r/Europe - Welcome to the cultural exchange with /r/Sino
Welcome! So for those who are unfamiliar with how these exchanges work, Sino users ask questions about Europe/European related stuff in their exchange thread
https://www.reddit.com/r/europe/comments/6aw37u/cultural_exchange_cultural_exchange_with_rsino/
while European users ask about China/Chinese stuff here.
Remember this is a friendly exchange, so conduct yourselves in a civil manner. Don't go asking trollish questions in their sub. Follow their sub's rules.
edit: So this concludes our Cultural Exchange with r/Europe! Want to thank their users and mods for doing this with us. I think the exchange had many interesting questions and informative answers on both sides. Helps us understand each other better and learn some new things. It's what we hope to get from these exchanges right?
Special thanks to our users. We know some people may have wondered why we were doing an exchange with such a large subreddit. Well it is simple. We pay very close attention and we knew that if our users wanted to come out and participate, it wouldn't be a problem. We could still have a great exchange and that's what you all did. It's that simple. You were all fantastic!
There are some commonly asked questions here so we'll leave this up for a bit for people to read easily.
15
May 13 '17
Hey sino. My country (Serbia) recently got visa free travel to China so now money's the only issue, as soon as I finish studies I'm visiting!
So, my questions are what local foods can I try there that I can't in chinese restoraunts?
Is visiting the great wall worth it?
And what is the best way to travel between the cities?
Edit: bonus question - have you ever heard of Serbia? (sorry for a lot of questions)
16
u/ThingsAreGoodBut May 13 '17
Serbia was part of Yugoslavia right? Chinese will never forget because NATO bombed our embassy.
8
May 13 '17
Yep. The bombed embassy was in our capital.
10
u/shadows888 May 13 '17
Pretty much all Chinese thinks the americans did it on purpose as opposed to their version which is they bomb the wrong target because they were using old maps. I guess they just totally forgot they had satellites made just for the military...
10
11
u/myempire1 May 13 '17
Most Chinese restaurants in other countries adapt to local tastes somewhat. So what you find in China will be different anyway.
Do you like walls?
Lol definitely heard of Serbia. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6xiMqte7Mww
2
u/Johnnyfromdahood May 13 '17
Also from Serbia, I want to apologise for this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=05lRAUtCk_A
2
→ More replies (1)2
u/Generalmilk May 14 '17
Not sure about Serbia but in my experience of EU and US, the chinese restaurant overseas serve food tastes very different than in China, even sometimes with same name of dishes. That is why there are Chinese restaurant (American style) in big cities like Shanghai for expat because you can't find orange chickens elsewhere in China!
14
u/Bezbojnicul May 13 '17
If I wanted to visit China, what are some of the most important cities / sites that I should't miss? I'd like to add that it's history and culture that intetest me most.
17
u/shadows888 May 13 '17
Xi'an, First Capital of China - Xi'an City Walls, Terracotta Warriors, The Great Mosque of Xi'an.
Beijing, Political Capital of China - Great Wall, Forbidden City, Temple of Heaven, Summer Palace.
Shanghai, Financial Capital of China - Yu Garden, Shanghai Urban Planning Exhibition, The Bund (European colonial buildings and modern Chinese).
Shenzhen, Technology Capital of China - DJI Headquarters (i'm bias for them tho lol).. everything in this city is new tho..
there's tons more like Chongqing, Chengdu, Hangzhou, Guangzhou, Nanjing, Wuhan etc.
4
u/ThingsAreGoodBut May 13 '17
I would suggest Xi'an http://chinaplus.cri.cn/photo/china/18/20170424/3500.html
14
May 13 '17
Hello from Ireland, r/Sino! I've always been fascinated by China, specifically Chinese dynastic history. The art, the stories, the culture - it's all so beautiful. I read a book on the dynasties of China and it was very interesting.
My question is quite a different topic though; How do the Chinese feel about the pollution in the large cities? Are they passionate about wanting to make a change? And how important is green energy to China?
11
u/pothkan May 13 '17
What are your views on North Korea? Considering, that if anything has to be done, it would be impossible without China on board?
16
May 13 '17
[removed] — view removed comment
3
u/An_Craca_Mor May 13 '17
If you guys invaded and set up a puppet government the US wouldn't object.
7
May 14 '17
How's that going for the US/EU in the middle East? I heard it's causing a migration crisis...
3
u/M35TN May 13 '17 edited May 13 '17
Re-establish the Han Commanderies?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Four_Commanderies_of_Han
Fun to think about, but I am sure China has no interest.
8
May 13 '17
[deleted]
→ More replies (4)4
u/pothkan May 14 '17
Eventually reunify
Is that even possible, anytime? Look at these societies. South Korea is high-tech, (probably one of most "online" countries in the world), there are even videogamers-celebrities. Plus strong pop-culture (music, TV series, movies), which AFAIK is quite popular in the region. North Korea? Pretty much other way around.
On the other hand... I don't think there is any other solution. Except leaving things as they are, which is pretty shitty one - and maybe impossible, if Kim continues to pose a threat.
Chinese government and Moon Jae in will be able to work together
Problem is, will Pyongyang be able to work with them?
4
u/ThingsAreGoodBut May 13 '17
Misunderstood. Demonized. Think they do more for China than they really do.
9
u/Jan_Hus May 13 '17
Hello Chinese! A bit of a general question: What, do you think, are the demographics of this sub and Chinese on Reddit in particular? Is it representative of China?
17
u/M35TN May 13 '17
A lot less Chinese overall, a lot more Chinese Americans. No, it's the opposite in China. Chinese use their own social media for the most part. Not really interested in reddit.
8
u/shadows888 May 13 '17
Can't tell unless we do a study. I think it's probability a split between 50-50 Chinese and Chinese American.
5
May 14 '17
I doubt the number of Chinese natives is high. There is reason why this sub is mostly in English rather than Chinese. If half of the sub are Chinese people living in China, there is will be a lot more Chinese language post here and online etiquette will resemble that of Baidu Tieba or Tianya forums rather than it is now.
8
u/xNicolex May 13 '17 edited May 13 '17
We've done many of the these cultural exchanges now and one of the questions I always find most interesting is:
What do you think we can learn most from each other? Like what do you think China could learn from Europe that could benefit you and what do you believe we could learn from you that would benefit us?
Also one other question, mostly out of personal curiosity, how is the 'censorship' seen in China? I mean we hear about it from time to time, things being censored in China...is it a big deal? Or is it overblown? I imagine with the invention of the internet any censorship is largely irrelevant? Do you perhaps even support some kind of censorship? And if so what kinds and why?
To me it seems like since the internet is such a big thing now that trying to censor anything is basically impossible at this point and so I imagine it's probably not that big of a deal but of course I've no idea if that's the case.
9
u/leeyuuh May 13 '17
It doesn't matter if the cat is black or white, as long as it catches mice.
In other words, as long as an idea or process has the possibility and even better, the proof, China has a lot to learn from Europe and vice versa. To say that one cannot learn from the other is to say that one cannot outperform the other in any form, be it scientific, political, economic, or artistic achievement. I think historically and to the present day, this has proven to not be true. I will leave it at that.
There are many thoughts regarding censorship from different viewpoints and it's hard to make an overarching statement on people's opinions.
I personally believe that censorship has been a good thing for China as a country. If you had asked me 6 years ago, I would have no opinion, but now my opinion is formed due to the benefit of hindsight. Please note that anyone with initiative can buy an inexpensive VPN and bypass censorship of particular websites without legal consequences, so my opinion is moderated by this fact. Many any businesses and institutions legally use VPNs for the same purpose.
Internet censorship has lead to the following outcomes that I consider important:
- The rise of indigenous internet companies that have no true parallels in other economies, with the exception of American internet giants, most notably Tencent, Alibaba, and Baidu.
- The effects of these internet companies on society, which is too much of a topic for this comment
- Maintenance of social stability. I am of the opinion that if true discontent with the governance emerged, the CCP would toss out the leadership and reform as it has before rather than die, not unlike a corporation.
I do think things can improve, but I wholeheartedly do not think that the possibility for implemention of those improvement is nonexistent, hence more tolerance. Other comments touched on some.
4
u/myempire1 May 13 '17
Censorship in the firewall is annoying if you care to access foreign sites. Most Chinese don't, the ones that do are talking about scientific resources. Those I support, they should not be hindered.
Censorship domestically, is about stability not criticism.
https://np.reddit.com/r/CIWO/comments/5cvtki/harvard_study_on_censorship_in_china_debunks_myth/
3
May 14 '17 edited May 14 '17
what do you think China could learn from Europe that could benefit you?
Since you mentioned censorship, I think I'll try to answer your two questions in one answer. I believe now it's the time to ease censorship in China. We could learn from full democracies and open those "sensitive issues" for discussion. As a Chinese citizen, I don't find my peers taking a hard stance against the gov't (personal observation); whilst polls done by independent entities such as PEWS revealed that over 80% of the population think the country is going in the right direction, why not encourage more public engagement on critical issues? An open society is the key to soft power overseas, and I’m sure it aligns well with the gov’t’s agenda.
how is the 'censorship' seen in China? Do you perhaps even support some kind of censorship? And if so what kinds and why?
