Dear Robert, you who combine all the generations in yourself, are definitely suffering from Chinese modesty. You have promised your readers a certain product, posts about Chinese society and economics, and you suffer from great uncertainty if you deviate from delivering exactly and only what you promised.
You should trust yourself more— if something interests you, it is also likely to interest us. The vast majority of your readers share four interests: China, any other country, Robert's take on just about anything, and getting to know Robert Wu better. That's why 85% of your readers want to hear about your trip to Georgia, the country.
Please tell us why you chose Georgia out of all the countries on Earth.
I have one hesitation about the 00s generation that you describe. They may not suffer from insecurity or hurt feelings, but can they be compassionate in victory, or will they just kick losers into the gutter? A very important question for World Peace.
can they be compassionate in victory, or will they just kick losers into the gutter: Chinese badminton player Bingjiao He carried a Spanish pin with her in the medal ceremony to honor the injured opponent Marin who was then forced to retire in the semifinal. I think this is a good example of how compassionate thee new Chinese athletes can be. Ironically it’s a bit of a contrast with Marin who won the Rio Olympics in a final that also featured an injured Chinese athlete
> Pan’s coolness in answering all of those questions is remarkable. Also, notice there is nothing about “racial discrimination”, or whattaboutism, or anything about Chinese people’s “feelings being hurt”. A quiet, yet sure sense of strength is undeniable. It’s just pure winner’s mentality.
Yeah. Really hope to see more countries get over their victim complex.
Thank you. I am 85yrs old so have little spare cash, but I deeply value your insights. And loved the image you portray of this wonderful new generation. Thank you written in New Zealand
Very interesting take Robert - having lived in Beijing for 6 years and worked in a Chinese company I agree this is very surprising to see such a change. You really couldn’t get a Chinese colleague to take a complement in my experience!
“So it is easy to have a situation when our hardware has modernized, but our software, the collective psyche has only modernized partially.” This is a compassionate and insightful take on what can be a very delicate and charged issue, and I thank you for that.
Your pieces are one of rare long-reads that I actually look forward to reading in my inbox. Great stuff, Robert.
Great article. In this China with so much change and such vastly different experiences depending which generation you are talking about, the outside world is often confused. Even people who devote their careers to it can’t always keep up. How can your ordinary people be expected to do so? Honestly, change is happening at an accelerated pace around the world and it seems like nobody can really keep up. I’ve always tried to keep in mind the story 盲人摸象 in mind because think it tells a lot about this age we’re living in and that we all need to have a certain humility about our own limitations before we can get on in life because nobody really can see the whole picture.
me personally, I would have liked the chinese swimmers to have strongly criticised the sheer unfair treatment they had to suffer with drug testing in paris. the manner in which they raised this issue was still a tad too timid and circumspect for me
"For example, my grandparents’ generation was born in a countryside whose cultural contours were not much different from the Qing Dynasty’s peasantry. my parents’ generation was born into Maoist poverty. My generation was arguably the nexus between the generations older and younger, and we sort-of have a taste of everything. We played video games as children, but witnessed the attitudes and ways of life of all previous generations. Now is when the 00s, who grew up smartphones and social media, came into adulthood. But the fact is, all of these very different generations co-exist under the same roof."
Wonderfully written! People often take this for granted when "analyzing" China.
I think comparing them with previous champions can show something representative. Also, they are role models for the young. This "limiting yourself to the box" could be meme-worthy.
Good commentary but do you really think that Olympian champions are representative of the entire generation of young Chinese born after 2000? I do completely agree that China is so big and diverse that evidence can be found to both prove and to disprove all generalized theories about China and its motivations and forecasts for the future. I also agree that it is refreshing to see Olympic champions and other highly successful people displaying their true personalities in public and encouraging diversified thinking.
Dear Robert, you who combine all the generations in yourself, are definitely suffering from Chinese modesty. You have promised your readers a certain product, posts about Chinese society and economics, and you suffer from great uncertainty if you deviate from delivering exactly and only what you promised.
