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Q: Why don't people read books here?
I never see people reading for leisure. Not even magazines.
Does the education system kill all curiosity about everything?
"Why don't people read books here?"
Just in the last year, a number of cafe + book shops have appeared near where I live. Most of the customers are young women (20s and 30s) - they sit around reading, sometimes having quiet conversations, and not looking for attention or playing with their phones. Usually no men in sight. It seems like a quietly emerging, un-pretentious, literate middle class.
"Does the education system kill all curiosity about everything?"
That is its goal, and it has succeeded admirably in many regards.
I was talking to a girl last weekend who said that in primary school she remarked that the world map was like a pancake that had been pulled into pieces (i.e. it seemed to her that the continents used to fit together...).
Her teacher stood her in front of the class and humiliated her for half an hour.
Chinese education snuffs out thousands of future thinkers every day, but I'm actually quietly optimistic about the growing literate class amongst Chinese women.
"Why don't people read books here?"
Just in the last year, a number of cafe + book shops have appeared near where I live. Most of the customers are young women (20s and 30s) - they sit around reading, sometimes having quiet conversations, and not looking for attention or playing with their phones. Usually no men in sight. It seems like a quietly emerging, un-pretentious, literate middle class.
"Does the education system kill all curiosity about everything?"
That is its goal, and it has succeeded admirably in many regards.
I was talking to a girl last weekend who said that in primary school she remarked that the world map was like a pancake that had been pulled into pieces (i.e. it seemed to her that the continents used to fit together...).
Her teacher stood her in front of the class and humiliated her for half an hour.
Chinese education snuffs out thousands of future thinkers every day, but I'm actually quietly optimistic about the growing literate class amongst Chinese women.
I see plenty of people on the subway reading books on the phones or tablets.
laowaigentleman:
Which province are you in?
In Hebei, no-one reads for leisure. I see them cramming in the library, but no-one will sit in a park and read a book here and there are plenty of parks.
People do read here, I've seen them but I've also been told that some parents will discourage their kids from reading things like novels because reading for pleasure is seen as a waste of time. They should be studying instead.
Burak43:
I concur. As an example, my wives father refused her to read for leisure because she was already good at reading so she should focus on math.
Where do you live? Here in Guangdong people definitely read books, the men not so much but the women very often. My girlfriend loves to read all sorts of novels, both in Chinese and English.
laowaigentleman:
I've been in Hebei for two years now and I've only seen a girl reading once in a starbucks and on another occasion I saw a guy reading an ebook on a tablet. Besides that, people just play with their phones.
I'm definitely in the wrong province.
expatlife26:
Its probably a money thing too. I see people reading shitty pdfs of books on their phones. A physical book carries a cost to it.
laowaigentleman:
@expatlife
Maybe those nouveau riche farmers in Mike's luxury complex read Fifty Shades of Gray and beat off next to an open glass door while trying to catch a breeze?
I swear to you, up in Hebei people don't read books.
I can tell when they're using their phones it isn't for reading either because they're clicking them too rapidly.
expatlife26:
I just mean that a physical book as an item needs to be paid for and is therefore a luxury good here. When I was broke as a teenager I enjoyed all kinds of inferior versions of downloaded entertainment cause the alternative was having nothing.
For the record I read nook books on my phone. But at least they format correctly. Not so bad.
Maybe they don't read up there im not saying you're wrong. Tons of stupid people live unexamined lives.
Greater chance of finding people reading a book in cities where young graduates flock to, such as Shenzhen and Guangzhou. Usually a fair number of those with a college degree keep on taking courses to better themselves. Money.
Reading for leisure isn't practical to those who trade themselves for house/car/passport to get the hell out of china, or to show off (face) having these items.
Then again, there are those who dare not read in public because there are millions looking at you with hatred, jeolousy, anger, waiting for a clean shot, 'showing off' . This appears to be a national pastime.
expatlife26:
Really? so being seen reading a physical book is considered a slap in the face to everyone around you? Just beyond the pale conspicuous consumption?
earthizen:
This is PRC.
[edited to bring in a historical, wider perspective] The book, be it in physical or electronic format, is not the issue. The twisted psyche is. This has been a 'tradition' for decades. Do you know those who managed to buy a TV, later a sound system (loudspeakers, amplifers...etc.) would cover the whole thing up with a big piece of cloth? A safety precaution against thieves, sure. It was more than that, from jeolous neighbors who didn't have them. What troubles could they possibly bring you? How? The guanxi network. The psyche is even more twisted today because of the extreme polarisation of (materialistic) wealth.expatlife26:
yeah but what's the value of a book next to that of a phone or something? Or a car? People here like to show off. I actually think the opposite is true. That people have all this fancy stuff they show off in public so others can see they own it and the lowest lowest priority is the stuff in your own home for your own private use that no one can see.
Comfy couch? worthless. Big screen TV you can have a photo of on social media? worth it.