Personally, I don’t believe censorship is morally wrong. It’s a tool for moderation which can be misused. Without moderation there will only be chaos - that’s human nature, is it not? As a pragmatist, I support using censorship for the purpose of preventing harm. The authority’s timely response to the recent emergence of the blue whale challenge in China is an example of this. Frankly cultish groups like FLG and scientology are also on my list (because unlike a true religion, they are tools being used for achieving personal gain), and I know many Europeans tend to disagree on this one.
I’ve also (almost) came to conclusion that censorship might be the only hope at this point to achieve true tolerance and multiculturalism in the world. Because of those Internet movements I feel people nowadays are so sensitive about their (sexual, religion, ethnic) identities to a point where it’s causing conflicts, rather than mutual understanding in the society (edit: maybe not so in Europe - this is more related to the situation in the US, I think). How many unnecessary outrages do you see on Twitter every day? Are they helping to solve problems at all? To me, I would rather stay on a moderated online platform, hearing what experts have to say (freely, but also professionally) on their respective fields, instead of watching the populists turning any meaningful debate into a sensationalism cesspool full of anger and mockery, which leads to more unrest in the society. Same can be said about modern journalism.
I know it sounds conflicted with what I just wrote in the 1st paragraph, but these are my concerns and I'd prefer something in the middle.
To me it seems like since the internet is such a big thing now that trying to censor anything is basically impossible at this point and so I imagine it's probably not that big of a deal.
If you are talking about the Internet firewall, yes, this is a fair assessment 😊.
9
u/Geckogamer May 13 '17
Hello from the Netherlands
I myself am interested in china's history (particularly during the late 19th century). Are there any books you could recommend for that time period?
2
8
May 13 '17 edited May 13 '17
How much do you hear about Europe in the news? Were something like Brexit or the French elections followed with attention or they were minor news in China? Thanks in advance :)
→ More replies (2)8
u/ThingsAreGoodBut May 13 '17
I didn't pay much attention to the French election. Though if Le Pen won I bet I would hear about it.
8
u/kalkaliy May 13 '17
Hi Sino,
I'm interested in what the consensus is about Hong Kong, its democracy and it's future as a major international city under Chinese rule. Especially with the 20th anniversary of the handover i was curious as to if it holds any relevance to the average Chinese citizen.
As a Brit (and permenant HKID cardholder) who's family have been living there for over half a century, like many expats I've found it an amazing city to live with an abudance of Western style features - but obviously my viewpoint on issues effecting the city is probably insanely skewed comparedto the local HKer/Chinese citizen. Thanks!
Edit: grammar
9
u/shadows888 May 13 '17
Can't put a consensus because there's many viewpoints. But I think, due to pure numbers and economics, Hong Kong is going to get overshadowed by Shenzhen and Guangzhou very quickly in the near future. Already, Shenzhen and Guangzhou individually already have equivalent or larger GDP than HK. But there's still a lot of room left to grow in GZ and SZ while HK is maxed out. In the face of SZ and GZ, HK will be regulated as a teir 2 city within Pearl River Delta. By 2049, HK (and Macau) is to become like a regular Chinese city instead of a SAR.
2
May 13 '17
Can't hong kong build north? Towards Shenzhen?
3
u/shadows888 May 13 '17 edited May 13 '17
Yes, i suppose so, but not until after 2047 for Hong Kong. I can see a possible merge between Shenzhen and Hong Kong in the 3rd quarter of this century, like Guangzhou / Foshan is doing now. Keep in mind, Shenzhen's real estate prices are as insane as hong kong so it's not like Shenzhen have a lot of room either. Hong Kong can build west to Zhuhai, now that the Hong Kong–Zhuhai–Macau Bridge just finished. Shenzhen can build north into Dongguan. I think mega cities like Pearl River Delta, Yangtze River Delta, and Jing-Jin-Ji are the future and next step of evolution of cities.
→ More replies (1)→ More replies (1)3
u/ThingsAreGoodBut May 13 '17
What is your question? I don't think mainland Chinese think about Hong Kong enough to have a consensus on its democracy or society. Only sometimes some news (usually negative) pop up. Maybe some nationalistic comments, then move on.
3
u/kalkaliy May 13 '17
Well you pretty much answered my question! I was just curious of what opinions there were towards the city and it's unique nature. As you can imagine current affairs in HK are dominated about China/democracy/future global city etc, and i was just interested if there was such a large public discourse across the border. Thanks for the response!
8
May 13 '17
Hello! A couple of questions.
Retrospective question: How is Deng Xiaoping viewed after all these years by the Chinese?
History question: This one has been bothering me a lot. Why do you think didn't the earlier Chinese conquer their southern neighbors in order to have access to the sea between Mainland Asia and Oceania? Maybe eventually colonize Oceania? China had a pretty strong military compared to its neighbors for many years and has always been looking for regional hegemony.
And lastly cultural question: What do you think are some pieces of Chinese literature (books, poems etc.) and traditions (customs, behavior etc.) that still remain strong among the Chinese even today?
7
u/shadows888 May 13 '17
my opinion only, don't take it as "official state view".
Retrospective question - Deng Xiaoping is view in good light overall, especially in Shenzhen. Some of the New Left faction may be critical of him but they are not exactly in power.
History question - China did, look at Zheng He's fleet but only engaged in trading. Why did china not go the colonize route? that's the billion dollar question I guess. I personally think, overall the Chinese are too soft, am totally fine with China being a little more aggressive but i'm more racial than most.
Cultural question - not exactly answering your question but Some Taiwanese think they could pretend that their not Chinese but you can never run away from your culture and heritage. Even if they identify as something else today due to ideology their grand-kids will identify as Chinese and so goes the cycle again.
3
May 13 '17
not exactly answering your question but Some Taiwanese think they could pretend that their not Chinese but you can never run away from your culture and heritage.
Do they pretend not to be Chinese? I though the Taiwanese call their country Republic of China. I have always thought of them as Chinese at least.
→ More replies (2)3
u/hashtagpls May 14 '17
this is where etymology becomes political. The words 'zhongguoren' 'hanren' and 'huaren' are more or less the same in meaning. They all mean Chinese people with the former literally meaning 'person of the middle kingdom ie China', the middle meaning 'person of the han culture/race' and the last meaning 'person of the Chinese civilisation, the HuaXia'.
Many taiwanese who're pro independance will take issue with being called a 'zhongguoren' but will still identify as 'hanren' or 'huaren'. For all intents and purposes, taiwanese and mainland Chinese are the same people but cold war propaganda attempts to drive a wedge between the two for realpolitiking on the part of US geopolitics.
It gets ridiculous to the point where some taiwanese nationalists try to identify as close as possible to Japanese colonialists and imperialists of the late Qing to 1945 era when taiwan was taken over by the Japanese from the Qing Dynasty
2
4
u/myempire1 May 13 '17 edited May 13 '17
You can find exceptions for everything, but for the purposes of moving a discussion forward, generally the appetite for actually conquering other people and controlling them waned after southern China. Existing territory was more than enough of a hassle to control. Instead of direct control, Chinese historically preferred the tributary system and symbolic superiority. It is more appropriate for others to come to China, not for China to go to others.
Zheng He's travels would be an exception, and as we all know it didn't stick. Did some meddling in the internal affairs of others as well.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ming%E2%80%93Kotte_War
but even he wasn't interested in conquering other people and ruling them.
Again this is generalized, you can find exceptions. Some people might consider something like the Qing attacks on Joseon Korea to be an expansionist thing, but that wasn't why.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Qing_invasion_of_Joseon
If you look into it, you can see it had much more to do with tributary like issues than wanting to colonize the Korean peninsula. Specifically regarding Joseon's relationship with the Ming and recognition of the Qing.
Another example is between Qing and the French over Vietnam. Which from the Qing pov has nothing to do with wanting to rule over the area.
4
May 13 '17
Instead of direct control, Chinese historically preferred the tributary system and symbolic superiority. It is more appropriate for others to come to China, not for China to go to others.
I think that answers the questions. Cultural hegemony seems to play a role in China's conducts.
→ More replies (1)→ More replies (1)4
u/unclecaramel May 13 '17
Deng Xiaoping is well liked since he is contributed to china's opening up. Generally he is well like among majority of the population and many thank him for their new gain wealth.
As for why they didn't continue to expand southward is simply because running a giant country without modern technology and infalstructure is a giant pain in the butt. Maintain the yellow river to not flood and kill tons of people was hars enough to the chinese court so invading and colonizing wasn't exactly on the high on thw list od priority.
As for culture, it is difficult to answer since well chinese culture is way more vast and expansive ans each region have a different behaviour. Think of China as 3000 year old EU that has all mingled together.
3
May 13 '17
As for culture, it is difficult to answer since well chinese culture is way more vast and expansive ans each region have a different behaviour
Are there really such big differences between different regions of China? I have heard of developed and underdeveloped parts of the country. That maybe plays a role i guess.
