Chinese virtue

Chapter 17
At the beginning of this chapter, one thing must be understood first: the Chinese character of "going with the situation" proposed in this chapter is based on Western standards, and the purpose of this chapter is to show the difference between the two standards of the East and the West .

The first is clothing.In the chapter on contempt for foreigners, we have discussed this issue: Chinese people cannot accept Western clothing styles.In fact, the reverse is also the same. We can't accept the Chinese clothing style, but the most surprising thing is the Chinese hair.

People in this country shave all the hair on the front half of the head, and expose the fragile skull.This is really an abnormal habit.But this habit was forced by the knife and had to be followed. It was a sign of submission and a sign of loyalty to the royal family.Whatever it is, we won't get to the bottom of it.What deserves our attention is the attitude of the Chinese themselves. They don't find it uncomfortable. Maybe they don't want to restore the Ming Dynasty's hair growth system at all.

The Chinese are bare-headed all year round, and they never think about whether they are comfortable or not. In the hottest months of summer, everyone walks in the sun with only a fan.Although some people also use parasols, but the number is very small.It has been observed that Chinese men sometimes wear hats, while Chinese women only have headscarves, although these headscarves are not even decorations in the eyes of foreigners.

Chinese people think that only a fan is enough in summer. In summer, naked coolies are always seen pulling heavy salt boats upstream while shaking their fans. Even Chinese beggars sometimes break their fans.

There are many aspects of Chinese civilization that are incredible and incomprehensible.It is said that China was the first to develop animal husbandry in the world, and they must have a very high level in this regard.But after so many years, the Chinese still do not have a single woolen garment, and only a few textile shops can be seen in the western part of China.Although many sheep can be seen in China, the textile industry has not been developed in China, which is really incomprehensible.

We all know that the clothes of ancient people were made of a kind of plant fiber, because there was no cotton at that time, but now all clothes are made of cotton.In China, the winter in some places is very cold, and people have to wear some clothes to keep out the cold.When a child is wearing too many clothes, it will be difficult to get up if they fall.Even so, no one ever complained about the stupidity of the clothes.But the Anglo-Saxons can't stand such a bondage, they will do everything possible to make themselves more comfortable.

In the eyes of Westerners, if you don't change your shirt frequently, you will feel very uncomfortable.But the Chinese don't have shirts, and they never find it inconvenient.They wore several layers of cotton clothes, as if they had a cotton bag hanging around their bodies.The cold wind poured into the cotton coat and pierced directly into the skin.

Although the Chinese also feel uncomfortable, they don't particularly care about it.An old man in his 60s said that he was about to freeze. A kind person gave the old man a shirt worn by Westerners and told him to wear it every day to avoid freezing.As a result, after only two or three days, the old man took off his shirt and stopped wearing it. He felt that wearing a shirt was "too stuffy".

The cloth shoes worn by the Chinese will become very wet if they come into contact with a little water.Whenever it is cold, they will feel the soles of their feet are icy cold.So the Chinese invented a kind of oiled moisture-proof boots, but few people bought them because they were too expensive.In China, umbrellas are considered a decorative luxury rather than a necessity.Even in the rain, the Chinese seldom change their clothes, because they think it is good to use their body heat to dry them.The Chinese think westerners' gloves are beautiful, but they don't make them themselves, only the northern regions make some clumsy mittens to keep out the cold.

In the eyes of Westerners, the most depressing thing is that Chinese clothing has no pockets.This is very inconvenient for westerners because they have a lot of stuff to pack.Handkerchiefs, notepads, pencils, toothpicks, pocket watches, etc. all need pockets, and the remaining pockets also need to hold knives, wallets, keys, etc. Some foreigners also bring some special things such as combs, measuring tapes, tweezers, and compass .For foreigners, these things are necessities for frequent use.But the Chinese don't think these things are useful, and of course they don't have pockets to carry them.The Chinese will stuff the handkerchief into his arms, and so will the child next to him.If a Chinese wants to bring an important document, he will stuff it into leggings and tie it tightly, or simply pin the document into the waistband of his trousers.If the straps or gaiters come loose, the documents are lost, as is often the case in China.If a Chinese has a lot of things to carry, he will stuff them into his sleeves and roll them up, or tuck them into his hat.The Chinese have many convenient tricks, for example, they will wrap cigarette pouches and tobacco rods on their belts; roll up money and clip it to their ears; and wrap keys and money around the buttons of their coats.In order to prevent the loss of items, they are very careful when undressing, and they also check their belts from time to time to see if they are loose.

Westerners have a very low evaluation of Chinese casual clothes, but I personally don't think there is even a need to evaluate Chinese pajamas.Because the Chinese don't have pajamas, whether they are men or women, they all take off their clothes and get under the covers before sleeping.Although Confucius said a long time ago: "There must be pajamas, which are half the length of a body." But the Chinese believe that this is just the dress that Confucius wore when fasting, not pajamas.It is obvious that today's Chinese do not follow the example of Confucius and put on "pajamas" and hardly fast.Babies are very sensitive to changes in temperature, which the Chinese do not know.They often throw back the baby's quilt to show off their baby, and never care whether the baby's quilt is properly covered.Therefore, Chinese babies often suffer from convulsions due to the cold, and many die before the full moon.In some areas of China, diapers are replaced by "dirt pants", pockets filled with dirt that make children look like frogs holding a shot put.Such a horror would no doubt send chills to doting Western mothers.In areas with this custom, people laugh at a person's ignorance by saying that they have not taken off their "pants".

