Mark Kitto recently wrote an article in ¡°The Prospect¡± magazine addressing why, after 16 years in China (during which time he married a Chinese woman, had two children, and ran his own business) he is returning to the west. He outlines several major factors that have goaded him to leave the country he once loved. China is no longer the exciting place it was when he first arrived, full of optimism and a new vision for the people. It is now a place that lusts for money, is rampant with corruption, clings to xenophobia and nationalism, and is terribly polluted. I have experienced all these things first hand, as a foreigner who has also lived in China, and yet¡ªhow do I know, unflinchingly, that I must return to China and live there for several more years? This is a question I am asking myself lately.
I remember when I first arrived in Xi¡¯an in 2009, driving from the airport to the university where I would spend the next year felt like driving through a fine mist. I arrived in August, and Xi¡¯an has a dry climate. The mist was the haze of pollution that hugs the city with a firm grasp, loosening its grip for short periods of time, only long enough to remind everyone what exactly they are missing (blue skies, vitamin D, clearly defined shadow and light).
Taking my first breath, I felt as if there were small snowflakes settling in my lungs. I am convinced that this was my introduction to the pollution. What some individuals who have not experienced such levels of pollution before may not consider, is that although (once you have lived in a polluted city for some time) it is a subtle experience; it affects many aspects of your life. You don¡¯t sleep as well. You feel sluggish. Your skin is worn; you appear more aged. Due to my time in Xi¡¯an, I came to appreciate the clean air of my home state, Illinois. It is easy to take air for granted; I don¡¯t anymore.
As for modern Chinese urbanites love of money, I also saw examples of this. I remember one instance where I was riding in a car with two other women with whom I had just participated in a modeling event. (While I am not ugly, I definitely do not possess model-caliber aesthetics¡ªbut foreigners are a cool commodity in China so I was invited). The man, an official in the Chinese government, was an equestrian aficionado, so for the afternoon we took pictures with him, everyone sitting on their horses. Returning to the city, it seemed to be a competition between the girls who could come up with a more accurate figure for this man¡¯s net worth. ¡°He owned how many horses?¡± ¡°And he keeps a stable so he has to pay the rent on the property, feed the animals, and pay the stable hands.¡± ¡°Did you notice what kind of car he had?¡± ¡°His watch looks new, and I am sure it¡¯s not his only one.¡± You get the idea. They put Sherlock Holmes to shame with their piercing powers of deduction. This is a skill one has developed.
I have also met China¡¯s fenqings. I once joined a friend and several of her colleagues for hot pot. For the entirety of this one and a half hour meal, the male colleague to my left berated me on ¡°America¡¯s treatment of China.¡± He told me about how America was in the wrong in meeting with the Dalai Lama; how we should remove ourselves from China¡¯s internal affairs and let go of Taiwan; how we should recognize China¡¯s rise and not try to meddle and control it.
I was not able to get a word in edge-wise to mention that America is a very spiritual country, so we may have interest in speaking with various faith leaders. Nor could I point out that our current-day commitment to Taiwan stems from agreements struck by the Carter administration, so in this way we were remaining true to our promises. I also didn¡¯t have the chance to chime in that China¡¯s great rise is, in large part, built on America¡¯s consumption of Chinese goods. And while there is anxiety in the US about China¡¯s rise, I believe that there is also a sense of deep and abiding sense of security that even if America is second economically, it remains (and will continue to remain) a supreme world power. This is due to America¡¯s connectedness with the rest of the world, and its very strong soft power. These points would have to be brought up in another conversation, if there ever was one.
All these examples are not flattering to China¡ªhow can I be so assured that I will go back, that I have to go back, that I really want to go back?
The main thing that is drawing me back is that I want to be a witness to China¡¯s great evolution. Although I am immensely grateful that I was born American, I admire China¡¯s long and winding history and can appreciate the significance of the period it is in now. Just as I would most like to be able to go back to the 1960s and witness America¡¯s Civil Rights movements, I want to see China work out its future. From following the events in China from afar via the news, magazines and weibo, one has the sense that China is on the cusp of change. Protests seem to swarm in scale and actually have an influence on government decisions. The copper alloy plant that was protested in Shifang will not be built; the ¡°national education curriculum¡± will not be implemented in Hong Kong. Also, the Open Government Initiative, initiated in 2009 by the CCP itself, seems to be yielding some tangible progress in citizen access to information.
