Black People : Has China Lost Its Traditional Values?

[Al D]

I came across this article written by this young Chinese woman and I wanted to share it here with you...For me, her words resonate with a familiar current and the comics are satirically on point....I personally have never seen a wrong and not speak up but I have expressed criticism via the keyboard...

Has China lost its traditional values?

Feifei Wang, I spend about the same amount of my life in China and in the US.
Written Sep 15, 2014

This is a very interesting question. I think before we can answer "if China, or Chinese from mainland China, had lost Chinese traditional value", we need to first define, what exactly is Chinese traditional value, or more simply, what isChinese Value?

Some people would bring out 论语 (the Analects) or 诗经 (Classic of Poetry) or any or all of the Four Books and Five Classics and say, yeah, here you have it, complete Chinese Value. And they would be very wrong. Chinese values are part of these books, and goes way beyond and way more complicated than just Confucius teaching.

Other people would argue that true Chinese value is that of 皇权思想 (concept of Imperial power) and our 人治 (rule of man). Or the tradition of 孝道 (respect your elders). Or like the question detail mentioned: 仁义礼智信, or 温良恭俭让, or 礼义廉耻, or 忠孝节义...

We all think we know what is Chinese value, but if we dig a bit deeper, if we ask ourselves what exactly is our value, the truth is, we really don't know. It's not because we don't have "Value", but rather, our value has been changing through out our self-proclaimed Five Thousand Years of history and it has been changing more rapidly in recently years because our people, our society has changed so rapidly lately.

I chuckled when people talk about Chinese value as if it's some unmovable cornerstone of Chinese society or some such none existing ideological concept. Something we can anchor ourselves in this ever changing world. Something that lifted us up on top of the rest of our ignorant fellow countrymen so we can stand on this moral high ground and tell everyone how they have "lost the traditional Chinese value".

Now, have you notice the world "Chinese value" had been used almost exclusively when people talk about how we "lost" it? You rarely hear people say "I saw a young student stand up and give his seat to an elderly on a bus today, that's Chinese value!" That would never make the news! Nothing can get your page view like the bad news, the degenerated rich brat, the corrupted officials, the murderous parents who kill their baby girls so they can have a shot of having a boy... We had truly LOST our Chinese value indeed.

But one advantage of having the longest written history in the world is that so we can go back and read our own history and realize, we have always been evil, corrupted, cheating, stealing bunch. Of course, that's not part of our value, but it's not like we're any better when we supposedly upheld these "traditional Chinese value" like law during "Traditional Chinese dynasties".

Every time period, every dynasty, there're people who lamented about how our great nation our great people had lost the good old righteous ways. There has always been old people who look at the younger generation and sighed how "世风日下，人心不古" (Society is getting worse, our hearts are not as those from the previous generation). And then 100 years later, someone else sing the same song.

So back to the question: has Chinese lost its traditional value? Sure we have lost some, those that doesn't fit with our modern, globalized world. And we had probably get some new values come out of new technology, and new western ideas. So stop being an old geezer and cry about lost tradition, if you think the society is going on a downward spiral, change it by being the best Chinese you can be, uphold the most noble Chinese values. Set up an example as a good Chinese person. When you see something that you don't agree with, online or offline, step up, speak up, fight against it. Don't be the "keyboard man" and sit in front of your computer and lament how we had lost our way.

 

[jamesfrmphilly]

the longest written history in the world

 

[Orisons]

[QUOTE="Al D, post: 977119, member: 55768" I came across this article written by this young Chinese woman and I wanted to share it here with you...For me, her words resonate with a familiar current and the comics are satirically on point....I personally have never seen a wrong and not speak up but I have expressed criticism via the keyboard...

Has China lost its traditional values?

Feifei Wang, I spend about the same amount of my life in China and in the US.
Written Sep 15, 2014

This is a very interesting question. I think before we can answer "if China, or Chinese from mainland China, had lost Chinese traditional value", we need to first define, what exactly is Chinese traditional value, or more simply, what isChinese Value?

