外國人眼里的中國人是什么樣的?
作者:龍?zhí)?/span>
2015-03-28 00:43
視頻來自“看東西”友情提供VOX POP
The article named What China Gets Right about Relationships written by Sam Massie reminds me of the Quora question – a classical one – about the opinion about China and Chinese people. Well, obviously, the answer won't be the same if you ask different people. Here, I want to discuss this question with all of you.
山姆·梅西寫的名為《關(guān)于人際關(guān)系,這些事得向中國人學習》的文章,讓我想到Quara上的一個經(jīng)典問題:你如何看待中國和中國人?很顯然,問不同的人得到的答案不盡相同。這里,小編想與大家探討一下這個問題。
Now, let's imagine that we are going to have an interview about the opinion about China and Chinese people. To me, the interviewees can be classified into two groups: those who know not much or have a very basic idea about China; and those who understand the Chinese culture very well.
首先,假設(shè)我們要做一個關(guān)于對中國和中國人看法的采訪,那么受訪者大概是可以分為兩類的:一類是不太了解中國或僅有個基本概念的,另一類是很了解中國文化的。
To those who have never been to China or have never got any chance to get to know the Chinese culture and people, it's very easy for them to reach some stereotypical conclusions about China and Chinese people:
對于并不太了解中國或沒什么機會接觸中國文化和中國人的群體來說,很容易陷入程式化的認識。
"When I was child, I was taught to be careful around Chinese people, that they were the type that smiled when offended because they'll stab you in the back (literally and figuratively) in revenge, that they valued money over human life, that that was motive for all their activities." – Quora User
“當我還是個孩子的時候,別人教導我要小心中國人,他們當面一套背后一套,被冒犯的時候表面也是笑著的,但會在背后報復(fù)回來。他們愛財甚至勝過人命,一切向‘錢’看?!币晃籕uora用戶的答案中有這么一段。
This answer provides us, if I can say so, a racist's stereotype of Chinese people (though there is no denying that some of our fellow-citizens just behave so, which always makes me feel ashamed).
可以說,這個答案是一種對于中國人帶有種族歧視的程式化形象(雖然確實有些同胞是這樣的,我也感到很丟人。)
Of course, some people do have a vague idea about China – a long history, a huge population, the Great Wall, Panda Express, festivals, tea, kung fu movies, karate (oops it's Japanese), cheap and bad clothes (oh, no… and I'm afraid they're not really cheap), the manufacturing power, a very large internal market, and hardworking (yes, especially high school students).
當然,一些人對于中國是有一個模糊的概念的,像是悠久的歷史、龐大的人口數(shù)量、長城、熊貓快餐(美國的一家中式快餐連鎖店)、節(jié)日、茶葉、功夫電影、空手道(是日本啊喂)、便宜但劣質(zhì)的衣服(哦不……而且其實也不便宜)、制造能力、巨大的國內(nèi)市場、以及勤奮(嗯,尤其是高中生)。
All of these are rather simple and general.
這些概念都很簡單而粗略。
By contrast, to those what we call a China hand, it is quite obvious that the word "Chinese" bears much more.
相比較而言,對于那些我們所說的“中國通”而言,“中國人”這個詞顯然包含了更多含義。
In today's ever globalized world, more and more foreign friends are becoming more and more interested in Chinese culture. They learn the Chinese language, make Chinese friends, watch Chinese movies and TV series, and pay visits or even move to China.
在如今日漸國際化的世界,越來越多的外國朋友對中國文化越來越感興趣。他們學習中文、與中國人交朋友、看中國電影電視、到中國旅游、甚至是搬到中國生活。
They understand the differences between the oriental and the occidental, and they could see through the appearance.
他們理解東西方的差異,而且能夠透過現(xiàn)象看到更深的東西。
Just as what Sam Massie has recognized, maybe in many cases, the first impression of some Westerners about China is no more than rudeness, but it is actually not that simple. What should be highlighted here is the?in-group / out-group effects. I think he is right of saying that "rudeness to strangers is the flipside of deep bonds with loved ones".
正如山姆·梅西注意到的,也許很多情況下,一些西方人對中國的第一印象無外乎是“粗魯”,但其實并不這么簡單。這里需要注意到的是一種所謂的群體心理效應(yīng)。對于“對陌生人的粗魯和對親朋好友的關(guān)愛對立卻無法分開”這一觀點,我想他是對的。
I also feel happy that he understands the generosity and other good qualities of Chinese people: the emphasis on action rather than words, introversion and sincerity, as well as the intimacy of friendship and so on.
同時,我也很高興,他能了解到中國人的慷慨以及其他的好品質(zhì),比如少說多做、內(nèi)斂真誠和朋友間的親密等等。
To me, no matter what the Westerners' opinions are, what really matters is how we behave and the way we treat others. What's your opinion?
在我看來,其實,不管在外國人眼中我們是什么樣的形象,最重要的還是我們自己的舉止行為和待人之道。滬友,你們怎么看?