Another interesting development that draws me back is the appearance of China¡¯s first open public forum¡ªweibo. I am skeptical of the thinking that weibo will usher democracy into China, but I do believe it provides a new avenue for the Chinese citizen to make their voice heard by many. It also provides a platform for relatively unfettered discussion of current events. Although I can observe and participate in weibo from my current American vantage point, I want to be on the ground, in China, hearing the actual xiaodaoxiaoxi (news through the grapevine), and then comparing this information with real-time discussions on weibo.
Contrasting with the sense that the Chinese people are having more say in government decisions and exercising recently granted access to information rights, is the trial of Gu Kailai and the soap opera-esque lead up to the 18th party congress. Gu Kailai¡¯s effusive praise of China¡¯s court system was ludicrous. According to one article, Gu said ¡°In order to uphold the sanctity of the law, I am willing to accept and calmly face whatever judgment I am given, and I also expect a fair and just judgment.¡± Who can swallow this? What does it do to a nation¡¯s psyche to be in a situation where the people know the government fabricates such things, and the government knows that the people can see through it? How long can a people endure such absurdity? This is what I want to know; I imagine going to China would help me figure this out.
Then, the most recent upset (in long list of upsets including Bo Xilai¡¯s fall and Chen Guangcheng¡¯s escape to the American Embassy) to the 18th party congress is Xi Jinping¡¯s disappearance from the public eye. When one contrasts the run up to the US presidential election to China¡¯s leadership change, the differences are striking. In the American campaign season, the presidential nominees make every effort to be seen and be heard. The opposing party digs up every minute detail of their personal lives to share with the American public. For China, we can only say that Xi is presumed to be China¡¯s next paramount leader. Isn¡¯t this a rather large surprise to break to the world¡ªwho exactly will run China, the country that is supposed to own the 21st century? Where exactly is Xi? It seems almost absurd that a person who will potentially wield a great deal of influence over China (and by extension, the world), can disappear for several days. It is worrisome.
These two contrasting forces: one towards openness and public participation, one towards opaqueness and government control, are what pique my curiosity and draw me back to China. Also, in the long view, when I look back on my life, I will be able to say that I saw the world¡¯s most populous nation, the world¡¯s most ancient civilization take its newest form. China is in a transition period, with all the pollution, corruption, and social unrest that change comes with. Won¡¯t it be exciting to see what it turns out to be in the end?
I also have hope for China¡¯s future. There are so many good people in China. People with conviction, people with ambition and creativity, people have suggestions for how to guide their country in the best direction. People who are proud of their country, but hostely recognize its shortcomings.
Another reason I so much want to return to China, is that I know I can always come home to America. This provides me a degree of separation from the turbulences that the Chinese populous has to face. When I lived in Xi¡¯an, I applied this mental trick and found it very effective. When I came across something I found abhorrent (like watching a woman being beat by her boyfriend in the middle of a busy street as the crowd watched and police walked by), I told myself that if I really could not take something, I could go home. No one was forcing me to stay. In the end I wanted to stay, because I was still curious. I still wanted to know more about what China was like, and what it will be like.
I¡¯ll let you know when I find out.
By Marjorie Perry
Any views expressed in this article are those of the author only and do not reflect the positions of any other Carter Center staff.
Marjorie Perry is a Program Associate with the China Program. She graduated with distinction from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 2009. She has spent four years studying Mandarin and hopes to become an ¡®old China hand.¡¯
Very interesting piece. I wish you the best of luck. Stay safe, though…witnessing change is all fun and games until you’re the one getting pushed around at a protest and your Chinese friends are getting arrested.
Marjorie, these are excellent observations and I can understand your itch to return to China. Collecting information through the grapevine as opposed to the media will turn you into an authentic China expert. I am curious to know where you plan to move and if you will continue to work for the Carter Center? Best of luck!
Thank you for your comment.
At the moment I do not have a particular location in mind, do you have any suggestions?
I would be happy to work for The Carter Center while living in China, if this were possible.
May I ask why they were arrested?
I don’t want to sound disrespectful, but as a Chinese who has had the chance to live in the US, I find your complaints about China to be juvenile. America is a great nation, a first world nation where the unemployment benefits greatly exceed many Chinese working in factories all day long. However, to get to where it is today it had to deal with many of the challenges which China is only going through now. You don’t compare first world nations with third world nations, you compare the progress of individual nations before and after to see if the policies are sound. For all of the complaints which you have against China, the materialism, the selfishness, the nationalism, they are all there in the US as well. IMO nationalism in the US is far more common and deadly than those in China. It is in grained into the US culture and especially visible during election years. Nevermind China which is constantly getting bashed by US politicians (some fairly, but often not) in order to get popular votes, just ask Hispanics in states like Arizona. Nationalists in China are natural and necessary entity, like conservatives in the US. I find it interesting that the nationalists in the US are typically the most friendly with the liberals in China.
