What is Beauty?

So -- if you were asked that question and had to answer it within say, thirty seconds, how would you respond?  Go ahead -- I'll wait thirty seconds for your response.

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 Okay, time's up.

A couple months ago, the title of one of my blog posts was Chinese vs American Schools -- There's a Big Difference! (December 30, 2018). This past week I had an experience that reminded me of another significant difference between (most) American universities and the university at which we teach. As usual, I wasn't even looking for this insight, but it practically stepped right up and shook my had.

I have an activity I sometimes do with my classes which is designed to help them get over their fear of speaking English in public.  I have a list of 200 questions -- things like:

                                  What is your favorite hobby?

                                   If you could have a super power for one day, what would it be?

                                   If someone gave you 10 million yuan (about $1.5 million), what is the first
                                   thing you would do?

                                   If you could live any place in the world other than China, where would that be and why?

When I call on a student, I ask him or her to pick a number between 1 and 200. I have them give me the number in Chinese, so I can practice listening to and understanding Chinese. They think it's hilarious when I get the number wrong, but now I seldom get one wrong. (Hopefully my mistakes also send the message that it's okay to try and fail in my class -- but they just have to keep trying.)

Anyway -- the other day, the student below drew the question:

"What will you teach your children about what the true meaning of beauty is?"

Aze (Zhang Xuan Xuan)

Aze's initial response was an immediate: "Me!" But then she got serious, and said, "The definition of beauty is virtue."

I loved her response!

Her response reminded me of a similar experience I had my first or second day of class at the beginning of the school year. I had each of the students prepare a short personal introduction of themselves, and then introduce themselves to their classmates.

In her comments, one of the young women concluded her intro by saying that she thought one of the values most important to her was her modesty. As I looked around the classroom, I saw the vast majority of the students vigorously nodding approval and acknowledgment of that great value.

Amara (Dong Zhitao) 

As delighted as I was with their answers, upon reflection, I think that is another significant difference between US universities and Chinese universities, or at least the one at which we are now teaching. I can't imagine either that answer (Beauty = Virtue) or comment ("I value my modesty.") being accepted, much less agreed to, by the vast majority of American university students. In fact, I wouldn't be at all surprised if they would get heckled or mocked for being courageous enough to share those personal values if they did so in the classroom of most American universities.

And it made me sad.

China is a wonderful place, but I see one major weakness.  That is -- they are maybe a little too quick to adopt western fashions and values. They wear clothing from western countries -- Pink, Adidas and Nike t-shirts adorn their bodies, North Face and Columbia coats keep them warm, Converse tennis shoes cushion their feet.

New York Yankees baseball caps are exceptionally popular.  They are beginning to develop a bit of a sweet tooth as more and more western candies (like Snickers, Dove, and Hershey candy bars, M&Ms, Skittles, etc.) find their way into China.  They love western music -- not REAL western music, like Garth Brooks, George Strait, Blake Shelton, etc. -- just music from "the West" (eg: Beyoncé, Ed Sheeran, Justin Bieber, Charlie Puth, Riyanna, Taylor Swift, etc.).  They are huge cinema fans, and love American movies and television shows.

I hope they don't adopt America's casual attitude about morality. But I see signs those values will erode here ere long, as they now allow movies and television shows into the country like Fifty Shades of Gray, Game of Thrones and Breaking Bad, all of which are very popular.

Here's to hoping that China is somehow able to maintain the lack of worldliness for their children and young adults.

(Note: Amara wants to be an English-speaking tour guide in China [and in fact, she has already been doing that as a summer job the last few years], and Aze wants to work in the travel management business in media. Both speak English very well.)

This Korean classmate on the right agreed to let me take her picture wearing her NY Yankees cap but was shy and didn't want her face in the picture. The mask she's wearing is very typical for people to wear here, to protect them somewhat from the pollution.

Below are a few pictures (unrelated to the topic of today's post) from recent days / weeks:

DQ and two of my Laoshi (teachers) -- He Li Na and Liu Yi Fei (He Li Na is one of my Basic Chinese teachers and Liu Yi Fei is my Chinese tutor.)

