Last week, I discussed racism in China with my students. Actually, this was one of the times I've been most nervous. Chinese have a great deal of pride, which is often tied to their very intense nationalism. Discussing this topic meant risking offending all of my students, or having them completely misunderstand, thinking I hate China.
Racism in China is a topic that is rarely discussed. According to the government, there is no racism here. Racism is a Western problem, not possible in a largely racially homogeneous country. Discrimination towards minorities is largely ignored. Complex concepts about race as a social construct or China's influx of foreigners in the Tang Dynasty who intermarried and contributed to the modern gene pool are conveniently never mentioned. Instead, a "united" and completely fictional narrative is peddled: China has 5,000 years of unbroken history, and a pure Han race.
When it comes to racism against foreigners, most Chinese point out that Caucasian foreigners are often treated better than locals. And this is true! As a Caucasian, you can expect to get a higher pay (to some degree, although this is becoming less true). You may receive repeated compliments about how beautiful you are, and your children will often be photographed, even if you do not want them to be. People will often go out of their way to help you and befriend you. But not always...
While preparing the class discussion notes, I found that there was a complete lack of information about racism in China. The few references I could find were to Chinese minorities, Africans, Japanese, and Lou Jing, a half African-American, half Chinese television show contestant. While these examples are great, they completely neglect the fact that there is a great deal of racism towards Caucasians, much of it harking back to the government's use of Chinese anger towards The Age of Humiliation and the Opium Wars, and a convenient glossing over of all positive things foreign countries have done for China (Flying Tigers, anyone?). Even Caucasian foreigners in China, who seemed to be married to Chinese, often made remarks along the line that Caucasians who have to be crazy to yell racism in China. I assume that these commentators live in Shanghai.
Through discussing racism with my students, I was able to truly understand that many young Chinese are very open to hearing my experiences without rushing to judgment. Instead, we were able to have a meaningful dialogue about seeing past one's skin color or nationality. And more importantly, how it is possible for me to love China while still talking openly about the problems.
The lack of viewpoints available online drove me to the conclusion that it is time for me to add mine. So, as my time in China seems to be slowly drawing to an end, I want to discuss this topic from all the different perspectives that I have seen it.
Yesterday, I brought my husband, Iranian parents in law, and not quite 2 year old daughter to Huaqing Springs. A popular tourist destination, it is located in Lintong, a town right outside of Xi'An, which is more famously known for the terracotta warriors. Foreigners on tours often end up at Lintong Springs as part of their tour, as it is a convenient stop after seeing the terracotta warriors.
Despite having spent nearly 5 years in Xi'An, I had never made it to the Huaqing Springs, and was actually quite excited. Friends had generally told me that it's overpriced (150 RMB or about $25 USD full price, 75 RMB or about $12 for students) and more than a bit underwhelming, but my curiosity had gotten the best of me. For reference, it was beautiful, but nothing compared to the gardens of Suzhou. It is, essentially, only a small garden around a hot spring (that you are not allowed to swim in).
One of the bonuses was that you could hike up to some Buddhist temples on the mountain for free now. It used to be a separate ticket price, but they recently combined them into one ticket. The problem that faced us was that our almost 2 year old is not very easy to hike with in the best of conditions, and yesterday she did not get her afternoon nap. Hiking with a crying, screaming, wriggling, wrangling toddler is far from ideal. Moreover, the parents-in-law are elderly with bad knees. There was no way that they could hike. So, my husband, J, decided to buy tickets for a cable car up the mountain, which at 60 RMB or about $10 a head was not very cheap.
When we got to the top of the mountain, there was quite a long line of high school students with a single group. My daughter, E, was completely beside herself from her exhaustion. She was screaming at the top of her lungs, and trying to wriggle out of my husband's arms. Seeing this, one of the workers motioned for us to cut. After all, there were 4 of us ticket holders, but around 50 high schoolers in line. It would literally take around 1 minute to check our tickets.
As soon as the worker motioned for us to cut, the high school teacher chaperoning the group began yelling (before I had even spoken a word), "Foreigners come to our country, and they just cut!" Really? I can't count the number of times that I've calmly lined up, even though people were cutting in front of me here. China's not exactly known for line etiquette. I calmly asked the ticket collector if we could cut, as we have elderly people and a child in our group. At first he was going to concede. However, once the woman continued with how we foreigners ALL bully Chinese in their own country, we were refused. I ignored the woman, and calmly and politely explained that Chinese culture dictates that the elderly be respected, and couldn't they see that E was crying? Moreover, the area to line up was dangerous for a 2 year old, as the fence had holes.
