Professor Zhang actually talks to a real live white chick. Among the topics of discussion are what turns on (or off) big-boobied white girls, Chinese male confidence (or lack thereof) and arrogant American women. Enjoy Sonagi’s translation below:
Z: During the two years that you’ve lived in China, have you ever been pursued by Chinese men?
WW: Never.
Z: Has a Chinese man ever come after you? Ever flirted with you or even tried to strike up a conversation?
WW: Never.
Z: Why do you think that is?
WW: Chinese men are afraid of foreign women, especially white women.
Z: How did you get that impression?
WW: They don’t even have the guts to talk to foreign women, let alone pursue them.
…
Z: What shortcomings do Chinese men have?
WW: First, they’re not clean, and their fingernails are too long. They pick their noses and ears and spit wherever. So disgusting! Chinese people are also fond of squatting anywhere, something I can’t stand. Where I’m from, only kids do this (squat). Adults either sit on the ground or stand. Our backs are uncomfortable; they can’t bend like that.
…
Z: Suppose a Chinese man was interested in foreign women. How can he get to know them (translator’s note: singular/plural is correct - a Chinese man/foreign women) For example, if a Chinese man saw you and came over to flirt, would you be turned off?
WW: No, I wouldn’t. He can approach me directly and start a conversation, so long as it’s not to practice English. Men need confidence first. If he converses with me confidently, I wouldn’t be turned off.
Z: Where is a good place to meet foreign women?
WW: A fitness club. I think since you can go there often, it’s easy to strike up conversations without being offensive. Later on you could have a drink with her or go out for a bite to eat.
Z: What if the man’s advances are rejected?
WW: Chasing women is a gamble. In fact, marriage is also a gamble. There are no guarantees in life. Do you think rejection is a big deal? It’s not, is it?
Z: In your opinion, what is the success rate for Chinese men pursuing foreign women?
WW: 8-9%
Z: Why so low?
WW: Chinese men lack confidence. Who wants a man with no confidence? Some Chinese men express their lack of confidence through indirect means, showing off their foreign girlfriends or wives like BMWs.
I don’t have any real friends. The friends I mentioned are not especially close, just friends to talk to.
Z: Are you lonely in China?
WW: Well,…I’m lucky. I have several friends from my own country. We get together often. I can talk to them.
Z: Would you like a Chinese man to pursue you?
WW: Who doesn’t want to be pursued? If someone pursues you, it means they like you. Who doesn’t want to be liked? Don’t you like being pursued?
There is a guy from my country. Every day he struts his stuff in front of us. A crowd of Chinese girls flock around him as he casually plays around. He says China is a foreign man’s paradise and a foreign woman’s hell. Foreign women don’t get pursued by Chinese men.
…
Z: Do you think some white women discriminate against the Chinese?
WW: You mean racial discriminiation? I have unconsciously..
Z: How about American women?
WW: American women think they’re always right, no matter who they’re dealing with. American women are arrogant, not only towards the Chinese. I think race doesn’t matter, but even if some people do, I must tell you, women are much less racist than men.
Z: Are Chinese men too short?
WW: (looking at me with surprise) Are Chinese men too short? No way. When I ride the subway, the majority of Chinese men are taller than I. Chinese women are also taller.
10 Comments
Here’s a preview of tomorrow night’s homework:
“Do Foreign Women All Have AIDS?” An interview with a white American woman in her mid-twenties. Click for a barely worksafe pic:
http://blog.phoenixtv.com/user.....47067.html
If you’re not interested in this topic, please don’t post on the thread. A post is a vote of interest. I’ll continue posting translations in the pond forum at the Peking Duck. I translate this “意淫 (yiyin; mental masturbation)for practice and a good laugh.
I dont think short refers to height… and I seriously doubt that the picture is anything more than a photo lifted from some quasi-porn site elsewhere. I think it might be mildly entertaining to see where this goes.
The original:
问：会不会是中国男人个子矮？
答：（很意外地看着我）中国男人个子矮？不会吧。我乘地铁，大部分中国男的个子比我高，许多中国女的个子也比我高。
个子= height
The woman also answers that quite a few Chinese women are taller, too.
One commentator exhorted his compatriots to beat the crap out of foreign pigs and Japanese dogs,” complaining about events that happened more than 60 years ago. Gotta love it. A Brit writes a fantasy blog about shagging Chinese women, and some Chinese uses the forum to spout off anti-Japanese hatred.
Public expressions of political views are strictly controlled by the government, so China’s xenophobic and especially anti-American face is largely hidden from foreigners not fluent in Chinese.
