Well, what is one supposed to say in this case? He must represent some sort of triumph for individualism in China. Here we have the younger generation eagerly showing it is not constrained by any conformist guidelines of fashion or conventionality. We even have a clear rejection of the old pursuit of status. What is he trying to achieve if not a sort of upbeat independance? Why he is so upbeat would be the subject for a longer post. He must have been born with very few cultural complexes or he must at least have a unique ability to not think about these hangups too often.
China’s miracle suggests a hundred different questions. One of them is why all the other non-Western countries cannot develop in the same way. Part of the reason might relate to the absence of young men in those countries who can at once be uninhibited and disciplined. Chinese never tire of mentioning their five-thousand years. The amazing thing is that all those years have left them with so little cynicism. In the Middle East for example, cynicism seems to have come before wealth. Or maybe wealth came too soon bringing cynicism? In China, the cynicism is either so well entrenched in people’s pscyches that it becomes barely noticable, or people really are this optimistic. Brilliant enough growth can produce hope for all that can triumph over all blatant inequalities and deficiencies in a system.
People in the West have eaten too little bitterness to understand, and as always the best answer is probably to not bother attempting to explain things. I can’t even figure out which shoes I should buy next – forget trying to understand a country.
Comments are closed.