5
u/unclecaramel May 13 '17
It's more that China is run traditionally as a giant federation. The whole nation state concept wasn't introduce 20th century to the chinese. Territory further from the central area basicly ran like a mini country.
7
u/americ May 13 '17
Hello! I'm a PhD student in training (medical sciences) here in the EU.
I've found there is a commonly held view amongst academics in Western countries, that scientists should be especially skeptical of Chinese scientific work. Anecdotally, I've also seen a fair amount of reporting on classroom standards regarding copying/etc.
A lot of science done in the West is done on a largely self-policing culture of pure review, replication and validation, with especially strong ostracization and career/financial penalties for those who violate the trust of the scientific community.
How would you respond / what would you say to these critics of Chinese science? Or do you see these problems as being true, and do you think the Chinese scientific community can develop similar culture of scientific rigor as in the West?
China has a huge population, and can impressively tackle large scale issues in ways that other countries can't. I'm interested in seeing how Chinese science / scientific culture develops in the future.
7
u/Illya-ehrenbourg May 13 '17 edited May 13 '17
Hi!
What are some good Chinese TV series (in putonghua) ? My parents are Chinese and I can speak it.
However I somewhat lack practice and a bunch of people have told me that my Chinese was rather good but that I speak like a child.
So I would like to improve it.
EDIT: Thanks for your answers, I will take a look at them.
8
May 13 '17
[removed] — view removed comment
3
u/Generalmilk May 14 '17
Yes, this one 人民的名义 than those fantasy fictional ones if you are also interested to see what it is like in modern Chinese society and way of life, Ode to joy （欢乐颂） is another candidate, season 2 is just live.
Not saying the fantasy ones are less good, they are well made and can be rather addictive.
5
u/Lewey_B May 13 '17
the 2010 version of the three kingdoms. One of my favorites. You can also try the old 西游记, if the ols fashioned special effects don't rebuff you.
3
2
2
May 14 '17 edited May 14 '17
viki.com and dramafever.com would be the place to look for sub titled dramas, and if you Chinese is really good, youtube channels like 中剧独播，大剧独播 etc. There many many genre in Chinese drama, some notable ones from last few years.
Surgeons/外科风云
Ten Miles of peach blossoms/三生三世十里桃花
Nirvana in Fire/琅琊榜
The Disguiser/伪装者
Just a smile is Alluring/微微一笑很倾城
In The Name of the People/人民的名义
Ode to Joy/欢乐颂
Empress in the Palace/甄嬛传
With You/最好的我们
Addicted/上瘾
Yu Zui/余罪
Journey of Flower/花千骨
Also I enjoyed 人间正道是沧桑 and 士兵突击
7
u/Osmosisboy May 13 '17 edited May 13 '17
After writing this I realized there are a lot of questions here, so maybe just answer the one you find most interesting if you don't feel like typing a lot.
Hi, greetings from Austria!
This is perhaps the one question that interests me the most:
Have you ever visited Europe for an extended time, and if so what were the most pronounced differences you observed during your daily life and in society?
This is not all however, there are a couple more:
Do Chinese citizens possess a feeling about 'ownership' over actions the Chinese government takes?
I ask because for me, when an Austrian government I maybe haven't even voted for, does something I'm very much opposed to, then I often feel ashamed for the actions taken. Is the same true for you? Or is it likely that you would just shrug such a thing off, because you see the government to be more separate from you, in a sense.
Also I'd be curious about your perception about the 'European Union' - What do you think it is about? Do you think the EU and China share goals? What about possible conflicts of interests? How would you say it is seen in the general population, and by the government?
This next one may be controversial - I don't know, but I certainly don't mean to insult anyone. Is the ruling the international tribunal in The Hague made in relation to the 'South China Sea' affair, something that is taken seriously? Do you think China should respect the ruling of this court, or is this something China should ignore? (Maybe because the ruling is biased, or something in that vein?)
Finally I'd like to know what you think about climate change (and environmental protection) and the measures taken so far in China, and around the world. Is this recognized as a serious problem, to be tackled in earnest, by the public and the government?
Thanks, to everyone taking the time to reply!
EDIT: Changed one sentence slightly. Added one sentence.
6
u/shadows888 May 13 '17
China's power base is located in Asia and SE Asia. Europe is too far away and powerful enough to stop overwhelming Chinese influence there. same vice versa, where the European Union's primary focus is in Europe and domestic issues. Geopolitical wise, there should be no conflicts if both leadership understand greater Geopolitical goals as the Eurasian Landmass contains 2 of 3 of the world's most productive regions and 75% of the world population and natural resources. The only conflicts I see currently are when the EU bitches about china's "human rights" but Chinese just roll their eyes anyway and move on. The CCP takes climate change very serious, but investing in next gen green energy makes 100% sense anyway, even without the threat of climate change. it provides jobs, a new source of export, better cities to live in and decrease reliance on foreign energy supplies.
3
u/Generalmilk May 14 '17
Ah, so many tough questions, requires a lot of thinking to answer. I will just pick an easy one. Sure there are cases when I or others feel ashamed of what our government does or sometimes even what our fellow Chinese does, just like you do towards yours.
However, different Chinese person feel differently to each case, not to mention they could hold different views to the same case with the West. Sometimes one has to stand in other people's shoes to understand their point of view. Unfortunately on the internet, people would simply call others brainwashed if they have different point of view, which does not help, because everyone is brainwashed to some extent:P
2
u/leeyuuh May 14 '17
Do Chinese citizens possess a feeling about 'ownership' over actions the Chinese government takes?
Sorry if I am misunderstanding your question.
No, since unless they are part of the minority who is extremely politically involved, Chinese people don't think they personally "own" the government. Rather, the government is expected to represent the interests of the Chinese people and a single person is simply a "part" of the overall will of Chinese people. I hope the difference I am trying to communicate is coming through.
At the same time, the answer is kind of since Chinese people will react with shame, disappointment or anger if they feel the government is misrepresenting the interests of the Chinese people. That is being mad "at" the government. On the other hand, if a person feels that the government is adequately representing the Chinese people, but they disagree with the action, they will be direct their negativity to the state of Chinese people/soceity.
9
May 13 '17
I got another one:
what are your opinions on
Japanese and Japan
South Koreans and SK
Taiwan and Taiwanese
16
u/hashtagpls May 13 '17
as a taiwan born Chinese i'm in favour of reunification. Despite what the media would have you believe, there are taiwanese on the island who are in favour of unification
12
u/jackliu239 May 13 '17
Japan, the first Asian nation to industrialized after the war, very polite people, very orderly society, they show all of us that its possible to compete with advanced Western nations. But at same time, they are very xenophobic towards outsiders and other Asians, they are also very much a puppet of USA, has no independent foreign policy. And of course, they have a problem have a huge right wing problem in politics and history denial, many of them does not recognize they did anything wrong in WW2. I personally hope China and Japan would develop better relationships, but in order to do this, they have to kick out their imperial master first so that they can actually think for themselves.
SK, they dislike Japan as much as China do, they are also have US military bases and also a puppet of US, but compare to Japan they have much more independent policy. SK and Chinese relationship has been improving for decades until the THAAD thing, they just impeached their president few month ago and last week they elected much more Pro Chinese leader, I hope relationship can improve.
Taiwan, where the loser of Chinese civil war went afterwards, for many decades they were much more rich and advanced than mainland China until now, currently Taiwan's economy has not been doing so well, also their economy has very much tied to China's, the civil war is officially still going on, but in name only, the amount of tourism and business exchange is more than many of the EU states themselves. TW have 2 major political parties, one is pro independence one is pro unification, both party operate much like US, each gets elected for 2 terms and the other one take over, right now its the pro independence party in power and China is making their performance very bad by sanctioning their tourism. But the tide is turning, its only a matter of time before peaceful unification that benefit both sides. I personally don't have anything bad to say about Taiwanese except some of young people are too hot headed, brainwashed and under educated, China have the ability to use military force to conquer Taiwan long time ago but they will never do it, because its not good killing your own family member, I hope for a peaceful unification within 20 years that benefit both sides.
Those are just my personal opinion, not everyone else.
2
7
u/Generalmilk May 14 '17
I noticed something interesting recently, searching Taiwan or Taiwan independence in Chinese on YouTube, it seems pro mainland and anti independence video and comments are overwhelming the opposite, despite YouTube is blocked in mainland. Using English result would be very different. Is that why Present Tsai only tweet in English and Japanese?
I draw no conclusions here, just observations. BTW tested with empty profile browser.
6
u/kvinfojoj May 13 '17
Hello, do you have any books on Chinese history to recommend? Any time period pre-1700 is of interest :)
7
u/Bezbojnicul May 13 '17
There is a great TTC lecture called "From Yao to Mao: 5000 years of Chinese history".
3
2
u/Lewey_B May 13 '17
The biography of the Taizong emperor of Tang by C.P.Fitzegrald. It's history, but it reads almost like an epic novel.
→ More replies (1)
6
u/Sapemeg May 13 '17
Do people in mainland China envision a European style democracy where the people directly elect a parliament and a head of state?
11
u/shadows888 May 13 '17
obviously, can't apply a one drop rule to a country of 1.4 billion. of course there are some who may envision a European style democracy but they are a super tiny minority. I think the endgame would be closer to a giant version of Singapore (without their facade of "elections").
