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| About
China |
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A General Introduction to China
and Chinese Peoples |
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| Exotic and breathtaking
- The Land of the Dragon awaits intrepid explorers with
a warm welcome and an intoxicating blend of traditions
and cultures spanning millennia. |
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Mystery and Magic
Like no other country, China confuses the senses with
a history that comes to life during festivals and celebrations
bringing an ancient world once more into the spotlight.
The Chinese peoples (For their are many within their
culture), consider themselves to be The Children of
the Dragon - and Chinese Dragon's flight is wingless
and always beneficial, unlike their Western counterparts.
Ancestry, myth and folklore play a large part in the
lives of today's people, as epitomised by such beliefs
in Dragon Lore. This contrasts markedly with modern
cities and thronging masses who drive the modern Chinese
economy to such dizzy heights upon the world stage.
When walking the modern streets of Beijing or Shanghai,
it is sometimes difficult to appraise that what you
see today did not exist a mere 30 years ago - for such
is Chinese industry and phenomenal development.
Visitors will become enthralled with the unique cultural
traditions, as displayed on stage and within local communities.
One such example is Huang Mei Song, the predecessor
of all Chinese Opera, and in itself a folk theatre about
the lives of ordinary people. Buddhist and Taoist festivals
combine in symmetry to extend and baffle the senses
with lavish shows and a sense of mystery that keeps
you intrigued. China's 57 minority groups add their
own distinct flavours to this cultural melting pot via
song, music, dance, and spectacular costumes (Most of
which are made by hand).
Land of Contradictions
Tourists and recent Expats will often stay in the modern
cities and visit the normal tourist attractions. They
may find Chinese roads to be completely baffling, although
modern driving standards are slowly being enforced in
the cities. One of the first clues to the Chinese psyche
lies in their normal greetings - which are always of
the form "Have you eaten today?"To enquire
"How are you" would be impolite at least,
and possibly insulting! Perhaps visitors will next notice
that Chinese are a very communal people, and great emphasis
is placed upon 'Family' and attending family occasions.
They always collaborate when faced with a new project,
even something as simple as hanging a notice on an office
wall. Family excepted, Chinese people are very open
and forward when meeting strangers - especially foreigners.
They will go to great lengths to assist you with even
the simplest of tasks. However, unlike Westerners, their
open face belies their privacy, and the curtain separating
their public persona from their private one closes far
quicker than in the west. Please respect this and enjoy
their childlike openness for what it really is.
Face
'Face' is one of the most important things for virtually
all Chinese, although it may have many facets. Normally
foreigners are excepted from this, but knowing a little
etiquette goes a long way. Face may be regarded as the
perception other Chinese have of them, and could be
likened to Victorian attitudes of England, or certain
Japanese cultural traits. This extends to how other
foreigners perceive them as an individual or group.
Face is displayed in many ways, especially in the modern
Eastern cities, where a person may be judged by his
home or car. The emphasis is always upon having something
'New', and not something of higher quality and intrinsic
value that has been used before. This is what drives
the new and booming property markets, that foreign correspondents
never mention - perhaps because they never troubled
to understand it? Therefore a young family will gladly
spend 10Million RMB on a single bed apartment in the
right place and development - in preference to buying
an older used property with 3 bedrooms and 4 times the
floor space just around the corner for 1 Million RMB.
Answer: The older property has no Face. It is just the
same with cars and other similar items. Lets finish
this quick introduction to Face by stating Chinese business
people will judge a person by three things: His shoes,
his watch, and his ability to drink alcohol. That simple!
The exceptions are works by old and revered Masters
from centuries before such as: Paintings, Calligraphy,
Literature; and skilled arts such as jade works, porcelain
and sculptures, or Emperors stylised weapons.
Money
The second most important thing to most Chinese is 'Money',
and either having or saving money. They save money to
buy a house of course, and often it is the women that
drive this. Money drives the Chinese family unit, which
has the following stages: Courtship, new car, expensive
3-day wedding, a new home, and a baby. After the boy
has completed all these tasks, he regains a lot of personal
freedom - just so long as the bills are always paid!
In order to get enough money for this, Chinese will
work very long hours, every day of every week, and live
in squalor or shared rooms for a while. During this
time they will not pursue leisure activities, nor take
holidays that are not family related. Therefore virtually
all the money they make is either sent home to family,
or saved for their own future.
Regarding business transactions, then the first of the
contradictions becomes noticeable, for whilst Chinese
pride themselves upon having a good face, their creaseless
drive to maximise profit will see them altering contracts
and technical specifications without agreement or knowledge,
just so as to make a fraction more profit by fitting
a cheaper part. This is why Chinese products worldwide
are renowned for being cheap and of poor quality. In
fact most are not, they just have this stupidity to
replace bona fid parts with cheaper ones = more profit
for the boss. To many foreigners, this shows they have
no face! Unfortunately the Chinese factories do not
recognise this, and believe there is always another
buyer waiting on their doorstep. Slowly they are waking
up to the reality that there is not.
