Wide, varied, and thought-provoking. A true "read." ****
http://chinadigitaltimes.net/2008/08/torch-relay-ends-with-a-bang/#comment-3209
2008-08-28
2008-08-22
"Opening" Ceremony
Are we stuck in time? Or merely trapped in an orientalist conception of self? Zhang Yimou's fantastic work undoubtedly wow-ed the world into "oohs" and "aahs" but what does this say about him, and more generally, the Chinese people?
We are a people content with passing ourselves off as numerical tokens as a means of impressing outsiders. We pass out booklets and stage television programs in order to teach ourselves "manners" and the formal etiquette of nations halfway around the world. An internationalist observer might say that we are truly a manifestation of internationalist liberalism in its most sublime form, making serious and whole-hearted attempts to learn the customs of our guests rather than pushing them away with xenophobic harassment.
Yet look at every other country that has hosted the Olympics. Did Salt Lake City ever pass out fliers about Chinese dining habits and dress code? Did Sydney teach its residents how to speak proper Chinese/Thai/Vietnamese/Japanese/Korean/Malay/Sudanese/Hindi/etc/etc/etc. before they hosted their games?
It is not a case of the Chinese being "internationalist" or even "good hosts". The twisted cause of these seemingly "progressive" and multicultural actions stems from a deep Chinese dissatisfaction with self evident in everything from Mao's observation that Chinese artists would consistently paint him as being a head shorter than Stalin (when in fact Mao was 182cm and Stalin was 165cm) to the seemingly random choice of English names by Chinese youth today.
Chinese almost inevitably take on English names when working for foreign multinational corporations with branches in China. Yet when Lenovo and Haier expand into the United States, when have you ever noticed a representative named "Xiao Ling Smith" or "Wei Johnson"?
Many Chinese like to let themselves off the hook by saying "it's about the money." They cite this as the reason that teenage Chinese girls marry Westerners twice or sometimes triple their age. They use this as the reasoning behind why people adopt an English name - "to get ahead" they say.
Perhaps we have gone hungry for too long. Perhaps we are greedy and hungry for change and monetary attainment. Yet if we are really no more than blind wanderers, how does the blind wanderer see the gold?
We are a people content with passing ourselves off as numerical tokens as a means of impressing outsiders. We pass out booklets and stage television programs in order to teach ourselves "manners" and the formal etiquette of nations halfway around the world. An internationalist observer might say that we are truly a manifestation of internationalist liberalism in its most sublime form, making serious and whole-hearted attempts to learn the customs of our guests rather than pushing them away with xenophobic harassment.
Yet look at every other country that has hosted the Olympics. Did Salt Lake City ever pass out fliers about Chinese dining habits and dress code? Did Sydney teach its residents how to speak proper Chinese/Thai/Vietnamese/Japanese/Korean/Malay/Sudanese/Hindi/etc/etc/etc. before they hosted their games?
It is not a case of the Chinese being "internationalist" or even "good hosts". The twisted cause of these seemingly "progressive" and multicultural actions stems from a deep Chinese dissatisfaction with self evident in everything from Mao's observation that Chinese artists would consistently paint him as being a head shorter than Stalin (when in fact Mao was 182cm and Stalin was 165cm) to the seemingly random choice of English names by Chinese youth today.
Chinese almost inevitably take on English names when working for foreign multinational corporations with branches in China. Yet when Lenovo and Haier expand into the United States, when have you ever noticed a representative named "Xiao Ling Smith" or "Wei Johnson"?
Many Chinese like to let themselves off the hook by saying "it's about the money." They cite this as the reason that teenage Chinese girls marry Westerners twice or sometimes triple their age. They use this as the reasoning behind why people adopt an English name - "to get ahead" they say.
Perhaps we have gone hungry for too long. Perhaps we are greedy and hungry for change and monetary attainment. Yet if we are really no more than blind wanderers, how does the blind wanderer see the gold?
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