When I was writing about how President Obama’s more and less expressed a prevailing concern for falling behind another booming power, China, in his State of the Union in “China’s moon, the tiger moms & 揠苗助長,” I was planning to talk about this later from another viewpoint in terms of my trip to Xian, China last year.
In the wake of the devastating disaster happening in Japan, people have noticed how Japanese, though going through such a horrible threat of life and property, still show their decency 體面(ti3 mian4), or self-esteem 自尊(zi4 zun) Their social order doesn’t fall apart. On the streets you see people waiting in line for food, water, or pay phones. Convenience stores offer free food or water for people on the streets. Relief works are conducted efficiently by the government. You cannot help but call them an “advanced,” “civilized” country, no matter how they might be struggling in an economic stagnancy these years.
For Obama, president of a super power, it’s natural to view China
After my trip to Xian, I have to say that I finally realized why I have heard so many foreigners praise Taiwan by saying how friendly 友善(you2 shan4)people are, or why a writer from Singapore has written about how great Taipei is as to how orderly it is besides having friendly people. I’d never felt strongly about this until I had the trip to China
First of all, the tour bus 遊覽車(you2 lian3 che) ride was horrible. I found that Chinese drivers just loved to horn. They kept horning loudly on the way even when there was no car ahead of them at all! (Just to warn the drivers in other lanes?) I was sitting by the driver and saw clearly how he drove. I could hardly rest during the long ride. Too much noise.
The horning was just 小意思(xiao3 yi4 si)* compared to what the taxi driver had brought me since it was nothing but annoying. The taxi driver had brought me to a scene that I’d only seen in a Hollywood movie when he was trying to pass the car 超車(chao che)ahead in a underpass by intruding to the opposite lane with a car driving to us at a high speed. Fortunately the retired professor sitting next to me did not have a heart attack!
It was surprised to see that there weren’t so many traffic lights as it should in some traffic circles 圓環(yuan2 huan2)or intersections 十字路口(shi2 zi4 lu4 kou3).Tons of people and vehicles just hustle around together. You got to be very alert and fast to move around the city and not get injured. It seemed that horning was the voice of this old city.
It took us like hours to get back to our hotel when we were just about 500 meters away from it. The tour bus ahead of us went into the wrong lane, which appeared to be a dead lane 死巷(si3 xiang4), and had to back out of it. Instead of waiting with a little patience, all the vehicles just horned and sped up to pass it. The traffic flow was congested as the tour bus was nudging and pausing by inches. “Wouldn’t it be faster and safer if the drivers behind just stop and wait for about 20 seconds and let the bus back out and drive on?” It would definitely be what drivers in Taiwan
On arriving at our hotel, we had another frightening experience. No exaggeration. The driver just stopped the tour bus right in the middle of the narrow street and asked us to get off. With the car running by us, we got off and took our luggage. Luckily everyone was intact. “Is there any law here?” I asked and figured out it seemed to be a vicious circle. You don’t take other people’s convenience and welfares into consideration 替別人著想(ti4 bie2 ren2 zhao2 xiang2) since no one else takes yours into consideration. You have to “fight” your way on the street.
Another bad impression I had was when we were at the rest area 休息站(xiu xi2 zhan4)of the express way waiting in line to use the bathroom. We Taiwanese stood in line 排隊(bai2 dui4)as we always did in Taiwan. What made it different was that we had to try very hard to prevent those local women from cutting into our line 插隊(cha dui4). Practically we had to work as a “team” to stop them edging their way. I still remember what they were like when they were kind of “sneaking” into the line. Anyone would look ugly that way whatever name brand he might be wearing.
Is it that they have so big a population that they have to act this way, to “fight” to “survive?” I did some thinking on this and tried to give an explanation.
That’s why I miss Taiwan so much when in China
Some eleven years ago when the 7.3-magnitute 921 Earthquake hit Taiwan, people also showed this kind of體面 and helped each other. I don’t remember hearing any news of people robbing each other. (Few cases of people taking advantage of the donation, maybe.) The donations of food and water and clothes were so much that the charity had to ask people to stop.
As we always say, “God helps those who help themselves.” 天助自助者(tian zhu4 zi4 zhu4 zhe3) I believe people act with this體面will undoubtedly have the courage and perseverance to restore from the natural disasters, however devastating they are.
*Note: 小意思 a small case, nothing. Please refer to my previous writing意思意思 for more information.
體面=体面
遊覽車=游览车
超車=超车
圓環=圆环
替別人著想=替别人着想
排隊=排队
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