Yes, I know all about China's great enterprise to win more medals than the United States, how much it has invested in sports such as crew and weightlifting that hardly anyone here does, and its efforts to show the world what a great and responsible power China is becoming. But beneath all this is the fact that of all the countries in the world, it is the United States that China and the Chinese care about most.
Chinese support for America is certainly partly pragmatic; China's athletes are not as strong as the Americans, and in a fair fight, the United States should still win. The subtle reluctance to win may also be related to China's being host of the games; by coming in first, China would look like a showoff. It could also be part of an idea that sport stands for economic and political might, and China knows that it certainly can't challenge American supremacy, at least not yet.
"It's not our moment. It would be too ambitious and too unreal to be the first in the Olympics now," said a friend of mine at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, the country's premier think tank. "Many people, even among the leaders, think like this."
But to me, the Chinese attitude speaks of something deeper and also more difficult to put into words. The Chinese really look up to the United States. It's hard for them to admit, proud as they are of their 5,000 years of continuous culture, but they do.
Sunday, August 17, 2008
Are the Chinese Pulling for America?
Some are, says Francesco Sisci in Sunday's Washington Post:
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3 comments:
I dunno. I've always said that the oriental xenophobia has always been an issue, and I think that puts them at odds with us, like unto but not the same as, the Islamic meme does with The West (I believe it's fair to say we epitomize the ideals of The Western, Greek meme, as well as its flaws or downsides). Our "melting pot" culture also plays very much against the Oriental meme of "there's us and them".
A nation... is just a society for hating foreigners.
- Olaf Stapledon -
Remember, the Japanese word for "foreigner" is the same as the one for "barbarian". And the Chinese word for "foreigner" translates even worse: "devil".
So the respect you speak of may be for that of a very capable adversary, not as something to emulate or find comraderie with.
I don't shoot a man for being incompetent in the Devil's work. I shoot him for being competent in the Devil's work. Admiration for his technique is part of the process.
- Laurence Van Cott Niven -
Maybe the Chinese are attracted to the concept of FREEDOM. Maybe they are ready to live as brave and free people and hope their government will catch up with the Chinese people. Power to the Chinese people (50% to Chinese men and 50% to Chinese women)!
Anony:
I agree--and hope.
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