It is very fortunate to be an American, because for all of the negative treatments which you will receive in China, you know that you will definitely receive positive treatments from stores to restaurants to the police stations. People in third world nations will generally look up to you because you are in fact, wealthier and more educated. More importantly, as you wrote you have the choice to leave China whenever you want and return to a world with a far higher living standard.
You work for an organization to teach English in China. Why not just do that? If you respect the Chinese people, let them choose their own destiny rather than pretending to know what is the best for them. Yes that would include the option to put up with the nastiness of their current government. Rather than dismissing people who disagree with your america-centric views as simple fengings, why not really try to understand where they are coming from? Some of them are not nearly brainwashed as you think. You will never be a China-hand if your circle consist of only those who think exactly like you. Now about pollution, I think that is inevitable for China at the moment. Sure China can reduce pollution by shutting down factories and levy taxes on cars, but are you going to pay for the factory workers who will be out of jobs as the result?
Finally, you can argue that China has rose because of the US. However the US and rest of the developed world has had decades of booming economy and better living standards because of 3rd world nations’ cheap exports. No one forced anyone to buy made in China products.
Hello Second,
Firstly, thank you for engaging with my piece and posting a comment. I will try to respond to your points to the best of my ability and continue the dialogue.
1. Juvenile
I will be the first to admit my views on China are juvenile (not fully developed). I still have much to learn, which is part of the reason I want to go back. Although I have followed developments in China for several years and studied the language, I still have a long way to go.
However, I wouldn’t characterize my ‘complaints’ about China as juvenile. These were real events that did leave a negative impression on me. But no where do I say that the US doesn’t also have materialism, selfishness and nationalism. Also, while I did reference these negative experiences, my ultimate conclusion is that I want to return.
I also mention there are good things about China. Perhaps I should have elaborated more on the compliments I have for China. Please keep in mind, though, that I wanted to keep this piece in line with the article that it is in response to. In Mark Kitto’s article, he also talks about some negative experiences he has encountered.
2. Comparing China and the US
You say that I should not compare first world nations and developing nations. This is an excellent point, we should not compare apples and oranges. The US had to go through a lot to reach the point it is at today (have you read “The Jungle” by Upton Sinclair?).
Yet, I was born and raised in the US, so this is my limited frame of reference. Mentally, when I lived in China, I could have told myself that I should compare the China I was experiencing with developing America. But I never experienced developing America, so this might be a difficult thing to accomplish. Do you have any suggestions for how one could do this?
3. Foreigners receive positive treatment in stores
I wouldn’t agree with this point. Foreigners may receive more attention, but I found shopkeepers often tried to charge me much more than local customers. The logic of the shopkeepers is understandable, they imagine a person from a wealthy country must have some money. But this is not always the case. I was there as a student on a scholarship, so I lived modestly.
4. Don’t pretend to know what is best for China
I did not make any suggestions for what is best for China. Nor do I pretend to know what would be best. China is a huge country, with a huge population, facing many complex issues. I am interested in observing how these issues are approached, and how China evolves.
5. Don’t dismiss people who disagree with my ‘American-centric’ view as simple fenqings
As for my dinner with the person who had much to say about the Sino-US relationship, I did not describe him as ‘simple,’ nor did I dismiss his views (if I had really wanted to dismiss his views, I could have left dinner). I did try to understand his position; I asked him several questions and listened to what he had to say. I would have liked to have been able to add some contrasting viewpoints to his arguments, though, but I was not offered this opportunity. I make no claims as to which side is right. But if we are going to discuss these issues, let’s bring in all the perspectives.
6. The US has benefited from cheap imports from the third world.
You are absolutely right. American consumers have definitely benefited from the low prices of Chinese goods. I suppose it is due to the fact that both sides benefit from this arrangement that this relationship has been able to continue as such. (Let’s hope that if Romney is elected he doesn’t really label China as a currency manipulator and start a trade war.)
