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Sign up with Google Sign up with FacebookQ: why if i tell the truth about china and chinese, chinese get mad at me?
Im getting really tired of meeting these kind of stupid chinese people that dont recognize the truth. Sometimes talking about china i say that chinese are cheaters and china is full of pollution, corruption ,quality of food and chinese values and ethics are really shit. Locals get really angry it seems that the only way to have a good conversation is lying and saying that china is a great country.
How do you think Americans would react if you went to America and told them that they are all cheaters, and their values are shit? How do you think people from any country would react?
China's problems are complicated and a lot of Chinese people know that the situation is shit... but when they feel like they are being attacked they will get defensive. This is their home.
frvioque:
I dont agree, the best way to improve is recognizing your faults not lying and hiding.
xinyuren:
@ frivoque - It's not about hiding and lying. It's about presentation. If you want to be heard by someone, you should speak in a way to make it easier for them to bear it. Criticism, especially from a foreigner is not easy to hear, even when you know it's true.
Sure, you won't get engaged responses from any form of criticism here in China, no matter how well presented. But I hope that you don't go around telling people everything's "shit" without any nuance. Then you're not even trying, and your approach is equally shitty.
I've met with very limited (often silent) agreement when I moderate myself, mentioning just one or two aspects, and making my posture of non-judgemental concern abundantly clear. But locals have a very low tolerance threshold for foreign critique, so always be careful what you say and to whom.
If you throw all the negatives in people's faces at once, it doesn't matter if you explain with examples or just voice your final conclusion (it's all shit), then you create an image of yourself. You make it appear as though you are telling stories that work towards your predetermined conclusion. You fuel an image of the foreign devil looking to incite rebellion, and locals have been indoctrinated to be extremely vigilant against such a threat.
coineineagh:
and I should add: "why if i tell the truth about china..." but *truth* is based on factual statements, and a comment like "shit" is an opinion; a value judgement. it's inherently subjective; quite different from objective truth.
I was brought up with "If you can't say something nice, it better not to say anything at all"... !
Robk:
Well that explains why you are always a top poster...
You can't say anything bad while in China, so instead you type it online.
Scandinavian:
Strictly speaking I am writing to mostly non-Chinese. I wish there would be more Chinese on this forum as I am sure it would nuance the debate.
WendyInChina:
I was brought Up the same way. I'm in Zhengzhou, here THEY tell ME how Crappy it is... Then you Know.
It seems your manner of speaking is the cause. No one is going to respond well if all they hear are negative things about them. This is not just China, it's human. Believe it or not, there is a proper way to critique someone. Usually I start by saying something positive, then I bring in the criticism. A little bit of sugar makes the sour go down easier. And I never (unless angry) say something like "China is a country full of liars and cheaters" to a Chinese person. You shouldn't be surprised by the responses when you speak this way. If you want a civilized response, you can start by giving a civilized critique.
If someone came to your country and said everything was shit, you might be a bit upset too. Yes, there's a lot wrong with China, but a lot of people all over the world are patriotic to some degree and might take what you say to heart.
the truth hurtsor to put it another way they know already but they understandably don't need you to remind them
tell it like u see it bro. beating around the bush (deception) is the last thing this country needs*. if they aren't mentally strong enuf to accept it, then fornicate them.
You can tell me anything u feel about the US. knock yourself out...
* I think they got plenty of that last century
ScotsAlan:
Not beating about the bush here.... you did actually vote for Bush.
TWICE !!!!!!!
What were you guys thinking ?
ambivalentmace:
bush was not a conservative, but he is looking better right now compared to what we have, thats so sad i cant bear to talk about it. also budweiser is not an american product anymore, blame the europeans for the taste
when chinese people ask me about china, i simply tell them their is nothing good i can talk about and to my american friends i tell them i already live in hell but its better than supporting half the population of america by working and paying taxes there. i guess death would be my best option, living as a financial slave to deadbeats or socializing with neanderthals, no death is better.Robk:
lol... voted for Bush twice... I will still never understand that...
America should have a "vote for nobody" vote....
Then everything would still turn out better than it was with Bush. That guy nearly collapsed the U.S. Along with "BIG CHANGE" Obama...
Canada and US are full of welfare cases and morbidly obese people. The best jobs are now working at McDonalds or Walmart. The countries are turning to shit and full of corruption. Governments are extremely wasteful and have huge debt. The money wasted in Afghanistan etc is shocking. No place is perfect, for the Chinese their life is normal. China does have good points. You could be in Syria or Somalia dodging bullets. TIC
I remember I was on a fishing trip in Hunan.
This old farmer came out (it was his pond), and suggested we try a cucumber leaf as bait.
I said to my mate " What a silly old codger. How can a cucumber leaf be better than my state of the art scented pellet?"
The old farmer gave us a pile of leaves and my mate tried one.
"No way", I said. " If that catches a fish I pay for all the beer for the rest of the week".
First cast, .... BOOM...... A 4Kg carp leapt out of the water to get at that cucumber leaf as soon as it hit the water. Within half an hour there was 12Kg of fish in the keep net.
I learnt a lesson that day. It may seem stupid. It may seem like chaos. But for some reason it works.
Just another lesson that helped me open my mind
JacobJohn:
great lesson, indeed. There's a lot of wisdom to learn from Chinese. I found out about it when I was poised with a high toxic level of criticism about the people around me. We foreigners have so much to learn from them, if we want to open the eyes.
ScotsAlan:
Yup. That old guy dug that pond when he was young. He has lived with it all his life.
I turn up with my fancy tackle and baits, thinking I know better than him.
Would a cucumber leaf tempt a trout from a Scottish loch? Of course not. Would it tempt a Roach from the Thames? No. But I went there feeling superior because my world knowledge was better. I had fished in more than one pond. He has only fished in one.
Turns out that I am a jack of all trades..... he is master of one.
I also accept other people say all the shit about spain. The point is accept it and try to change it. Sure i also like people say the good points about my country like spanish girls lol
Chinese like to criticize foreigners, I have been called fat (i am not, i am muscular, going to gym everyday) by dumb Chinese ”why are you so fat?" one of them said, "why are your teeth black and rotten?" I answered, this person got mad at me telling that if I don't like China I can leave. Dumb, Chinese are dumb.
At the training school I work for I told a tutor about a particularly weak student who was in a level much higher than he could handle and when I told her that she needed to inform the student of this truth she told me "you cant tell the truth this is China". It was an honest discussion though she stormed off while I sat there with the rest of the staff stunned at her reaction.
I don't blame the Chinese for getting upset at a foreigner criticizing China I wouldn't like it either if my Spanish teacher in the states kept bitching about everything wrong. Though the Chinese could toughen up a bit, there's plenty of criticism of the US its called the New York Times.
Because, my friend, the truth always hurts in every country.
Hulk:
I didn't even read the comments this time around, and just added that, lol. I scrolled up and saw you already said that.
Truth hurts.
The Chinese way of dealing with a problem is by not admitting it.
I would say because Chinese themselves are not critical enough of many things around them.
The Chinese will criticize every and anything endlessly but are the least receptive imaginable when it comes to taking criticism.
Two [2] tier standards, they want you to praise everything they do and you see, yet no matter what you say or do they with criticize you for it. Personally I like to speak my mind, no hums, hams, if's or buts. As like the scandinavian I was brought up the same, however sometimes just sometimes I just need to express my true thoughts. If someone thinks they may not like the answer, then don't ask the question, you may not always hear what you hope. Often honesty is the best policy we are told, so why can it not be excepted.