My classmates in my three Chinese classes (Basic Grammar, Reading and Listening). They hail from Korea, Tanzanika, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Sudan and Brazil. Oh -- and one old guy from America! All are marvelous human beings. (It was a bit of a rainy / misty day.)

Ran into these beauties on the Food Street I mentioned in a previous post -- L-R -- grasshoppers, scorpions, cicadas. I tried the scorpions, and they were surprisingly tasty.  Crunchy, but the seasonings they used were delicious.

                                                                                                     In case you don't recognize them skewered on sticks...

                                           I don't believe this product will catch on in America...at least not with this name...

                                            Elderly man I ran into and chatted with (briefly) during last weekend's sightseeing.

Are all Chinese short (remember my Stereotypes lesson)? Um...no.  Here are three of my students from one of my classes.  Almost all my classes have several boys and at least one girl taller than me.  I look not unlike a Hobbit in this picture (without the hairy feet...)

Signs of the Time -- Lost in Translation...

Anyone who has traveled much in this great big old world of ours has seen signs in English that have obviously not been written by native English speakers.

I often wondered about that, and thought, “Why don’t they hire native English speakers to do their signs and advertisements? Surely it would be more impressive to have flawless English on their signs.”

Such was my logic.

But a few months ago, one of my Chinese friends helped me view it from a different perspective. He is the Director of Translations at the University at which I teach. One day I mentioned Bonita and I had recently visited one of the more famous scenic spots in Jinan.

With a smile, he said, “Did you see the English signs there?"

My first thought was, “Oh no! He’s going to proudly tell me he translated them!” I just smiled and said, “Yes, I did.”

He said, “They’re awful aren’t they?”

Relieved, I said, “Yes, some were pretty bad.”

Then he explained. “Those signs aren’t intended for English speakers. They are meant to impress the Chinese people that this is such an important site, that English speakers travel to see it.”

As with many things in China, this incident has helped me continue to learn the value of different perspectives.

So – with that said, following are a few of the more memorable English signs we have run across in our travels in China.

Sign in a park in Dali, in SW China. Basically: Don't walk on the grass.

Perhaps needed in case your horse is running wild during a fire?  (In our hotel.)

 

Lover's Valley...

Shake milk? Milkshake.  Same words, but...(nice, neat lettering, though!)

 

Use an old-fashioned water pump to put water in your computer. (Actually, it's Chinese for: Slow)

Um...okay. I think they should have chosen Do not climb instead of No Surmounting...

Okay -- some of you who have traveled to China or other Asian countries have probably seen these signs before:

 Chinese typically use toilets that are basically a hole in the floor, as pictured above. That green waste basket in the top-right corner of the picture? That's where you put your used toilet paper (which you have to bring, since probably 95% of the toilets in China do not provide that precious commodity).  I always look for the Potty (Western) Toilets, myself. (Most Chinese despise western toilets, considering them very unsanitary.)

Keep it civilized...

In the event you need an artificial ticket, or maybe a ticket to Artificial, China?

From time to time, I've needed a sign like this in my life!

The translation is something like "No playing during office hours."

Okay -- just a couple more:

I have no idea, unless it means Bus Only Exit and Please get out your Credit Card...

 In case a flashlight is part of your normal photography set-up

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And now just a few random pictures of signs that struck me as interesting or funny:

(Poor) Knock-off of a popular hoodie message here: May the bridges I burn light the way. Modeled by one of my favorite students last semester (now Bonita's student) Echo (Han Yao Yao).

Check out the spelling of Chinese...

Boy, can I relate!

Probably a knock off (I hope so!)

Bonita and friends...in Shanghai

Pretty baby and proud grandma in Dali

Heart-broken little boy in Hanoi

A pretty little Hanoi doll

This young woman (~ age 10) in Hanoi absolutely fascinated me. I sat across from her and watched her interact with her grandmother for about 45 minutes, and she was a pure joy to watch and photograph.

And a special bonus for those of you who stuck with me through all the pictures.  This sign was next to a table of tourist knick knacks:

Given the context and location, I would wager they were shooting for something more along the lines of "Handle with care." (Sorry for the PG-13-ish nature of this sign...)

Thanks for reading!