What I was getting at in mentioning that China’s rise is partially built on America’s consumption of its products is to point out that, while some say that the US wants to control/blunt China’s rise, the fact is that we have already been involved in creating it (and we have benefitted too, as you point out). Perhaps what we can see from this example is that the Sino-US relationship doesn’t have to be a zero-sum game.
In any case, the Sino-US relationship is a significant one. How we relate and react to each other has implications for the entire world, so it is good for us to engage in dialogue like this.
Again, thank you for your comments.
Best,
Marjorie
Wow, very well written and thought provoking article!!!
Marjorie – thank you for this post, and thanks to Second for his thoughtful response, to which Marjorie you also responded.
I wanted to respond to point no. 2 in Marjorie’s reply:
“2. Comparing China and the US
You say that I should not compare first world nations and developing nations…But I never experienced developing America, so this might be a difficult thing to accomplish. Do you have any suggestions for how one could do this?”
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Here’s one suggestion: take a look at Sister Carrie by Theodore Dreiser. Published in 1900, this novel tells the tale of a girl from the countryside who moves to the big city (Chicago) and starts out as a factory working girl, but then falls in with some city slicker salesman who takes her in and she becomes his mistress. The book is a realistic description of the charms and ugliness of developing urban America around 1900, chronicling the glamour and attractions as well as the materialism and shifting values and mores of the time. I read the book as a course requirement in college and over the years I found it a helpful reference to interpreting the behavior of people in developing and urbanizing Asia – not just in China but also other places I’ve worked in or been to, like Taiwan, Hong Kong, Philippines, Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Korea and Japan.
For example, your description of “modern Chinese urbanite love of money” could have been taken word for word from Dreiser’s descriptions of his characters. You wrote:
“As for modern Chinese urbanites love of money, I also saw examples of this…Returning to the city, it seemed to be a competition between the girls who could come up with a more accurate figure for this man¡¯s net worth.” (read article for full quote)
Compare this with Dreiser’s description of the Hurstwood family and their typical conversations:
“Mrs. Hurstwood was the type of woman who has ever endeavoured to shine and has been more or less chagrined at the evidences of superior capability in this direction elsewhere. Her knowledge of life extended to that little conventional round of society of which she was not – but longed to be – a member. She was not without realisation already that this thing was impossible, so far as she was concerned. For her daughter, she hoped better things. Through Jessica she might rise a little. Through George, Jr.’s, possible success she might draw to herself the privilege of pointing proudly. Even Hurstwood was doing well enough, and she was anxious that his small real estate adventures should prosper. His property holdings, as yet, were rather small, but his income was pleasing and his position with Fitzgerald and Moy was fixed. Both those gentlemen were on pleasant and rather informal terms with him.
The atmosphere which such personalities would create must be apparent to all. It worked out in a thousand little conversations, all of which were of the same calibre.
“I’m going up to Fox Lake to-morrow,” announced George, Jr., at the dinner table one Friday evening.
“What’s going on up there?” queried Mrs. Hurstwood.
“Eddie Fahrway’s got a new steam launch, and he wants me to come up and see how it works.”
“How much did it cost him?” asked his mother.
“Oh, over two thousand dollars. He says it’s a dandy.”
“Old Fahrway must be making money,” put in Hurstwood.
“He is, I guess. Jack told me they were shipping Vegacura to Australia now – said they sent a whole box to Cape Town last week.”
“Just think of that!” said Mrs. Hurstwood, “and only four years ago they had that basement in Madison Street.”
“Jack told me they were going to put up a six-story building next spring in Robey Street.”
“Just think of that!” said Jessica.
…..
“They’re going to give a performance in the Lyceum, upstairs,” she reported one day, “and I’m going to be in it.”
“Are you?” said her mother.
“Yes, and I’ll have to have a new dress. Some of the nicest girls in the school are going to be in it. Miss Palmer is going to take the part of Portia.”
“Is she?” said Mrs. Hurstwood.
“They’ve got that Martha Griswold in it again. She thinks she can act.”
“Her family doesn’t amount to anything, does it?” said Mrs. Hurstwood sympathetically. “They haven’t anything, have they?”
“No,” returned Jessica, “they’re poor as church mice.”
She distinguished very carefully between the young boys of the school, many of whom were attracted by her beauty.
“What do you think?” she remarked to her mother one evening; “that Herbert Crane tried to make friends with me.”
“Who is he, my dear?” inquired Mrs. Hurstwood.
“Oh, no one,” said Jessica, pursing her pretty lips. “He’s just a student there. He hasn’t anything.”
