32 replies to this topic

[TMPikachu]

and is it any good? How accurate is it? What's the general message, and what is the main reason for the backwardness 1500 and onwards?

http://www.amazon.co...324953?v=glance

[Mei Houwang]

No, but all you need to do is just read the title.

Edited by Anthrophobia, 15 September 2005 - 05:33 PM.

[ChiangAP]

and is it any good? How accurate is it? What's the general message, and what is the main reason for the backwardness 1500 and onwards?

http://www.amazon.co...324953?v=glance

I read it years ago. It was not funny and did not make much impression, except the book cover which was actually ugly . It did not fit with what I saw then, but maybe I never met ugly Chinese.
If I remember well, the general message was "We, Chinese, are careless and have such a superiority complex, that we ignore all the good things that we could learn from others".

[Mei Houwang]

I don't understand what kind of person would be racist against his own race. I understand why someone would be racist against other races(although I don't approve it), but this is just inconceivable.

[General_Zhaoyun]

That book was written by Bo Yang, the famous Taiwanese writer.. apparently goes in line with the site uglychinese...

[General_Zhaoyun]

For those who do not know, Bo Yang has a famous baihua translation of Zhizhi Tongjian (ZZTJ). I've got the complete version and inside it has lots of good maps and illustrations.

[TMPikachu]

I don't understand what kind of person would be racist against his own race. I understand why someone would be racist against other races(although I don't approve it), but this is just inconceivable.

it's called 'self loathing' or 'self hating'


From what I've heard though, the book is not really 'self hating' but a 'wake-up call' saying
"Hey, Chinese, we aren't no.1 Civilization anymore, and this is why..."

[General_Zhaoyun]

It's a self-introspection to search for the reason for China's backwardness from 15th century onwards culminating in the defeat of the Opium War and Japanese aggression during WWII. In a way, it's a refreshing insight

[Mei Houwang]

He don't have to downgrade all Chinese to do it. He can downgrade government mistakes, but that's where my line ends.

[TMPikachu]

Would he be comparable to Bill Cosby then?


so Anthro, you read the book?

[Mei Houwang]

No, as I've said, I didn't read the book. I just read a wesite made by him that pretty much sums it all up.

http://www.chass.uto.../280Bo_Yang.htm

Chinese people squabble among themselves in every situation, since their bodies lack those cells that enable most human beings to get along with each other. When non-Chinese people criticise the Chinese for this weakness, I like to warn them, 'Chinese people are like this because God knows that with more than one billion of them, if they ever got their act together, the rest of the world wouldn't be able to handle them. God has been good to you foreigners by making it impossible for the Chinese to cooperate among themselves.' But it is very painful for me to say this.

That's actually one of the not-as-harsh quotes. I can't believe he would say this. Self-degrading yourself is not the way to live.

Edited by Anthrophobia, 16 September 2005 - 05:24 PM.

[ChiangAP]

God has been good to you foreigners by making it impossible for the Chinese to cooperate among themselves

Bo Yang's quotation indirectly reminds me of Napoleon's famous word: "Quand la Chine s'éveillera, le monde tremblera" ("When China wakes, the world shall shake"). Besides, I just come from a dinner during which we talked about Tang poetry.
If I were you, self-degradation or not, I would not worry too much about the future.

[Mei Houwang]

Well, I don't really care if present China becomes powerful or not. Well, I do, but it's the same feeling of caring on winning a chess game. It's not that strong. I just don't like people being racist. Especially against me...because it's ME you see .

[dragonknight]

and is it any good? How accurate is it? What's the general message, and what is the main reason for the backwardness 1500 and onwards?

http://www.amazon.co...324953?v=glance

I deplore Chinese people using derogatory term "Chinaman" on themselves. Is it any wonder why racist westerners latch onto that term when they see Chinese people use the word on themselves? It is known that some blacks use the word "n*gger" amongst themselves. It is a form of reverse psychology: people who use the derogatory word on their own people are attempting to reduce the hurtfulness of the word on themselves.