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Q: If you had to describe China in one sentence, what would it be?
We are preparing to leave China soon. So, this question recently crossed my mind. If I had to describe China to someone in one sentence, I would probably say, "Living in China is like living in an overcrowded, giant toilet bowl alongside a bunch of old people and young beautiful women." No offense to China or its people, but that is EXACTLY what China is. A big, dirty toilet bowl with a bunch of old people and young beautiful women. Every day there's a pool party, but no one dares to enter the pool. I tend to ignore Chinese men in their entirety, because they really just consume air and that's it. They're just part of the filth. So, how about you? What sentence would you use to describe China?
China is a place where you can do what you want so long as you don't get caught. How's that?
Quote:
"I tend to ignore Chinese men in their entirety, because they really just consume air and that's it. They're just part of the filth."
Can I ask why you are leaving? Is it because you can't get any more L visas?
Or, given the statement I quoted, have you been offered a job at Fox news ? 
WCG:
We're getting away from the pollution and trash. Sick of it. Never had an L visa, but thanks for the indignation and reference to Fox. Look, I'm just calling it like I see it, and it's not good. If you think that China's environment and population isn't a major problem, then you're either living in denial or I hate to see what country your coming from. There are very little education opportunities for our children. The work environment is a trade off depending on your background (innovation isn't rewarded here, it's stolen and consumed). I'm tired of stepping in human shit everywhere I go. I want to see the blue sky again. I satisfied my sense for adventure. Now I just want a hot bath. It's like going camping, after a while you just want the comforts of civilization again and it's like pulling teeth trying to simply get paid your correct salary without your Chinese employer exploiting the loosely defined labor laws here. I'm done!
ScotsAlan:
Good response to my flippant answer.
What would you say are the comforts of civilization? I ask because I suspect you will get home and yearn for more adventure
Samsara:
I'll jump in and say the comforts of civilisation are:
1. Urban environments that aren't falling apart.
2. Civilised friends with the capacity for individuality, creativity, free thought and intelligent conversation.
3. Diverse, sophisticated food.
4. A sense of community (as opposed to a bunch of people pushing, shouting, spitting, defecating in public and throwing their rubbish everywhere because they don't give a fuck about the environment they live in or anyone else, and exploiting, extorting and cheating each other because they don't have basic human empathy).
I once met a Chinese man who was doing more than consuming air. And I have met a thousand Chinese women who were doing the same, but in an entertaining manner.
One versus a thousand.... SAY NO MORE !
icnif77:
'I -like -to -get -you -on -the -slow -boat -to -China
I -like -to -get -you -on -the -sloooow..all -to -myself, --aloooone....'
'On The Slow Boat To China' by Renee Olstead
Not China but the Chinese: extreme opportunists who are extremely oblivious.
"Save yourself from hell.... aaaaaah!" *while falling into a seizure saying "wai guo ren", over and over again.
Just kidding, I would say this "China seems like a country that sold their soul for wealth and prosperity, I only hope one day they can get it back and their humanity."
A third world country with a first world gloss, but the gloss is peeling badly.
A big, miserable, isolated dictatorship where people have to be childishly shallow to survive, and have no understanding of morality, fairness or rule of law.
I just farted
icnif77:
We heard
! Why did you tell us?
Are you proud? You got down vote, 'cause smell was terrible, indeed! lololol
"Order in disorder." Everything looks all screwed up but it works itself out in the end.
I'd say: "China is a nation tragically, ironically, and comically seized by a bunch of rulers who think they and power are the best things in the world, a majority of "native" people who have been fed with this ideology for centuries either by coercion, deception, or force, and a minority of "foreigners", like you, who are ignorant enough just to see the bad side of a country which they so unwisely choose for work and/or marriage with a foreign mindset as wide as where they turn their eyes to and then return when they have enough, leaving nothing but more ignorance for weaker minds." Sorry, no personal offense or nationalist complex. I personally know of great men and women, both Chinese and wai guo ren, who have a much fuller view of the world, who are wise enough not to limit their minds to what they see and experience, but to enlighten others and encourage them to pursue what they hope to see. To that I feel grateful and hopeful.
Visco8:
Hey Flyingheart ~ no disrespect, and I do understand where you are coming from..but can you detail/explain the positive aspects of China?
I'd be very interested in your answer..
flyingheart:
Hi Visco, first I'd like to make one thing clearer: We all have a certain degree of ignorance in this and that, and that's why this place - the Answers section of eChinaCities - exists. Now to your question, I have to scratch my head and think real hard...art, literature, family unity, studious and industrial spirit, and more or less of all other "good" things you see in many other countries, such as kindness, respect, open-mindedness, integrity, honesty, and willingness to help and so on so forth. Of course it's a micro-view. But what gives China an impression of a "overcrowded, giant toilet bowl" is a more complex set of political, historical, and cultural factors, to which you can find far better references than I can write here.
