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Q: Are the Chinese open minded, innocent, credulous or simply gullible?
One thing that has amazed me on a number of occasions is how quick the Chinese are to believe the most outlandish things. For example a good friend of mine in his twenties came to my home while I was watching a space battle in Star Wars once and asked in all honesty, "Is this real?" And that's not the only time i've come across such naivety; more recently a friend's mother came into the living room whilst King Kong was playing on the television and said with a 'you can't fool me' look on her face, "This isn't real is it?"
People seem willing, at the drop of a hat, to believe the most rediculous garbage as fact: 'all westerners are tall / are rich / are devils, ect.....' In fact I was once able to convince a group of Chinese friends that it was the absolute height of fashion in England for elderly women to pierce their nipples.
So is it open mindedness, innocence, gullibility or credulity that allows so many people to consider or welcome such absurdities and sweeping generalizations as accepted facts?
hmmm.....wish you don't believe all Chinese are open minded, innocent, credulous or simply gullible.
Gaohao:
I don't really, it's just a question. Truth is I think most people are that way, not just the Chinese.
I think it's just being polite. They don't like confrontation, so are less likely to call bullshit on things.
nevermind:
After reading your musings on world economics I've pretty well learned to disregard your opinions on other things.
They believe as many things as the number of times you've seen their mother's nippes.
Far too many older women in England DO pierce their nipples. It was also the rage of fashion for Brits to dye their skin orange and their hair white. In America its fashionable to cut skin off baby boys genitals and there are still women in Africa who stretch their necks to impossible lengths as a sign of beauty.
So I don't find any of this 'gullibility' and just disinformation.
Now, as for fantasy. My wife has been living in Canada for almost 2 years now. She still wonders if 'Star Wars' is real or fake? For some reason she cannot comprehend that a western movie is 'about an older era'. She insists it cannot be taking place in the 1920s since they did not have cameras so good back then. I cannot get her to grasp the concept of 'recreating the past' in a newly made film. Actors.. wearing old clothes and styles 'pretending' its the 20s.
She then argues its impossible since nobody had (for example) cars back then. So it must not be real.
She constantly has to check with me to find out if the monster/space alien/ghost in the movie is a 'real ghost' or just an actor or fake?
At one point she fully agreed and accepted that the Star Wars film was actually actors in costumes and 'computer effects'. She got it,
however,
She needs to know if this is BASED on a true story? She gets these are actors yes! But she is asking if there was a real Chewbacca in the real life once?
Now,
what is more amazing? At some point she decided she doesn't believe all this nonsense and cannot be fooled. Okay. good.
Then I'm watching a documentary on Rome. She isn't buying it! I'm trying to explain to her that Hannibal really did try and use elephants to seige Rome. No way! She is onto this and believes this is a 'Star Wars' kind of movie and obviously these are 'legends' and imaginary stories.
So yes, I live this every day. I also had a 'debate' about whether or not bats are 'mice who ate too much salt' and (as far as she is concerned) we will never really be able to find out the truth. Who can know? Maybe bats are made from mice who eat too much salt. Only God knows.
Gaohao:
Haha, when they say 'A long time ago in a galaxy far far away...' I don't think they were talking about Chicago in the 1920s. You meant to say King Kong, right?
jknox00:
No, but if it were 'King Kong' she would need to find out if this was actual film footage (as in a 'documentary') or if this was a recreation. If it were a modern film which 'takes place in the 20s' she would be even more confused,
and,
If she did understand it was not based on a 'real ape' or 'real ape events' she would then suppose Chicago must not exist either.
It's really mind-boggling. Honestly, I wondered if she was a little bit mentally retarded or if all Chinese women are like this or what?
LAR:
j, UNFRIGGINGBELIEVABLE bro!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :) WOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Gaohao:
Yeh Mr....erm, jknox, I think I know where you're coming from here, your missus suffers from 'extremelogicomprehensionitus'. Sounds like quite a severe case. I came across it first ten years ago in Shenzhen when I was teaching a group of children the 'Row row row your boat song' causing the teacher to have a near aneurism and practically burst out in the middle of it "But life is not just a dream!" before collapsing in a fevered fit on the Mickey Mouse rug.
My recommendation for your missus is to watch Baron Munchauzen, read Aldous Huxley, listen to Sergeant Peppers and take three tabs of............nope, best leave it there.
Good luck with that:)
GuilinRaf:
Jknox, based on my experience, I think that it is just her. I have had a couple of GF's in china in my 5 years here, and most of them knew that Star Wars, King Kong and Lord of the Rings were fiction....
No, many of them are arrogant,nosey,childish,ridiculous,ill-mannered and ethnocentric!!
the simple truth is: they dont give a shit. real, fake, true, not true, whatever man! life goes on! you want to know what they really care about? rich or poor! that's it.
My suggestion,: Stay away from the rich people in China as they only care about money.
Stay away from the poor people in CHina, as they only care about the living.
Gaohao:
I think the rich only caring about money is pretty much a universal truth, isn't it. The poor only caring about the living though? Not sure I understand you.
Open minded, innocent? Hardly, more the opposite. Narrow minded, slower life pace, basically lazy to my eyes but that's how Chinese are.
its a lot like las vegas the customer is always right but dont blink or all your money is gone professional hustlers
