2019-07-21

【Aiden in English】

        A lotus flower grows to a certain height. Within a patch, the ideal situation for all is that each grows to the same height. Life would be simple for every plant.

        On my way to the hotel room in West Lake State Guest House, I spotted a grove of lotus plants bundled together near the bank. They varied in height, some shading others. The flowers on top grew in size and surface area; the lower flowers appeared a bit smaller.  I thought about this and reflected upon earlier experience.

        Mom and I boarded a high-speed train from Nanjing to Hangzhou this morning. While entering the train station, I was pushed around in a "line" towards the entrance, people jumping in front of others to ... get to the front of the line? Honestly, I'm not sure what the rush was. The crowd all eventually ended up on the train, and everyone sat down not better than one another. 

        I've always questioned some parts of Chinese culture, much like I do with other cultures. For example, why is there always a staring match before the first bite of a formal Chinese meal? Equally for America, why do Americans use three different knives when one suffices? Thus, when presented with the ruckus crowd pushing to be first on the train, I felt slightly confused. I've definitely experienced this rush before. Just a few days ago, mom was shoving her way to the entrance of Industrial and Commercial Bank of China to avoid a massive wait -- don't get me wrong, the process still took hours in Nanjing. 

        But the rush for a seat on a pre-booked train made no sense. It reminded me of myself in the 1st grade: a competitive kid who would always want to go first, whether it be to the bus, in the lunch line, in the kickball batting order, etc... Later, the librarian read to the class a book titled The Sandwich, a book about not being first to everything. While never putting much thought into the author's parental message, I enjoyed listening to the librarian drone on about the bad things that could occur if you rushed for first.

        In the afternoon, I brought this up to my mom while we were sipping tea in West Lake Teahouse, Hangzhou. She somewhat presented a different view that I already knew. China, a seriously overpopulated country, required people to stand out. That mindset of "being first" remains etched into kids' personalities, even into adulthood. Chinese associate a successful life with exceptionalism. At a young age, Americans present the ideal life as being happy, not the best. In fact, many students have the "oh well next time" belief, never entering a do-or-die moment until through college. I've never had such pressure quite yet, but it's safe to say that I'm a little more serious of my studies than the average American. 

        Returning to the lotus connection, when all people in such tough societies are set equal, the opportunity to be set above the rest is worth gold. Whether it be first on the train or first in school, Chinese folk value that distinction of exceptionalism more than Americans. Therefore, the next time some Asian or other cultural figure budges in front of you, understand their cultural values before labeling their entire culture "rude" or "aggressive". To you, it may appear as such; but to them, getting on the train first means more sunlight than others.

【紅霞譯文】

        出水芙蓉亭亭淨植。同一池塘中，最好朵朵荷花齊刷刷地長得一般高，棵棵菡萏才會因此而“卷舒開合任天真”。

        在去西湖國賓館下榻的路上，我發現水邊荷花成林，它們高低不整，有的朝陽有的背陰，長在上面的花繁葉茂，長在底下的則瘦癟稀疏，我禁不住聯想起剛剛目睹的一幕。

        今天早上，我和媽媽搭乘南京至杭州的高鐵。入站時，我被“隊列”推搡到檢票口，有人跳高……空降前排？老實說，我真搞不懂大家為何爭先恐後，反正人人終究都能上車，況且座位沒有好壞之分。

        我對某些中國文化一直無法理解，如同對其它民族心存質疑一樣。舉例來說，正式中國宴席上，人們在開吃前幹嘛總要凝視片刻? 同樣地，美國佬吃頓飯明明一把刀綽綽有餘，但為何偏要拿三把刀得瑟？面對從烏泱泱人群中搶先衝上火車的勇士，我依舊滿頭霧水，眼前場景似曾熟悉。恰在幾天前，為避免在南京工商銀行排長隊，媽媽猴急開闢出來一條捷徑──別誤會，即便如此仍需等上好幾個鐘頭。

        可是，迫不及待地登上車廂卻沒有一點意義，畢竟車上是對號入座，這讓我的記憶又回到小學一年級：好強的孩子總想爭第一，無論坐校車上下學，還是排隊吃午飯，或者輪流踢足球，等等……後來，圖書管理員在課堂上讀了一本書名叫《三明治》，故事提到不要時時求先，雖說當時無法理解作者的諄諄教誨，但我記住了圖書管理員的那句話，欲速則不達。

        下午，在杭州西湖湖畔茶居喝茶時我和媽媽談起這個話題，不出所料，她對此持有不同看法。中國是一個人口爆炸的國家，需要“出於其類拔乎其萃”，“爭第一”早已蔚然成風，並且深入民心，國人愛把成功的人生歸咎於與眾不同。美國人年幼時追求的是快樂而不是第一，其實很多學生堅信“下次努力”，在上大學之前大可不必破釜沉舟。我從來沒什麼緊迫感，但敢說本人比一般美國佬更看重學習。

        話鋒再轉回開頭提及的蓮花。當大家站在同一起跑線上，機遇成就人生，不管是否首先入座就位或到達學校，中國人比美國人更注重趕早不趕晚。因此，若下次見到亞洲人或其他族裔不甘落在後面的話，你得明白他們這麼做完全基於個人價值觀，切勿將其整體文化視作“有失風度”或“爭強好勝”。對你來說，也許是自然而然的事情；可對他們而言，第一個上火車意味着比別人享受更多陽光。

Today in History(歷史上的今天):

2018: Toulon—Cruise Farewell Feast, France(法國土倫—遊輪告別宴會)

2018: Toulon—Major Naval Base, France(法國土倫—大軍港)

2018: Marseilleveyre Massif, France(法國馬賽群山)

2018: Aix-en-Provence the Waters of Sextius, France(法國艾克斯—羅馬式水城)

2018: Aix-en-Provence the City of 1000 Fountains, France(法國艾克斯—千泉之城)

2018: Aix-en-Provence—Home to P. Cézanne, France(法國艾克斯—塞尚家鄉)

2018: Chateau d'If the Count of Monte Cristo, France(法國伊夫堡—基督山伯爵)

2018: Marseille—Home to Tarot de Marseilles, France(法國馬賽塔羅牌發源地)

2018: Marseille—Birthplace of Natl Anthem, France(法國馬賽—國歌誕生地)

2018: Marseille the Phocean City, France(法國馬賽─太陽城)

2014: Two Summer Camps(兩種夏令營)

2013: 水上派對(Pool Party @ Maplewood)

2012: Camp Report(夏令營簡訊)

Crosslink(相關博文):

China(出遊中國)