rebirth of change

Because time was really tight, Chen Kangjie only stayed in Chicago for one night. That night, he chatted a lot with Auba Niu and his wife, about the cultural differences between China and the United States, Chinese and American thinking, film art, music appreciation, etc., almost thought of Talk about anything.

When talking about the cultural differences between China and the United States and the thinking between China and the United States, Chen Kangjie told Obaniu, "In fact, relatively speaking, we know you far more than you know us. In my country, hundreds of millions of people learn English every day. , and in the United States, I am afraid that only 2 to [-] people learn Chinese. Such a ratio gap brings about a great difference in the level of knowledge equivalence. People of my age basically have no one who has not watched American movies, and vice versa. However, Americans are not interested in films produced in China. As a filmmaker, I cannot deny that the United States is more modern and popular in terms of shooting technology, story content, and screen design. But I have to say that this is different from American films. It has something to do with their arrogance. When a country takes the lead, it feels that there is nothing worth learning and learning from others, which leads to blind chauvinism. Language often reflects the thinking logic of a clan, just like For us, the surname is placed first, and your surname is placed at the back. The surname is not easy to change. We attach great importance to it. In fact, it means attaching importance to inheritance. Our culture and logic of thinking have always been strongly inherited. To understand us, We must first understand our history and cultural origin. Americans pay more attention to names, which reflects that Americans value individuality and independence. Recently, there have been many voices of China threat theory, and the views of our two nations on this issue are completely different. Opposite, why?".

"Isn't this the truth?" On this topic, Obanniu doesn't know much about China. What he knows comes from relevant reports. He has never been to China, and he doesn't have any system. I have read books on the history of China, so I can only listen to it. Who is Chen Kangjie who knows the two countries very well.

"Hehe, of course it's not true." Chen Kangjie laughed, took a sip of coffee, glanced at the Obaniu couple and continued, "The logic of American thinking is that ability determines the result. Basically, this is how you look at problems. It seems that with the development of our country, our capabilities have increased, and we feel that we will compete with the United States for the position of ruling the world. In our culture, it is the other way around. The purpose or the result affects the ability and process. This is It is completely different. If you are lucky enough to go to China, you can ask the people on the street how many people think that our purpose is to expand and fight for hegemony. It may be difficult for you to get an answer like that. Because that is not what we want Purpose and result, our purpose is very simple, to protect ourselves, to improve life, to become rich, because of the need for this result, we will try our best to develop the economy in terms of means, be good to our neighbors, and create a good peaceful environment with our neighbors , the development of an appropriate military is only the need for self-protection, don’t you think it’s a little weird? Haha.”

Lashiel behaved as usual, while Obanniu's eyes widened. He didn't expect the people of China to think so simply.

"However, the ideas of politicians are different from those of the public," Aubaniu continued after pondering for a while.

"As a senator living in a democratic country elected by the people, you should know how powerful the power of the people will be. Public opinion, this is impossible for any government to subvert, otherwise, there will be absolutely no good end. Besides, None of our high-level political leaders have studied in the West. Fundamentally speaking, their cultural traditions and logic are not much different from ordinary people. The United States has always hoped that a large number of Chinese students will study in the United States, and has been vigorously promoting cultural Offensive, such as movies, music, books, etc., it is really futile to expect to transform our thinking through these means. Those things may be useful for other civilizations in other countries, but for Chinese civilization...", said here, Chen Kangjie shook his head mockingly, "Among world civilizations, only we can remain intact and have been passed down for four to five thousand years. Our language, our folk customs, our ethics, and our values ​​have not changed much. Maybe outsiders see that we are very different from before. We wear suits, eat Western food, speak English, and like Jordan and Mike. In fact, these are just external things, or technical ones, not the core. Just Take western food as an example, we may choose it for personal or simple occasions, but for grand occasions and solemn times, we must choose rich and colorful Chinese food, such as weddings, funerals, New Years and festivals, banquets for relatives and friends, etc. Wait, this is our core."

"It seems that we really don't know much about you, and the research reports of those research institutions are still on the surface," Aubaniu said dejectedly.

"This is natural. Even the so-called sinologists can hardly claim to understand us. The reason, first, is that our history is too long, and it is a huge project to learn one by one. Second, in Technically, these sinologists are also not solid. In my country, many people can recite every word in the English dictionary, but how many Westerners can recognize every Chinese character? Our historical books are almost They are all written in ancient Chinese, and it will be very difficult for our own people to learn them. They are broad and profound, and it may be difficult for Westerners to read them. If you can’t even understand our books, how can you understand them?” At present, Auba Niu is still unknown. Chen Kangjie intends to deepen his personal relationship with him through this stage, and at the same time pass on and instill some fresh ideas in him. In the long run, it will be very beneficial.