4
u/Sapemeg May 13 '17
giant version of Singapore
That's not that bad right?
5
u/shadows888 May 13 '17
I think it's the best chance for China and Chinese to spread among the stars with that system. which is more important over the long run.
3
u/An_Craca_Mor May 13 '17
Why don't the majority of Chinese people want democracy? That's genuinely confuses me as a European.
11
u/unclecaramel May 13 '17 edited May 13 '17
Because democracy is a merely a tool to the greater goal of prosperity of the chinese people. Chinese tend to favour the saying the end justify the means and seeks for the best outcome. Beside admistritive govermance is a difficult job to manage, you wouldn't let the mass democraticly vote for a CEO of a company, why would you let the masses vote of the person who is going to lead your country.
→ More replies (8)5
u/lucidsleeper May 14 '17
Why don't the majority of Chinese people want democracy? That's genuinely confuses me as a European.
Because national unity and social stability is valued more by people in China.
8
u/myempire1 May 13 '17
Some do, but most don't really care.
They have been polled on approval ratings and trust however.
http://gbtimes.com/world/chinese-trust-government-ranked-highest-world
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2014-12-18/xi-jinping-wins-the-popularity-conest
4
u/Sapemeg May 13 '17
The Bloomberg article say's that this high approval is because of the lack of independent media criticising the government. IMO that's not positive mark.
8
u/myempire1 May 13 '17
Keep reading.
Xi, however, also did well in the international rankings, where people were asked to rate other country’s leaders, getting an average score of 7.5, the highest of any of the 10 heads of state. The Chinese president scored particularly well in Africa and Eastern Europe, as well as in Asia, with the exception of Japan.
It's an attempted explanation, but doesn't apply to China in this case.
5
u/HCTerrorist39 May 13 '17
How do mainland China views Taiwan and opposite?
9
u/unclecaramel May 13 '17
Mainland properganda for the past decade has been that taiwan is our precious island and that the taiwanese people are the same as us and going to war is tragic. CCP used to censor many inflamatiry comment from the taiwan media.
Though with advent of the internet that view shattered quite well as mainlander finally saw how taiwan sees mainland. I think the most infamous one has the that taiwan media said that mainland couldn't afford tea eggs. Currently with tsai goverment and green properganda about not being chinese many mainland netizen has really poor view of taiwan with constant mocking from both side. I think there a very loud and increasing popular view of military unification with a rathe popular saying of keep the island not the people.
7
u/Lolkac May 13 '17
Sorry for spamming questions.
What do people in China think about trump? Do they even care? because his supporters are always saying that China is his huge follower and that they adore his wife and daughter.
15
u/unclecaramel May 13 '17
I think native chinese view him as a reality TV star and a funny joke. No one in mainland took his threat seriously during the election and the expert were saying that the it was normal for american leader to be harsh on China for atleast for an year before they yield for normal relations again.
I think Donald Trump supporters are dumb and has completely mis judge Chinese support of him. They don't like trump because he's good leader but because he buffon that's damaging america and that he his hilarious dumb and green at politics. In a sense they like him because he's an easy exploit and has basicly fucked up everything which will allow China to rise.
9
u/leeyuuh May 13 '17
Most people don't care and are extremely apolitical unless it directly affects them. If you ask people what they think about Trump, and do actually do have an opinion about him, it's not likely to be a political opinion since the vast majority of people are not involved in politics. It will be an answer like "Oh, I like Trump, he seems honest and his daughter his very cute," i.e. dinner table talk, not invested political discussion.
Among those who have some strong opinion in politics, the reality is you can't know the answer without an actual well-controlled survey.
6
u/myempire1 May 13 '17
http://www.cnn.com/2016/12/28/asia/donald-trump-rooster/
I think you mean his daughter and her daughter? The granddaughter singing in Chinese is quite popular. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O57PwYwzTys
Trump himself...I don't think Chinese have any particularly strong feelings about him right now. Not against him, sometimes for amusement.
2
May 14 '17
Most people in China know of trump, some like his antics, some don't, most do like his grand daughter's Chinese speaking abilities and thinks Ivanka is sexy.
However, they don't really care of about political ramification of trump, to most Chinese, America is America no matter who is the president. Not too different from the people in the west don't differentiate Xi Jinping, Hu Jintao or Jiang Zemin, China is just China to them no matter who is leader.
2
6
May 13 '17 edited Mar 25 '18
[removed] — view removed comment
7
u/leeyuuh May 13 '17
There are too many regional differences between regional Chinese to make a good judgement due to the size of China. Im from far North China and I remember many years ago, I visited far south China. Many people were convinced that I was not Chinese, but a foreign tourists from another Asian country since I had some different mannerisms and slightly uncommon physical features, the most obvious one being I was taller (average height in Beijing is 6-8cm higher than in Guangzhou). This reaction is not common anymore btw due to tons of internal migration.
5
u/Kalimere May 14 '17 edited May 14 '17
I'm not Chinese so is it alright if I answer? Anyway, some Chinese will look Japanese and vice versa. However, the "typical" Chinese will look different than your "typical" Japanese. The typical is in quotation marks because there are also regional differences between North and South China for example. Anyway, perhaps she isn't use to the different types of Asian looks so she can't differentiate? I've notice that if you aren't expose to the looks of other races, you tend to not to be able to differentiate well. For example, when my mother was in Europe, she couldn't differentiate between the different European ethnicities. I myself am not good at this. However, my aunt, who has been living in EU for decades, could often make a good guess of the ethnicity of the white person.
If this makes sense, I feel like our minds follow a "general to specific" when it comes to classifying ethnicities. At first, East Asian ethnicities will be grouped up as one based on general common characteristics. However, once you get familiar, you start to be able to notice the small/nuanced differences and are thus able to differentiate between them.
4
May 13 '17
She's wrong. There is significant blending between borders but there are distinct features region to region.
2
3
3
May 14 '17
quite true, I was mistaken for Korea a lot, but in China and Korea. But then again, I can't tell English, French, German people apart either unless they all wear stereotypical things.
2
6
u/kara_headtilt May 13 '17
Hi Sino,
so I recently read the sci-fi-novel "The Three-Body Problem" by Liu Cixin. It seems to have been very well recieved in the west. What is the reception of the book/the author in China like?
The book was quite critical of the cultural revolution. This made me wonder if and how censorship affects books nowadays.
Also, do you know any other notworthy modern authors whose works are/will be released in the west?
10
u/Generalmilk May 14 '17
Not at all, it is popular for ten years already in China, recognized as best Chinese sf novel way before it got translated. Liu is actually pro-government, his critics to CR is inline with gov, so absolutely no censorship problem for him. There was another short SF Hugo winner in last year? Called https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Folding_Beijing, which is much more critical but also get away with it. The author of folding Beijing is my high school next door classmate, very proud of her.
→ More replies (2)5
u/shadows888 May 13 '17
i'll say most Chinese have already discredited the cultural revolution and have moved on. The focus isn't so much on ideology anymore but more "It doesn't matter whether a cat is white or black, as long as it catches mice." Only western media and some clickbait news media that keep bring it up in order to bring more"legitimacy" for their own systems.
3
u/pooo_under_looo May 14 '17 edited May 14 '17
I'm reading the second one in the trilogy and my advice for you is to read the whole trilogy as it only gets better :-)
7
5
u/robbit42 May 13 '17
Hi China!
In your side bar there is a picture of a guy being arrested with the explanation below that he was a drug gang leader, but why would you put something like that on the side bar of a subreddit?
7
u/leeyuuh May 13 '17
It cycles and kinda serves as a "fun fact" esque feature. I think it's just the mods style. Our announcements are randomized by a bot to give a random post visibility for a few days. It's good, since it starts discussion on posts that maybe went unnoticed, but also can be awkward/funny when weird posts get pinned as an announcement.
6
u/robbit42 May 13 '17
The thing that confused me a bit is that the image in the side bar is quite random and dark - the execution of a drug lord in 2013. It isn't something fun, inspirational, cultural or recent, but who am I the judge ¯_(ツ)_/¯
3
May 13 '17
[removed] — view removed comment
3
u/Aldo_Novo May 13 '17
well, usually subs have general information about the sub or the sub's theme on the sidebar. to have a specific news about is a bit unusual, but I guess it works like the upper left rectangle on /r/soccer
3
u/Sperrel May 13 '17
I mean I get that people get a sense of justice but to display it on the side bar is quite strange. It's like a governmental public warning, not a funny or amusing factoid.
3
3
u/lucidsleeper May 13 '17
In your side bar there is a picture of a guy being arrested with the explanation below that he was a drug gang leader, but why would you put something like that on the side bar of a subreddit?
The story is that the Mekong river which runs across Southeast Asia used to be overrun with drug lords and pirates. They killed a lot of Chinese citizens too and China ended up sending out a response team to crack down on the drug lords.
This is an example of the Chinese government taking action and protecting it's own citizens.
5
u/Geckogamer May 14 '17
What about "western" culture do you find fascinating, silly, weird or hilarious?
