Are Chinese people selfish? On the one hand, they’re labeled as “community-oriented,” placing the interests of their family, community, country above their own needs — at least, they face huge pressure to do so. On the other hand, they will do anything to get ahead: They don’t believe in lines, and they push and shove their way onto or off of buses and subways just to grab the best seats. Maybe “impatient” is a better description.
In discussing China’s rise and potential as a future superpower, and the U.S.’s concurrent decline, optimists always point out that the U.S. has the creative edge by far. It’s not even an edge, it’s a gulf. And based on what my personal experiences, it’s not going to close anytime soon. But will innovation remain as important as it is now, given China’s ability to imitate?
Why do the Chinese imitate? No one tries to sell anything different because it might mean a loss of revenue. It’s a nation of people so averse to risk.
Laowai, Chinese slang for “foreigner” that literally translates as “old outsider,” is increasingly sounding like an equivalent of nigger in the U.S. At face value, laowai is an affectionate nickname for foreigners, with lao added in front of people’s names or titles to indicate intimacy or informality. But often, when I hear laowai used, it’s because a Chinese person is pointing out and gawking at some laowaior going on a rant about them. Still, many laowai still refer to themselves as laowai — just like black people refer to themselves asniggas. (That metaphor ran deeper than I thought!)