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March 22, 2012
Sound Familiar? Progressive Chinese Education Techniques
Everything they teach you to admire is jiade (fake).Right now they’re pushing Lei Feng (the Communist hero who was a model of selflessness) again. But everyone knows that Lei Feng is made up. All of their model heroes are false.... So when they teach morality their teaching tools are fake. Completely fake. After a while the students learn that Lei Feng is a fake. He existed but all the stories are made up. It’s destructive—it destroys everything you’ve been taught. You feel that nothing is real. How can they teach virtues? It’s impossible. The problem is they don’t have a bottom line. There is no bottom line in society. You find out that the things you’re supposed to admire the most are untrue. So it seems nothing is real. So the only way the party can succeed is by cheating you. That becomes their biggest success. That’s who you’re ruled by. -- Learning How to Argue: An Interview with Ran Yunfei @ NYRB
Posted by gerardvanderleun at March 22, 2012 9:53 AM. This is an entry on the sideblog of American Digest: Check it out.
Your Say
I wish Obama was made up too... oh, wait a minute.
Posted by: sherlock at March 22, 2012 10:32 AM
We should start a group blog that does nothing but document the fabulous exploits of the Boy Princedent. Oh, wait a minute. There's already an app for that. The press. Shucky darn. I thought I had a brilliant idea.
Posted by: Jewel at March 22, 2012 12:15 PM
I have noticed a peculiar, universal sameness in my experience with Chinese businessmen which this piece touches on. Lying, for example, is simply not viewed in the same context as it is in the West. At all. To the point where I am sure they are not deceiveing each other, and do not particularly mean to deceive me, but they cannot change the way they approach speech and relationships. Pretty sure this preceeds communism. Leftist lie because they enjoy successfully manipulating peope, communist lie to keep their subjects humiliated--manipulation is unnecessary, and the Chinese already lied for centuries as a form of politeness. Dangerous, rigid and caste ridden societies are often excessively polite.
Posted by: james wilson at March 22, 2012 3:06 PM
James, it does seem to be more to do with politeness in the Chinese/Asian case, which makes it more of a white lie issue, which has its own problems of course. I listened to an interview with an Australian scientist who went over to work in a Japanese research lab but had to return only a year later because he couldn't stand the 'un-scientific' culture: Meaning that rather than critique each other's papers in a robust, straightforward and rational manner they would be excessively polite, deferential and uncritical. When the Australian weighed in with both gumboots on some poor sod's paper his Japanese colleagues were aghast and protested that Dr Fuji had worked years on that paper!
Posted by: Brett_McS at March 22, 2012 11:58 PM
..."protested that Dr Fuji had worked years on that paper!"
Didn't they work on the Pisa Tower for quite a time? How about the Tower of Babel? And the Flatearthers rely on the Bedford Level.
Posted by: Peccable at March 23, 2012 8:16 AM
Hi Toggl teamIt is so nice to see the Chinese translation, it would make it eeasir to recommend it to others.The translation has a mistake, the [语言：] should translate into “中文” or 简体中文 , because 语言 means language but not Chinese.
Posted by: David at July 13, 2012 4:43 PM