The Chinese do not pay much attention to comfort when it comes to housing, just like their clothes.Let’s not talk about those who can’t afford a house because they have no money. Let’s talk about those who have a good family.The Chinese will plant many ornamental shrubs in the yard instead of planting shade trees around the house.When the weather is hot, they will set up a "mat shed" to provide shade.If the heat is unbearable and the mat shed is extremely hot, they will sit on the street to enjoy the shade.If the heat is still unbearable, they will go back to the room.Chinese houses generally do not have a north door. This kind of house with only a south door cannot form air convection and is very stuffy.If you ask the owner why there is no north door in the room, the owner will answer: "We don't have the habit of opening the north door!"

In areas north of 37 degrees north latitude, Chinese people sleep on brick "Kang", which is connected to a stove and is naturally heated when cooking.Therefore, the temperature of the "kang" cannot be adjusted freely. Whether it is a cold earthen kang without a fire, or a hot kang so hot that people cannot sleep, it is an unbearable torment for a Westerner.But the Chinese sleep peacefully on this kang with uneven heat and cold.Because the "kang" is built of soil and bricks, many small insects build nests in it. Even if the bricks are replaced every year, these insects cannot be completely removed.

Although many Chinese know how harmful pests are to health, few people deworm and prevent diseases. Even urbanites seldom clean the cobwebs hanging on the walls.Flies and mosquitoes are very annoying pests to Westerners.The Chinese are not particularly disgusted with them, but occasionally burn some fragrant grass to drive them away.

For Westerners, the pillow must be soft when sleeping, so that they can enjoy sleep comfortably.Westerners use bags filled with feathers to make pillows, while Chinese do not.For the Chinese, it is enough that the pillow can support the neck. A small bamboo stool, a piece of wood, and most commonly a square brick can be used as a pillow.If a Westerner sleeps on this kind of thing, it is estimated that he will suffer from insomnia all night.The Chinese also cannot bear this kind of "feather bag" of Westerners.

It was mentioned before that China's wool spinning technology is very backward.The same thing is that they don't know anything about down. They don't know that down can be made into bedding, they only know that poultry feathers can be tied up to make feather dusters.In the eyes of the Chinese, down is worthless.So they often sell the down cheaply to foreigners, or spread the feathers around fields to keep animals from eating the crops.

In the eyes of Westerners, a firm, soft, and bouncy bed is the perfect bed.In recent years, steel wire beds that meet this condition have become popular in thousands of households.In China, this kind of bed does not seem to be very popular.It is said that in one of the best hospitals in China, after changing this high-end bed, several patients would rather lie on the floor, and said that it felt like lying at home. unhappy.

In China, oil lamps are used for lighting at night.Generally, vegetable oil, soybean oil, peanut oil, and cottonseed oil are used to make oil lamps. This kind of oil lamp not only has a strange smell when burning, but also is not very bright, and can only maintain things.Although the Chinese know that kerosene is better for lighting lamps, few people use it.For them, being able to see things is enough, and they don't need to see so clearly.So every night, the house in China is so dark that you can hardly see your fingers.

To a westerner, Chinese furniture is very clumsy and uncomfortable to use.

For example, Chinese people sit on very narrow benches, which are very crude compared to the wide chairs that Westerners can lean on.If the person sitting on the other side suddenly stands up, or if the stool legs become loose, the person on the other side will suddenly sit down and fall to the ground.For Westerners, Chinese chairs really have nothing to do with the word "comfortable".In addition to the benches mentioned above, there are also some relatively ornate chairs in China. The style of these chairs is very similar to the style popular in the Elizabethan era in England-high seat, straight back, and looks very dull.There is also a more ordinary chair with a strong load-bearing capacity, which can bear a 250-pound person sitting on it, but the load-bearing of this chair is uneven, and it will fall apart after a long time.

The foundations of houses in China are very loose, so the house can sometimes appear damp.The dampness and coldness of the house is the most unbearable thing for Westerners. Westerners believe that the ground paved with unfired low-quality bricks, or simply not paved with mud, is very harmful to the health of the body.Loose doors are just as annoying. A door that doesn't close tightly is open to the wind all around, and even if the door is sealed tightly with strong paper, the wind will still blow into the room.Because no matter how patiently they preach, the Chinese will not learn to close the door casually.Once a foreign businessman posted a notice of "close the door at will" outside the door, but the Chinese simply turned a blind eye to it, let alone obeyed it.

In China, whether it is a house door or a courtyard door, the door frame is made very low, and if you do not lower your head when entering or leaving, you will directly bump into the door frame.

Chinese paper windows cannot resist the sun, heat, dust, and wind and rain.Blinds are not widely used in China, and even if they are available in some places, they are often not used.

In many Chinese families, there is only one large iron pot in the kitchen.This kind of iron pot can only cook one thing at a time, either boiling water or cooking rice.When cooking, someone has to watch in front of the stove and keep adding firewood and grass.The kitchen is full of smoke or water vapor. If foreigners are in such an environment, they will either be choked to tears or have difficulty breathing.

But the Chinese don't care. Although they know that long-term exposure to smoke will cause eye diseases, they still don't care.

There is no heating in Chinese houses.In many areas of China, people only rely on cooking stoves and kangs for heating, which is the most difficult for Westerners to adapt to.Chinese people think that "kang" is very convenient and comfortable, and some women call it "mother".But for Westerners, Chinese "Kang" is far less comfortable than Western fireplaces or stoves.Because the heat emitted by the "Kang" is not suitable for the constant temperature of the human body.

In China, there are very few areas with coal, so ordinary people rely on burning charcoal for heating in winter.

Burning charcoal also requires the same care as burning coal, otherwise it will lead to poisoning.Because they burn charcoal very sparingly, the house is not warm.So they put all their clothes on to keep warm, and when they went out, they had nothing else to add.Once you ask them "Is it cold?"

(End of this chapter)