(From an email :) Proud to be born a Chinese. To make it simple, Egyptian civilization was long gone, but Chinese civilization which came out the same time still exist today. Why? Because that is what the explanation below telling you the whole true... Adaptation. Why do Chinese people work so hard to succeed in life?＿ Here is the plain truth. #1. There are over 1 billion of us on this earth. We are like photostat copies of each other. You get rid of one, 5 magically appears (like ballot boxes). Yes, it is scary, especially for us. We acknowledge that we are replaceable, thus we are not particularly special. If you think you are smart, there are a few thousand more people smarter than you. If you think you are strong, there are a few thousand people stronger than you. #2. We have been crawling all over this earth for far more centuries that most civilizations. Our DNA is designed for survival. We are like cockroaches. Put us anywhere on earth and we will make a colony and thrive. We survive on anything around us and make the best of it. Some keep migrating but others will stay and multiply. #3. NOBODY cares if we succeed as individuals or not. But our families take pride in knowing we have succeeded. Yes, some will fail. We take nothing for granted. We dont expect privileges to fall on our laps. No one owes us anything. #4. We know we have nothing to lose if we try to succeed. Thus, we have no fear trying. That is why Chinese are addicted to gambling. We thrive on taking risks. All or nothing. #5. From young we are taught to count every cent. What we take for granted like money management, I have found out recently, is not something other cultures practice at home with their children. It surprised me. But truth is not all societies or cultures teach their young this set of skills because it is rude to them. Yes, most of us can count because we are forced to and the logic of money is pounded into us from the beginning of time (when mama tells us how much she has spent on our milk and diapers) #6. We acknowledge life cycles. We accept that wealth in a family stays for three generations (urban myth?). Thus, every 4th generation will have to work from scratch. I.e. first generation earns the money from scratch, second generation spends the money on education, third generation gets spoiled and wastes all the inheritance. Then we are back to square one. Some families hang on to their wealth a little longer than most. #7. It is our culture to push our next generation to do better than the last. Be smarter. Be stronger. Be faster. Be more righteous. Be more pious. Be more innovative. Be more creative. Be richer. Be everything that you can be in this lifetime. Be KIASU. #8. Our society judges us by our achievements... and we have no choice but to do something worthwhile because Chinese New Year comes around every year and Chinese relatives have no qualms about asking you straight in your face - how much are you making? When was your last promotion? How big is your office? What car do you drive? Where do you stay? You have boyfriend? You have girlfriend? When are you getting married? When are you having children? When is the next child? When you getting a boy? Got maid yet? Does your company send you overseas? etc etc etc. It NEVER ENDS... so, we cant stop chasing the illusive train - we are damned to a materialistic society. If you are not Chinese, consider yourself lucky! #9. We have been taught from young ＿ if you have two hands, two feet, two eyes, and a mouth, what are you doing with it? People with no hands can do better than you (and the OKU artists do put us to shame) #10. Ironically, the Chinese also believe in giving back to save their wretched materialistic souls. Balance is needed. The more their children succeed in life, the more our parents will give back to society (not for profit) as gratitude for the good fortune bestowed on their children. Yes. That is true. And that is why our society progresses forward in all conditions. Nobody pities us.＿ We accept that. No one owes us anything.＿ We know that. There are too many of us for charity to reach all of us.＿ We acknowledge that. But that does not stop us from making a better life.＿ This lifetime. Opportunity is as we make of it. So, pardon us if we feel obliged to make a better place＿ for ourselves in this country we call home.＿ It is in our DNA to progress forward＿for a more comfortable life. But if history were to be our teacher, look around this globe. Every country has a Chinatown (seriously) but how many government/countries are taken over by the Chinese people.＿ Dont be afraid of us overwhelming your majority,＿we are not looking to conquer.＿ If we have moved away from China and Chinese governed countries,＿are NOT looking for another country to administer.＿ Our representatives are only there to look after our collective welfare. They are duty bound.＿ We prefer to blend in and enjoy the fruits of our labor.＿ We enjoy the company of like minded people of all races.＿ After all, we are only passing through a small period in＿the history of time... so, use our skills and＿we can all progress forward together. Chan-Lui Lee, Ph.D. Honorary Life Member & Past President, AFS Melbourne, Australia There are two ways to conquer and enslave a nation. One by the sword....the other is by debt. John Adams 1826 Regards, Joseph T. May I also add this : #1. Chinese are the most unloved people in the world coming from the most unloved country: China. Never mind about their contributions of labor and ingenuity to the construction and completion of the Western Pacific Railroad that opened up California. They were immediately forgotten the day the rail road was completed. They were never invited to the celebrations that took place. They were simply disbanded and left to fend for themselves. Nobody cared what happened to them. #2. In the trenches in Normandy they worked day and night to dig the trenches for the world war but where was there any report about this 100,000 diggers. Many of them lost their lives before they could return to China. Despite this contribution the Chinese nearly lost Shantung to the Japanese by treaty even though China was on the winning coalition in the war. #3.There is no race on earth where a law was passed to discriminate them. Only the Chinese was given this distinction: Chinese Exclusion Laws was exclusively passed in Canada and USA to discriminate Chinese in many aspects of making a living and restricted from marrying White women. ###. In our own times you have heard of pogrom against the Chinese by the indigenous people of the countries of their adoption. If you care to observe discrimination is still ongoing against the Chinese unless we are totally blind. As a country, China is so feared that you could hardly find a day without China being bashed in the media. Why? We are just distinctly different. We are unloved for this . . . . ( References: The Chinese in America by Iris Chang, Sons of the Yellow Emperor by Lynn Pan who also edited The Encyclopedia of the Chinese Overseas, then there is Chinese Indonesians edited by both Tim Lindsey and Helen Pausacker, The China Wave: Rise of a Civilizational State by Zhang Weiwei, Winner Take All by Dambisa Moya and Convergence by Mahbubani Kishore )
Posted on: Tue, 19 Aug 2014 06:39:52 +0000
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