Understanding China: Individuality VS. Unity in Chinese Culture

Chinese culture is so completely different from Western culture
We’ve have traveled China for two months. The first couple of weeks were, although great fun, quite difficult and different. Chinese culture and people are so completely different from what we know that it seems impossible to ever fully understand what’s going on. Traveling in China leaves you feeling bipolar. One minute you absolutely love it, the next you hate it and want to see the whole country burn. I’m still not sure if I liked China or not.
When we were in Xi’an I picked up a copy of Xianease where Jennifer Yip wrote this article. Reading this made me understand a little more about the Chinese culture and why they do like they do. Jennifer wrote some more articles about understanding China and Chinese culture. You can find them on the Xianease website, just look for ‘Perspective’. We’ve got her permission to post it here.
Perspective: Individuality VS unity
Over the summer, several things happened. Most importantly, the Olympics were held for 16 days. Of course, everyone had Olympic fever during that period.
I taught summer intensive classes over the long break. In the teacher’s lounge at the language training school where I worked, the Chinese teachers there would often discuss the Olympic competitions from the night before. One teacher expressed how she thought the Chinese athletes took the competitions a lot more seriously, were a lot more anxious about the Olympics compared to their counterparts, and gave themselves more pressure to succeed and to win medals. Another teacher said her husband cried when he watched Chinese sprinter, Liu Xiang, fall over a hurdle and suffered an injury. When I heard that, I thought, “Cry? Isn’t that a bit extreme, even for watching the Olympics?”
I did not understand nor could I relate to the Chinese people’s emotional reaction to the athletes at the time. So I asked the resident expert in my household, my husband, about the mentality of the Chinese as related to this topic. He explained, “You know with the Chinese people, we always think and operate as a unit, not as an individual like westerners. For example, when Chinese people identify themselves, they always tell you their surname first, then given name. This is to explain which family they belong to, i.e., which group they are part of. Whereas, when you introduce yourself to someone, you always say, “Hello, I’m Jennifer Yip.” You say it that way because you are Western. That is based on individualism. You always tell the others exactly who you are, based on your given name first, not your family name.
If we look at the way the Chinese write addresses, we can also see how they view themselves as a unit. For example, when you mail something at the post office here, the address that you write in Chinese, for the sender’s and recipient’s addresses, always starts with the country first (e.g. China, province, city, street name, number of street). This method of writing an address is indicative of Chinese culture, i.e., you identify which country you are from first, not which street you live on first. Again, this is based on the mentality of belonging to a group. For westerners, it is the complete opposite. You list the number and street name first in the address.”
Now based on the perspective of belonging to a unit or a group, I can understand the Chinese people’s emotional reaction to their countrymen and women’s Olympic performances and why the Chinese athletes gave themselves more pressure to win. For them, it is like putting the weight of the entire country on their shoulders.
As a foreign teacher at the university where I work, I’ve noticed the prominent theme of belonging to a unit or operating as a group from my students as well. When the students talk about their plans after graduation, they always speak in the same fashion. They always include something about “When I enter society…” For the young adults at the university, they already know their role, i.e., they will become a part of the massive society in China. Many of them will obey their parents’ wishes and do what their parents ask them to do, even if it means sacrificing their own dreams and not being truly happy.
Even a few of my students said to me last semester, “Individualism would not work in Chinese society. There would be too many conflicts, too many people in one group who want different things.” Decisions are made based on the consensus of a unit here, such as your parents and/or grandparents, your team members, etc.
Even in the summer intensive classes that I taught in, conforming to a group or to group standards was prominent in the way the kids (between the ages of 8 to 16) played team games. For example, when we played jenga, a team member rarely pulled out a piece just based on his or her own decision. The student always waited for the advice of his or her team mates and listened to them carefully before making a move. The students were reluctant to act on their own. Whereas, if I were playing jenga with my friends, we’d pull out a piece any way that we’d like without caring much of what our team members say or advise us to do. That’s because for westerners we are accustomed to making decisions based on individual thinking, not conforming to please the entire group.
Taking the entire group into consideration is admirable. Or does it not mean you are not able to think for yourself? Acting on something just based on your own wishes may be selfish. Or is it? These are some of the differences between individuality vs. unity.
11 Comments
Steph (@ 20 Years Hence) // // //
I am so impressed wiith you for sticking with China for 2 whole months! That was our plan, but we fled after 25 days… like you said, it is a place that makes you feel bipolar, though I admit, we had very few highs, and mostly experienced wretched lows and some middling “mehs”. We found most aspects of the country frustrating, but I am sure this was in large part due to this being the first (and perhaps only) place on our trip thus far where we experienced full blown culture shock.
Angela // // //
Honestly, I don’t know how we survived. I guess we’re both really stubborn and wanted to prove to ourselves that we could do it and maybe we just didn’t know how easy and fun travelling can be. It was one of the first countries we visited. Good in a way because nothing will shock us anymore. We had a few highs, but as you say, a lot of mehs en lows. Some days we just stayed in our hostel, unable to face China. It is an incredibly weird and difficult country and not at all what I expected. Even the food was not as good as I had hoped. With a few exceptions (Xi’an ofcourse!)
There is still a lot we want to see in China but I think it might be a while before we go back.
Joy // // //
Hi! I lived in Xi’an and knew Jennifer. She wrote about your blog on Facebook but I didn’t follow the link. You stopped by and commented on my blog so now here I am at yours. 🙂 Small virtual world.