Sonagi,
I don’t consider the Chinese in general particularly xenophobic and certainly not anti-American. It’s something that certain political groups in the US trying to paint China as a ‘threat’ would love to have us believe, so in that sense it is not ‘largely hidden’ from foreigners; you can see this (erroneous) assertion in much of the US media.
Of course, if the evidence of your thesis comes from the site of an obvious bigot, who naturally attracts a majority readership of other like-minded bigots, then sure, you can go on believing that Chinese are ‘anti-American’. That’s what I meant when I wrote earlier that these kinds of sites are self-selective.
I’ve made the acquaintance of a greater cross-section of Chinese society, so my conclusions are somewhat different.
Sonagi,
Chinese people’s hate on the Japanese runs deep. One day in near future, this pent-up hate will explode into a full blown kill fest, the China-Japan War(WWIII?).
Or, they may use future Unified Korea to attack Japan.
And why are we to take your word for what the Chinese believe over that of someone like Sonagi who clearly actually speaks the language? How do you know that you’re acquainted with the thoughts of a “greater cross-section of Chinese society” than she has? And even if you have, why should we take your personal experiences as being statistically more representative than the massive outpourings we can see on Chinese blogs, online forums and the like?
You talk of “certain political groups in the US trying to paint China”, but the one doing the painting here is you, bending over backwards to explain away the runaway xenophobia being bred by that country’s repressive politics in order to score a few cheap points against the “certain political groups in the US” you’re convinced are the source of all evil in the universe.
I don’t necessarily agree with what Prince Roy has pointed out above, but he does speak Chinese and is very knowledgable about China, so do be respectful in your criticism, if you could.
Why do he even bothers. Should have simply asked [url=http://youtube.com/watch?v=ahOb5MQR7Sg]those guys[/url]. Oh, wait, they’re Japanese ;p
Prince Roy, My Chinese friends and acquaintances were circumspect in sharing their opinions of the US. This does not mean the negativity isn’t there. While I was a unversity lecturer in Korea, no student of mine ever uttered a remark or wrote a comment in a paper that was anti-American. My Canadian colleagues, however, did hear and read stuff that sounded like it came from a Hanchongryon propaganda lesson. The colleagues conjectured that Korean students considered them, as Canadians, to be a more sympathetic audience, and I agree. I believe my students avoided making opinionated,negative remarks out of respect. I appreciated that and returned the courtesy by showing tact when talking about sensitive Korean issues.
It isn’t only Zhang’s website. A year ago, the Chinese government had to put a quick stop to their sanctioned anti-Japanese campaign in response to Koizumi’s visit when the violence got out of hand. Japanese students and expats were insulted, threatened and even assaulted. And the Chinese haven’t forgotten about the US bombing of their embassy in Belgrade nor the crash of the Chinese pilot during a confrontation with US spy planes near the Chinese coast. Oh yeah, and huge front-page pictures of naked, hooded Iraq prisoners under headlines screaming “American-style democracy?” plus arms shipments and joint military exercises with Taiwan don’t help. I wish you could have been sitting on the bus with me when some university students were discussing that photo. The resentment IS there.
While googling, I stumbled upon a blog written by university students (can’t remember which university) that contained an entry complaining about Koreans ’stealing’ Dano, which is really a Chinese holiday.
I’m bored of Zhang and his weird research and have put out feelers looking for other Chinese language blogs that post and comment on domestic and international issues.
Sonagi,
I think you’re conflating different issues. Do many Chinese people disagree or even dislike certain aspects of US foreign policy? Of course. Welcome to the majority of the world these days. Does this mean they are anti-American? I don’t believe so. Back in my student days I had frank political discussions with PRC Chinese both in the mainland and abroad. They were quite clear about where they stood with regards to these matters, but I never once sensed hostility to Americans themselves, or to me, even when I strongly disagreed with their analyses. I think many Americans fail to grasp the distinction. Maybe you can, and if so I misread your comments. I think the fact that your Chinese associates are circumspect in discussing the US with you validates my point. They don’t want to unnecessarily antagonize you, or hurt your feelings, when it is US government policy with which they disagree.
The current Western trend of ‘analysis’ is to paint Chinese with an extreme nationalistic, xenophobe brush. Are there Chinese who fit the bill? Sure. But I would caution against making the argument that Chinese society or a people as a whole are this way.
Chinese people naturally love their country, if not necessarily their political leadership, are discouraged by its failures, and are proud of its successes. They want their country to succeed and acquire a prominent position on the world stage. More than any of us, they are aware of the shortcomings of their government, after all, they live it, however they have no choice but to play the hand they’re dealt.
I agree with you that the Nutty Professor has nothing much of substance to offer anyone. I wish I still had time to browse the Chinese world like you do and hope you’ll share some of your more significant finds with the rest of us.