (h/t to China. Hope. Live.) The post is about the radical (my word) difference between Americans and Chinese in their usage of the phrase "I love you." Take, for example, the usage of the phrase "I love you." I have heard Americans say those three words to people they've barely met. I slowly learned not to squirm uncomfortably when I hear these words of affection thrown around like a greeting or more often a closing quip as companies depart. My American friend recently admitted to me sometimes she feels those words are cheapened by how freely and frequently they are tossed around in her family. Being Chinese I've had to learn this cultural phenomenon and I've observed the following three situations in the way Americans say "I love you": 1. A semi-to total functional family who genuinely respect and support one another may express I love you frequently as a sign of authentic love for each other. They see the importance of leaving no room to doubt for their children or spouse to truly receive the heart behind the verbally spoken words. 2. I love you becomes an acquiescence to societal norms in an effort to cover up what's really not-so-functional underneath. Imagine a parent who is never around and drops the L-bomb at the end of a phone conversation in order to soothe their guilt. Or a marriage whose passion has grown cold but continue the ritualistic "I love you-s" each morning as they go off to work in order to keep up the appearance of a healthy bond. 3. Sadly there are truly broken, perhaps even abusive, homes where family members have never been loved nor been told they are loved. The problem arises when Americans encounter Chinese families who have never uttered those precious three words, "wo ai ni". I'm afraid the American easily jumps to the conclusion the Chinese must therefore be a number 3 family. I'm even more afraid when Christian Americans make it their mission to demonstrate true love to Chinese families with the assumption they must not know how to love if they don't say it. This is simply a false assumption! Chinese families know how to love fiercely. They do it through immense generosity, unwavering loyalty, and a lot of food. We love differently, not better, not worse, but definitely different. This is not to say I don't think there's value in verbal expressions of love. Some non-traditional Chinese families are starting to freely say I love you to each other and I believe that can be a healthy development. But I do believe the community should decide for themselves when or how they want to exhibit the love without being judged for being unloving unless they express themselves a certain way. I agree.  What do you think?

Cat In A Hat Sits On Back Of A Bike, Is Awesome Posted: 29 Jul 2012 07:00 PM PDT YouTube user youluukvideo, whose profile says he/she is based in Taiwan, posted this video last week. We've seen a dog sit on the back of a bike in China, but a cat? In a hat? Turning around to look at the cameraman and thinking, we're sure, "What you looking at?"? Incredible. Much better than that dog. (H/T Buzzfeed via Alicia) Youku video for those in China after the jump.

‘Gu Kailai Smuggled Money With Hot-air Balloons’: Not As Cool As It Sounds Posted: 29 Jul 2012 06:24 PM PDT After a total communication blackout during seven days at Buddha Camp, I returned home to find that Gu Kailai, wife of Bo Xilai, has been indicted for the murder or Neil Heywood. No doubt there have been events of more moment in the past week, but Ms. Gu's charges prompted me to investigate to find what out what I could. Which is not much. One old item caught my eye as I was searching, 'Gu Kailai Smuggled Money With Hot-air Balloons.' This on the sometimes excellent, always anti-CCP, China Forbidden News (for a good romp on the far edge of the dire implications of Ms. Gu's indictment and coming trial, check out China Forbidden News' coverage posted on YouTube). As you might imagine with a title like 'Gu Kailai Smuggled Money With Hot-air Balloons.',  I had visions of Ms. Gu on China's North Western border inflating balloons and waiting for a favorable wind. And, of Mr. Heywood waiting patiently a few hundred feet away in Kazakhstan ready to bring down the loot. Unfortunately, the accusation is that Ms. Gu used a hot-air balloon trade deal to get money out China. Not nearly as fun to think about. Ms. Gu will no doubt be found guilty. All that is really left is the sentencing. And, then the wait to see how Mr. Bo himself will be dispatched.

Cast Your Vote for Shanghai's Best Pizza Posted: 29 Jul 2012 05:45 PM PDT Date: Jul 25th 2012 5:58p.m. Contributed by: cityweekend_sh Round one of City Weekend's best pizza competition is now open.