I also note that some of the people here seem to make generalizations based on their own experiences, rather than a full analysis of situations. I'm in no position to judge their behavior, nor am I inclined to. But I do think China is a little too big for many if not all of these generalizations. For those who live in quiet rural areas, China is a beautiful picture of "blue mountains and green rivers", or a myriad of muddy roads, or a struggle with low incomes. This is just one example I can think of right now.
For me, in a broader sense, the positive side of China lies in the fact that it needs a lot of improvements. A few of them require top-down support which is very hard to come by, but the rest can be achieved with bottom-up efforts from a new generation of individual residents. Instead of throwing more ash to its face and saying useless things, why not take action and make it better by raising the awareness of possible changes? There is no Chinese or foreigner in this. It's we.
sorrel:
we can not help but make generalisations on things
it makes dealing with life easier.
But we are also constantly re-evaluating things as we experience more.
When we hear people share similar experiences, it re-inforces our opinion.
some people appear to be afraid of having their perceptions challenged, but that is why i am here: to be challenged by new expereinces
WCG:
flyingheart. Such a cute answer! Filled with blue skies and puffy white clouds shaped like soft teddy bears. There's one problem with it though. It's totally false. China's culture is stagnant. Art, literature, creativity isn't going anywhere. All you need to do is go to a museum, watch TV or listen to Chinese music to realize that Chinese culture is not complex, but rather one dimensional. So much so, that our western brains think that there is something hiding, something deeper that we can't see. But I got to tell you, it's just an illusion. There's nothing behind that door. I worked for a design firm (more like an empty shell filled with "designers" who were busy copying and pasting images from google). Students' test scores are bogus. You do realize that after you have marked those papers and handed over your final grades, that those grades are changed by your school's administrator. The rivers aren't green with algae, they're black with oil rings. Blue mountains? What mountains? You can't see them! Maybe in the minority west. But that's not the real China. Ignorance? I'm sorry, but I'm laughing really hard right now, because sometimes the most elementary explanation is correct. As plain as the nose on your face. If anyone is living in a bubble my friend, it's not me, it's you. Generalizations? Chinese self centeredness, small mindedness and lack of moral aptitude is just as ubiquitous as that big brown haze over all of our heads. To blindly and unskillfully deny the evidence in front of your face, screaming at you, well then that is your bliss my friend. I wish I could ignore my worldly sensory perceptions and somehow see this appeal to a majestic, "greater than thy own self" snake oil that you're selling. But I must say no. Your perception is good for presidential inauguration speeches, but it goes against every rational bone in my body. I'm afraid that your attempt to "change them", be a shining role model, is congruent with the 3rd stage of denial (a.k.a. Bargaining). And how's that approach working out for you? That kind of "self righteous thinking" is the essence of western arrogance, and the Chinese will not snuggle up to it. They will consume your martyrdom. People don't correct themselves unless they hit the wall really hard. If you want to change the Chinese, then you need to be hard on them. You need to tell them the hard truth and laugh in their face at their own uncivilized behavior. If you don't believe me, then just research the successful management strategies in Asia. Everything is "face." If you can destroy their face, then you can change them. Why do the police exhibit the prostitutes in front of everyone when they bust them? Because it works. You're right about one thing, the western mindset. But it's your own western approach that you need to be worried about. In the words of Jack Nicholson, you should "go sell 'crazy' somewhere else, 'cause we're all stocked up here." Though, I am curious to know how you would sum up China in one sentence.
flyingheart:
coineineagh:
Your longwindedness reminds me of my own rants, and it kinda goes against the "in one sentence" aspect. But there's nothing you said that I can disagree with.
WCG:
flying, just one point. Constructive vs. Destructive criticism. Which one works in CHINA? Not the west, but CHINA? The idea that you need to be constructive with your criticism is western ideology and philosophy and it doesn't work in Asian countries. I know it's hard to believe, but think about "Chinese logic" and how different it is from formal logic that we follow in the west. Much different. Motivation tactics are also very different in China.
I see China as a peek into our future. The world is going the way of China. China just has a head start.
andy74rc:
I'm up for civil war to avoid that. Or if it comes anyway, I hope to be long dead by the time.
I preface by saying I can't generalize of all China so, because I've come to see that it really varies depending on location. A lot of the "bad" things I have heard about, I have not seen or experienced here (yet).
"Zibo (Shandong), a place where your expectations go unmet in the most humorous of ways, while you also get to encounter people with beautiful souls and big hearts!" 
I love it here!
I see China like a big circus, always entertaining. Everything is so different and I love that. Sure I've seen some stupid acts. I don't see it being a toilet bowl, far from it. I've seen many places far worse. I've seen a lot of beauty in China, I love Guilin. I've met some OK Chinese guys and I'm not open to meeting men unless they have a sense of humour. I have never seen so many beautiful women in one place, and what ever you can say about them, if I saw that same woman at home she wouldn't give me the time of the day, here they are friendly.
I leave it to Admiral Ackbar
icnif77:
You're log on, anian
. Me too, through weblink you posted. Don't worry! I can just look posts at 'newbies'. Just so you know: 'if you post weblink elsewhere, you should log off there every time!' It's free board, open to every new registered user. No big deal!