When I met other travelers in China one of their biggest complaints were the trains, so I’m surprised to hear that you thought it was one of the easy things about China. I agree with you though.
China really does leave you feeling bipolar! That’s a great description. I lived there for almost 2 years and absolutely felt like that nearly every day. 🙂
Angela // // //
Hahah good for you for surviving for two years. Does it get easier? Xi’an really seems like an amazing place to live, it was one of the few Chinese cities I could live in.
And how can someone not like train travel in China? It’s the best! 🙂
Jennifer // // //
Surviving life in China, whether traveling or living there, takes perseverance. You MUST have thick skin. For many ex-pats, even if they go there with the mentality of “I want adventures” or “I want new experiences”, they have no idea what they’ve gotten themselves into. This included myself. For me, I had a career change of becoming an ESL teacher, so I had a major goal when I left the States for China. But living there for many westerners is quite challenging. This was no exception for me. If you want conveniences do not go to China. If you are ready for huge challenges, language barrier or cultural differences, for example, China is the place to go to. It is a country that’s completely different than what is presented to us in textbooks and other forms of media. The people there do not all look alike, like the old stereotype that westerners have of the Chinese. They are as diverse as night and day. Xi’an particularly was nothing close to what I’d imagine, even after reading the facts on Wikipedia. I was fortunate that I stayed in that city. Otherwise I would not have known that Chinese minorities existed. I do not see these minority groups in NYC. The three years I spent in Xi’an is an unforgettable experience! I would not have it any other way.
Angela // // //
Thanks again for letting us post your article on our blog and thank you so much for this reply. It makes the article even better.
I think any expat living in China is amazing. I can imagine it can be extremely different at times.
I met a German guy who was studying and working in China and after two years he had become more Chinese than some Chinese. Spitting on the floor in a restaurant and everything! I was super fascinated because up until then I thought it was impossible to integrate into Chinese culture as a foreigner. But he really fitted in, except for the fact he did not look Chinese of course.
Jennifer // // //
It is quite amazing that some foreigners want to assimilate so much that they dedicate their time and energy in studying Chinese (speaking/reading/writing) to a point that it becomes an obsession. They actually speak better Mandarin (standard Chinese) than the Chinese. Some mostly surround themselves with just Chinese friends and local people. Just like how immigrants become Americanized when they live in the U.S. for a long time, the same happens when foreigners live in China for an extended period of time. Some foreigners have lived/worked in China for so long that they think of China as their second home. I know I will always think of Xi’an as my second hometown.
Becky GlobalGrasshopper // // //
I love this post, my sister in law is from Shanghai so it makes really interesting reading.
Angela // // //
If you want to read more, Jennifer has some more article that can be found on the Xianease website 🙂
Beth // // //
I’d lke to respond to Jennifer’s article with my own reflections of Xi’an. FYI, Jennifer was my roommate for the 6 months I taught ESL in that fair city. Well, it was anything but fair in any sense of the word, so it seemed that first week after my arrival. But, fortunatley, Jennifer was at least partially responsible for my survival there, finding me when I was lost, telling me about the best places to eat, and becoming my personal translator and tour guide during many of my leisure hours.
After three months, I still couldn’t wait to finish my teaching stint and leave that godforsaken country. I even tried to think up ways to lie my way out of my contract with some strange illness or family issues back home.
But, I graudually became accustomed to the Chinese ways and positively addicted to the food. Human beings are amazingly adaptive–even those like me who are, shall we say, over 50. You develop a rhythm in Xi’an, learning what foods to order, to carry tissue and hand sanitizer in your pocket at all times, the basics of marketplace haggling in Mandarin, but most of the ability to look a little deeper when things just don’t seem right.
I came away with a greater understanding of the priorities of the society and government of this powerful, yet still developing country, where faith, politics, art, medicine, education, and even love come from points of view not familiar to westerners, but just as valid. I didn’t give much thought to the Chinese mindset related to unity and individualism, but now see how it is reflected in almost every aspect of Chinese life.
I miss Xi’an deeply and keep in touch with my friends there, in hopes that I’ll return some day to relish that shocking, bustling, spicy, colorful, crazy, yet amazing way of life.
Nick // // //
China can be quite harrowing, as we experienced first hand, but on the other hand, we’ve had great times as well.
We were in China in the week practically all of the TEFL/ESL teachers were on their fall break, so we’ve met about ten of them, and all of them were very positive about China, and now you are too. There must be something to teaching in China that’s very rewarding.
One of the things we like best about traveling for so long is the ability to build up a rhythm someplace, like you did in Xi’an. It’s great to know where to eat, get to know the people of several food stands a little, even though you can’t speak a word of English. We’re still creatures of habit I guess, but we like establishing a sort of homey feeling.
China is one of the most ‘unfamiliar’ countries we’ve seen, and probably in the world. I’m not sure I understand it any better now I’ve been there, but articles like this one give you a tiny bit of insight that makes everything just that bit more understandable.
We loved Xi’an as well, I think we actually liked this city the best as a whole. If you’re ever in Beijing, you should visit the Dashilar hutong, which even though completely restored before the Olympics, has a very similar feel to Xi’an. It looks nothing alike, but it just feels a little bit like everyday life, and that’s nice to find.
Your comment needed a similarly lengthy reply, excuse me for the wall of text.