I have been living in china for over 10 years and I came to the conclusion that what you assume here as being "basic human instincts" is really the result of the culture and the education that shaped us. Let a human being grow with no rules and awareness of good or bad, where the only law is "what is good for you well is good", then you end up with this kind of behaviour.
Good analysis. I have noticed this behavior is not as typical for poor Chinese (living in China). The new generations in China (under 30) are experiencing something closer to the U.S. "expectation" mind set. But Chinese from my wife's generation (late 30s) and her parent's (60s/70s) seem to be able to be happier and enjoy the moment a bit better.
I think to many Chinese people, being forced to do something that is perceived as for their own good is seen as a good thing. It's kind of in the Asian culture that the end justifies the means, as opposed to Western culture where you are free to do as you choose but you bear the consequences.
Not saying it's wrong, just a different perspective.
Living in China I've noticed that the attitude towards the very young does seem really similar to the attitude they have towards their pets. It's always been so baffling.
I sort of agree with your general point, but I think there's something else going on too:
Actively favoring and caring about this kind of thing advances your career, social status, etc, in China (for some career paths, not all). There are incentives to care. Consequently, many people learn to care and become true believers. (Faking like you care is harder to get right than being genuine, and requires better thinking, and the people who can do that usually go for other jobs, so it's much rarer.)
Lots of people do more than follow orders, they internalize some of the values of the people they are trying to please. And they learn skills like figuring out which way the wind is blowing without being told, and figuring out how to convince themselves that is good, and then (if they are ambitious, or under pressure from their wife to make more money, or whatever) they may even try to get out in front of the thing, show their dedicated enthusiasm, take initiative, seek a leadership role, etc... All the while, they are not in general thinking about how they are secretly opposed to what they are doing, which would be unpleasant and get in the way of their success.
This is really interesting, the case of the girl you described certainly isn't new phenomenon. I lived with my parents in China up until 1993, and back then this was also a common situation, someone would be dying on the street but for hours nobody will help. I distinctly remember arriving in Australia to find people will help out strangers on the street that are in trouble, it was very different to how things are in China.
I'm not sure how far this phenomenon goes back, but the idea behind the thinking is that helping might bring great trouble upon yourself - part superstition and part selfishness. I remember when was around 5 and I saw this other kid who was starving, I had pity on him and wanted to give him some food, but I remember my mother stopping me. There are also many 'pianzi' in China - they trick/lie to you in order to gain something, and people are very weary of this. This is why family/relationships are so much closer in China - people are only willing to help those they know.
I've heard that young people(particularly girls) in China are today more obsessed with money, so there very well may be truth to what you say about people being selfish.
>China is now more individualistic than America because people are forced to be.
I agree with this - competition is so high today compared to when my parents were growing up. The pressure back then was low as opportunities under the communist regime simply didn't exist - only those with great ambition would work hard. Most student/workers played around all day at that time.
Most of those annoying and stupid individuals are from the so called China's Lost Generation. I found the following video made by two westerners explains the reasons in a pretty accurate way.
Sorry if I was unclear: it's not that China is still a poor country, but people develop habits and customs generations ago. For some fraction of the people (who are now wealthier), it's variously seen as a status thing, something mystical, or whatever else. That doesn't change the reality that this probably isn't a habit that would develop today, but would persist without action. 60 years ago is a long time, economically speaking!
My parents lived in China for a couple years so I'm no expert but I did, through accidental trial and error, figure out what not to do sometimes. To me this move looks to be deliberately designed to annoy them.
As I understand the gross summarization of Chinese culture is that they're extremely family oriented. Anecdotally I've heard of grandmas acting like their homeless to earn a little money to give to a grandson which drives a Ferrari. They do it because they love and maximize for the next generation.
I think this sort of abuse comes naturally to humans, in combination of the broken environment they were raised in, and due to different pressures and opportunities later. So however disconnected culturally and physically, they produce similar patterns. Relating this to the current context, I don't think Chinese officials needed to study US and Canadian boarding school abuse to create an environment where they mistreat their minorities in a similar way. Rather it's because we're all humans and we behave similarly under similar circumstances.
the modern chinese philosophy is to mind your own business, and survive, generate wealth for your children. Try to co-exist, and try to not make enemies (which doesn't mean you make friends), ut if you're troublesome, then stay the hell away.
I don't think it's peculiar to China: parents towards young children naturally act authoritatively, in part because of the nature of young children. This nature somehow perseveres in adulthood, albeit altered: consider for example Asch's experiments[0], or this antique idea of assimilating rulers to shepherds.
(I'm using "authoritative" in a neutral sense here, free from its usual negative undertone)
Edit: Hm, I was incidentally opening the San Zi Jing[1] a few moments ago. It's a historically important educational Chinese book, and it opens with: "Men at their birth are naturally good."
The character used for "good" is "?" (sha`n), which contains in part "?" (ya´ng), meaning "goat/sheep".
The implementation is somewhat disconcerting, but I’m not sure the underlying policy isn’t a good idea. Culture matters. When I go to Tokyo and see people walking a couple of blocks to cross the street (there isn’t necessarily a cross walk on every block), or carrying their litter with them, versus what I see in say New York, I’m astounded. Similarly for the fact that nobody has ever asked me for a bribe in the US, versus what you might see in Bangladesh. These virtuous behaviors are a better way to live and make life better for everyone. China seems to realize that and be trying to change culture in a systematic way. It should probably be done more by carrot than stick, but there is a a kernel of a good idea in there.
(I should note that Western countries had their own large-scale nearly universal social indoctrination and social credit systems—organized religion. Indoctrinating virtuous behaviors is a social function that needs to happen, the question is how do you do it. Note also that Chinese cities exist at a scale where the informal mechanisms for social credit break down. If you litter on my street, people will see you and they will notice. We regularly talk about neighbors who display antisocial behaviors. In New York? Outside maybe your condo board there are no such mechanisms.)
That's not Chinese culture, that's flat out entitled narcissism.
I heard tell of a guy like that, who'd go and drink someone's drink from the fridge at a Rail company.
The other guy got fed up with what is theft and bullying and added some of the Chromate water to it one day, and the other guy got really, seriously fucked up. Not advocating it, but you can't say he didn't deserve it.
The modern Chinese psyche has been sculpted in large part due to the Cultural Revolution.
People who have grown up in comfort do not fully comprehend the effect of widespread hunger on a large population. Natural selection rewarded those that put their families above everything. The families that did not died. Parents that did not do everything in their power to feed their children watched them starve to death in their hands.
Many things about modern China can be directly linked to this shared national pain.
The absolute, obsessive drive of Chinese parents to have their children study and reach a higher station of life is a direct result of the culture of hustle instilled by their parents and grandparents. Devotion to families, incredible work ethic, creativity and innovation can all be traced back to the skills necessary to survive the Cultural Revolution.
However, many of the problems in modern China can be linked to this phenomenon. Bribery, open piracy, corruption are common in every walk of Chinese life. Chinese people put themselves, and their families, first and they've never had a compelling argument against it. People in the West believe in their institutions in a way that doesn't exist in China.
But, time will change this. There is clear precedent in the West that each successive generation that grows up outside of poverty will be less and less cutthroat compared to the generation prior.
The Chinese also let kids roam around diaper-less and just shit and piss wherever. I have a hard time buying into the idea that the Chinese have anything to teach anyone about anything at this point in history. The whole place is a falling down mess, and now it's a dictatorship besides.
And yes, I do/did have some very close friends from Mainland China, but always like the Taiwanese better.
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