Axioms can help a lot to simplify
daily decisions and make life easier. Coming to China has put me in a new
position where I had to reevaluate all the axioms I thought to be self-evident.
Nevertheless, after a year, I’ve found that these few things can be generally
accepted as true… at least in China.
1. If
it’s a simple problem, then I’ll make it my problem.
BUT if it’s a difficult problem,
then it’s your problem.
Frustrating regardless of the
problem you have, the axiom is probably the most common. If I have a simple
question about something as basic as what day is spring festival, everybody
will answer me at the same time, ironically complicating this simple answer. If
somebody is sick, everybody and their mother and their mother’s mother will
flock to give the most mind-dullingly obvious advice such as, “you should
rest,” “wear more clothes,” or simply, “maybe you should see the doctor.” So
when you feel very much in control of the situation, you are battered with help
until you have a new problem that you can’t fix.
Nevertheless, when you have a
problem like, the very NON-hypothetical, leaking apartment above you, there is
nobody to give you any help. The upstairs neighbor isn’t at home, their
next-door neighbor closes the door without even responding when you ask for the
missing culprit’s phone number, and your building manager says that the problem
is between you and the neighbor. It seems that the fear of failure and nebulous
sense of responsibility create the perfect storm for people to just pass the
buck on big problems and play superhero in the face of a simple problem.
2. The
most obvious solution is taken before the best solution
Often, the only difference between
the first solution and the best solution is a matter of 5 minutes of reflection
before acting. Legend has it that
Abraham Lincoln once said, “If I had eight hours to cut down a tree, I’d spend
the first six sharpening my axe.” In China, the attitude is more like, “If I
had eight hours to cut down a tree, then… whack!, whack!, whack!, whack!,
whack!…” Last year, my friend’s bathroom light burned out. As further proof of axiom number one,
her school got involved with the banal task of replacing a light bulb. The
electrician came, but he didn’t have the proper light bulb for the
replacement. No worries however,
because he had another bulb with a new socket to match. He then proceeded to rip the previous
socket out of the ceiling, wire in the new socket, and replace the bulb. Unfortunately, this socket used a
different current than the previous socket, and her light bulbs were now
burning out every 3-4 days. When
she called back to report this new, bigger problem, the response was… “then
replace the bulbs every 3-4 days. Then there is no problem.”
3. Chinese women are pretty pathetic
This axiom is of course more of a
generalization, but it is nevertheless a widely true one. Coming from a society
which promotes strong, independent women, AND a subculture where the women will
often outperform the men, it is very shocking how horribly pathetic the “women”
are here. I’m amazed when girls here shy away from stopping a slowly rolling
basketball, miss class for stomachaches, and live with their coddling parents
until the day they become dependent on their new husband. Not only will girls
sport crutches when they have a scraped knee, but they will whine about it as
well. For some reason, the word for “pathetic” doesn’t translate well into
Chinese… nevertheless, there is a word in Chinese for “faking being pathetic”
which doesn't translate well into English. Fake pathetic-ness is unfortunately
seen as cute and attractive by a lot of girls and some boys, who prefer to
fulfill the complimentary chauvinist role in the relationship with their
whiney, dependant, and clingy girlfriends.
I’m regularly asked,
“Do you want to marry a Chinese girl?” To be honest, I would happily marry a girl of Chinese
ethnicity, but as far as the typical woman with a Chinese view of ‘femininity’ goes, I find Chinese women pretty pathetic. There is a strong case to be made however for the toughness of country women here. It seems that (at least in Guizhou province) a Chinese woman will either have a sense of self-reliance or a formal education... there's not much overlap to the Venn diagram.
4. Leopard
print is never ever fashionable.
This isn’t just a Chinese axiom,
but I’m more and more reminded of it when I go out daily and see somebody who
thinks that “matching” implies a 100% fabric and pattern overlap. Not only is
this person confusing equivalence and matching, but they have also chosen to
wrap themselves in a low-quality imitation of an animal who has itself adapted
so that others wouldn’t notice the pattern it was wearing. The camouflage of a
leopard should not be the bold statement of a human… unless that statement is,
“I am pretending to be a large feline predator hiding in the jungle!”
Trigg, you are so very witty....
ReplyDeleteI can totally relate to the pathetic nature of Chinese girls. Those who become 'westernized' take such pride in being independent.
So tough in their world.
Funny too about leopard print...it does look funny.
seems like you're getting your fill of China and Chinese.
enjoy your final months.
Nice post, Trigg. I particularly like #3, as I feel more or less the same way. I have some weights in my apartment that students and friends (all female) gawk at when they see them for the first time. I always ask them, "Do you want to try to use them or pick one up?" Their response is always a horrified look, followed by an explanation that they don't want to develop any muscles that you can see.
ReplyDeleteWhen posed the question, "Would you ever want to marry a Chinese girl?", I usually respond, "Would a Chinese girl ever want to marry me?" After considering how well we would match together once the novelty of my blue eyes wear off, there's usually not much left to list.
So when shrieks of 嘿,帅哥,我喜欢你的眼睛哦!come from across the street, it's hard to opt for anything but 哎,我听腻了!