The high school teacher continued to make increasingly racist comments, while the ticket holder said, "Your parents in law and husband can go through with the baby, but you have to line up." I pointed out that the worker had told us to cut, and that this solution did not work. After all, there was nowhere for them to sit and wait for me on the other side. Moreover, the point was to be able to get my daughter back to the car as soon as possible so she could sleep.
Well, the high school teacher became increasingly insulting, and I finally lost it with the ticket collector and the high school teacher. I went over and asked an employee to talk to their boss. Turns out that the ticket collector was the boss. Wow.
Why do I say this is racism? Because the entire conversation was framed around our nationality. We should not be allowed to cut in line, as we are foreigners. Foreigners always cut (completely false besides being racist). Foreigners bully Chinese (yes, we never get bullied, and we never helped China). Yes, there are foreigners who do this. But why are you rushing to a judgment before I've even spoken (as if the crying baby didn't make it obvious)? Why are you seeking to accommodate a woman who is saying such blatantly offensive things, and who seems to be wanting to provoke a fight? Then, when I finally lose my temper, why do you gang up against me? Would you accommodate a foreigner who was saying the same about Chinese? No, that would hurt your nationalistic sentiments. Would you expect a Chinese to remain calm and polite even when so verbally abused? No... I've seen those sort of fights happen many, many times. would you gang up on a Chinese who shouted racist comments at a foreigner? No. Today proved that. But when the foreigner fights back, you will gang up.
After going onto the mountain, I loudly complained about how racism truly is such a big problem in China. A monk came over and handed E a piece of candy. Later, for no reason, a monk came and handed E an apple. Would they have done this if E was Chinese? Would they have done this if I had not loudly complained about China's discrimination problem? I don't know. Perhaps not. But what this did do was to remind me of something very important: this is not everyone. In fact, most Chinese are very kind and welcoming. However, every country has its issues with racism.
In the end, I realized that I really should not have lost my temper. Yet I don't know what would have made the situation better. It seems like a lose-lose situation, as you cannot change others.
I also pondered the fact that I can't imagine this happening in Shanghai or Nanjing. Perhaps those foreigners saying there is no racism against foreigners in China either don't speak Chinese, or live in a more liberal city...
Racism in China is a topic that is rarely discussed. According to the government, there is no racism here. Racism is a Western problem, not possible in a largely racially homogeneous country. Discrimination towards minorities is largely ignored. Complex concepts about race as a social construct or China's influx of foreigners in the Tang Dynasty who intermarried and contributed to the modern gene pool are conveniently never mentioned. Instead, a "united" and completely fictional narrative is peddled: China has 5,000 years of unbroken history, and a pure Han race.
When it comes to racism against foreigners, most Chinese point out that Caucasian foreigners are often treated better than locals. And this is true! As a Caucasian, you can expect to get a higher pay (to some degree, although this is becoming less true). You may receive repeated compliments about how beautiful you are, and your children will often be photographed, even if you do not want them to be. People will often go out of their way to help you and befriend you. But not always...
While preparing the class discussion notes, I found that there was a complete lack of information about racism in China. The few references I could find were to Chinese minorities, Africans, Japanese, and Lou Jing, a half African-American, half Chinese television show contestant. While these examples are great, they completely neglect the fact that there is a great deal of racism towards Caucasians, much of it harking back to the government's use of Chinese anger towards The Age of Humiliation and the Opium Wars, and a convenient glossing over of all positive things foreign countries have done for China (Flying Tigers, anyone?). Even Caucasian foreigners in China, who seemed to be married to Chinese, often made remarks along the line that Caucasians who have to be crazy to yell racism in China. I assume that these commentators live in Shanghai.
Through discussing racism with my students, I was able to truly understand that many young Chinese are very open to hearing my experiences without rushing to judgment. Instead, we were able to have a meaningful dialogue about seeing past one's skin color or nationality. And more importantly, how it is possible for me to love China while still talking openly about the problems.
The lack of viewpoints available online drove me to the conclusion that it is time for me to add mine. So, as my time in China seems to be slowly drawing to an end, I want to discuss this topic from all the different perspectives that I have seen it.
