We are on an airplane. As our flight attendant filled a minor request for us we commented “she is really the 'typical
Chinese' that we mostly interact with: young, bright-eyed, happy, cheerful,
smiling, well groomed, looks nice." We would also add: well raised, polite,
helpful, kind, optimistic, educated, disciplined, inquiring, reserved and so
very hopeful about their future. They are proud of their ancient culture and they are proud of their country today.
They create a wonderful and positive
impression of what China is and how it will be even better in
the future. Some come from poverty, some from very modest backgrounds,
some from the middle class (which lives like the American middle class of
he 60s), and some from wealthy backgrounds. But they all have big dreams and
ambitions which they see others constantly achieve and know that they can too.
Look at this picture or others of our students and friends from other posts of this blog. This describes
them. This also describes most of those we encounter and interact with
in their 30’s and 40’s.
Older Chinese generally receive a different
description. In the same way American “Greatest Generation” was marked by being raised during the depression and living WWII, older
Chinese are marked even more so by WWII, The Great Leap Forward,
and the Cultural Revolution. They are from a different time, a different world,
a different culture and have known poverty and difficulties beyond our experience. We have been touched by much of what we have read and especially
by occasional first and second person accounts we have heard. Their outlook, demeanor and behavior contrasts dramatically with the youth.
Interesting! What a great experience you are having.
ReplyDeleteIt doesn't sound like there is a particular yearning for intellectual or political or artistic freedom in these youth. Is party membership an issue like in the old Soviet Union? Are the wealthier kids from 'party' families? Perhaps you can't answer...
ReplyDeleteOne of my students put it so well when she said in class one day, "We also have freedom of speech in China; you just are more free to say more."
ReplyDeleteThings have changed so much in the last decade that I think the vast majority of Chinese feel quite free. Things are just different.
Our students, as typical Chinese, have been raised SOOOOO very strictly. And every option in life gets more limited every time they take a test. Not a lot of do-overs like in America. Most of our students want to do graduate school in the west for what they consider superior schooling and would have loved to have done it as undergrads except it is almost impossible to work out.
As high achieving kids, they mostly belong to the party as a prerequisite for their careers. A huge % of jobs are connected to the party. They do have Mao Theory classes.
They are extremely proud of their country. Both for its cultural history as well as for its modern accomplishments. They have little knowledge of its history in the 50s-70s. They like and admire America. I have never traveled where Americans have been more welcome - but me speaking Chinese or them speaking English would make life so much easier!