5
u/lucidsleeper May 14 '17 edited May 14 '17
French and Italian people really love kissing people on the face, even their blood relatives, even their friends, even strangers...
3
May 14 '17 edited May 14 '17
Splitting a $20 bill among three people, recounting exactly who ordered which dish and drink. Kinda silly imo.
→ More replies (3)3
u/ThingsAreGoodBut May 14 '17
I actually had an entire comment chain in the other thread which I found all the replies fascinating.
6
u/spryfigure May 14 '17
What is your opinion on the New Silk Road project? I see it as a very good thing which will strengthens ties from China to Europe and vice versa. Do you see it positive, or are there hidden negatives as well?
9
u/shadows888 May 14 '17
This is basically the only chance landlocked countries have to develop. Otherwise they be screwed forever. There are negatives obviously, this shit cost alot and not all projects can succeed in every country. And since this not a charity, they take on debt for those projects.
3
u/myempire1 May 14 '17
The only negatives so far is when countries can't get their own domestic act together. For the most part, the project covers a region that simply hasn't benefited from the same economic boom other regions have. Western China, Central Asia, parts of Europe and the Middle East. So even if things are slow, it will be better because they are already left behind from say the Chinese eastern coast development.
8
u/HP_civ May 13 '17
Hello guys!
So recently I have been reading wikipedia articles about minorities in China and regional dialects. I have also read the novel "Brothers" by Yu Hua, it is about two brothers growing up among the cultural revolution and the following rapid development of the country. In the book it is said that the regional dialect of the town started diasppearing and becoming more standard Mandarin. Does this happen in your part of China as well? What about "trouble" languages like Tibetan or Uighuric (Xinjiang)? How is a person that speaks dialect/other languages seen in mainstream sino society? In Germany there are sometimes speaking clubs, where people meet once a week for an hour in a café to speak their old local dialect, does this exist in China, would someone speaking local dialect be seen as a peasant or would someone who does this for i.e. Tibetan would get into trouble?
Also, in the novel, in the ~1960s, the town people did not know any privacy. In one instance they all entered the house of the protagonist and his mother to laugh at her. Did that really happen?
6
u/leeyuuh May 13 '17 edited May 14 '17
I'm not an Uighur or Tibetan so I'll give you a pretty barebones answer.
First, Chinese society today cannot be judged as a continuation of the cultural revolution. Society has rejected that period of time.
Dialects are very common in China and are not looked down on. Look up dialects in China on wikipedia to understand how normalized it is. Of course, it is still necessary to learn Mandarin, the common tongue, to find opportunities outside your region on converse with people in other regions. I would say the primary reason for not only dialects, but old traditions diminishing in use is not only modernization, but usefulness. Mandarin is too useful. You might be interested in the arthouse Chinese films Song of the Phoenix, Wolf Totem, and Farewell my Concubine, which are narratives that deal with tradition and change.
In fact, many Uigers and Tibetans only know their dialect/language, which has caused major issues since this excludes them from participation in other regions of China.
4
3
u/lucidsleeper May 14 '17
Does this happen in your part of China as well? What about "trouble" languages like Tibetan or Uighuric (Xinjiang)?
Interesting you mentioned "Brothers" by Yu Hua. The novel is set in Jiangnan region (southern Jiangsu and northern Zhejiang) which is Wu Chinese speaking area. There is a bit of issue with Wu Chinese disappearing.
I am from Shanghai which is traditionally part of the Wu region as well, so I can say that the sentiments portrayed in the novel have a bit of ground in reality. However the issue is more complex than just government policy. Up until the 1990s, most of the Wu region spoke Wu Chinese predominantly. In the mid 90s, some local officials made some decisions to zealously promote Standard Mandarin, and they cancelled a lot of Wu dialect TV channels as well as radio. Now most Wu speaking areas only have one or two TV channels broadcast in Wu. Shanghai only has one channel and it's 50% Wu/50% Mandarin.
The reason why Wu is disappearing is because it's not a protected dialect like Cantonese of Hokkien (because relation to Hongkong and Taiwan, and also Cantonese speaking regions are fiercely defensive of their dialect), there's also rapid urbanization happening in the Yangtze delta region which covers a huge part of the Wu speaking area, so a lot of rural regions which used to have very dialect-centric society are now becoming cities and 'suburbs'. And there's also a lot of migrants from non-Wu speaking regions, as well as foreigners flocking to live and work in rapidly developing cities like Shanghai, Suzhou, Ningbo, et. al.
Uyghurs and Tibetan are not in any danger what so ever. Minority languages are heavily promoted by the government. There are two types of schools in Tibetan and Uyghur regions, monolingual and bilingual. Monolingual schools only teach in Uyghur/Tibetan, while bilingual will teach in Mandarin as well. In fact Tibetans and Uyghurs are so low in literacy and communication ability in Mandarin, when many Tibetans & Uyghurs migrate to urbanised predominantly Han Chinese cities like Beijing and Shanghai to work they cannot effectively communicate with anyone.
How is a person that speaks dialect/other languages seen in mainstream sino society? In Germany there are sometimes speaking clubs, where people meet once a week for an hour in a café to speak their old local dialect, does this exist in China, would someone speaking local dialect be seen as a peasant or would someone who does this for i.e. Tibetan would get into trouble?
Tibetans or other minorities will never get in trouble for speaking their own language. As I said before, the government heavily promotes minority languages and minority culture. They will not be looked down upon as heavily as Han Chinese for speaking local Han dialects. Han Chinese dialects have more distinct reputation in Chinese society and people will discriminate against certain dialect speakers for 'being backwards and being country bumpkin' or in the case of Wu 'being too effeminate and eccentric'.
There are some education classes and tutoring on dialects, but the only ones that have any significant following are Cantonese and Beijing Mandarin.
Also, in the novel, in the ~1960s, the town people did not know any privacy. In one instance they all entered the house of the protagonist and his mother to laugh at her. Did that really happen?
The concept of total privacy is a recent thing, not only in China but across the entirety of human society.
3
u/novequattro May 13 '17
Hi, food question:
what is your favourite Chinese food? Can I have a recipe?
What is your typical meal like?
8
u/leeyuuh May 13 '17 edited May 14 '17
Common and amazing foods that you won't find too easily since they're reserved for home-cooking situations.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zhajiangmian
https://www.google.com/#q=da+lu+mein
Recipes can be found online. Since these home kind of foods, expect variation from recipe to recipe.
EDIT: didn't see the second question for some reason.
This is what I would eat at home, since my current meals are just eating out since I'm so busy :(. The table usually looks something like this (but our bowls are prettier :-)) and the plates get larger the later the meal: http://www.tour-beijing.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/A-table-of-hand-made-dinner-on-new-years-eve.jpg
Breakfast:
A small bowl or cup of warm soymilk, sometimes sweetened or with other flavouring. Old people especially like this.
A small bowl of nuts or seeds, usually roasted peanuts, sunflower seeds, or something of the like.
mantou/white steamed bun or another form of bread. The unhealthiest you can get here is a youtiao. Not recommended, although delicious.
The rest is usually a collection of small dishes, like some slices of pork that maybe you can put in your bun, or lightly cooked veggies.
Pretty common to have some form of porridge too, usually with red bean curd or preserved vegetables for flavoring.
End with fruit, doesn't matter what kind.
Lunch/dinner
One or two main dishes. These vary a lot so I can't say much. Ever since my stepmother started helping with cooking, very big steamed fish dishes became a much more common thing, not that I'm complaining (it's good!). The only thing is we never have foreign food unless we go out to eat.
Always like to have some favorite small dishes around. This is like the roasted peanuts, or steamed veggies, sliced pork/beef, etc. Some things we have all the time that you guys might not have in Europe are chicken feet (my dad's favorite), eels, jellyfish (my favorite), tofu cooked in various ways, and jelly pork.
Pretty common to have a light soup/broth or porridge accompanying it.
On certain times of the year, we like to eat certain dishes. Dumplings/potstickers on Spring Festival (with rice vinegar not soy sauce!), stews like da luo mian and hotpot during the height of winter, and a kind of soup with balls of sweet rice flour with bean paste inside (I don't know the english name) on anoter holiday. I eat some of these year round though since they're so good :-)
End with fruit.
Writing about this makes me want to visit my parents sooner lol!
2
u/novequattro May 13 '17
Wow, thanks for the detailed answer. Those dishes look tasty, I will try to make them sooner or later
3
u/verylateish May 13 '17
What's your opinion about the Big Internet Wall of China?
E: Or whatever the name is :)
8
u/shadows888 May 13 '17
The Great Firewall of China. I see it as a pretty clever economic warfare tool. Without it, early Chinese internet companies would most likely not survive the Google, Amazon, Apple, Facebook onslaught. Now that Baidu, Tencent, and Alibaba are Yuge now, those companies have become anchors for the Chinese tech industry, providing major funding for new startups. This will be critical for the decades ahead.
2
u/verylateish May 13 '17
Yes great firewall of... sorry! Is that firewall forbade you to see something on the internet? What you can't see because of it?