You should trust yourself more— if something interests you, it is also likely to interest us. The vast majority of your readers share four interests: China, any other country, Robert's take on just about anything, and getting to know Robert Wu better. That's why 85% of your readers want to hear about your trip to Georgia, the country.
Please tell us why you chose Georgia out of all the countries on Earth.
I have one hesitation about the 00s generation that you describe. They may not suffer from insecurity or hurt feelings, but can they be compassionate in victory, or will they just kick losers into the gutter? A very important question for World Peace.
can they be compassionate in victory, or will they just kick losers into the gutter: Chinese badminton player Bingjiao He carried a Spanish pin with her in the medal ceremony to honor the injured opponent Marin who was then forced to retire in the semifinal. I think this is a good example of how compassionate thee new Chinese athletes can be. Ironically it’s a bit of a contrast with Marin who won the Rio Olympics in a final that also featured an injured Chinese athlete
> Pan’s coolness in answering all of those questions is remarkable. Also, notice there is nothing about “racial discrimination”, or whattaboutism, or anything about Chinese people’s “feelings being hurt”. A quiet, yet sure sense of strength is undeniable. It’s just pure winner’s mentality.
Yeah. Really hope to see more countries get over their victim complex.
Thank you. I am 85yrs old so have little spare cash, but I deeply value your insights. And loved the image you portray of this wonderful new generation. Thank you written in New Zealand
Very interesting take Robert - having lived in Beijing for 6 years and worked in a Chinese company I agree this is very surprising to see such a change. You really couldn’t get a Chinese colleague to take a complement in my experience!
“So it is easy to have a situation when our hardware has modernized, but our software, the collective psyche has only modernized partially.” This is a compassionate and insightful take on what can be a very delicate and charged issue, and I thank you for that.
Your pieces are one of rare long-reads that I actually look forward to reading in my inbox. Great stuff, Robert.
Great article. In this China with so much change and such vastly different experiences depending which generation you are talking about, the outside world is often confused. Even people who devote their careers to it can’t always keep up. How can your ordinary people be expected to do so? Honestly, change is happening at an accelerated pace around the world and it seems like nobody can really keep up. I’ve always tried to keep in mind the story 盲人摸象 in mind because think it tells a lot about this age we’re living in and that we all need to have a certain humility about our own limitations before we can get on in life because nobody really can see the whole picture.
great piece, robert
me personally, I would have liked the chinese swimmers to have strongly criticised the sheer unfair treatment they had to suffer with drug testing in paris. the manner in which they raised this issue was still a tad too timid and circumspect for me
"For example, my grandparents’ generation was born in a countryside whose cultural contours were not much different from the Qing Dynasty’s peasantry. my parents’ generation was born into Maoist poverty. My generation was arguably the nexus between the generations older and younger, and we sort-of have a taste of everything. We played video games as children, but witnessed the attitudes and ways of life of all previous generations. Now is when the 00s, who grew up smartphones and social media, came into adulthood. But the fact is, all of these very different generations co-exist under the same roof."
Wonderfully written! People often take this for granted when "analyzing" China.
Great article. China has a lot to be proud of and it should be proud of its achievements, as should the individual athletes. 👍
I think comparing them with previous champions can show something representative. Also, they are role models for the young. This "limiting yourself to the box" could be meme-worthy.
Good commentary but do you really think that Olympian champions are representative of the entire generation of young Chinese born after 2000? I do completely agree that China is so big and diverse that evidence can be found to both prove and to disprove all generalized theories about China and its motivations and forecasts for the future. I also agree that it is refreshing to see Olympic champions and other highly successful people displaying their true personalities in public and encouraging diversified thinking.
End of? Where has this person been past three decades?
Were you born stupid (shame on your mama, papa) or simply raised and indoctrinated that way, a Banana, yellow outside, whitey inside?