Chinese virtue

Chapter 36 Lack of Integrity (3)
We are not saying that there are no honest people in China, but after our careful observation and research, even if there are honest people, there are very few.I think people should be very clear about what will happen if the Chinese do not talk about honesty and truthfulness when interacting with such a nation.A Chinese scholar can tell a foreigner that he cannot read without changing his face, but if you give him a book, he will slip into the crowd and slip away without looking back.Even if the book is only worth three copper coins, he will not feel ashamed, but will be secretly happy that he has just deceived a foreigner.

He will feel that this foreigner is so stupid that even a stranger who has nothing to do with him will believe it.When Chinese people buy things from foreigners, they often use the excuse that they don't have enough money to pay a few copper coins less.If you happen to see a copper coin tucked in his hat, he will take it off and give it to you very reluctantly, as if he was the one who was deceived.There is another kind of person who hangs around with you for a long time, wanting to get something for free, and when asked if he can buy it, he will reply that he has no money.If you believe what he said, after getting your stuff for free, he will be humming a little tune with joy, as if he just killed a snake demon that has been causing trouble for many years.But if you question his claims, he'll throw you a wad of money with an angry face and ask you to give him your change.

Chinese people often "borrow things" from their relatives, but this kind of borrowing is almost taken away and used directly, without even saying hello. Of course, some people still say hello.Maybe the Chinese people think that such a performance of "not seeing outsiders" will increase national unity.But this kind of "out of sight" performance is sometimes depressing. Sometimes, if you want to get back something you have borrowed out of good intentions, you have to go to the pawnshop to redeem it.Sending other people's things to the pawn shop is really "seeing outside".

A Chinese classmate stole money from the foreign administrator in the dormitory. After being caught, he cried and said: When I was young, I often stole money from my mother. He couldn’t help it because the foreigner looked like his mother.

The same thing can happen in Chinese society in Western society.But it is also a bad aspect. There is an essential difference between the two, that is "integrity".Chinese people lack integrity. Although I don't encounter many of them, I can always see such things.Before, we have mentioned many examples of Chinese people's lack of integrity, but I think some examples should be explained in more detail.

The Chinese are very good at blackmail and blackmail.From the royal family to the beggars, everyone is very proficient in this "craft".If a knowledgeable writer wants to write a book, it is undoubtedly the best subject.Because the Chinese are very practical, this climate of extortion has become like the air that exists in the world, including everyone, and no one can escape the system.This system is so vicious and depraved, and only by thoroughly rectifying the empire can this cancer be uprooted.

It is very difficult for foreigners to have more exchanges and contacts with Chinese people, unless you are willing to give up the reputation of "superior people".This is all due to the current situation in China and their character.

There is a saying in China, "The feet and teeth of a car and boat shop should be killed if they are innocent."People engaged in these industries have a very special relationship with their fellow foreigners, because foreigners would rather suffer some losses than cause any trouble.Foreigners have no interest in this and have no ability.But the Chinese are not. If one of them violates the principle of justice, they can only use this method of causing trouble to finally reach a consensus between the two parties.

Few people can do the "middle way", and very few Chinese want to adopt the "middle way". The perfect embodiment of the "Golden Mean" is not to be too credulous, nor too suspicious, and to always maintain the middle line.The Chinese are very good at judging the character of others. If we refuse to speak hypocritically in person, the Chinese will think that we are "people of temperament".But if we can face things calmly like the Buddha and maintain our demeanor at all times, the Chinese will feel that we can blackmail at will.There was a Chinese hired by foreigners. When he was shopping, he saw a peddler on the street selling some foreign dolls made of clay. He watched for a while and said to the peddler: "Your stuff is fake. It’s true to play every day.”

It is well known that the Chinese government is a typical representative of the "hypocritical" nature of the Chinese people.

Examples of this kind of "hypocrisy" can be seen everywhere, whether in Sino-foreign relations or in domestic relations between officials and the people.The simplest example is the notices posted on the city walls every day, and you can see the notices posted on the city walls every day.The contents of these notices are various, and the rhetoric is very gorgeous. The only thing they don't have is the most important authenticity.Because of the things mentioned in these notices, the government has no intention of implementing them.On this point, I believe that the person who wrote the notice and the person who read the notice have reached a tacit agreement.A Chinese politician, his life and the official documents he wrote can be described in a very simple sentence, which is what Rousseau said in "Confessions" that "feelings are noble, but actions are base".Maybe he killed tens of thousands of people in his life, but he used the words of Mencius to teach everyone how sacred life is; People exile and sigh; he criticizes those who say false oaths, but he himself tells people when he signs the agreement that it is just a useless piece of paper.Although there are honest and upright officials in China, they are very few, and once such honest officials appear, they will be isolated immediately.

If we compare the ancient Chinese classics with China's current situation, we will find that these classics cannot change China's current situation at all.

If you ask any educated Chinese how many people he knows he can trust completely, you will get many different answers.But if you ask foreigners the same question, most foreigners will answer "not many", "seven or eight", "a dozen" and so on.Although some people will say: "There are so many that I can't count." But such people are very few, and the more knowledgeable people are, the less likely they are to use the last answer.

Acting on observation is the behavior of every people, and it is also regarded as a kind of wisdom.When we talked about the suspicion of Chinese people in the previous chapter, we said that Chinese people think it is very normal to be suspicious of others, and they are very clear about the reasons.This situation makes China's future uncertain.China's rulers are people of relatively poor character, while the elite are mostly alienated and excluded.A wise Taoist once said to Westerners: "All the officials under the emperor should be killed, because they are all bad guys, but it is useless to kill these officials. The emperor himself is not much better than us." There is a saying in China "The snake knows how big the hole is", this sentence happens to be used here.Another thing that is more interesting is the merchant class. The reason why it is said to be "interesting" is because, as the lower class of the bureaucratic class, these merchants do not trust their superiors.Because they know that the government is always talking about some "reforms", and these "reforms" are just decorations, and the core has never changed.A house with chimneys and roofs of the worst kind of brick, smoothed with trouble by the masons with mud that has not been reconciled.Although the mason knew that the roof would leak when it rained and the chimney would smoke everywhere if the fire was lit, he did it anyway.This kind of thing is extremely common in China, and many such things happen every day.

If China pays attention to the development of land resources, they will soon become rich and powerful.But without confidence, these funds can only be buried in the ground.If you want to develop these resources, you must master all kinds of knowledge, and you must have all kinds of talents.But if these talents are suspicious of each other, then having the best conditions is empty talk.

A few years ago, a Chinese who liked to think about problems once asked me how to solve the difficulty of drilling wells in a certain area.The Chinese habit of digging wells is that the top and bottom of the well are built with green bricks.But in that place, once the well is dug, the ground will sink, and finally the wall of the well will collapse, leaving only a small hole like a spring to draw water, and then gradually, the small hole will be blocked by the subsiding soil.If we say that Chinese people have suffered from illness for a long time, no matter how well the medicine is prescribed, it can only relieve the illness temporarily, and the disease will not be cured.In the end, people in this country can only be terminally ill.Like a wagon full of jewels stuck in a quagmire, if not pulled out in time, it will only sink deeper and deeper.

(End of this chapter)