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porkscratchings
Joined: 27 Feb 2003
Posts: 112
Location: BirmingHAM
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 Posted: Sun Mar 02, 2003 4:59 am Post subject: Chinese and the Bling Bling |
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Are chinese pple more materialistic than say English pple in the way they aspire to be rich, show off their wealth in terms of wearing designer gear/driving hot cars, and judge pple in terms of the money they earn and the job they do?
And does it matter? |
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cfw
Joined: 11 Mar 2003
Posts: 1
Location: Manchester
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| Posted: Tue Mar 11, 2003 1:45 pm Post subject: |
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| As much as I don't like to admit it, it is generally true. It's all about showing face, and for some people that's very important. |
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porkscratchings
Joined: 27 Feb 2003
Posts: 112
Location: BirmingHAM
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| Posted: Thu Mar 13, 2003 5:42 am Post subject: |
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| But why is it important to show face - when that face is not really u? |
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zplus
Joined: 15 Mar 2003
Posts: 2
Location: N. Ireland
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| Posted: Sat Mar 15, 2003 9:10 pm Post subject: |
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| I remember reading an article bout it in focus, it's to do with the fact that those people are lack of self-confidence and a sense of insecurity..... along with other reasons which i cant remember... |
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Roamer
Joined: 18 Mar 2003
Posts: 8
Location: Somewhere in London
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| Posted: Tue Mar 18, 2003 6:32 pm Post subject: Re: Chinese and the Bling Bling |
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| porkscratchings wrote: | Are chinese pple more materialistic than say English pple in the way they aspire to be rich, show off their wealth in terms of wearing designer gear/driving hot cars, and judge pple in terms of the money they earn and the job they do?
And does it matter? |
Materialism is rife in all cultures, money is a sign of success however as there's more english people in the UK (funnily enough) it's less obvious.
Black culture bling bling is 'respect'
White culture bling bling is 'success'
Chinese culture bling bling is 'face'
You only have to look at investment bankers, traders, businessmen in most major cities. The same traits would appear anywhere be it London, New York, Tokyo, Hong Kong, Shanghai or Istanbul be they white, black, yellow or pink.... |
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sp
Joined: 27 Feb 2003
Posts: 218
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| Posted: Tue Mar 25, 2003 12:25 am Post subject: |
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| That's true but I do believe that 'face' - is a particular priority in Chinese culture. And amongst Chinese, extravagant spending is almost never criticized or looked-upon negatively. |
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porkscratchings
Joined: 27 Feb 2003
Posts: 112
Location: BirmingHAM
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| Posted: Thu Apr 03, 2003 4:11 am Post subject: |
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That's so true - wealth is so admired that pple would splash the cash when they are in public to show they've got some, especially if they are skint.
Face is important but i think it goes beyond the cashflow. Face is honour and u have to protect someone's honour by behaving correctly and not embarrassing the other person in public. Same goes for oneself and one's family. It's like a Chinese version of the western etiquette and public image.
I think some pple take it too far so that they don't want to look inferior to someone else by showing off and making sure they are not the first to greet someone for it is the role of the inferior person to greet first and the superior person to greet last. In western culture it is the other way round - the superior person sits down first to be followed by everyone else. Showing off involves splashing the cash so much that u have to borrow or go without for months after the show off stunt, or over emphasising ur kids' talents so they become competitive in a bad way. |
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Speechless
Joined: 14 Apr 2003
Posts: 7
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| Posted: Mon Apr 14, 2003 9:09 pm Post subject: |
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| porkscratchings wrote: | | But why is it important to show face - when that face is not really u? |
If you take away someone's success, sense of self respect and sense of face.. how much of "them" are you left with? So I disagree with "face is not really you." Face is so ingrained in the older Chinese generations that it is them. Did the Japanese not once upon a time kill themselves over loss of honour?
Much as the "money is so superficial" line of argument is appealing to the majority, it is equally pretentious. Who would choose no money over money? Money plays such a large part in society that it is naive to state otherwise, unless you're a hippy.
Excessive interest in anything is a bad thing (e.g excessive Rolex watches), but that also includes excessive negative interest in those more successful than you. |
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