Yesterday, I brought my husband, Iranian parents in law, and not quite 2 year old daughter to Huaqing Springs. A popular tourist destination, it is located in Lintong, a town right outside of Xi'An, which is more famously known for the terracotta warriors. Foreigners on tours often end up at Lintong Springs as part of their tour, as it is a convenient stop after seeing the terracotta warriors.
Despite having spent nearly 5 years in Xi'An, I had never made it to the Huaqing Springs, and was actually quite excited. Friends had generally told me that it's overpriced (150 RMB or about $25 USD full price, 75 RMB or about $12 for students) and more than a bit underwhelming, but my curiosity had gotten the best of me. For reference, it was beautiful, but nothing compared to the gardens of Suzhou. It is, essentially, only a small garden around a hot spring (that you are not allowed to swim in).
One of the bonuses was that you could hike up to some Buddhist temples on the mountain for free now. It used to be a separate ticket price, but they recently combined them into one ticket. The problem that faced us was that our almost 2 year old is not very easy to hike with in the best of conditions, and yesterday she did not get her afternoon nap. Hiking with a crying, screaming, wriggling, wrangling toddler is far from ideal. Moreover, the parents-in-law are elderly with bad knees. There was no way that they could hike. So, my husband, J, decided to buy tickets for a cable car up the mountain, which at 60 RMB or about $10 a head was not very cheap.
When we got to the top of the mountain, there was quite a long line of high school students with a single group. My daughter, E, was completely beside herself from her exhaustion. She was screaming at the top of her lungs, and trying to wriggle out of my husband's arms. Seeing this, one of the workers motioned for us to cut. After all, there were 4 of us ticket holders, but around 50 high schoolers in line. It would literally take around 1 minute to check our tickets.
As soon as the worker motioned for us to cut, the high school teacher chaperoning the group began yelling (before I had even spoken a word), "Foreigners come to our country, and they just cut!" Really? I can't count the number of times that I've calmly lined up, even though people were cutting in front of me here. China's not exactly known for line etiquette. I calmly asked the ticket collector if we could cut, as we have elderly people and a child in our group. At first he was going to concede. However, once the woman continued with how we foreigners ALL bully Chinese in their own country, we were refused. I ignored the woman, and calmly and politely explained that Chinese culture dictates that the elderly be respected, and couldn't they see that E was crying? Moreover, the area to line up was dangerous for a 2 year old, as the fence had holes.
The high school teacher continued to make increasingly racist comments, while the ticket holder said, "Your parents in law and husband can go through with the baby, but you have to line up." I pointed out that the worker had told us to cut, and that this solution did not work. After all, there was nowhere for them to sit and wait for me on the other side. Moreover, the point was to be able to get my daughter back to the car as soon as possible so she could sleep.
Well, the high school teacher became increasingly insulting, and I finally lost it with the ticket collector and the high school teacher. I went over and asked an employee to talk to their boss. Turns out that the ticket collector was the boss. Wow.
Why do I say this is racism? Because the entire conversation was framed around our nationality. We should not be allowed to cut in line, as we are foreigners. Foreigners always cut (completely false besides being racist). Foreigners bully Chinese (yes, we never get bullied, and we never helped China). Yes, there are foreigners who do this. But why are you rushing to a judgment before I've even spoken (as if the crying baby didn't make it obvious)? Why are you seeking to accommodate a woman who is saying such blatantly offensive things, and who seems to be wanting to provoke a fight? Then, when I finally lose my temper, why do you gang up against me? Would you accommodate a foreigner who was saying the same about Chinese? No, that would hurt your nationalistic sentiments. Would you expect a Chinese to remain calm and polite even when so verbally abused? No... I've seen those sort of fights happen many, many times. would you gang up on a Chinese who shouted racist comments at a foreigner? No. Today proved that. But when the foreigner fights back, you will gang up.
After going onto the mountain, I loudly complained about how racism truly is such a big problem in China. A monk came over and handed E a piece of candy. Later, for no reason, a monk came and handed E an apple. Would they have done this if E was Chinese? Would they have done this if I had not loudly complained about China's discrimination problem? I don't know. Perhaps not. But what this did do was to remind me of something very important: this is not everyone. In fact, most Chinese are very kind and welcoming. However, every country has its issues with racism.
In the end, I realized that I really should not have lost my temper. Yet I don't know what would have made the situation better. It seems like a lose-lose situation, as you cannot change others.
I also pondered the fact that I can't imagine this happening in Shanghai or Nanjing. Perhaps those foreigners saying there is no racism against foreigners in China either don't speak Chinese, or live in a more liberal city...
