User Comments - zhenlijiang

Posted on: A Special Christmas Gift

If I can recall reading a relevant discussion in the past I'll go run a Google search for it. Better if I can remember who the key participants were or some other detail. It works!

Posted on: Which is better: China or the USA?

Ah 本人是女性，呵呵。 běnrén shì nǚxìng, hehe

(没关系，没关系！ méi guānxi, méi guānxi)

Posted on: Which is better: China or the USA?

Bodawei I just think a bit of disambiguation is needed, when you do use them. We poddies are a mixed group, not all coming here from the same place and background. The terms I use in Japanese have grown from the general to more specific (like I said, I'm no longer happy not to make such distinctions), where needed. The same might eventually happen with the people you mix with in China too I suppose.

Happy 2011!

Posted on: Which is better: China or the USA?

See here also, Jenny put it pretty much the same way Tingyun did.

http://chinesepod.com/lessons/hanoi#comment-92591

Posted on: Which is better: China or the USA?

I'm no fan of prescriptive diplomatic answers either! Like Holden Caulfield said though, guess you got to say that stuff if you want to stay alive ... ?

祝大家新年快乐！ zhù dàjiā xīnnián kuàilè!

Posted on: Which is better: China or the USA?

Bodawei I thought you sounded extremely weary of my questions. As you can see, I was replying to your reply.

I'm not comfortable with the term 'Western' to mean what you explain, and wanted to know if it was generally accepted by most English-speaking people, or by French or German people for instance, to mean that. Like many Japanese of my generation, I grew up under heavy influence of American culture, and before our horizons broaden through further study or experience abroad, I think 'Western' first and foremost tends to register to us as American-ness, because we have the most specific, familiar references there. But I was raised in the 70s, in the 20th century, the American Century. There was no Internet, no all-day news channels from all over the world in our homes. Now that my view isn't so limited I prefer to talk about US-centric world views, even Anglo-American, as the case may be. Perhaps I need now to think about introducing Aussie-American as another category. If the term 'Western' is already accepted in the English language in the way you use it here, I would like to know that.

It's good for us all to be reminded that certain things we take for granted in our respective societies are not universally understood that way. Raising questions and explaining makes communication more cumbersome and less of a free flow, but that's what we live with if we want to benefit from the valuable exchange with others.

It was early this year wasn't it, that someone mentioned it does our brains good to talk with those we don't agree with?

Posted on: Merry Christmas!

Go dropped_chopstick, go!

Posted on: Which is better: China or the USA?

Mmm I'm sorry to see it's work for you to reply to me Bodawei--and I so wanted not to annoy you. These questions could have been raised by anyone.

I want to thank Baba for saying what I also would have asked you (yet again). I had asked for clarification, not a cryptic message. Now unless you come up and say it isn't so I will assume you were using Westerner here in place of American. I really don't think that's helpful though.

Nobody much likes to be branded just like everyone else but this is in fact what defines culture. I have lost count of the times I have expressed that here. --Mmm of course I can recall (but not explicitly), now having read your reply down to the last line. It's unreasonable though, for any of us, frequent posters or not, to assume that everyone who happens to read this discussion would be that familiar with each of our personal views. It's a bit of mafan but I really think in a case like this you need to explain your view anew, on Western / American, define what you mean by Western. Otherwise you can make your point, OK, but nobody reading understands you. As far as I can see JohnB, Light, Xiaophil and perhaps also Tragopan at least don't understand "Western" as you are using it here. It would be helpful if you had linked to one of the comments in which you do make your view clear about widespread American influence on culture for instance.

And I have no criticism about the turn of phrase on 'naive and curious'--not sure why you defended it. It seems to me you're not used to being asked to explain yourself when you believe you have just said the most obvious things. None of us here are that famous!

Posted on: Which is better: China or the USA?

Hi Xiaophil don't worry, no Japanese thinks Japan is West, Western. We can consider Japan a westernized society. We can say inclusion in the Group of Seven means Japan is "in the club" of industrialized democracies, for whatever that's worth. Of course that club expanded in the 90s and includes a non-democracy now.

Posted on: Which is better: China or the USA?

Hi Bodawei--before everybody groans--I didn't come up to pick an argument or interrogate you. Just wondering who really the naive and curious lot you speak of are. Surely "Westerners" are also a pretty diverse group? Or is it really such a uniform view across the board? If so, how does that happen (guessing the answer has something to do with why you would say "a curious" lot.)? I always wonder, what you mean by your references to the West, the Western perspective, the influence of Western media (which is, specifically--?) that apparently dominates so many people's view of the world (probably not just Westerners).

I'm not playing dumb, this is something I'm beginning to think, with each of your frequent references--and also a few others' comments have given me pause--I have little idea on, and I would like to be clearer. Is everyone else clear on this? It may all have to be spelled out for me.

Or, is Westerner actually a term you use here to be diplomatic?