This comes in stark contrast to the plethora of wonderful
works of art and the technological advances made over
millennia. Some of the skills exhibited when a Master
carves a work of multi-coloured Jade are truly awesome.
Their use and development of porcelain and glazes from
ages contemporary with ancient Greece are phenomenal
However, the best was reserved for The Emperor, and
getting this wrong could cost them their lives. Nowadays
the Market Economy does not offer any such hazards,
and so they will try and get away with whatever they
can. China does need to change its attitude to international
contracts, specifications, and component parts.
Community
Community ranks third in my list, and is the social
network provided by Chinese families for themselves.
This is slowly changing and evolving, but the standard
model is that parents will raise children and give them
the very best education possible - even if this means
they go hungry. State education is free up until 16
or 18 (Depending upon examination results), but parents
will normally pay for their child to attend a better
school, and pay for extra-curriculum classes offered
by the private sector - such as English lessons. University
and College are really the same thing with different
emphasis. These are not free and have to be paid for,
although top students can gain full scholarships. Once
a child reaches adulthood and enters the job market,
then things reverse immediately and the child will then
support the parents - and this continues into old age
and infirmity.
The sense of Brotherhood extends far beyond family,
as you will discover when you make lasting and true
Chinese friends. They will tell you about their own
perceptions of this world, and how interrelated all
Chinese peoples are. Forget Western media hype, or those
seeking their own fame at the expense of their Country.
Put your own perceptions to one side and see what is
real vs what is hyped. Can you do this with an open
mind? If you can, then Taiwan, Tibet and Urgars are
not political hot-potatoes, they simply express different
aspects of the Brotherhood of all Chinese peoples (Be
they Han or otherwise). It may be the same in your own
family, where one branch or Brother has differing views
from the norm, or does different things with his or
her life. Families are like this, but will all rally
round the same standard when threatened by a determined
aggressor. The perspective is the 1937 - 45 war (Correct
dates), when Japan invaded China because it saw weakness
due to the ongoing Chinese civil war between the Communists
and the Nationalists (The forefathers of modern China
and Taiwan). The Chinese Brothers were fighting for
a different future political system, yet paused their
civil war to repulse the Japanese aggressors. After
1945 the civil war resumed for another 4-years ... and
the rest is history. From this example you may conclude
that being Chinese comes First to all Chinese peoples,
and herein lies a hard truth you ignore at your peril
- the mistake the Japanese made. This observation leads
us very nicely back to our main topic, and the next
section:
Contradictions
Those who stay in China a while will soon come to realise
that for every rule there is at least one exception.
This holds true for all spheres of life. It is a gradual
process of awakening and discovery for most foreigners,
who at times are totally baffled by Chinese ways - before
finally coming to a realisation and being able to 'Put
it all in a box'. This works great until you meet an
exception, and then confusion sets in again. You realise
the perception of China you placed over there - is in
fact better put in another new box over the other side.
Then this works for a while, before something else confounds
you. There is no end to this process, and China simply
cannot be put into a box - it is much too contrary.
It is this rich and unexpected diversity which I find
so very fascinating about China - the oldest of extant
world cultures. This in its own turn makes every day
a new day, with something out of the box arriving on
my doorstep. This will all be largely irrelevant to
tourists coming for a few weeks. Longer term Expats
will find this a frequent occurrence and need to deal
with it. Therefore you need an open mind when dealing
with China, and be open to new ideas, whilst not rushing
to judge simply because something is different from
how it is in your home country.
Related Pages:
1. Demographics
It is hard to better the excellent
CIA Factbook, a lengthy webpage which details just about
everything relevant to modern China. The aim of this
page is to supplement their information with understanding...
China Expats propose to shortly offer a corrected and
simpler version of this 'Factbook', differing in that
it offers a view of China as Beijing (And the special
regions) see it. Our immediate problem is one of presentation:
as China offers such a rich diversity of geography,
cultures, weather systems, and eco-systems - each one
special in its own way. Therefore this page will also
expand accordingly, but please forgive our sloth, as
many facts need independent corroboration, and then
presenting in an informative way that is immediate,
surfer friendly, and checkable (Referenced). Our timeline
is latter 2010 |
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| This
information is as supplied by the Chinese Embassy in
UK, as dated 20th June 2008, and/or other reliable sources.
Please check this information yourself as it may alter
without notice, and whilst we try our best to ensure
it is correct, please do not hold us responsible for
any errors - this is intended as a simple guide only |
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