One of the most curious and revelatory things about China which my newly acquired ability to read Chinese has allowed me to discover are the Chinese self-help books concerning the Jews.
Wonder into any large bookshop in Beijing (and I guess anywhere else in China), and you can find books in Chinese with titles like: "Discover the secrets of the Jews", "Jewish business wisdom" and "How to be as successful as a Jew". On the back cover you will usually find phrases like: "the Jews are the cleverest, richest and most successful people in the world. Learn the secrets of their success". Books with similar titles would be considered at best very dubious, and at worst downright antisemitic, anywhere in the Western world. But the fact is that here in China, such books can be seen as a sort of distorted compliment to the Jews.
In China most people have never met a Jew, but there is one extremely common stereotype about them: they are very intelligent. The huge number of succesful Jews in every field, from Einstein to Freud, is considered proof enough. Whenever I have told a Chinese person that my mother's family is Jewish, I have almost always been told: "oh, you must be very clever then." (the Chinese, not having our Western notions of political correctness, are quite happy to assume that every single Jew must be intelligent, with no exceptions). The stereotype that Jews are wealthy also exists, but it is not seen as something to be envied or hated, but rather just another proof of the Jews' abilities and intelligence. All the negative stereotypes of the Jews as stingy and clannish which infest Western culture simply haven't made their way here, thank goodness.
In today's extremely competitive and materialistic Chinese society, success in work is an obsession for many, and this coupled with the belief that Jews are inherently successful and smart can produce some curious results: a Chinese girl I once knew had actually read the Talmud (in Chinese of course), because she had heard that reading it could help you to achieve success in life (if the Jews are so succesful there must be a reason after all).
I must say that I can't help but feel ambiguous about these Jewish-themed business success guides in Chinese bookshops. I know there isn't any hostility towards the Jews behind them, but I can't help wondering if it is a good thing to encourage the stereotype of Jewish wealth and success in business which has brought the Jews so much misfortune elsewhere.
(Below, the cover of a Chinese book entitled "the Business Acumen of the Jews")
Wonder into any large bookshop in Beijing (and I guess anywhere else in China), and you can find books in Chinese with titles like: "Discover the secrets of the Jews", "Jewish business wisdom" and "How to be as successful as a Jew". On the back cover you will usually find phrases like: "the Jews are the cleverest, richest and most successful people in the world. Learn the secrets of their success". Books with similar titles would be considered at best very dubious, and at worst downright antisemitic, anywhere in the Western world. But the fact is that here in China, such books can be seen as a sort of distorted compliment to the Jews.
In China most people have never met a Jew, but there is one extremely common stereotype about them: they are very intelligent. The huge number of succesful Jews in every field, from Einstein to Freud, is considered proof enough. Whenever I have told a Chinese person that my mother's family is Jewish, I have almost always been told: "oh, you must be very clever then." (the Chinese, not having our Western notions of political correctness, are quite happy to assume that every single Jew must be intelligent, with no exceptions). The stereotype that Jews are wealthy also exists, but it is not seen as something to be envied or hated, but rather just another proof of the Jews' abilities and intelligence. All the negative stereotypes of the Jews as stingy and clannish which infest Western culture simply haven't made their way here, thank goodness.
In today's extremely competitive and materialistic Chinese society, success in work is an obsession for many, and this coupled with the belief that Jews are inherently successful and smart can produce some curious results: a Chinese girl I once knew had actually read the Talmud (in Chinese of course), because she had heard that reading it could help you to achieve success in life (if the Jews are so succesful there must be a reason after all).
I must say that I can't help but feel ambiguous about these Jewish-themed business success guides in Chinese bookshops. I know there isn't any hostility towards the Jews behind them, but I can't help wondering if it is a good thing to encourage the stereotype of Jewish wealth and success in business which has brought the Jews so much misfortune elsewhere.
(Below, the cover of a Chinese book entitled "the Business Acumen of the Jews")
2 comments:
你应该这样理解这个问题：中国人是极为贪婪的，我们对金钱的贪婪甚至可能超过了我们认识的任何其他民族。当这个时候，我们总会为自己的贪婪找同伴，以此来安慰自己惴惴不安的心。当我们发现世界上有一个跟我们一样对金钱狂热的民族，我们就疯狂了。。。因为我们发现我们不再孤独。而且，这个民族有很多名人，而且有钱。这更是增加我们对贪婪这回事的信心。我们在读了犹太人的书之后就会安慰自己说到：我们其实还不够“成功”。当然，这儿的成功你也知道应该指的是什么。同时，中国的教育完全没有任何合理的关于种族跟民族的教育，这是中国教育巨大的缺失。中国人在这个方面是茫然的，其程度跟盲人差不多。所以，这种书才会有市场。才会有人真的花钱去买。
The comment above is by a Chinese reader, and I think it can make you understand my concerns. This is my translation of the comment down below, as literal as possible:
"This is how you should understand this problem: the Chinese are extremely greedy, our lust for money perhaps goes beyond that of any other ethnic group we are familiar with. At this time, we are always looking for a partner in our greed, so as to console our uneasy heart.
When we find out that in the world there is a people as wild about money as we are, we go crazy... because we find out that we are no longer lonely. What's more this ethnic group has lots of famous people among it, and moreover they have money. This increases our confidence in greed. After reading the books of the Jews, we can console ourselves by saying: we still aren't "succesful" enough. Of course, you know what the word successful indicates here. At the same time, China's educational system absolutely doesn't include any reasonable education concerning race and ethnicity, this a great lack of Chinese education. In this aspect the Chinese are at a loss, to the point of being blind. That is why these books have a market, and why people really will spend money to buy them."
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