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YCC Blog: Reading China in 10 Words

Ardi Bouwers — Sat, 19 Sep 2020 08:34:51 +0000

Reading China in 10 Words, a book by Hua Yu and translated by Allan Barr.

by Claire Selbeck

In my perpetual quest to understand China more and on a deeper level, I recently picked up the book, China in 10 words. In 10 words/characters, Hua Yu is able to paint an enticing and compelling picture of how China and he himself are able to move through revolution toward its contemporary state. Each word has a corresponding chapter and each chapter is filled with anecdotes from Hua Yu’s past & present, historical and contemporary events, and notes on the social, political and economic landscape of China.

The book is a self-examination of Hua Yu’s youth in China and his later years as he seeks to make sense of what happened in his village and the greater part of China. It is poignant narration and Yu Hua is able to concisely explain how events in his past correlate to grand events under communist rule in China. He doesn’t judge. He simply recounts in a manner which suggests that no other experiences could have been his. Nor would he want, apparently, any other experiences. With a deeper context and his ability to draw on social, cultural and political narratives, you are left in awe at Hua Yu’s ability to keep a solid and neutral perspective in his work. I greatly recommend without reservation for anyone interested in learning more about how traditional China developed into a contemporary and modern China, and those who appreciate strong writing and skill in translation.

1. People (人民) Ren 人 means human being, person, people and Min 民 means people

“The people are Chairman Mao, and Chairman Mao is the people,” was a saying that Hua Yu came up with in his youth. But when the saying became commonplace, and Hua Yu tried to claim ownership, he was told that “everybody says that.” During the Cultural Revolution, there was only the People, but since China’s rise, new vocabulary to describe the segmenting of the population has arrived. There are netizens, stock traders, fund holders, celebrity fans, laid-off workers, migrant laborers and so on.

2. Leader (领袖) Ling 领 means neck, collar and Xiu 袖 means sleeve

There is only one leader in China, and his name is Mao Zedong. In this chapter, Hua Yu seeks to make sense of the importance of Chairman Mao and Tiananmen to his country.

3. Reading (阅读) Yue 阅 means to read, go-over and Du 读 means to read, read aloud.

“If literature truly possesses a mysterious power, I think perhaps it is precisely this: that one can read a book by a writer of a different time, country, race, language, culture and there encounter a sensation that is one’s very own.” During the Cultural Revolution, all books were banned and only Mao’s book and Lu Xun’s work were available.

4. Writing (写作) Xie 写 means to write, compose and Zuo 作 means writings, work

In his youth, Hua Yu did not write a lot as most literature was banned. The one thing which was recurrent in his life were the Cultural Revolution-era big-character posters (dazibao 大字报). In the 1960s, a poster started to circulate Beijing which maintained that the university was counterrevolutionary. The poster came to the attention of Mao Zedong, who had it broadcast

nationally and published in the People’s Daily. 大字报 became a crucial tool in Mao’s struggle during the Cultural Revolution. 大字报 were soon ubiquitous, used for everything from sophisticated debate to satirical entertainment to rabid denunciation; being attacked in a big-character poster was enough to end one’s career. Hua Yu recounts writing 大字报 in his youth at different times.

5. Lu Xun (鲁迅). Lu 鲁 means stupid, dull, rash, rough and Xun 迅 means fast, swift.

鲁迅 is one of the earliest and best-known modern Chinese writers.鲁迅 was a favorite writer of Mao Zedong and during his rule, people would either say, “Chairman Mao teaches us…” or “Mr. Lu Xun says…” The words of Lu Xun held a great weight for Chinese people. In his chapter, Yu Hua recounts a story from his youth where he would pick a topic for debate with his friend. The debate would last the whole year and they would go back and forth and try to win surrounding friends to their side. Twice, Hua Yu realized that he could win the debate by pointing out “well, Mr Lu Xun says … and he agrees with me.” As his words held so much weight, his counterpart would be inclined to believe him and the words Mr Lu Xun had spoken. When he was younger, Hua Yu used the words of Mr Lu Xun to win arguments and debates, but he never thought twice about the meaning of the words he spoke. That is until he was much older when he started to re-read his works on his own account. At a later stage in life, Yu Hua realized “at the same time I feel that for a reader to truly encounter an author sometimes depends on finding the right moment.” In his youth, Mr Lu Xun and his words had devolved into a catchphrase for Hua Yu, and it was only later when reading Lu Xun’s work was not mandatory, that Hua Yu was able to enjoy and appreciate his work.

6. Revolution (革命) Ge 革 means change, transform, remove from office and Ming 命 menas life, fate, order/command, to assign a name.

