Where: china
When: 21st century
1
When I rode a bike passing by an old man, he got upset. “I am so old! You even hit me the old?!”
The truth is that I didn’t hit him. He just got upset by the coming bike. But what surprised me is his reason.
I am the older, so, you cannot hit me. If I am the younger, can you hit me? The younger can be hit by the older? (Han Chinese really think they can treat the younger people in that way.)
2
There was something wrong with my computer monitor. I found some telephone numbers in news paper to contact repairing companies. I called them and made an agreement with one of them on the phone. According to the agreement, I should pay 50 Yuan after it got repaired.
I went to that company with my monitor. After it got repaired, I was told to pay 120 Yuan.
I refused to pay. I reminded him of the agreement. He insisted on asking that price.
“You can’t change the price without negotiating with me. You shouldn’t make a decision on your side alone.”
“So, you want to make a decision on your side alone, don’t you!” shouted the man.
……
He was a typical Han Chinese.
I meant that the price should be changed after the negotiation with each other, or remains the same as the price in agreement. It should not be changed as he wanted.
But he thought, if he couldn’t change it as he wanted (on his side alone), could I change it as I wanted (on my side alone)? There’s just no equality or negotiation in his mind. He thought the price should be changed either on this side alone or on that side alone.
3
I talked to a woman. She told me she was a policewoman. I got badly impressed by Chinese policemen/women. I stopped talking to her. She then said proudly, “Hah, you got scared by me!”
It made me sick to talk to a Chinese policewoman. But she thought it must be because I got frightened by her. (Probably she thought her job was to make people scared.)
4
Someone visited me and left something in my room. I found it later and gave it back. Another one said, “You were afraid that you would get beaten. So you gave it back?”
I thought I should give back something that is not belonging to me. But I got understood because I feared and surrendered. What if I didn’t fear?
And did others have the right to beat me if I didn’t give that back?
Should I fear if I got beaten?
(This example reflects how Han Chinese think about fairness, dignity or honor, and their rights or obligation, and also how Han Chinese behave. Fear or not, while not fair or not, is a Han Chinese behavior conduct.)
5
When I got on a bus, a woman pushed me to make me cede more room to her. I though I had the right to stand there and I had no room to cede and the woman had more room than mine (It was very crowded on that buss). The woman complained all the time. And when she got off, (I was still on the bus) she shouted at me, “That man, you are that arrogant!”
Why did she ask more room when she had already had more room than others? (She thought me selfish because I rejected her selfish demanding.)
Did she think others had the right to stand on a bus without offending? (She thought I behaved unfairly while not herself behaved unfairly.)
Why didn’t she shout at me on the bus? Why did she do after getting off? (Because it was SECURE for her to provoke when I was still on the bus.)
Who’s arrogant? (She thought me arrogant because I rejected her arrogance.)
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I don’t think Han Chinese will feel strange when they read the above stories. But we can find out Han Chinese behavior principles and reasoning principles. And how do they understand others’ behaviors or reasons. Han Chinese behavior or reasoning system is different from others’. And they understand others as themselves.
