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Q: Can Chinese people ever adapt to a different lifestyle?
China is embracing all kinds of change. Quick smart. And materialistic, in the main.
But when will they see the folly or their ways? Or is it folly? To worship the god of money I mean.
Are the Chinese Leaders even aware of what singular motive is driving their people? Or are they themselves too caught up in the same folly?
When do you think the govt will get serious on issues of reform? Law enforcement comes readily to mind.
And the proper distribution of wealth? It's in this area that China is most culpable. I think.
Many of the students i teach recognise the need for change, but are apathetic about initiating any change themselves, however small.
Change is not always about the big things, it is also about small changes, yet people don't even try: they seem conditioned onto believing they are powerless
Nessquick:
That's very true. Talk about the needs of changes, but yet always say, what can I do about it ? I have no power.
ScotsAlan:
I agree.
A local Chinese may have traveled extensively, but if he is trying to get on a rush hour bus in his hometown it's the law of the jungle. You can't fight the surge. If you try, you are probably walking home.
I think it's also worth thinking about voter apathy in the west. Much of that is down to what you say above sorrel.
Many of the students i teach recognise the need for change, but are apathetic about initiating any change themselves, however small.
Change is not always about the big things, it is also about small changes, yet people don't even try: they seem conditioned onto believing they are powerless
Nessquick:
That's very true. Talk about the needs of changes, but yet always say, what can I do about it ? I have no power.
ScotsAlan:
I agree.
A local Chinese may have traveled extensively, but if he is trying to get on a rush hour bus in his hometown it's the law of the jungle. You can't fight the surge. If you try, you are probably walking home.
I think it's also worth thinking about voter apathy in the west. Much of that is down to what you say above sorrel.
i say yes, you see it more and more. theres soooo many more chinese people i can relate to than ever before. its a mind set that people have. if that window of actually using that brain is opened just a crack then i really dont think of these chinese as any different as anyone else.
They will change with time. After being locked up for 30 years I think change isn't going to happen overnight. Those born in the 90s will be the movers and shakers, those born in the 80s are still indoctrinated with the old system. I suppose it will take a couple of generations for them to see how they fit into the outside world. Most of them haven't traveled outside of China even. So don't expect them to have the same mind sets as people from other countries. Look at North Korea for instance. If they ever open up, they will be in the same boat China was 30 years ago, or maybe even worse. Give China time, they will fit in eventually.
Visco8:
Sorry mate ~ but disagree.They know now what's happening here, that's why those that can are leaving! The rich, smart , family funded etc.
Most here in China are not happy with the govt. ~ but they feel powerless to do anything abt it. So, the best option is to ..go o/s.
Don't blame them really.
louischuahm:
@Visco: I accept your opinion on this. Where I come from there is a huge influx of Chinese immigrants. Our government sees it fit to encourage more Chinese to migrate there. However, after some years, these migrants become disenchanted with their new way of life because we are such a small city state. Some even return to China. There are those who use our country as a stepping stone to the west. In any case, none of them ever adapted to our way of life. They bring their culture along with them and keep to themselves. Very soon, we have huge communities of Chinese immigrants who cannot, would not and will never accept their new country's way of life. Therefore, it is safe for me to conclude that they may change in future but for now, they will always be what they are. You can either accept them or ignore them. They will be there in every country with their own ways and nobody can stop them from living their lives the way they see best. That's my experience back home and here.
louischuahm:
@Visco: By the way, have you not heard about the Chinese government publishing a book on how to behave when in foreign lands? Even they themselves know that change and/or adaptation is needed. The phrase "in Rome, do what the Romans do" don't apply to them, if you haven't yet noticed.
"Progress and
efficiency, for example, make no appeal to the
Chinese, except to those who have come under Western
influence. By valuing progress and efficiency, we
have secured power and wealth ; by ignoring them,
the Chinese, until we brought disturbance, secured
on the whole a peaceable existence and a life full
of enjoyment. It is difficult to compare these
opposite achievements unless we have some standard
of values in our minds ; and unless it is a more or
less conscious standard, we shall undervalue the
less familiar civilization, because evils to which we
are not accustomed always make a stronger impres-
sion than those that we have learned to take as a
matter of course.
The culture of China is changing rapidly, and
undoubtedly rapid change is needed. The change
that has hitherto taken place is traceable ultimately
to the miltary superiority of the West ; but in
future our economic superiority is likely to be quite
as potent. I believe that, if the Chinese are left
free to assimilate what they want of our civilization,
and to reject what strikes them as bad, they will
be able to achieve an organic growth from their own
tradition, and to produce a very splendid result,
combining our merits with theirs. There are, however,
two opposite dangers to be avoided if this is to happen.
The first danger is that they may become completely
Westernized, retaining nothing of what has hitherto
distinguished them, adding merely one more to
the restless, intelligent, industrial, and militaristic
nations which now afflict this unfortunate planet.
The second danger is that they may be driven,
in the course of resistance to foreign aggression,
into an intense anti-foreign conservatism as regards
everything except armaments. This has happened
in Japan, and it may easily happen in China.
The future of Chinese culture is intimately
bound up with political and economic questions ;
and it is through their influence that dangers
arise. We must therefore distinguish three possi-
bilities : (1) China may become enslaved to one or
more white nations ; (2) China may become enslaved
to Japan ; (3) China may recover and retain her
liberty."
The Problem of China, written in 1922 https://openlibrary.org/works/OL1088570W/The_Problem_of_China
When you get force-fed something that you can't digest, you either find a way to puke it right away, or get ready to be sick for a while.
China = rise of dictator/king, wealth gap, starvation of poor, revolution, rise of dictator/king
repeat