This chapter speaks to the different ways in which China has tried to pursue different forms of revolution and the hidden stories behind the high growth numbers. There was the Great Leap Forward which enticed the people of China to abandon everything and pursue steel production. This caused a devastating blow to the agriculture industry, which had been left abandoned. There has also been a revolution of education and infrastructure. There has been a skyrocketing increase in college admissions (price) without employment guarantee and there have been enormous infrastructure projects which remain underutilized. In China, a culture of Revolution was born during the Cultural Revolution and has persisted to this day; stellar growth with hidden consequences. “What is Revolution?” Hua Yu asks, “Revolution fills life with unknowables, and one’s fate can take an entirely different course overnight; some people soar high in the blink of an eye, and others just as quickly stumble into the deepest pit.”

7. Disparity (差距) Cha 差 means difference, dissimilarity and Ju 距 means distance, apart

In today’s China, there are huge social disparities between rich and poor, city and village, differences between religions, income inequalities, income level and allocation, and so on. Unequal lives give rise to unequal dreams. In 2000, CCTV interviewed Chinese children on Children’s Day, asking them what gift they would like to most receive. A boy in Beijing wanted a jet of his own and a girl in Northwest China answered a pair of sneakers. Both dreams seem unreal and like China today; Chinese “live amid huge disparities between recent history and contemporary history, and from one dream to the next”.

8. Grassroots (草根) Cao 草 means grass, straw, (dated: countryside) and Gen 根 means root (of a plant)

Grassroots attempts to give a straightforward answer as to how China was able to propel forward through its economic miracle – people were willing to do the things nobody else was willing to do. Chinese people were inspired to seize every possible opportunity to turn a profit once the reforming socialist economy allowed them to do so. There are those who have been able to make a great profit because they are willing to capitalize on a single – and heavily necessary – item such as paper napkins or cigarette lighters. At the same time, China’s legal system has not developed fast enough and there are plenty of legal loopholes to exploit. However, of the many grassroots millionaires, many have been arrested for crimes of corruption and misappropriation of funds. In China there exists the line – “what goes up comes down even quicker.” Heroes who rise to prominence are there for all to see, and for all to investigate once the tide turns.

9. Copycat (山寨) Shan 山 means hill, mountain, massif and Zhai 寨 means stockade

To copycat is to have freedom from official control and it has given the word imitation a new meaning. Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery in China. There has been a race to develop look-alike cellphones of European brands and shows to find Mao’s look-alikes. These look-alikes often are able to achieve a celebrity status of their own. The rise of the Copycat is owed to the paradoxes that exist in Chinese society, according to Hua Yu. During the 08 Olympics, Beijing advertised their Games as the most Green to ever exist, even though there were countless accusations of environmental degradation and pollution as an effect of the Games. For example, the passing of the fire produced streets full of car exhaust. In a small Chinese city, a similar copycat fire was being passed around, producing no environmental degradation. The copycat has gained acceptance, and has sometimes even been more beneficial or useful than the original. Hua Yu tries to conceptualize the copycat phenomenon as a form of revolutionary action initiated by the weak against the strong, similar to the Revolution which happened in China over 40 years ago during the Cultural Revolution. To copycat is then to merely rise up against the oppressors.

10. Bamboozle (忽悠) Hu 忽 means neglect, overlook, ignore and You 悠 means long-drawn-out

To bamboozle someone, has become a staple in China, a part of its cultural lexicon. Did you make someone show up to an event of yours, you have successfully bamboozled them. Did you ask your cousin to do something for you, you have successfully bamboozled her. It is to play a con trick and to rip somebody off – but its definition has grown wider. The rapid rise of using words such as bamboozle, or even copycat, show that Chinese now live in a society where there is a “breakdown of social morality and a confusion in the value system in China today; it is an aftereffect of our uneven development these past thirty years.” Hua Yu indicates that in a society where everyone is trying to bamboozle, they end up bamboozling themselves and he recounts a ‘scarring’ event from his youth. He would so often pretend to be sick with either a fever or a stomach ache that at one point, his doctor father took him to the operating table, to perform an appendectomy.

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YCC webinar on media

Ardi Bouwers — Fri, 26 Jun 2020 13:36:29 +0000

The West vs China: Media narratives and the role of propaganda in the COVID-19 crisis

On June 25th, Young China Circle hosted its first ever webinar. For the inaugural webinar, YCC invited Bei Wang. As a self-proclaimed activist at heart, Bei Wang currently is the co-founder and Chairman of Five Degrees. Five Degrees is an organisation that aims to connect the EU/Europe and the US with China. For almost two decades, Five Degrees has helped Western organisations and companies tell their stories, promote their brands and sell their products and services to the Chinese. Before starting her own company, Bei worked in Dutch media for more than 10 years.

Globalization and media

Since the start of globalization, technology has sped up and media has become a rapid-fire of mass (dis)information. There are many advantages to globalization, we are able to communicate more effectively and efficiently with people all over the world and social media allows us to stay in touch with different cultures. International media can make us more aware of what is happening on the other side of the world. But the spread of mass media all over the world has not been without its challenges. Globalization is expensive and it is highlighting the gap between the haves and the have-nots. Most terrifyingly, countries under authoritarian rule have seen an increase in the restriction of freedom of press. This happens increasingly as “liberal” or “western” media can propagate their own ideas and views. The 24-hour cycle of media has made us incapacitated in the amount of information we are able to consume and process.

