Hum

And…more personal musings…

I started chatting with my friend regarding Chinese culture on the mainland. I’ve never been, but from what I’ve read and heard, it sounds like the culture as I know it, as I lived it through my parents and family friends, is rapidly disappearing in China. Humility, reservedness, politeness, looking out for each other, that seems to be disappearing, being replaced by something new, something I don’t really recognize. I’ve heard you shouldn’t be too surprised if complete strangers straight up ask you how much money you make. Then again, I had a Japanese-American girl ask me how much I make right in public in front of a group of friends (we were all eating dinner at a sushi restaurant). That was a little surprising, and awkward. I can only guess at her agenda.

But yeah, it’s kinda sad; I feel like if you want to see large samples of old Chinese culture, you have to look in either neighboring Asian countries, Taiwan, or among Chinese emigrants living abroad. Maybe that divergence in culture is the source of contempt that I see sometimes. Once in awhile, I’ll encounter a Chinese person that will strongly emphasize a disconnect between Chinese abroad and mainlanders. “No no, we’re not like the mainlanders!” It’s kind of surprising. But perhaps it is a watered down version of how the US felt towards England in the 18th century?

Ron Hsu
11:08
i think it’s part of the capitalism frenzy that’s taken over
i dunno what it’s like in the “motherland” since i’ve never been, so maybe you can shed some light
but i kinda feel like chinese culture as i know it
is kinda being wiped out there
and that the chinese elsewhere are more chinese then it is over there

Lim
11:09
people in China are assholes
how about that, haha

Ron Hsu
11:09
lol

Lim
11:09
like seriously
you go into any store, you’ll tend to get jack shit for service
it’s really odd
people cut in lines
it’s like wtf

Ron Hsu
11:10
oh yeah i heard about the queueing thing
mob rush

Lim
11:10
me and my brother were at a mcdonald’s standing in line

Ron Hsu
11:10
and people i hear are super forward

Lim
11:10
and this couple jsut goes right in front of us

Ron Hsu
11:10
rofl

Lim
11:10
and we look at each other like, “wtf?”
the forwardness is how I feel with people from Hong Kong
it’s just so odd, the whole chinese culture
nobody looks out for anybody else

Ron Hsu
11:11
you mean generally speaking or how it is over there now?

Lim
11:11
over there now
I guess it’s hard to say

Ron Hsu
11:11
yeah that’s how i feel

Lim
11:11
not like I know any chinese that were there before

Ron Hsu
11:11
it feels like the culture that i practice at home
is not there at all in the motherland anymore
but yeah just comparing with how you and your parents interact
well i dunno how asian your parents are
they seem more assimilated than my parents

Lim
11:12
yeah, but not completely americanized
they still eat chinese food for every meal
or at least asian food
and read the chinese papers and bag on taiwan

Ron Hsu
11:13
lol your parents are anti taiwan?
that’s funny

Lim
11:14
yeah, it surprises me since they went to college in Taiwan

Ron Hsu
11:14
that’s so funny

Lim
11:14
and weren’t born in the mainland, so I figured their allegiance would be with Taiwan
but nope, they side with the mainland

Ron Hsu
11:14
wtf
hahahah
so they want unity?

Lim
11:14
well they like it the way it is now

Ron Hsu
11:14
forced unity or whatever

Lim
11:14
and think taiwan is crazy for wanting to break up
although I think most people think that’s true in general
hahah

Ron Hsu
11:15
that’s really interesting, i had heard of these type of chinese people but only from word of mouth
and now i hear your parents are like that

Lim
11:15
these type?
I thought it was just mainland vs taiwan

Ron Hsu
11:15
lol yeah but in my sphere usually it’s supportive of taiwan
my family, friends of family, etc

Lim
11:15
really? hmm

Ron Hsu
11:15
it was rare for me to encounter a pro mainland

Lim
11:15
but they’re all from taiwan, right?

Ron Hsu
11:15
my grandma is extremely against me marrying a mainlander
yeah

Lim
11:16
hahaha
well see
I think my parents are the only “mainlanders” I know
everyone else is either from taiwan
or hong kong, and if they’re from HK they don’t give a shit and just want money

Anyway, I blame their Communist party mixed with extreme poverty. You’ve got an ultra poor, massive proletariat, that then comes into total power. A chance has opened up, everyone wants money, everyone else be damned! It’s the financial equivalent of yelling “Fire!” in a very, very packed theater with a very small exit. Then there was the really retarded Cultural Revolution…that was just wow….just wow. End musing.

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This entry was posted by Ron on Thursday, July 2nd, 2009 at 11:47 am and is filed under Personal Emo, Politics, Random, World. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.