Some people would bring out 论语 (the Analects) or 诗经 (Classic of Poetry) or any or all of the Four Books and Five Classics and say, yeah, here you have it, complete Chinese Value. And they would be very wrong. Chinese values are part of these books, and goes way beyond and way more complicated than just Confucius teaching.

Other people would argue that true Chinese value is that of 皇权思想 (concept of Imperial power) and our 人治 (rule of man). Or the tradition of 孝道 (respect your elders). Or like the question detail mentioned: 仁义礼智信, or 温良恭俭让, or 礼义廉耻, or 忠孝节义...

We all think we know what is Chinese value, but if we dig a bit deeper, if we ask ourselves what exactly is our value, the truth is, we really don't know. It's not because we don't have "Value", but rather, our value has been changing through out our self-proclaimed Five Thousand Years of history and it has been changing more rapidly in recently years because our people, our society has changed so rapidly lately.

I chuckled when people talk about Chinese value as if it's some unmovable cornerstone of Chinese society or some such none existing ideological concept. Something we can anchor ourselves in this ever changing world. Something that lifted us up on top of the rest of our ignorant fellow countrymen so we can stand on this moral high ground and tell everyone how they have "lost the traditional Chinese value".

Now, have you notice the world "Chinese value" had been used almost exclusively when people talk about how we "lost" it? You rarely hear people say "I saw a young student stand up and give his seat to an elderly on a bus today, that's Chinese value!" That would never make the news! Nothing can get your page view like the bad news, the degenerated rich brat, the corrupted officials, the murderous parents who kill their baby girls so they can have a shot of having a boy... We had truly LOST our Chinese value indeed.

But one advantage of having the longest written history in the world is that so we can go back and read our own history and realize, we have always been evil, corrupted, cheating, stealing bunch. Of course, that's not part of our value, but it's not like we're any better when we supposedly upheld these "traditional Chinese value" like law during "Traditional Chinese dynasties".

Every time period, every dynasty, there're people who lamented about how our great nation our great people had lost the good old righteous ways. There has always been old people who look at the younger generation and sighed how "世风日下，人心不古" (Society is getting worse, our hearts are not as those from the previous generation). And then 100 years later, someone else sing the same song.

So back to the question: has Chinese lost its traditional value? Sure we have lost some, those that doesn't fit with our modern, globalized world. And we had probably get some new values come out of new technology, and new western ideas.

So stop being an old geezer and cry about lost tradition, if you think the society is going on a downward spiral, change it by being the best Chinese you can be, uphold the most noble Chinese values.

Set up an example as a good Chinese person. When you see something that you don't agree with, online or offline, step up, speak up, fight against it.

Don't be the "keyboard man" and sit in front of your computer and lament how we had lost our way.

/QUOTE]

Aren’t political ideologies very passé/DEAD in the 21st century due to the manner in which the current Chinese leadership has executed them, or haven’t you ALL noticed/noted the manner in which allegedly communist China is currently the most efficiently CAPITALIST economy in the world [despite having a slowing economic growth rate of 8% as opposed to the difficulty the USA/UK most of the West are having getting their economic growth up to even anywhere near 1%] with the UK and USA’s so inept execution of capitalism creating record breaking fiscal deficits between imports to exports with the USA actually STILL owing China trillions of dollars [with ALL of the European countries apart from Norway and Russia in debt that ranges from very slim to impossible to pay back, who is going to foreclose on the USA’s trillions of dollars debt] TODAY?

What about the so pragmatic manner in which as opposed to executing capitalism in Hong Kong when they regained political control in 1997, China’s Communist party/Government have subsequently utilized it as an economic template for their Super Cities on the mainland [hence the so phenomenal growth since then which has eased the so huge burden of feeding 1400 million people; placed China on the cusp of becoming the No.1 financial Super Power of the 21st century] apart from retaining state ownership/control of the banks?