"You mean to say that China will never fight for hegemony?".

"Of course not. It seems that our leaders have made solemn declarations many times. You just don't believe me, haha. In fact, everyone knows that during the Tang and Han Dynasties, our national power was almost the sum of all other countries in the world. It is much larger than the proportion of the United States in the world today. However, we did not try our best to expand. We did not occupy South Asia, Southeast Asia, and even the Korean Peninsula. We just hope to be respected. Therefore, at that time, we There are many small countries in the surrounding area that have received more rewards than what they paid for their respect for us," Chen Kangjie said casually with a smile.

"Not really, Genghis Khan hit the banks of the Danube River in Europe." Obaniu is not completely ignorant of Eastern history, but his words cannot be refuted.

"The Yuan Dynasty promoted by this giant is indeed one of the dynasties in our history. However, at that time, they were still regarded as foreign nations, and the governance basis of their regime was not based on our traditional cultural values. The nomadic civilization informed the advanced farming civilization, which was not very feasible in the first place. Instead of absorbing and integrating advanced things, they adopted their own methods, so the regime perished after only 97 years. But this period of history gave It has given us a lot of enlightenment, that is, we should not make enemies everywhere or even start wars because of their strength, which will drag the country into the abyss. Didn’t Germany and Japan in modern times fall into endless disasters because they wanted hegemony? Do you know? The people with the most backbone in our country are those who write history. History has a sacred status in our traditions, which also reflects that we attach great importance to inheritance and tradition. But then we also fell in love with dialectics, just like our I don’t want to fight for hegemony, and I don’t want to make enemies with other countries. Peace is the most important thing in our culture. However, when we are forced and imposed, we will also have a firm rebound. To be honest, I like it very much. The United States, the vast majority of Chinese people like the United States, so I really don’t want the United States to force us to the opposite side of you, that would be a tragedy for two big countries.” Chen Kangjie still hopes that through his tireless explanations, this The future president deepens his real knowledge of the East, making the environment a little more soothing.

"Can ordinary people understand what you said? I heard that there are tens of millions of illiterate people in your country." Aobaniu was really interested in what Chen Kangjie said.

Leaving aside whether he already has the budding idea of ​​competing for the throne of supreme power, just as a senator, he will be exposed to a lot of affairs related to the relationship between the two countries. As long as he is a politician with conscience, even It is not for the benefit of other countries, but also for the long-term development strategy of the country.

Chen Kangjie believes that a young elite who can hold the presidency will not be too short-sighted.

"That's right. There are still many illiterate people in our country. However, what I want to add is that they are just illiterate. It cannot be said that they are really uneducated. The real expression of culture is not in words. It is in our daily life behavior and thinking logic. After thousands of years of inheritance, in fact, many of our cultural cores have penetrated into the blood and bones of ordinary people. These four characters were originally ancient Chinese with profound meanings, but almost every common people understand their meanings, and use them to persuade neighbors and family members in our daily life. And its essence has been developed into a more practical value by our common people "Family and everything prosper". Among our ordinary people, such as "don't do to others what you don't want", "if you have something, you can change it, if you don't, you can encourage it", "three cardinal principles and five constant principles", "harmony between man and nature", etc. Words extracted from classics often fill our lives. Even many illiterate people say a lot of classic idioms every day. It’s just that they don’t know the characters and can’t write them. Understand, just like 'take advantage of the fire', 'hidden knife in a smile', 'lead the sheep by hand', 'open and aboveboard', 'small tricks', 'spoof the river' and so on, a farmer in the mountains will also use it, our wisdom is hidden among billions of people In," Chen Kangjie said with a narrow smile.

"Long, talking to you is better than reading ten years of books. You can be regarded as an exchange ambassador between our two countries. You are very familiar with the cultures of the two countries. I heard that you can recite the Declaration of Independence." Rahil interjected and sighed Said.

"The Declaration of Independence, the Constitution of the United States of America and its Constitutional Amendments, President George Washington's Farewell Address, the Gettysburg Address and the Emancipation Proclamation, the Monroe Doctrine, and I can recite Mark Twain's "Baby" and so on. In fact, many people in China who are good at English can also recite it. This shows that I am not the only one who understands the United States, but there are many, many Chinese," said Chen Kangjie proudly .