Hi, folks! This is my first post here and I find myself very much interested in your debate and would like to say something about the original post that has triggered so much debate.
I'd like to let you know that I am Chinese, which perhaps may help you understand a bit how the Chinese act and why. I also stayed in North America for a year or so and had had the opportunity to know a lot of friends, Japanese, Korean, Canadian, as well as Chinese. I'll try to be as impartial and disinterested as possible.
It really takes more than a lifetime to explain the way people from other cultures behave because it is indeed a subject for anthropologists and sociologists. From my own point of view, the Koreans are very much like the Chinese in various ways, including their customs, their culture, and even their language (South Korea had reform on their writing system in the 60s I guess but they still use the Chinese writing system today on many occasions as do the Japanese.)
Let me jump to the topic right now. To understand why, as accused in the the original post, Chinese and Korean tourists rush buffet lines, we have to know the following statement: not all Chinese or Koreans rush buffet lines or block elderly people's views. Therefore, the acts accused of of some Chinese (I'll use Chinese here only from now on) may not represent the entire race of the Chinese. My statement here is that rushing buffet lines or talking out of turn are based on individual customs and habits, which indeed vary quite a lot from person to person.
You may be confused why I attribute this "rudeness" to an individual habit. Well, it is sort of like anthropological differences which can bring about cognitive gaps in understanding behaviours of people from other cultures. For instance, you might be irritated by the Japanese Noh, a form of drama which to this day still annoys me a lot when I hear it. You may also feel it odd to know that in some tribal society in Southwest China, people eat the dead bodies of the decease as a token of congratulation on his/her delivery from the mundane world. YOu may also feel it eccentric that in Tibet people expose dead bodies to carrion-eating vultures.
The point is that, traditionally, the Chinese were not aware of the "rudeness" of jumping lines and pushing (of course not pushing in the literal sense of the act) people. The reason for this, I guess, is that, due to the large population, people were always involved in fierce competitions. And they naturally found themselves "rushing buffet lines" and pushing people, not because they were really selfish and inconsiderate or not respectful of the elderly (on the contrary, the Chinese regards it a virtue to respect the elderly), but because, owing to the environemental crampness or crowd density, were forced one way or another to rush and push.
In rural areas in China, I guess this phenomenon will persist for perhaps decades if nobody tells them "Hey, according to international customs, it is rude to rush the line and it is selfish to talk loudly irrespective of the situation". Therefore, what I am saying is that the "rudeness" of the Chinese is not a purposeful exhibition, nor an ignorant and barbarous token of uncivility of whatever. It is simply and purely a cultural product which evolved in the face of "natural selection" owing to the density of population in China.
I myself have been learning English and English culture for more than 15 years and think that I understand the puzzlement of some people when they see such phenomena. But for me, it's like the moment of shock when I first knew in many countries people hug and kiss. Well, I thought at the moment that it would be too unhygienic and bizarre to do it. But again, from a Westerner's point of view, not hugging and kissing your mum at the airport would seem to be too indifferent and apathetic. Therefore, one of my conclusions is that all these are what we call cultural differences, which can really be perfect understood if we do not assess things from the point of view of ourselves. (The reasoning behind the accusation is like this: rushing the buffet line is rude (in America) --> Chinese toursts rush buffet lines. --> Chinese are rude)
You will have seen that the accusation is somewhat hasty based on a one-sided generalization without taking into account the complex factors that may underlie these simple yet abstract phenomena.
I am not counterattacking the starter of the post. But let me add something. I am not saying that people crowd and push everywhere in China. You probably won't see too much of crowding and pushing in Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, and other big cities. Obviously, in China, there is a polarization in the education of social etiquette in cities and rural areas. People in big cities identify themselves with metropolitan people who contact with the outside world. They naturally are aware of the conflict of customs in dealing with people from other cultures. So the thing is that China is undergoing tremendous changes in social customs in its encounter with other (Western) cultures.
I myself have been educated in much the similar way as an American or Englishman. I cannot understand why people push and crowd to get a seat on the bus. I always avoid large crowds in restaurants and in public places. I hate people smoke in my presence. I can also be offended by people who ply wine on me as a token of enthusiasm and intemacy. I am also annoyed by people who spit (not very many in cities, though). But the fact is that, there is such a hugh proportion of the population who have never in their life heard of any such Western social etiquette. They make noise when they eat noodles; they are absolutely not accustomed to say "Thank you" to their parents or husbands or wives; they never are aware that sneezing in public can be rude and perhaps nobody would say "Excuse me" after sneezing.
The same kind of difference exists everywhere when two cultures encounter. When I was in Canada, I was greatly disturbed to see a Canadian blow his nose loudly at the dinner table. I thought he was being rude too. Anyway, blowing the nose at the table can be very offensive and dirty in Chinese culture.
All in all, although I cannot understand why people behave in such a "rude" way, I have to know that these acts are deeply rooted in their world views, their education, their interpersonal contacts, and so forth.
The Chinese behave the same way in China as in other countries and when they behave in a way that may be offensive to a local, at least they are not aware of the consequence of their behaviour.
In a word, the Chinese are friendly and understanding. Rushing buffet lines does not mean that they are selfish and not willing to help or purposefully offending.
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