The Chinese concept of sharing

Several weeks ago, I have a french who was having her birthday celebration. She invited my friends and I to go to her place and have a birthday dinner together. That were three Chinese people and she was very into Chinese food. So we Chinese girls decided to cook a Chinese style dinner for her birthday. It was very interesting cooking Chinese food in a French friend's home. We had to bring all kinds of sources and foodstuff to her place.

We prepare like four or five dishes. Usually in a Chinese way,  we got everything prepared and all the dishes cooked and then we will start dinner. This might be a little different from western diet. She assumed that we serve the dishes one by one. So every time we had one dish ready she tried to serve it on the table for everybody to eat. And when we explained to her how we did in our own culture she seemed very surprised.

That reminded me of another story I read on some book. A Chinese girl who was studying in the U.S. was having lunch with some American friends in a Chinese restaurant. She thought each one of them will pick one food and they share. But what it came out was that everyone was only picking their own dish and eat their own.

In Chinese culture, lunches and dinners are not just for meals. Those are times that people get together to enjoy the good food together and talk about what is going on in life. Usually both in homes and in restaurants, there will be round tables with people sitting around with a bowl of rice in front of them and we share the dishes together.

In this way, each of us can try various kinds of food. Besides, as we sit at a round table, we can see each one's face which is a very friendly way for open converstations. When I am at home having dinner with my firends, we always talk about things that happen in our life to share. Chinese culture values harmony and sharing very much. We think big familes are good and big get-togethers are good all because we have a lot of people together to share the food with and to share the conversations with.

I like this side of my culture and think that it might also work well in a American context. Maybe American people can try it too.

The Chinese concept of sharing

Spectacular Chinese Government Buildings

I was googling about differences between China and the U.S. the other day and was surprised to find there were a lot of pictures comparing Chinese and American government buildings.

In China, the government is playing a very important role in the society. I have heard a comment that in China we can be oppsed to famous scientific theories but we can't be oppsed to political leaders. But in the U.S. the situation is exactly the opposite. So in China many government buildings are especially spectacular compared to thosed in America. Here are some photos.

And then take a look at some of the government buildings in the U.S.

Seems like they look just like smalls churches few blocks from home. Many people don't even pay a lot attention to them when passing by.

Spectacular Chinese Government Buildings

Interesting Videos about China

Just to share with you two funny videos taken by an American who is living in China. He talked a little bit about what he loved and did not like about China.

1. What I do not like about China.

2. What I like about China.

Dan makes them very funny watch. But the videos do give some ideas about people and the culture in China.
If you have some experiences in China, what do you think about the videos and China?

Interesting Videos about China

Respecting the old and loving the young

In China, we have always put a lot of weight on traditional virtues. As children, we are told to be obedient and respect senior members of the family. When we grow up as adults, we bear great responsibilities to take care of the young and elderly members of the family. Because in our culture, the young and the old are the people who are comparatively more vulnerable and need more help from the society.

So in buses and subways in China, you can always see a lot of signs to remind people to give up their seats to people in need. So it's pretty common to see young people stand up and let people in need to sit in buses.

But when I came to the U.S., I remembered one time I was on the bus with my friend. There was a old lady getting on and the priority seats had already been taken. My friend had been staying in the States for a long time, she reminded me that if you see something like this, don't just give your seat to senior people as you did in China. Poeple here don't like to do it this way. Man people here think they can do it without others' help.

This is another cultural difference between the two countries. The societies see individuals differently in these two countries. In China, the culture values collectivism much more. It sees individuals as part of the society and and society should do a lot to help and benefit the society. In contrast, in the U.S., individualism is valued more. Each individual has his or her own ability and uniqueness. You don't have to be similar to other people around.

Respecting the old and loving the young