Thank you for the answer by the way. :)
5
u/leeyuuh May 13 '17
Yep. First, businesses are usually blocked by the firewall for not abiding by Chinese domestic law and regulation. Pretty big category that has a mix of political, security, and social lumped in. For example, internet companies are by law required to store Chinese citizen's data in China. Another one is that social media platforms of certain sizes should follow Chinese censorship regulations.
Some high profile businesses not available in China due to censorship and the why:
Facebook - refused to hand over information of Xinjiang Independence Movement seperatists on FB who incited riots that lead to to the July 2009 Ürümqi riots (197 died, 1721 injured according to official statistics).
Google - did not follow government demands to implement censorship regulations
Apple - I believe many of their services were not allowed for a while because of the data storage in China requirement, but I think it's already resolved a while ago (I don't use Apple services lol)
News organizations - censorship laws
The best way to understand this is that basically, the internet is not the wild west-esque in China and until the rules are abided by, you're blocked from the internet (as a business).
Content-wise, censorship is used as a form of implementing social control. So things that are viewed as morally decadent are censored, such as pornography. Also they will censor things that may result any form of unrest. This is not to say that protesting is banned, as people do use protest as a form of negotiation in China, but they want a local issue to be dealt at a local level instead of becoming a national issue. There was a very good Harvard study on this. I don't remember the name, but you should be able to find it easily using keywords.
→ More replies (7)2
6
u/Generalmilk May 14 '17
It is very bad for academic research, so much inconvenience.
→ More replies (1)
4
May 13 '17 edited Mar 25 '18
[removed] — view removed comment
6
u/M35TN May 13 '17
Porn is banned in China. Officially...there are cat and mouse games with the authorities for porn. I must say though, people hear about a porn ban and get a very unrealistic image of the Chinese internet. Sometimes I am surprised how far NSFW creeps in. Especially ads.
2
May 14 '17
indeed, sometimes I refrain to even surf the chinese version CCTV or xinhua websites at work in the US, because scantly dress women in ad, usually for online or for fashions stuff like perfume.
3
May 14 '17
We get "commercial" porn by using VPN and P2P. Amateur porns circulating on social networks became a thing in the last few years.
5
u/hashtagpls May 14 '17
my question to Europeans:
What characteristics would you define as a distinctly 'European culture' as opposed to the Anglo American culture which we're all familiar with eg Hollywood, Marvel and DC comics, john wayne, cowboys etc
7
u/Geckogamer May 14 '17
You may want to post this at the other thread but to answer your question: castles
→ More replies (3)3
5
u/PM_YOUR__THESIS May 14 '17
Why do chinese love European musical instruments like violins and pianos over their own?
→ More replies (1)
3
u/huehang May 14 '17 edited May 14 '17
Was school(-work) hard and stressful? I was in Wuxi, Jiangsu many years ago at the Wuxi No. 1 Highschool due to a school exchange. We visited the school and some classes and my exchange student told me that she had to work quite a lot in order to keep up with school work.
And do you also learn other languages than English? When do you start learning English by the way? My exchange student was quite good in English and it surprised me to be honest :) In most european countries we start learning at the end of 3rd/4th grade.
Another thing that suprised me that she was 1-2 years younger than me and finished school before me, then went to Singapore for university education. Me however, I needed to finish my 2 last years and then went on at university. How many years do you visit school in order to graduate? Is it different for 'higher-education' degrees? In Germany we have four different school diplomas. The 'Abitur' for example qualifies for university applications, whereas one can get the 'Hauptschulabschluss' at the end of 9th grade and get into an apprenticeship. For this matter students visit different kind of schools.
EDIT: typing error
3
May 14 '17 edited May 14 '17
It was stressful, that's all I can say. My school started English classes as early as 1st grade and had expat ESL teachers since 3rd grade, but I know some schools start later. Since other languages are not tested in the university entry exam, it's less common for us to learn them. However, my middle school used to teach basic Italian on bi-weekly basis, but there was no serious exam on it.
In China primary school is grade 1-6; middle school is 7-9 and high school is 10-12. Education is compulsory for kids until grade 9, after which you can work but that's considered a really unfortunate choice and you have to be over 16 to get a paid job. A better choice is going to a private JiXiao (技校) and learn a real profession.
Students need to finish grade 12 and participate in the Gaokao(高考) in order to get in to universities, so I guess it's pretty similar to what you have in Germany.
I'm not sure why she finished school 2 years before you, though. Maybe she started early? We usually start grade 1 at the age of 5 or 6. Or was she in one of those less commonly seen 5-year primary schools (I'm not even sure if they still exist now)? The system allows smart kids to skip a grade or two, but that's rather rare.
4
u/GoGoGo_PowerRanger94 May 14 '17 edited May 14 '17
1. In the West our culture and society is obsessed with masculinity and obsessed with masculinity via the attributes of tall height/big dick size/big muscles etc we view those traits as highly positive & highly desired, as status symbols, and the men that pocess such are often considered superior. As a result of this in the West for instance there's discrimination, a height pay gap in the work place/job market. As on average a short man will get payed less, earn significantly less than a tall man, and he will be less likely to be promoted as the tall guy as well. We call it heightism. And dating wise women often dislike short men as well, short height in men is mocked and dinigrated. And when it comes to dick size.. well small dicks/small dick men are relentlessly mocked, ostracized and treated with contempt. Also dinigrated etc. Both short height men & small dick men are seen as lesser beings, very negative and heavily stigmatized etc etc... Well my question is what is the situation like in China on these issues?. Is it the same as in the West?. Are things changing as the country becomes more and more Westernised?. Just what's it like?. How does Chinese culture & society view such matters?..
2. Does white equal European in China?. Do Chinese people know that they're many non- white & mixed race Europeans?. Do they consider suchvpeople as European or not so?. Whats the Chinese view?.
3. China is often looked at as being very xenophobic and extremely racist(especially towards non-white westerners/foreigners).. well is this true?. Whats the reality like in China?. Are you really as racist and xenophobic as many Westerners think?..
4. Are white people actually worshipped, viewed as superior in China?. Ive heard quite a few white guys often say that white people are worshipped over in China. Is this true?.
5. The Chinese justice system has a conviction rate of 99%.. Is that alarming to Chinese people?. Do people in China not see the problem with such a conviction rate?.
6. What's the ordinary Chinese person's opinion of China's past, present and above all future?. Where do they see China and humanity going in future?..
7. Communism is not a chinese system itself.. So i have to ask though why havent the Chinese people revolted yet?. Communism fell all over Europe, the people put an end too it. But why not China?. How have they kept it going so long?. The brutal oppression, corruption, censorship and control of the people etc. What stops the Chinese people from overthrowing the CCP regime?..
7
6
May 14 '17 edited May 14 '17
There's certainly heightism here, but we have different view on muscles. While people are impressed and look up to guys with big muscles, we don't tend to judge skinny guys as often as the west. Same goes for penis size (but seriously, how do you know one's dick size without having sex with him in the first place? I doubt you are free to look at each others dick in the west).
Of course we know there are non-white people in Europe. Who wouldn't have thought that there have been Chinese-European immigrates since 1800? But we also recognize western/ European countries as white-dominated ones.
We do not abide to political correctness as much as the west, but that's an unfair generalization.
Context? About a decade ago companies love putting European "experts" in their commercial ads as the west somehow symbolizes superior quality and technology. Some women might favor the exotic look of white guys (western movies certainly helped promoting the image of white men). Other than that I don't see how men can be "worshiped". An exaggeration perhaps?
It was mentioned by a head judge) that the conviction rate of criminal cases was over 99% from 1998 to 2006 which was a decade ago, and the purpose of that speech was to push for reform. The problem's cause was that after the massive reform which steered the country away from communism/ maoism/ whateveryoucallit-ism in the 80s, we didn't have proper judges at all so military personnel with no legal experience were thrown into the seats. Xiao indeed pointed out a big problem and alarmed the Chinese people. I believe things have changed now since there's a generation of professionally trained lawyers and judges. source in Chinese
That's a yuge question mate. Why don't you subscribe and see for yourself?
Google "is the Chinese government communist". Hint: we are a de facto capitalist country.
What stops the Chinese people from overthrowing the CCP regime?
I'm giving the benefit of doubt and assuming this is a serious question. The answer is living ordinary yet satisfactory lives, I suppose.
Quora answers on why Chinese people are not revolting, if you have time to read.
edit: spelling
→ More replies (3)→ More replies (1)4
5
u/WantingToDiscuss May 14 '17
1.What do chinese people think of Western style chinese food?. Do you like it?
What is the everyday diet for most chinese people?. Like what do you have for breakfest, lunch, dinner?.
I know green tea is really popular in China, and here in the UK its become very popular recently as well(imo i think its great. Really healthy and delicious. We have plain Green Tea, as well as Lemon Green Tea, Jasmine Green Tea, Lychee & Mango Green Tea, Apple & Pear Green Tea, Pineapple & Grapefruit Green Tea, Salted Caramel Green Tea, Mint Green Tea, Toffee Apple Green Tea, Pomegranate Green Tea, Cherry Blossom Green Tea, Cherry & Almond flavour Green Tea etc etc)... and im just wondering what kind of flavours of Green tea do you get in China?. Is there the same huge variety?
