"Oh my gosh, you lived in China?? Are the people all really so little?? How many dogs have you eaten?? Isn't it a pain in the ass to be bigger than everyone else there?? Does 'ching, chang, chong' mean anything real?? Have you met Jackie Chan???"
This is the kind of torture I am usually submitted to when I hint at my time in Shanghai, and whilst some of the questions above are inventions of mine, most unfortunately are not. There are a lot of cliches surrounding the far East, and today I want to take a minute to clear some up and confirm some others.
Firstly, Chinese people are not midgets. That is something a lot of people, especially Germans, need to get drilled through their skull with a jack-hammer! It is true that the Chinese average height is below its European or American counterpart, but if you're between 165 and 175, you won't feel like stuck in Gulliver's travels when walking around China, and although there are some regions where you'll feel a bit too large, there are others where you will be among the smallest, meaning that the famous idea of finding your American pal in a crowd of small Chinese people barely reaching your chest is not based in reality, sorry.
Secondly, Chinese people are no vicious animal torturing sadists only looking to kill and eat your beloved pet. Yes, there are some atrocious things happening to animals in China, but it's not like we're treating our future beef steaks and chicken wings with a whole lot of love either. And the fact that so many people deem the Chinese as heartless for eating dogs just shows how culturally unopened and stubborn the West really is: just because we're used to having dogs as pets, doesn't make it so all around the world. Don't you think a Hindu person would consider us cruel beasts for mistreating cows the way we do? It's all a fully cultural thing; some cultures eat cows, others pigs, others both, and others dogs. And that the West cannot accept that, and that people like PETA are actually fighting against it is just a sick sign of the moral control we feel we should have over the world. But the thing that bugs me the most about it is the notion that everywhere in China you see and are immediately offered dog meat, because that is simply not true. In rural areas, yes, you will see some dog meat, but in urban centers like Shanghai it is getting increasingly rare, and you'd really have to search if you want try it. I actually did try it once, unpurposefully; I asked for fei chang hao de rou at a steet food stand and the guy proceeded to give me an intense, somewhat chicken flavored flesh that turned out to be dog when I inquired. But that was a good six years ago, and things have changed a bit, so you'd really have to ask if you want to find some gou rou. Dog meat isn't eaten everywhere, and the Chinese are no vicious killers for eating it from time to time. Selah.
Thirdly, and this is once again especially for the Germans, one Chinese character does not equal one sentence, for Christ's sake. I don't know who started this rumor, but this is an actual thing in Germany; a lot of people I have met were a hundred percent sure that this is the way it is, which it is quite obviously not! One character usually stands for one word. Not one letter, not one sentence, but a single word! I know that that's probably not something to get all upset about and that it doesn't really qualify as a cliche per se, but it's been somewhat of a nuisance for me for a few years, and I wanted to clear it up once and for all.
So, now on to some preconceived notions about China that I can at least partially confirm.
First, there is the wide-spread belief that the Chinese smack when they eat and slurp when they drink, which is completely true, and although it also slightly receding in the urban center of Shanghai it is definitely something to wrap your mind around when contemplating traveling to China. The traditional Chinese mindset actually understands smacking your lips whilst eating as a sign of the food being tasty, and it would actually be considered rude to eat quietly.
I can further confirm the belief that the Chinese traffic is, or at the very least seems, very chaotic. The Darwinist rule of the stronger prospering can, at least in the more suburban areas, be applied to the traffic there; if you have the bigger car, you have the right of way. That is admittedly a somewhat hyperbolic description, but you get the picture. Which does not mean that driving is by any means very dangerous in Shanghai, seeing as there are so insanely many cars that traffic usually stays at a very safe speed, and on the highways things are a bit more ordered. But still, the cliche about traffic being a nightmare is true.
Finally, the generosity and kindness of the Chinese is also not entirely exaggerated; there are wonderful people in Shanghai that will give you shelter, food, and all help they can offer should you need it. When traveling around with a tent a friend of mine and I met so many friendly characters and never encountered any problems whatsoever, even when sleeping somewhere outside in rural areas, which would not be as common in Europe I daresay. Of course that spirit is once again lessened in manifestation in the urban center, and there are of course downright rude and mean people in Shanghai too, but nevertheless there is an omnipresent feeling of being welcome.
I hope I have presented you with some interesting facts here, and that I have given you some insight into the mindset and value prevalent in Chinese society, and that I could maybe even clear some cliches up you might have had yourselves. And if not, I hope it was at least an interesting read.
Mark
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