Five lenses for media

In effect, as someone who is trilingual, Bei derives her own form of sport; setting up games to see how different media portray similar events. In her webinar, Bei challenges us to do the same.

Take a look at these headlines and try to derive its source;

Why it’s time to re-roll the US-China relationship
A new history of being Asian-American
China battles to control nationalist narrative on social media
China is mobilizing its global media machine in the coronavirus war of words

When looking at these four headlines, Bei tells us that it is important to keep in mind 5 lenses. Much like her organisation Five Degrees, Bei jokes that she likes to count in 5s. Who owns the newspaper in which a publication has appeared, what is its ownership? Is it a Chinese state-owned newspaper company or is it owned by an American conglomerate. Next, it is important to consider sources. Who is quoted in the article? Do those quoted have degrees in their respective fields?

Third, take a look at perspectives. Does the author consider both sides of a dilemma? Fourth, what does that author use as their narrative. Is it an op-ed or a commentary, or does the article merely state facts. A last consideration is nuance. This consideration can be the most difficult - what does the author try to imply in her/his article? Is she/he trying to make a point? Is their point overt and transparent, or is it implicit?

Bei ends her webinar with an interesting think piece - and some homework. Recently, on the 22nd of June, the EU-China summit took place via video conference. Using the tools Bei has provided us with (5 lenses to analyse media), we can now come up with our own views. Much like a diet, Bei suggests we can become more mindful of what we consume.

YCC would like to thank Bei for her interesting input, and we hope to see you at our next seminar/webinar!

Find Bei Wang:

www.beiwang.nl (personal website)

www.five-degrees.com (company website)

Mail: bei@five-degrees.com

This article appeared on Sixth Tone and is written by Josef Gregory Mahoney, a Professor of Politics at East China Normal University. Sixth Tone is an online magazine owned by the Shanghai United Media Group, a state-owned enterprise.
https://www.sixthtone.com/news/1005385/why-its-time-to-re-roll-the-u.s.-china-relationship
A cultural comment appeared in The New Yorker by Hua Hsu. Most readers of the New Yorker hold “consistently liberal” political views according to Pew Research. https://www.newyorker.com/culture/cultural-comment/a-new-history-of-being-asian-american
This article appeared in the SCMP and is written by Kinling Lo. SCMP is a Hong Kong English-language newspaper and Hong Kong’s newspaper of record, currently owned by Alibaba Group. Before it was owned by Rupert Murdoch’s News Corporation. https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3086698/china-battles-control-nationalist-narrative-social-media
An article by Hadas Gold and appeared in CNN Business. CNN is owned by America’s conglomerate AT&T. Upon its launch in 1980, CNN was the first television channel to provide 24-hour news coverage.
https://edition.cnn.com/2020/05/15/media/china-coronavirus-global-media/index.html

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New: Young China Circle

Ardi Bouwers — Fri, 19 Apr 2019 11:47:21 +0000

‘How do Dutch millennials view China’s rise?’
That was the central question of the China College Tour this spring. After lively discussions at universities all over the Netherlands, we presented the outcomes of the China College Tour to the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs on April 10.

Interactive and personal
At the interactive sessions, co-organised by Krijger & Partners, universities and student organisations and supported by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, we discussed issues such as:
– The two faces of China: techno-economic genius or command and control system?
– Understanding the giant: culture, politics and the innovative economy in China.

The personal experiences presented by students of Netherlands-Asia Honours Summer School were especially insightful. In addition, there were keynotes by Kathleen Ferrier, Xiaojia Xu, Ties Dams, Friso Stevens, Michiel Ebbing, Rene Cuperus and Ardi Bouwers. Their presentations formed the basis for questions and discussion.

Lack of knowledge
The most important overall conclusion was that millennials are very curious about what’s happening in China, but find they lack in-depth knowledge of that rapidly changing country. History lessons that focus on Europe and the western world, for example, tend to create a fear of China, instead of arousing curiosity (as a Dutch saying goes: ‘Unknown makes unloved’). Participating students were adament that both in secondary and higher education, more attention should be paid to China to fill this knowledge gap.

Curious, but critical
The China-debate should be broad, they say, and focus on values (both Dutch/European and Chinese), trade, innovation, climate, sustainability, privacy and cyber-security. So let’s not narrow it down to a struggle between merchant (‘koopman’) and preacher (‘dominee’). The conclusion? The millennial generation will face the challenge of a rising China and they want to adopt a curious, but critical attitude.

Krijger & Partners and China Circle decided to establish Young China Circle, a platform that wants to continue the China debate and secure the highly necessary input of millennials. All contributors to the China College Tour will be actively involved in this initiative.

Do you have a question or request for Young China Circle?
Please contact: tom@krijgerandpartners.com or ardi@chinacircle.nl

Stay tuned for new ideas, sessions and exchanges!

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