Why did the Chinese, a country of etiquette, become ungrateful?

The Chinese say that family scandals should not be publicized. It goes against the ancestral teachings to openly discuss what foreigners don’t like about China. However, these family secrets have been stolen by some foreigners, and writing them in Chinese will not increase the scope of leaks.

There is no etiquette in a land of etiquette

What is the first thing foreigners feel when they come out of the airport in China? Let me tell you, two words: chaos.

On the way from the airport to the city, the foreigner couldn't understand why so many cars wanted to cut in front of them, and he was also confused why the driver of the car he was riding in refused to let them go. The other party comes in.

The survival logic of China’s roads is that motor vehicles are better than people, and BMW is the best. In addition, traffic lights basically only have a decorative function for non-motorized vehicles and pedestrians, which makes foreigners immediately face a problem, that is, crossing the road has become almost an impossible task.

It is a rare spiritual enjoyment to watch foreigners crossing the road in China for the first time. It was a family of four. On Huaihai Road, the most prosperous street in Shanghai, the traffic light turned green and they started to cross the road. The foreigner noticed that motor vehicles turning right did not stop to let pedestrians go first like they did at home. He hurriedly backed away, but was almost hit by another car. Hit by a bicycle traveling at high speed. The foreigners, big and small, felt extremely unsafe and had to retreat when they reached the middle of the road.

On the second try, the foreigner changed his strategy. The father took the lead and the mother came from behind. The four of them held hands and turned back step by step. It was funny, cute, and helpless. Please forgive me for my language skills. I just couldn’t describe it. I only had one word in my mind at the time - a boat in the ocean. Let’s put it this way, I can accurately judge how long a foreigner has lived in China based on his proficiency in crossing Chinese roads.

If foreigners can laugh at the chaos on the road, then another chaos really shocked a friend of mine. This friend was surprised by the beauty of Shanghai's public buses, which also contained on-board wireless digital TV programs that may be unique in the world. That day when he arrived at the terminal, People's Square, the bus had just stopped and passengers were getting off the bus. Suddenly, two groups of people rushed in from the front and rear doors, with the momentum of a dragon rushing into water. “I was really scared,” he told me afterwards. “I thought they were here to fight.” But when he finally realized that the Chinese were targeting the seats, not him, he started to sweat.

I also broke out in a sweat when he narrated it to me.

Bargaining is required everywhere

You may not know that most white foreigners rarely have the opportunity to bargain at home. Even for small vendors and vegetable markets, the sellers have the final say.

I thought foreigners would like our bargain. For one thing, such a large-scale bargaining trend is a new thing that only appeared in China after the reform and opening up, and we ourselves have only just enjoyed it. Secondly, foreigners who have lived in dire straits of exploitation and oppression for a long time should immediately enjoy the right to set their own prices as soon as they arrive in China, which should give them the feeling of being the masters of their own country. I never expected that those foreigners from the hometown of capitalism would not like our bargaining. Why is this?

First of all, since China’s pricing principle has been successfully transformed from the past “child-proof” pricing system to “pricing based on locality, pricing based on people”, the price of the same cup of Coke can vary. Several times, ten times, or even dozens of times. Those with a better memory may still remember that a few years ago, it often happened that someone would pay thousands of dollars for a few beers. Such anecdotes are rarely seen abroad. There is a table in Harrods London that costs more than 100,000 pounds, but you can rest assured that you will never be able to buy the same table with more than 100,000 yuan elsewhere.

In Shanghai, people refer to excessive pricing as "slaughter". Anyway, all foreigners are rich, so if you don’t kill them, you won’t lose money. I heard a story like this: After a Japanese bought something, the seller didn't know that the Japanese was very good at Chinese, so he sang loudly in front of him: "Chop off the heads of the Japanese with the big knife!"

Secondly, in economics, the price paid for transactions is called transaction costs. Having to bargain everywhere will undoubtedly increase transaction costs. Fortunately, the increase is only in time and energy costs, and the Chinese don't care anyway.

However, European "lazy" foreigners feel that living in China is particularly tiring. Their common feeling is, how can China be more American than the United States?

Not long ago, the EU did not recognize our market economy status. Why not invite them to come to China to stay for a few days? The endless opportunities for bargaining and the highly flexible pricing system are exhausting officials. I guarantee that when they go back, they will all vote for China.

Excessively lively

Last week we held an international academic conference, and I found that when Chinese people spoke, foreigners covered their ears. During lunch, I heard several foreigners commenting, "The Chinese people's words hurt my ears." "Maybe it's because they are all slightly deaf."

"Chinese people especially like to be lively." One When an American who has lived in China for many years introduced it to a newly arrived American, he translated lively into noisy.

"I'm afraid lively cannot be translated as noisy," I reminded him tactfully, "at least you have to add pleasantly in front of it - pleaseant noise."