High end phone everyone can see? Worth it. Not sharing a bedroom with another guy while pushing 30? Worthless.
I think what you're saying might have been true 30 years ago but I really don't see much evidence of it now. Maybe in seriously undeveloped places though.
earthizen:
Quite a few of those who were smart enough to cover up their TV/loudspeakers have either left PRC or if not, their kids have.
You did bring up an important difference, the showing off. This reminds me of something that has been proven true, victims invariably turn into abusers when they manage to.
PRC is filled with the show-offs you are talking about. It looks to me they are the, once, have-nots. Inferiority complex. Now they have whatever little, they flaunt it to 'heal themselves'. The problem is, now they become the abusers, the victims (have-nots) around them no longer, as they used to be, remain silent while boiling inside then use guanxi to maim the 'haves'. These days you can see them openly fighting the 'abusers'.
It is as if they cannot contain their anger anymore. Do you get this feeling with the general atmosphere in china?
earthizen:
This video captures what we're discussing nicely. If you haven't seen it, take a look at it. That poor girl who picked up the cash the BMW girl flung directly into her face, what do you think she would become should she become rich and get herself a Mercedes? And that BMW girl, what would happen to her? https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=FJaUNaEv73U
expatlife26:
Listen i'm sure they are extremely jealous and seethe on the inside but come on nobody sees an Audi driver and "uses their guangxi to maim them"
Driving a nice car means people assume YOU have guangxi and they turn into little sycophants at least to their face. Unless they're trying to scam them claiming injury or something. People are afraid of the wealthy here.
Where I do agree with you though is that if you exchanged the haves for a group of have-nots you'd probably get pretty similar results.
earthizen:
You haven't seen the pros at work then. Bear in mind, everyone in PRC was a civil servant before PRC opened up, meaning they knew, as a civil servant, how the administration worked. It is like you know your colleagues' position in your company, and if you have been in this company long enough, you know all the little backdoors, tricks, power centers, ....etc. even though you may not be in one of them. But you know where you can pull the carpet under the feet of someone and how, you also know how to work through others.
Guess what, these people aren't dead. They are still alive, most likely in their 40s-70s, many are in key positions. Say you drive an Audi thinking with a western mind, "I bought it so what?" and the way you behave in a restaurant/bar offends another kid with a dad who has guanxi, the next time you renew your visa it takes forever and you complain, shout, yell, bang the table...etc. This may work in US, Canada, Australia, ....etc. but not in PRC. It depends on whose kid you offended. And this is only Guanxi 101.
expatlife26:
I really don't know where you're coming from with that. You think foreigners who drive Audis in China have problems with upsetting children whose parents make problems for them at the visa office?
I mean honestly what are the odds of that happening? First of all 30% of the cars on the road are luxury cars at least in 1st tier cities. People who have influence over visa matters have bigger fish to fry than a successful white guy with a BMW. This isn't 1980, you go to a big city and people with influence have money and don't give a shit about us. They aren't just sitting there "Oooooh curse that foreign devil and his mercedes. Lucky i'm head of the local PSB I'll just cancel his visa! That'll fix him good!"
Second just in general though maybe not foreigners someone with a nice car possibly have some connections themselves. Probably not the easiest target to pick on. I'm not naive I'm not saying people here aren't jealous assholes I'm saying that it usually doesn't matter. If I bought an audi tomorrow I think people would treat me better not worse.
Have you ever been here or are you basing all these conclusions on a book written in the 1980s?
earthizen:
Suffice to say while you were learning your algebra I was having my grand China business tour staying in nothing but 5 star hotels and I am in PRC right now. Apparently your ego got threatened by this discussion. Not mine though as having one up on you doesn't mean anything to me.
Didn't you read "...in a bar or restaurant'? I didn't say on the road although that can be depending on how you behave. Didn't you read "you offend some kid of people in power in some way', meaning not just your car. Apparently you aren't aware of what chinese parents would do for their kid, spoiled or not. Waiting for your visa renewal forever is as easy as turning on the TV for some, and it is the mildest form of punishment. I've been explaining things to you while you were taking on a challenging attitude and obviously not benefitting from any learning. This conversation is not enjoyable to me anymore so I will stop here.
this guy. chinese read ALOT.
laowaigentleman:
Chinese read a lot. - third person plural
This Chinese reads a lot. - third person singular.
Do many people actually read books nowadays? I read news, articles, blogs, commentary, publications, etc. all online. I haven't picked up a book in years.
Reading (anything) seems to be a gender based preference in China. I teach AP Lit and girls make up the majority of my students. They love to read and provide good analysis of the novels and stories we cover. The boys, however, seem clueless as to the meaning within the literature and have difficulty in thinking outside the box. I see the girls reading during breaks and the boys playing video games. As Samsara pointed out, there is definitely a growing, female dominated literary class in China. The males simply can't or don't want to read.
