Before switching from posting immature opinions on things I know unprofessionally to the work I do for a living for a few weeks, there are some thoughts I really want to get out of my chest. I hope these thoughts will help non-Chinese understand some puzzling phenomena in the Chinese social and political life. Notes: 1. My English translation of the key terms (义理, 人情, 隐忍) … [Read more...] about Chinese Exceptionalism -义理和人情
Why are most of the advertising models in China Caucasian?
This is a follow up to DJ's post on the Official Chinese Olympic Fashion, but from a different angle. Instead of mutual respect between the host and guests, I have some introspective and soul-searching thoughts about the Chinese identity fantasy in the context of a global culture. … [Read more...] about Why are most of the advertising models in China Caucasian?
Is there xenophobia in China? If yes, what is it like?
Chinese people (like all people) have stereotypes about different groups. Within China, Northerners view those from the south as sneaky and lack sincerity. Southerners believe those from the north are lazy and unintelligent. Chinese stereotypes are held more strongly and more widely spread. The Chinese tend to over-generalize from a few individuals’ behaviors to the … [Read more...] about Is there xenophobia in China? If yes, what is it like?
"You are quite Americanized."
I am thinking about writing a piece on "searching for a Chinese identity", not just at the individual level, but also at a collective cultural level. The heart of the controversies surrounding the Beijing Olympics is the building of a collective Chinese identity, who we are, what we stand for, how we present ourselves to the outside. There are a lot of confusions in this … [Read more...] about "You are quite Americanized."
The Chinese Olympic Journey
“We went out to swim in the big pond, but ended up finding ourselves. The ocean did not drawn us, just made us wiser and better”. This was a bit of sentimentality I shared with an undergraduate classmate who also came to the United States for graduate school and spent years trying to “make it” out here. The same sentiment parallels the Chinese experience with the Olympics in … [Read more...] about The Chinese Olympic Journey