ForumsWEPR[necro]Do you have any questions to ask a Chinese?

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Jiangyao
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Jiangyao
15 posts
Nomad

I will do my best to answer.

  • 79 Replies
sensanaty
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sensanaty
1,094 posts
Nomad

First of all: I don't think mods like these kind of threads, they can easily cause spam

Secondly: A OP has to be 7+ words long, otherwise it is considered spam, and will get locked

Thirdly: Why does the fact that you are Chinese increase the chance of anyone wanting to post here?

nichodemus
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nichodemus
14,981 posts
Grand Duke

Well Sens, maybe because there is already an Ask A Muslim thread.....

master565
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master565
4,107 posts
Nomad

What happens to a child if he is born to a family that already has a child?

nichodemus
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nichodemus
14,981 posts
Grand Duke

So you guys eat pandas, right? I thought I heard that you do..


As a fellow person of Chinese blood....I hope you are making a sarcastic remark...even if it is, it smacks a little of bad taste...
zakyman
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zakyman
1,631 posts
Peasant

First of all, are you living in China? If so, than I have a whole load of other questions for you.

nichodemus
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nichodemus
14,981 posts
Grand Duke

What happens to a child if he is born to a family that already has a child?


A) It really depends. The rule mostly applies to the urban folk. Rural people are allowed to have a second child, if the first is a girl or suffers disabilities, though birth spacing of 3 to 4 years is encouraged.

B) Wealthier families can pay the government to let them have a second child.

C)Children born in overseas countries are not counted under the policy if they do not obtain Chinese citizenship. Chinese citizens returning from abroad can have a second child.

D) Certain provinces have relaxed the rule and allow parents who are single children to have two children, for example Beijing and Henan.

E)A fine is levied upon people who have more than one kid, though the elites tend to get away. The fine is based on a rather complex calculation. Generally the fine for a child born above the birth quota that year is thus a multiple of, depending upon the locality, either urban resident disposable income or peasant cash income estimated that year by the local statistics.

Sources: Daily Interactions with Chinese scholars, Wikipedia, and of course personal experiences living in China for a month or so.

First of all, are you living in China? If so, than I have a whole load of other questions for you.


Judging from his username Zaky, yes he is from China. Either that or he is part of the Chinese diaspora like moi. I can supplement his answers if he can't translate them to English properly.
sensanaty
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sensanaty
1,094 posts
Nomad

In what region of China is it best to live in if you are a:
A) Peasant
B) Person with average income
C) Person with substantially high income ?

nichodemus
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nichodemus
14,981 posts
Grand Duke

I can answer C.

Shanghai or Beijing are good places to live. Lots of foreigners live that, hence it has developed a Western feel over the years, especially Shanghai, even in the 1930s, there were up to 100,000 foreigners thriving in Shanghai, the largest portion fleeing from Russia. In fact they even had a term for foreigners living in Shanghai - Shanghailander. Though these decreased because of WWII, the Shanghai Census indicated more than 150,000 foreigners living in Shanghai as of 2009. What better place to be than a cosmopolitan one?

As the commercial and financial hub of China, it is extremely modern, classy and well....apt for the rich to meet, kick back and enjoy mocktails. Big steel-glass buildings in the postmodern fashion.

Having one of the best education, transport and medical systems in the country does help as well.

loco5
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loco5
16,288 posts
Peasant

How do you feel about all that easily cured cancer that you get from the factory pollution around? Has China even tried stopping or controlling it?

nichodemus
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nichodemus
14,981 posts
Grand Duke

How do you feel about all that easily cured cancer that you get from the factory pollution around? Has China even tried stopping or controlling it?


Can't actually answer from the POV of an actual PRC citizen. But it was extremely bad on my lungs even living in Beijing for a while for me. Even in the city area, the smog can sometimes tingle your eyes and induce cough.

Well if they do, we won't be able to feed our consumer habits will we?
loco5
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loco5
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Peasant

Well if they do, we won't be able to feed our consumer habits will we?


so what, you'd rather die at 40 with cancer, knowing you have that 50 inch plazma screen tv, or those new designer clothes?
nichodemus
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nichodemus
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Grand Duke

so what, you'd rather die at 40 with cancer, knowing you have that 50 inch plazma screen tv, or those new designer clothes?


I'm not in a position to actually push the Chinese government for anything. I'm merely stating a bland neutral and objective point that the smog is a result of our consumer habits.
AgathaB
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AgathaB
154 posts
Nomad

so what, you'd rather die at 40 with cancer, knowing you have that 50 inch plazma screen tv, or those new designer clothes?