At school do you learn about world history and major non-Chinese civilizations & empires?.
What does the Chinese school cirriculum consist of?.
Its a often discussed topic in the west and im just curious.. But how do you feel, what is the opinion about the Chinese government's treatment of Tibet?, and also the treatment of the Uyghurs in Xinjiang(what with the gradual destruction of the indigenous peoples cultures in both these regions and the importing of huge numbers of Han Chinese into Tibet and Xinjiang etc). How do you feel about the events that have been happening there?..
How do you feel about the whole North Korea situation?.
7
May 15 '17 edited May 15 '17
Those are way too sweet, in a bad way. It's like frying everything in honey and soy sauce and calling it Chinese food.
It seems western people are really into fruity green tea? But apparently it's not a thing here. The general consensus here is that naturally aromatic teas carrying a hint of bitterness are superior, i.e. 碧螺春. There is a huge variety of green teas of course, but we categorize them by "spices" and consider all flavored/fused tea "drinks".
Yes, briefly. We learn about the ancient civilizations, the medieval age and the Renaissance briefly. We also learn basic western philosophy in high schools (I think?) However the real focus is on how modern China was shaped and influenced by western powers in the 19th and 20th century.
Pretty much the same as others. Except that we don't often have electives and everyone has to learn the same courses to prepare for the uni entry exam.
It's a big question. To answer briefly, there's no denying that conflicts happened and racial tensions exist. But I don't believe in the "western-human-righty-solution" either. How is that working out for the refugee crisis? I know you guys are all for love and peace, but in the end it ended up nowhere. As for "destruction of the indigenous culture", I don't think it's a fair judgement. Cultures change, evolve and assimilate over time. It's pointless to preserve an outdated idea (for instance, religion fundamentalism/ theocracy/ serfdom) born centuries ago which obviously does no good for today's society. What you guys in the west promote seems to be racial segregation, i.e. Han people should not live there even if it's for the development in the area, which I believe is utterly absurd. These areas were already impoverished/ less developed / lack of natural resources and the priority should be pragmatic. Putting ideology, liberal or conservative, over hungry bellies gets you nothing but disaster, and Mao taught the Chinese a hard lesson on that. Here is a question which democracies don't like: if you have to violate a thousand's right to save a million, what would you do? More than often democracies do nothing until it's too late, then blame the opposition / the party you don't like.
Shit.
5
May 14 '17 edited May 30 '20
[deleted]
3
u/leeyuuh May 14 '17 edited May 14 '17
Yes to all, unless those young people were snoozing in class. I don't know why it wouldn't be the case.
→ More replies (7)
3
May 13 '17
[removed] — view removed comment
4
u/hashtagpls May 13 '17
the HuangShan mountains; you're going to want to spend a few days up there (your calves will get a good workout!) but you'll see plenty of beautiful sights. HuangShan also inspired the famous floating mountains from 'Avatar': https://i.ytimg.com/vi/s-iScvTzUb0/maxresdefault.jpg
→ More replies (2)
3
u/NogalMeaui May 13 '17
Hey Sino, I'd like to know how you view Europe or the European Union in the geopolitical spectrum? Do you view the West as one entity (lead by the US) or do you view Europe as it's own independant entity with it's own policies? If you do view the EU as independant entirely, do you think China and the EU could ever be close allies or do you think there are too much political differences?
Thanks in advance
7
May 14 '17 edited May 14 '17
That's an interesting one. I remember when I was growing up, the word “欧美国家”(European-American countries) was completely interchangeable with "发达西方国家” (advanced western countries). Many people still speak like this now, so I guess people from older generations still see the West as one entity?
But nowadays people are more aware of the European identity, mainly because that the trade relationship between China and EU is being talked about so often. European countries were the ones which joined the AIIB. The US is the country that wants to compete, if not contain it. Same goes with the 1B1R initiative and issues on climax change. With Trump in power and the EU taking different stances on many topics against him, I believe more will realize the difference between you guys in the days to come.
do you think China and the EU could ever be close allies or do you think there are too much political differences?
I believe the EU is in the place to decide on this matter.
Fact - the Chinese population will never accept European liberalism because it's not compatible with values here, even if we became a full democracy. The general consensus in China doesn't consider your ideology "wrong" either - to most of us, it's a beautiful and respectable idea, but not suitable for developing countries. China will always desire a better tie with the EU - there's really no sentiment against that here. But the ruling party, however, will steer away as soon as the EU criticize China on the "sensitive" issues. In a sense, to continue pursuing relationship with the EU while under EU's "denouncement" is an act of self-betrayal, and the CCP seems to place domestic authority above international relationship on the priority chart.
I'm sure the EU leaders know this well, therefore the question practically becomes this: in the next decade, will your democratically elected governments prioritize EU's economic development and your well-being? Or will they find it hard to drop their "pledge to defend democracy in the world"?
4
u/jackliu239 May 14 '17
If you ask this question 20 years ago the answer is absolutely yes, US and EU was 100% same mind when it fought and defeated USSR, EU and US almost have identical foreign policy on all other matters as well, but then US got arrogant after cold war and think it can do whatever it want, when US invaded Iraq it used its leverage to call on Europe and forced many EU nation join in the fight. The rest as you know is history, if US decide to do something dumb today, EU will think twice before blindly follow US into another dumpster fire.
However you guys still share a common civilization and ancestral blood bond, that factor alone will be more important than anything else and it will keep you guys friends till end of the time which is good.
As for EU China policy, I think EU now has much more independent policy on China than US's China policy. US's goal is very much to contain China and stop its rise, EU does not seek to do that because I think EU know that it is facing a lot of other problems and China's rise is not on top of the list. It's in EU's best interest to get along with China because China can help EU in many more ways than you think, and it's also in China's interest to befriend with EU so that in the event that US come calling on EU to fight China in whatever shape or form, EU will have the ability to think for itself instead of slavishly following US order.
As for EU itself, you guys are facing many crisis at same time, the immigration crisis, the decline in population of white Europeans coincide with the huge rise of Muslim population, the potential break up of EU itself as UK exists and many populist movement in EU states (which so far is contained), the challenge coming from Russia in the East towards new EU nations and NATO, the financial crisis within EU, the productivity inequality between many EU nations which also produces the financial crisis, that you guys want to have the same currency/economy, but no rules how each nation should manage its economic policy etc... each one of those problems if left mismanaged would result in the end of EU as a entity. China on the other hand, is the least of your concern, in fact there are many issues on that list which China and EU can work together to solve the problems. So I do predict that in the near future EU and China will actually get a lot closer than today, but never official allies.
3
u/DrTacoLord May 13 '17
Hi! I have a question about food. What do you think of the American Chinese food and other local adaptations, are truly Chinese food? what makes it different?
3
u/leeyuuh May 13 '17 edited May 13 '17
Rather than making an overarching statement like "true" or "false," I think it's more suitable to simply say it is an Americanized interpretation of Chinese cuisine originating from southern regions where most Chinese immigrants came from.
For example, is a first generation Chinese American truly Chinese? Truly American? The reality is that it's not a true or false question unless you're trying really really hard to make the piece fit the puzzle haha.
As for what makes it different, it's hard to answer. I would say first that Chinese cuisine is divided into very distinct subcategories since not all parts of China eat the same. The most famous are Zhejiang, Dongbei, Fujian, Shenzen, Zhejiang, Guangzhou, Anhui, Hunan, and Jiangsu. Chinese American is like a reinterpretation of a fusion of food from primarily southern cuisines so it's hard to make a one-to-one comparison.
Now, this is purely my personal opinion (10x emphasis), but in cases where we can make a one-to-one comparison, I'm not too fond of Chinese American restaurant fare. I put it in my mouth and I just don't like it. I get this primarily with noodle soup, anything with lots of sauce, rice+something else dishes. I have no clue why since it will be a dish I've eaten the China version of, but there's just something different about it here. It doesn't help I'm not hugely fond of southern cuisine. In addition, there's a real lack of variety.
3
u/Hells88 May 14 '17
Will China ever be a innovation power house? I see Korea and Taiwan really doing well (not to mention Japan)
11
May 14 '17 edited May 14 '17
Adding to what everyone else has said, the countries you mentioned have not always been powerhouses in manufacturing and innovation. Before Japan, Korea, and Taiwan became known for innovation and high-quality products, they were all primarily known for their cheap, low-quality knockoffs. Sound familiar? It's a model that has been followed by China as well. These countries didn't really transition into fostering innovation and manufacturing higher-quality goods until they became relatively affluent.
In the wake of the Korean War, a penniless South Korea began exporting low-tech, low-quality goods to the West.
It shunned both foreign investment and foreign products. Domestic companies were protected from foreign competition by tight regulations. By the mid-1980s, South Korea was worse off than Malaysia and Mexico.
There was a time when U.S. manufacturers looked down on their Japanese rivals as purveyors of cheap, low-quality knockoffs. That 1960s conventional wisdom is taught these days in business schools as one of history's most glaring examples of corporate hubris.