The other half of this picture came when young Blyford, son of Blyford, the soap manufacturer, walked home with her. Mrs. Hurstwood was on the third floor, sitting in a rocking-chair reading, and happened to look out at the time.
“Who was that with you, Jessica?” she inquired, as Jessica came upstairs.
“It’s Mr. Blyford, mamma,” she replied.
“Is it?” said Mrs. Hurstwood.
“Yes, and he wants me to stroll over into the park with him,” explained Jessica, a little flushed with running up the stairs.
“All right, my dear,” said Mrs. Hurstwood. “Don’t be gone long.”
As the two went down the street, she glanced interestedly out of the window. It was a most satisfactory spectacle indeed, most satisfactory.”
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I agree with Second that it makes sense to compare behavior of societies at similar stages of economic development, because peoples’ motivations will be very similar. Right now China has been going through a period of rapid urbanization and economic development that is similar to what the United States went through at the turn of the century. I think you will see very similar kinds of societal behaviors, problems and responses by governmental and other institutions.
For example, the “love of money” you describe and the fascination with how much money someone has is a common preoccupation in a society which is chasing after those things. Opportunities to make money abound and people talk about it. This was true of Chicago in 1900 and Shanghai in 2012.
In western countries today, there are few opportunities to make the kind of money people made in 1900 (except for hedge fund managers – and boy do they keep score!), so people don’t talk about it as much.
Hi perspectivehere,
Thank you for the post. I will check out that book you suggested. So you really felt it helped to give you a wider perspective? That is great; the book really did its job then.
Thanks again,
Marjorie
Marjorie,
Yes, I really believe the book gave me a wider perspective. I hadn’t consciously thought of the book or re-read it in quite awhile, but this exchange resparked an interest in reading it again. His images – especially how he portrays the coming on of attraction and desire – just grab you almost like a graphic novel.
As I was reading again, I noticed how much of the story revolves around characters’ desire for things and relationships with people. Carrie comes to the big city hoping just to stay with her sister and get a simple job, but once there, her desires for other things get ignited. Theodore Dreiser has a fantastic eye for writing about how people change in their wants and needs, and how they justify these changes to themselves and to others. It occurred to me then that Dreiser is saying something about our consumer culture.
Sure enough I googled “Sister Carrie consumer culture” and came across this wonderful little essay:
Cultural and Historical Contexts for Sister Carrie
Clare Virginia Eby
“Ceaseless motion directed toward uncertain goals: for many readers, that is an overriding impression left by Theodore Dreiser’s Sister Carrie (1900). The restless indecision typical of Dreiser’s characters reflects profound transformations in American life in the late nineteenth century. His novel makes the volatility of the period concrete, vivid, and unforgettable by registering its effect on individual lives. Among the most sweeping changes registered in the novel are the economy’s shifting from an agricultural to an industrial base, the erosion of traditional values following the Darwinian revolution, and the changing relations of men and women. Reading Sister Carrie with an eye to cultural and historical contexts such as these can lead to a shock of recognition, for the novel captures the origins of much that we take for granted as familiar, even inevitable, aspects of modern life….”
See any similarities to China?
I think one of the things Western/American observers of China often do when they talk about differences between China and their own societies is to fail to distinguish between what is “Western/American vs Chinese” and what is “traditional vs modern”. It is not the same thing, and confusing doesn’t clarify the real picture.
For an American, reading Sister Carrie helps us to understand how we got to become the way we are today, and knowing ourselves helps us to understand others better.
Hi perspectivehere,
Thank you for sharing the article. This definitely sounds like a great read.
It did occur to me on occasion while I was in China that the US had had to go through its own course of development to become what it is today. Frankly, I was glad that I didn’t have to live in that period. With China (and other countries) developing today, hopefully they can learn from the experiences of other countries and make their transition to a developed country all the smoother.
Indeed, knowing ourselves and our own history helps us to better understand others, and our relationship with them.
Best,
Marjorie
I emigrated from Hong Kong to USA and acquired US citizenship. Unlike you, I like to have short visits but not live in China. Once I had a conversation with a Mainland Chinese who knew that I made short trips to China quite frequently. However, he also discovered I held a negative view about many aspects of Chinese living. He asked me what I still wanted to go. I told him for two reasons. First, my visiting China convinced me that I had the right decision of emigrating to USA. Second, the fact that I like to visit the zoo does not mean that I like to live inside a cage with the lions and elephants. He was not amused.