Recently, I landed in Shanghai after being separated for three years thanks to SATs, extracurriculars, and school. The atmosphere is different; the air breathes with a moist wind, the rain punctures you right as you step outside. That is when you know you’re in a different place, its own place with its own laws and its own cultures.
I'm a banana. It means I was born and raised in the states, yet I have ethnic Chinese blood running through my veins. I am more culturally aware of American habits and standards than I am of Chinese culture. I know nothing of the Lunar Festival, but know everything about Christmas Day. I can't remember the Chinese Zodiac but I can recite every horoscope and its descriptions. Yellow on the outside but white on the inside.
However, China is not as bad as everyone thinks it is. Even I was surprised that the economy is booming, skyscrapers are growing, and culture is continuously developing. That goes to say, the city of Shanghai is cleaner than it has ever been. Unlike what the stereotype construes, Chinese people do not poop on the streets or arbitrarily destroy property. True, there are some people who behave ill-manneredly, but you can't generalize an entire country. Especially so because China is such a big country with different cultures imbued within different provinces. I was curious about those who weren't as well-mannered, but after asking my family who’ve lived in most provinces, it is because they do not know any better. There are some people who have never gone to school because they couldn't afford an education. School is a privilege, not a right. For those who aren’t as fortunate, they’ll have to climb miles and miles of mountains, walk through dirt and mud and feces with no shoes, and even travel the road when it’s raining or flooding. And that’s only if you’re lucky enough to be enrolled in school. Meaning, that's only if you have the money for school. But with popular media, propaganda often portray the worst parts of China. That ALL Chinese are poor-mannered, rude, and loud.
The Chinese are not rude; they are very practical. They get things done efficiently and effectively, as they've learned their whole life. It may come off as rude to foreigners who haven't experienced this type of treatment, but for locals, it's just like going to the grocery store. For example, some people push others on the subway to get in. This seems bad, doesn’t it? But wait! Let’s try to understand it a little more. Being pushed to get in is the only way to get in. It is what they have learned from when they were little, or they'll have to skip their stop and wait for a less-crowded time (which is unrealistic as most of the time the subways are filled with people). Pushing is sort of a last resort- only used during extreme rush hour when every limb of people's bodies are touching on another. Interviewing my friends who were born and raised in China, they are expectant of these actions and are indifferent to it unless they’ve had a bad day. Though I, a banana, don’t necessarily like these customs, who am I to comment or even insult a culture that I wasn’t born in and do not know? I am only to observe from afar and keep my opinions to myself. I was not raised in this society; it is not mine to judge.
My grandpa used to tell me, “Talk louder! Nobody can hear you!” And thanks, G. I am now an excellent public speaker and can easily earn points on my oral examinations because I present myself with a confident and booming voice. Like my younger self and every other family in China live many many generations of children and adults. This is typically called the traditional family. It emphasizes the connectedness of the generations and has long been a common sight within families. So when someone (usually younger) speaks softly, that means the older generations with bad hearing will not be able to hear them. Moreover, in the humid and hot temperatures of China, talking softly won’t even be heard by the neighborhood trees. By talking loudly ensures that the opposing party will hear and understand, especially if the family has many older generations within it. Even more, in Chinese culture, speaking loudly and clearly shows respect. It means that you are conscientious that the elderly are hard to hear and that you try to make it easier for them to understand you. Unfortunately in the states it is very looked down upon. Even I sometimes am infuriated by my mother's yelling voice in the supermarket asking, "Angela! Angela!!! ANGELA!!!! WHERE DID YOU GO?!?!?!" It is so loud when it doesn't have to be- mom, I can clearly hear you. But I always try to remember. It is how she was raised. She could change to become a more soft-spoken person, but I am not going to force her to change so that she can assimilate into the states' growing melting-pot.
Did you know that by stereotyping such a large country undermines everything that they have worked for? Did you know that China isn’t a collective culture? It is split up into different provinces each with their own cities. Every province has its own dialect and its own location, seasons, and food, allowing the country to flourish in millions and millions of cultures.
I hope that one day people will try and understand the Chinese more rather than simply and easily giving into the stereotypes that destroy and undermine its culture. China is much more than rude, loud, and poor-mannered people with squatting toilets and prodigies and dirty cities. Unfortunately the rise of social media also denotes the rise of propaganda. All I ever see on Facebook are the rude, loud, and poor-mannered people. So I implore you all to actually take a trip to China- to Shanghai, Beijing, Nanjing, Xi'An, Hangzhou, Shenzhen. China has so many different opportunities in each province and each city, like Shanghai having towering buildings as tall and as fancy as the ones in New York. Its street food and local food are so mouth-watering and amazing that it’s probably the number one reason why I keep coming back. And don’t forget the famous sightseeing locations and its easy-to-use subway transportation. Hey, it’s almost as if we’re talking about New York here!