In fact isn’t it truly bizarre that China is so efficiently locked in to capitalism [who would have envisioned that scenario even 20 years ago] that they have no vested interest in undermining any of the industrialized countries of the West in general, the USA specifically as China’s growth has been based on the goods exported to the rest of the World, which along with the USA owing them trillions of dollars underlines the economic grief for China if the billions of dollars China has stockpiled, became worthless [why they are fanning out worldwide utilizing those dollars to acquire strategically vital resources and assets everywhere (Chinatown is ALWAYS in the centre, most expensive part of the capital/major cities of the Diaspora as opposed to the cheaper periphery)/can/are literally buying as opposed to militarily subjugating Africa TODAY]?

Japan’s capitalism distributes wealth/behaves with far more social responsibility than most European countries, with India close to matching China’s economic growth utilizing a far more rampant free market/world’s most populous democracy model; along with Russia’s oligarchs steadily being either reeled in or crushed by Vladimir Putin, does the political ideology really matter in the 21st century, as South Korea vies with Japan for the most technologically advanced country on the plan et position, along with Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, Indonesia and the Philippines attempting to fully industrialize/join the party too [move their countries forward intelligently]?

Even more bizarre is our ongoing acceptance/truly devout support as people of African ethnicity of the current status quo or are you all truly unaware of the fact that ALL over the World including Africa, Europeans still LEGALLY own allegedly; all the land and resources they acquired during the looting, pillaging, RAPE of this planet in general, of OUR continent [Africa] in particular that Colonialism and Apartheid sanctioned as the norm [in fact aren’t THEY making the same play again with their WAR ON TERROR] as opposed to the longest list of unacknowledged/with no formal apology/reparations to date, unpunished Human Rights violations/CRIMES in human history?

Isn’t ANYONE who genuinely believes they are not programmed
graphically illustrating that their programming is COMPLETE?
​

 

[jamesfrmphilly]

Duly Noted brother James. As usual in rear form..

 

[Al D]

Let's keep it in context; The author of the article (Feifei Wang) being Chinese may feel that they have the longest written history, it doesn't mean that I ascribe to that belief. The article is about ostentatious people who speak of certain values and are reluctant to speak up when they see certain wrongs. It talks about folks incessant need to focus on the negative of a people (which we know all too well) instead of the positives. She talks about a history that not only embraced certain standards but was also rife with corruption and wickedness, although some would rather not talk about that side of their history(sound familiar) and she brings attention to the hypocrisy then and now.. That in spite of these so-called values that they and others rave about there has always been this complex existence of these two worlds..And she also speaks of the ever changing landscape ( from old to young) in China and the rapid pace of technology that inadvertently influences society and that there will be an adjustment in values...

Feifei Wang says:
But one advantage of having the longest written history in the world is that so we can go back and read our own history and realize, we have always been evil, corrupted, cheating, stealing bunch. Of course, that's not part of our value, but it's not like we're any better when we supposedly upheld these "traditional Chinese value" like law during "Traditional Chinese dynasties".

Every time period, every dynasty, there're people who lamented about how our great nation our great people had lost the good old righteous ways. There has always been old people who look at the younger generation and sighed how "世风日下，人心不古" (Society is getting worse, our hearts are not as those from the previous generation). And then 100 years later, someone else sing the same song.
(A perpetual cycle that is repeated here in America and elsewhere)

So back to the question: has Chinese lost its traditional value? Sure we have lost some, those that doesn't fit with our modern, globalized world. And we had probably get some new values come out of new technology, and new western ideas.
(No different than other countries and it's people)

So stop being an old geezer and cry about lost tradition, if you think the society is going on a downward spiral, change it by being the best Chinese you can be, uphold the most noble Chinese values.

Set up an example as a good Chinese person. When you see something that you don't agree with, online or offline, step up, speak up, fight against it.

Don't be the "keyboard man" and sit in front of your computer and lament how we had lost our way.
( Hmm, now these last three sentences really resonate loud and clear) What do I get out of all of this? China is no different than anywhere else. We all experience the same issues. Some more than others...That so-called values, hypocrisy,evil and corruption will forever interconnect...People will always speak about the absence of certain morals and principles and the loss of a certain era but it has always been like this...Just read your bible...I would also say that this is no B.S.