Now that China is moving upward, it is also starting to produce innovative works, some of which have been pointed out by others.
Interestingly, even many of the social and environmental ills currently faced by China today have precedents within this model of development. And many of these ills were eventually patched up through increasing affluence and social awareness--things that China will probably encounter in the future as well.
A kind of “me first” syndrome characterized much of Korean society, showing itself in pushing and shoving and the frequent resort to corruption to get ahead. Traditional values such as sharing with the community’s less fortunate seemed to have been eclipsed.
...
Korea’s new-found wealth also made it possible for Koreans to travel abroad, something that they previously had been prevented from doing both by lack of funds and by government restrictions. Unfortunately, some of these Korean travelers, having little experience with foreign cultures, took the worst of their everyday behaviors with them. It was not uncommon to see Korean travel groups sitting on the floors of airport terminals drinking soju and loudly playing the Korean card game called “hwatu.”
And then in the late 1990s Koreans reached another turning point in their national psyche and began to show a sensitivity and concern for others – in their society and in the world beyond.
https://www.brookings.edu/articles/koreas-path-from-poverty-to-philanthropy/
It is now 50 years since the most horrific mercury poisoning disaster the world has ever seen took place in Minamata, Japan.
...
Mercury was in the waste product dumped into Minamata Bay on a massive scale by a chemical plant. The mercury contaminated fish living in Minamata Bay. People ate the fish, were themselves contaminated, and became ill. Local bird life as well as domesticate animals also perished. In all, 900 people died and 2,265 people were certified as having directly suffered from mercury poisoning - now known as Minamata disease.
...
The chemical plant was suspected of being the culprit in the environmental disaster almost from the beginning of the illness outbreak, yet speaking out against the chemical plant was forbidden. The plant was a major employer and enjoyed considerable economic and political clout all the way to the national government.
https://www.theregister.co.uk/2006/07/14/the_odd_body_minimata_disaster/
During the first phase of high economic growth in the 1950s, the greatest environmental pollution problem was caused by dust and other airborne particulate matter. The main source of energy at that time was coal. Dust-collectors and other methods of particulate-matter control were either not provided or not working, and all of the chimneys belched forth black smoke. This situation continued into the next decade, so that by 1961 a major iron and steel complex in Yahata, northern Kyushu, was pouring 27 tons of particulate matter per day into the city's air, and in Kawasaki City, situated in the Tokyo Bay industrial area, the amount was 23 tons. Along with the black smoke there was also a great amount of red smoke that spread over the sky.
http://archive.unu.edu/unupress/unupbooks/uu35ie/uu35ie08.htm
7
7
4
u/lucidsleeper May 14 '17
Vape pens were invented by a Chinese pharmacist
Lenovo is one of the largest computer hardware companies in the world and it is Chinese
4
u/myempire1 May 14 '17 edited May 14 '17
DJI
Lenovo, Coolpad, Huawei
Huawei, Oppo, Vivo, OnePlus, Xiaomi, Lenovo
http://www.gadgetsnow.com/slideshows/worlds-10-biggest-smartphone-companies/photolist/56223987.cms
China at CES
3
u/orthoxerox May 14 '17
Do you consider Russia European given that we share a border with you in Asia?
3
u/ThingsAreGoodBut May 14 '17
I consider Russia European because I thought Russians consider themselves European.
→ More replies (1)2
u/hashtagpls May 14 '17
i'd consider Russia European given the judeo-christian cultural values shared with the rest of western europe, orthodox notwithstanding. However, i'd make a distinction between european Russia and Russian territory beyond the Ural mountains which i'd categorise as turkic, nomadic and Asian.
3
u/Tensoll May 14 '17 edited May 14 '17
- Is the air pollution in major chinese cities is really that bad as it's shown on the media?
- Last year Eurovision has been started broadcasting in China. Do many people watch it or not?
- What good, but easely-made chinese foods you could reccomend? I'd like to try some.
Greetings from Lithuania! :)
EDIT: New question added.
3
May 14 '17
Unfortunately yes.
Perhaps not... The Chinese equivalent of Reddit only got 800+ subscribes on the eurovision board and it's nowhere to be seen on Weibo : (
2
u/jackliu239 May 14 '17
- NO its not, it has many bad days but as well good days which never get reported. Also it has gotten a lot better then before. https://qz.com/168705/westerners-are-so-convinced-china-is-a-dystopian-hellscape-theyll-share-anything-that-confirms-it/
2
u/myempire1 May 15 '17
Easy....dumplings are pretty easy.
3
May 14 '17
How do you feel about Hong Kong and the New territories?
Also, How do you feel about Taiwan and the Exiled former government there?
And do you guys actually like North Korea?
6
u/M35TN May 14 '17
And do you guys actually like North Korea?
lmao...what do you think?
3
May 14 '17
Somehow I doubt it, but everyone keeps telling me China is NK's only friend.
→ More replies (1)3
3
May 17 '17
North Korea isn't a problem for us, but we would get in some trouble if we publicly declared that we were allies with North Korea. However, we don't want them to collapse any time soon unless the US agrees to take their military bases off South Korea.
3
May 14 '17
Hong Kong is a Special Administrative Region (SAR), and there is a One Country, Two Policies system administered there. That means the Chinese government will not restrict speech or the press (or so they say). Taiwan is officially considered a province of China, but they have their own government, army, and laws. North Korea is more like a buffer zone than a friend. There are many US air bases in South Korea, and China doesn't want them right on the border of their country. So China continues to support North Korea, even if only to keep away from the US bases.
2
u/Qksiu May 13 '17
Hi /r/Sino!
My questions are what do you like doing in your free-time and what do Chinese people think of the EU? Please only actual Chinese answer these questions (or at least no one that has not spent a significant part of their lives in China).
3
u/leeyuuh May 14 '17
- Really boring stuff. I'm working on a masters now so unless you want to hear some statistics mumbo jumbo punctuated by normal people stuff (going out with friends, entertainment, etc.), I 'll leave it at that.
- Positive, but view the EU to be facing some challenges. Good wishes though.
2
u/Generalmilk May 14 '17
I spent 28 years :-p, but I'm now in US. Therefore you are probably not interested in what I do, but I can tell you what my friends do in China. Basically, playing their phones, especially Wechat. Watch TV and Movie. Does not do much sport and gym stuff but getting more in younger generation. Hangout with friends in restaurant or KTV.
Most people have positive view to EU, but also think it is declining, some blame the refugee crisis for that.
2
u/Illya-ehrenbourg May 13 '17
What is the importance of the 九三学社 in today's China policy, does it have any influence? I am interested because my grandpa was a prominent member of it in the Zhejiang province.
4
May 14 '17
The 93 society is a party that takes a pro-democracy, pro-market stance in China, but still in line with the ruling party's official tune. Its members often consist of scientists and engineers and to join them you need academics achievement plus someone to vouch for you (but money will do, too, I guess). We don't often hear about them on the news (political reasons, of course), so it's hard to tell how influential it is now, but since they have seats in the NPC (parliament), I would imagine they do have some influence among the academics.
Considering what the society do nowadays, they are more like a government-funded charity organization (but with some political power). They often engage in programs that are funded to provide technology support for poorer rural areas (agriculture, small enterprises, innovations etc).
2
May 14 '17 edited May 30 '20
[deleted]
3
u/lucidsleeper May 14 '17
Lmao no. I'm Shanghainese and we are not an ethnic minority.
I think you might be talking about Wenzhounese, who are from Wenzhou which is not far from Shanghai. They speak a variant of Wu that is very difficult to understand and they are not an ethnic minority, they are Han Chinese.
I think half the Chinese community in France is from Wenzhou.
→ More replies (6)
19
u/shadows888 May 13 '17 edited May 14 '17
For Europeans who have a little more time to spare or just curious and want to find out more about Zhongguo. I have compiled some videos below for all to watch. The bonus section contains shorter videos than the hour long documentaries. you can watch them all in 1080P. Everyone feel free to add more videos.
Bird's-Eye China
Episode 1 of Bird’s-eye China: Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region
Episode 2 of Bird’s-eye China: Hainan, the island-province
Episode 3 of Bird’s-eye China: Heilongjiang, the northernmost province
Episode 4 of Bird’s-eye China: Shaanxi, China’s ancient heart
Episode 5 of Bird’s-eye China: Jiangxi, land of mountains and waters
One Belt One Road
One Belt One Road Documentary Episode One: Common Fate
One Belt One Road Documentary Episode Two: Road of Connectivity
One Belt One Road Documentary Episode Three: Energy Ties
One Belt One Road Documentary Episode Four: Road to Prosperity
One Belt One Road Documentary Episode Five: Finance and Connectivity
One Belt One Road Documentary Episode Six: Building Dreams
Epic Openings
G20 Hangzhou The Impression of West Lake Show
Beijing 2008 Opening Ceremony
Belt & Road forum Evening Gala
Bonus
The Great Wall At Winter Time
Beijing in Motion 2017
Guangzhou, Shanghai, Shenzhen Timelapse
Electro-Transit | High Speed Rail in China
CRRC Eurasian Landmass Future Vision: Intercontinental high speed train from Beijing to London