Essays on the Chinese – 6

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Perpetual motion

I have already written that perhaps the best analogy for understanding Chinese society is anthill. The perpetual movement of a huge number of people, not fading for a second. We are constantly running somewhere, sometimes without even thinking. Wrote recently about individual, which, if you do not tug it without mazy, will not generate any kipish. So this is not a Chinese alignment from the word at all. Most often, the impulse comes from the authorities – the boss said something and everyone ran in one direction, not understanding the road and stepping on each other’s feet. He changed his mind – and everyone runs in the opposite direction with the same zeal. And if no vector is given, we run in a circle. This forms what I call the “Chinese storm in a teacup”. But we are never at rest.

Six months ago, I asked a Chinese man leaving for his homeland after three years in Russia what the most important things he learned about Russians were. The first thing he noted was that our life is much happier than in China due to the lack of survival race. Secondly, the Russians feel much worse than the Chinese in a state of uncertainty. I agreed in principle, but I wanted more clarity.

– Well, just imagine, you are standing high in the mountains and there is an impenetrable fog around you. Suddenly it dissipates a little and you can take one step. The Russian will remain in place and will think – what if there is a further abyss? I’ll wait a little more. And the Chinese will take a step and look – yeah, really an abyss. And take a step back.

My very smart comrade (they don’t take others to academicians), when I told him this parable, he said:

“Yes, of course, Valerie. If he does not move, the crowd will simply trample him. There might be something in this. But I do not think that perpetual motion is generated by competition alone. There is something deeper in this…

And finally, one funny case. Remember story about my friend, who left Huawei six months later and the Chinese comrade H, who just shrugged it off? I then said to H:

– Here look. We lost a lot of money in this case. Moreover, they received a reputational blow.

“Well, yes,” he agreed.

– So maybe it was worth putting more effort into the guy’s integration?

– Well maybe…

– Or even sit evenly, than to hire like that, and then fire. After all, it is known that if you can do nothing in a large office, then you need to do nothing in it.

Then he looked at me, not just as if I were completely stupid, but as if I were a person who did not understand something fundamental. He shook his head and answered.

– No.

That is how we live. At first, this fuss terribly infuriated me. And now I’m used to it and even began to think that it could be better. Movement is life. And we definitely never get bored here…😊

And yet they are different…

Finally, I would like to warn you against blindly following my recommendations. Firstly, I mainly communicate with the Chinese who come to us on a long business trip. Secondly, I tried to talk about the peculiarities of thinking that are generated by social, cultural and linguistic roots. And on average, they probably allow you to explain something, but in fact everything is very individual. All Chinese are actually different, although it often seems to us that they are all the same person. And we remember their names badly. Partly due to the difficulty of pronunciation. And also because what’s the difference – Hong or Jintao, if they look exactly the same? 😁 Believe me, on the other hand, the prospect is exactly the same – we are all the same for them too. Andrey, Alexey and Alexander – the same name 😁 I have a friend Zhenhua – a Chinese, with whom we manage the Nizhny Novgorod research center. And we often have this dialogue:

“Do you remember the question Pencheng was asked at the meeting yesterday?”

Did Andrey ask?

No, his name is Alexander.

– Oh yes. But it was not Pencheng, but Yangfan.

And we both laugh 😁

But seriously, they are all, of course, very different. Funny and sad, quiet and noisy, slobs and pedants. Someone has army discipline, but don’t feed someone with bread, let them do some Hack the System. 😊 There are even Chinese with almost perfect english.

There are a lot of differences, but my penetration into the Chinese essence is still not enough to cover all of them. The only thing I have learned to do more or less confidently is to distinguish between northern and southern Chinese. They speak a little differently. The northern Chinese are more like Mongoloids (well, who else should they be like?), the southern ones are less. The northerners are more loyal to us, and the southern ones are “traders” and “Komsomol members“. Not to say that they are loyal to amers, they just probably like money a little more 😀 By the way, Huawei is a company from the very south of China.

I still have a lot to comprehend in our mysterious eastern neighbors. But probably this will already be the subject of the series “Essays on the Chinese -2.0”.

Epilogue

Well, that’s all, cats. Now you know almost as much about the Chinese as I do. And you don’t know exactly the same number – infinity. Yes, there is an abyss between them and us. But, believe me, I would not write so many letters if I did not believe that we could build bridges over it.

Sometimes I must have looked too tough. But I exaggerated only in order to highlight the differences more clearly.

I deliberately did not touch on some topics – the moral code, religion, politics. It’s just that my knowledge at the moment is not enough to make any generalizations.

The path of knowledge is endless and I invite you to move with me. My formula is simple – curiosity, patience and sympathy. And someday (though sooner than you expect 😀) you will be reciprocated❤️