Ad hominem is really not the way to go in a discussion such as this. Precisely for the reason Nichodemus stated.

If someone would be willing to answer a question for me, that would be marvelous. How prevalent is the mindset of pushing children to extremes in regards to school work and the like? We always hear about gifted, hard working Chinese children and parents who push them to be like that (curiously, almost always from a negative point of view), but exactly how many Chinese do this? Is it a personal choice, or more of a social more?

I've read a bit on the subject, but that was ages ago and some perspective would be appreciated.
nichodemus
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nichodemus
14,981 posts
Grand Duke

If someone would be willing to answer a question for me, that would be marvelous. How prevalent is the mindset of pushing children to extremes in regards to school work and the like? We always hear about gifted, hard working Chinese children and parents who push them to be like that (curiously, almost always from a negative point of view), but exactly how many Chinese do this? Is it a personal choice, or more of a social more?


Both, though the image of all students being highly motivated is false. I spent a fortnight as an exchange student in one of the top schools of Wuhan province and I met quite a few who would happily skip class for WoW. On the other hand yes, the typical stereotype of a hardworking cookie cutter student does prevail in the vast majority. Much of what I see in their class doesn't encourage creativity but memorization with an emphasis on recitation though this is starting to be pushed back.

Also, back in Singapore I have many classmates who are PRC scholars; most are hardworking and studious to the point of having no life, on the other hand there are extremes who can't control their urges for computer games.

So in conclusion you mainly get two extremes, on one hand the really really hardworking majority, and a tiny minority that plays day and night ( a result of being driven up the wall maybe?). I didn't see many in betweens there.

I guess it's the product of a one-child policy partially, since the future of the family is on the burden of one child. A good education at the elementary level leads to a good high school, which leads to a good university....you can see where this is going. With millions struggling to break the poverty cycle you can imagine the huge stress. I have heard horror stories of students buying cans of pure oxygen to stay alert, mothers forcing daughters to take pills stopping their periods and students bringing in sophisticated ear phones and button cameras to check up on papers which professors outside will answer.

But one must not forget that it too is part of Chinese culture (Confucius' impact is strong) to be diligent and toil away. It's deeply ingrained in all of us. Even as a third generation Singaporean, (I sadly consider myself much more Western in thinking than Oriental looking) this cultural spirit is still deep in me. I remember spending hours everyday as a child of ten studying away; doing badly might end in a caning or beating.

During the SARS outbreak as you remember in 2003 when I was....nine I think, when school was shut, my mother forced me to study up to ten hours daily.

Does that help?
AgathaB
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AgathaB
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Nomad

Much of what I see in their class doesn't encourage creativity but memorization with an emphasis on recitation though this is starting to be pushed back.


Yes, that fits in with what I heard/read. Although I am saddened by the apparent lack of creativity, I can understand the emphasis in a culture such as this one. Also, this:

I guess it's the product of a one-child policy partially, since the future of the family is on the burden of one child. A good education at the elementary level leads to a good high school, which leads to a good university....you can see where this is going. With millions struggling to break the poverty cycle you can imagine the huge stress.


is an extremely valid point. I imagine there's quite a lot hanging on a child's future, not the least of which their continued survival.

So in conclusion you mainly get two extremes, on one hand the really really hardworking majority, and a tiny minority that plays day and night ( a result of being driven up the wall maybe?). I didn't see many in betweens there.


Which might be better than either of the extremes, obviously. Perhaps that's something the Chinese should strive for, although it seems difficult to change, what with the point about poverty mentioned earlier.

But one must not forget that it too is part of Chinese culture (Confucius' impact is strong) to be diligent and toil away. It's deeply ingrained in all of us. Even as a third generation Singaporean, (I sadly consider myself much more Western in thinking than Oriental looking) this cultural spirit is still deep in me. I remember spending hours everyday as a child of ten studying away; doing badly might end in a caning or beating.


I have always been amazed by how deep the culture lingers in emigrated Chinese; it never seemed to me as though other cultures cling onto their traditions as strongly. Maybe I'm wrong about this, but it's the general feeling I get. It might make a point about my own character, since I'm pretty quick to adapt and feel I'd be much happier living someplace else. (Probably Mars. I'd be really happy on Mars.)

Does that help?


Yes. Yes, it does. Thanks for the prompt answer.
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