"No. "Necessary." He gave an example, "Chinese people are afraid of silence. For example, no matter what activities are held outdoors, the Chinese must turn up the sound so loud that they can't even hear what they say. It’s about pursuing popularity. But when visiting Chinese people’s homes, why do they always turn on the TV? Do they need popularity at this time? ”

“Chinese people have different standards for evaluating restaurants than we do. When we say a restaurant is good, it must mean that it has many customers and is lively. When we say a restaurant is good, it means that it is quiet and has few people. ”

Chinese people’s voice is outstanding, but it doesn’t matter at home. Once you go abroad, you will be particularly eye-catching. "After I have lived in France for a while, do you know what I want to do most?" A Chinese friend asked me.

"What do you want to do? Eat Chinese food?"

"Find a place where no one is and scream. It's so quiet here that it's scary if there aren't two people on the bus." The train was full of people and they could hear a pin drop. As soon as a few Chinese students spoke, the French came over and closed the classroom door."

Don't care about others

I am in a country with many foreigners, and I was surprised to find that if I stepped on their toes, the other party would apologize to me first. Later, I asked the locals and they said that if I can step on someone's foot, it means that he is blocking my way. Of course you should apologize for blocking someone else's way.

I won’t be afraid of making fun of you. Before I went abroad for the first time, I thought that my grandpa, who didn’t know what collectivism was, would be in a state of chaos. So I was shocked when I heard this explanation: Is there such a strange logic in the world?

After a long time, I realized that when the little foreigner was growing up, parents had an important educational principle that the little foreigner should accept: you cannot trouble others. Little Japan is determined to leave Asia and join Europe, so Japanese education pays special attention to not causing trouble to others. In fact, we in the Middle Kingdom also have a similar educational principle, but the order is reversed - others cannot trouble you. As for whether you want to trouble others, it depends on the need.

"It is a miracle that I can survive to this day in China." A foreigner told me his "adventures" in China, "When I entered China on the first day, the Chinese in front of me The man looked back at me, but when he put his hand down, the swing door suddenly hit me on the head. Of course, I later found out that the man definitely didn’t mean it.”

“I was riding a bicycle on the street. Everyone passed by with a whoosh, without caring about other people. If I hadn't reacted quickly, I would have been dead."

"Are you exaggerating? I've never heard of it before. I said someone was killed by a bicycle." I comforted him.

"So it's a miracle."

"But you're right. Chinese people don't care much about others."

"What do you mean, don't care? Yes. As if others don’t exist at all.”

Others don’t exist. Chinese people divide others into three categories: strangers, acquaintances and leaders.

It is only the first category that does not exist. Please don’t forget to get rid of the leaders among them.

There is no paper in the toilet

There is a word in Chinese that must have been inspired by Chinese toilets, and that is "notorious".

The Chinese are a very practical nation. Once the import problem is solved, the export problem will not matter. The reason is very simple. Can you treat people to a meal or use the toilet?

Unfortunately, foreigners’ concepts are somewhat different from ours, which makes China’s toilet issue the most sensitive topic for foreigners to disclose. Uncleanness, squatting, and lack of privacy are the three main focuses of complaints from foreigners. There is another question that Japanese neighbors still don’t understand: why should the wiped paper be kept in the wastebasket instead of being flushed directly? Is it to preserve incriminating evidence?

Americans love to meddle in other people’s business. No wonder they are called the world’s police. The cleanest toilets in the world are in Japan. Americans have no say in this, but an American woman has set up a toilet website. There is a dedicated China section on it. I strongly recommend you to take a look. I guarantee that I will not die laughing after reading those posts.

To be fair, China's toilet construction has generally reached a higher level in the past two years. I thought it would attract applause from all over the world, but I didn't expect that even the poorest toilets in foreigners' homes are equipped with toilet paper. People all have a problem. If they have something at home, they think that others will have it too. Therefore, many foreigners who have just come to China always finish their errands only to find that there is no paper inside.

Chinese people have always paid attention to their international image. In addition, with the rapid economic development in recent years, there is plenty of money. If nothing else, the public funds spent on food and drink alone are several times the entire education investment every year, so there is no paper in Chinese toilets. It's definitely not an economic reason. My only worry is that once toilet paper is put in toilets, low-level people like me who come from rural areas will no longer go to supermarkets. However, there is a store owned by foreigners near my home. I assured Chairman Mao that I have never taken any paper from there, and I have no intention of stealing it. Some people may think this is not comparable, but let me tell you, the nearest public toilet to my home is about ten kilometers away.

I estimate that it is definitely unrealistic for China’s toilets to be equipped with toilet paper overnight. So, from a humanitarian perspective, can you put a warning in English on the door of the toilet: "Please note that this toilet does not provide toilet paper. Please bring your own toilet paper when using the toilet."

Compare yourself and wait until you are done to find out that there is no toilet paper. How embarrassing would paper be? !

Finally, in order to respond, I originally planned to include Chinese men, but I will also write articles specifically to attack them. There is a rule in the law that you cannot punish the same crime twice. Therefore, I spared them this time.

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