Olympics Roundup: Yi Siling wins Games’ first gold, 16-year-old Ye Shiwen’s world-record swim, and women’s basketball upsets Czech Republic Posted: 29 Jul 2012 04:00 PM PDT Lars Baron / Getty Images Aside from the men's gymnastics team losing pommel horse gold medalist Teng Haibin to injury, China's Olympics are going just swell. Some highlights: In the opening women's basketball game, China, ranked 7th in FIBA, upset world runner-up Czech Republic, ranked 4th, 66-57. No other team in China's pool, other than the US, is in FIBA's top 20, for whatever that's worth — though Croatia gave the US a close game for three quarters. Second place is within grasp for Team China. Here is Yi Siling, via Buzzfeed, who won the first gold medal of the Games when she came from behind to beat Poland's Sylwia Bogacka in the 10-meter air rifle: Sun Yang may be receiving congratulatory texts from Dwyane Wade, but Ye Shiwen, reportedly only 16, made one hell of a swim, too. Reports NY Times: "Then, 16-year-old Ye Shiwen smashed the world record in the women's 400 individual medley by more than a second: all the more remarkable because she swam the last 50 meters in a faster time than the new men's 400 I.M. champion, Ryan Lochte, swam his last 50 meters." She set a world record of 4 minutes, 28.43 seconds despite swimming in a textile suit, unlike the polyester suit worn by the previous record holder. Yi Jianlian is going to have a monster Olympics and be swooped up by an NBA team. China's men's basketball team lost 97-81 in its opener to Spain, but there were several positives to be gleaned from the contest. Chen Jianghua and Wang Shipeng, both guards with the Guangdong Southern Tigers, had performances that stuck out for me, and China's star, Yi Jianlian, registered a monster 30-point, 12-rebound effort. Spain is the prohibitive favorite in Pool B, so the games are expected to get a little easier from here — but not by much, in the case of the Brazil, Russia, Great Britain, and Australia games. That's all the rest of the games, actually. Diving dream team wins again. Reports BBC: "China continued their domination of Olympic diving as world champions Wu Minxia and He Zi easily won the women's synchronised 3m springboard event. // The nation won all eight events at last year's world championships and are expected to do the same in London. // Wu and He scored 346.20 to secure Wu her third successive Olympic title, with the United States taking silver and Canada edging Italy for bronze." South Korea edges China 210-209 in women's team archery. No shame losing to South Korea, which has won seven consecutive gold medals in this event. Congratulations to them. The Olympics rolls on. Stay tuned.

Interviews of Children Inside Hong Kong Anti-National Education Protest Posted: 29 Jul 2012 02:47 PM PDT Photos of these two Hong Kong born Pakistani protestors are widely shared on Hong Kong cyberspace. Left: I need Chinese education. Don't need brainwashing education. Right: Want me to be patriotic but don't teach me Chinese well. This little girl becomes a hit on Hong Kong cyberspace. I want to do something good to Hong Kong. *****More interviews and netizens' comments later****

Watch: Hong Kongers protest against patriotism lesson plans Posted: 29 Jul 2012 02:55 PM PDT Via AFP: "Thousands of stroller-pushing Hong Kong parents and activists protest a plan to introduce national education lessons, slamming it as a bid to brainwash children with Chinese propaganda." [ more › ]

Females Duke It Out In Female Way, By Which We Mean With Hair-Grabbing Posted: 29 Jul 2012 12:00 PM PDT There really doesn't seem to be a lot of pertinent info about the above video and the one after the jump, except that they both appeared on Youku very recently. You'll just have to enjoy them devoid of context. Above: Samsung employees in Tangshan, Hebei province fight a customer, or something. And below: two schoolgirls scuffle in the playground while everyone watches. Kind of reminds me of this video of a swarm of middle school students beating up a chengguan. Kids these days: first they'll date you out of contemporary society by inventing some abstruse technological necessity for daily life that only they understand, like a better Internet, and then they'll go Clockwork Orange on you. Fear the future, people. Youku videos after the jump for those in China. Playground fight:

The Situation Is Excellent: The Week That Was At Beijing Cream Posted: 29 Jul 2012 08:59 AM PDT July 23 – July 29 If you haven't seen it yet, make sure to watch until the end: best rendition ever of Justin Bieber's "Baby" from atop a cow. Also, this is good: Chinese woman's shirt foretells a world after racism, when our most offensive words are simply humorous. And here's a food story for you, featuring tapeworms. The Olympics have started: Boris Johnson welcomes you to London in best way possible; "Best Wishes From Beijing" is a god-awful song; and these poor pigs, destined for the dinner table, swim for your entertainment. In other sports news closer to home, Didier Drogba made a successful Chinese Super League debut, and Bayern Munich scored six in Beijing. We wondered, as Gu Kailai made the news again after she was officially charged with murder, whether she deserves a nickname (yes). Xinhua continues to amuse: pictures of overweight people, and a fitting typo about last weekend's rainstorm. (Speaking of which, here are people trying to pull out a submerged car.) Here's a Du Chuanwang update, and not a good one. Here's China depicted by a 17th-century engraver. Here's a bad case of road rage, when a little cool-headedness would've been better. It's good advice for the summer, and in general: stay cool out there. |Week in Review Archives|

Did Paul McCartney Need A Teleprompter At The Opening Ceremony? Posted: 29 Jul 2012 07:58 AM PDT While it seems unlikely that Paul McCartney, 70, would ever fail to remember the words to one of his most well-known songs, why take the risk when you're live with two billion viewers? But some lyrics, when flashed upon a small screen intended for one and broadcast to two billion, are funnier than others. BJC reader Andray Abrahamian noticed this on Euro Sport's stream of Friday's opening ceremony and sent it along. If we take a closer look… A little closer… All the guys and/or girls now: "Na na na na na na na na na na na na naaaa."

Dwyane Wade Tweeted Congratulations To Sun Yang (China’s Next Liu Xiang?) Posted: 28 Jul 2012 10:17 PM PDT Take note, Park Tae Hwan: this is how you congratulate someone for becoming his country's first Olympic gold-medal winner in a sport. Park, of course, said yesterday after Sun Yang's Olympic record-setting win in the 400-meter freestyle: "I lost the race, but I am glad that it was an Asian who won. It is something we can all be proud of." No need to bring race into it, as international basketball superstar Dwyane Wade knows full well. Congrts to #SunYang will do just fine. (H/T Alicia, who says Sun may be China's next Liu Xiang)

Ai Weiwei on the London 2012 opening ceremony Posted: 28 Jul 2012 09:54 PM PDT "Brilliant. It was very, very well done. This was about Great Britain; it didn't pretend it was trying to have global appeal. Because Great Britain has self-confidence, it doesn't need a monumental Olympics. But for China that was the only imaginable kind of international event. Beijing's Olympics were very grand - they were trying to throw a party for the world, but the hosts didn't enjoy it. The government didn't care about people's feelings because it was trying to create an image." [ more › ]

After Becoming First Chinese Man To Win Swimming Gold, Sun Yang Wanted To Tell The South Koreans Something Posted: 28 Jul 2012 09:32 PM PDT Sun Yang made history last night by becoming the first Chinese man to win an Olympic swimming event, beating defending champion (and favorite) Park Tae Hwan of South Korea in the 400-meter freestyle and setting a new Olympic record of 3:40:14 (video here). After the race, he straddled a lane buoy and let out a primal scream as the CCTV announcer called him a "Chinese manly man." The win was nearly marred with controversy, as Park almost didn't compete in the finals due to a judge's decision. According to Sina: Park was initially disqualified by a judge on the pool deck for a false start in the morning heats, after which South Korean media accused so-called referee conspiracy by a Chinese judge. However, it turned out to be a rumor as no Chinese judge was involved in the event. Later, Park was reinstated in the final after the FINA Jury of Appeal examined the protest lodged by the Korean Swimming Federation and made the decision based on the recommendation of the FINA Technical Swimming Commission. After the race, Sun dedicated this win to his coach, who is apparently in bad health, and then had this to say to the South Koreans, as translated by Sina: "I have swum my personal best time and I want to use this swim to tell the South Koreans something. I want to show that we are good swimmers and we do not need to do anything other than swim in order to win." Those are manly-man words. Park, for his part, didn't blame the judge's decision in the morning for causing his bad run. "I tried my best in the race. I don't want to say that what happened with having been disqualified was bad for my performance, but it was," he said. Oh, wait. Yeah, he did. He was gracious to Sun though, sort of: "I lost the race, but I am glad that it was an Asian who won. It is something we can all be proud of," Park said.

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