Chinese returning from abroad encounter reverse culture shock

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Sunday, September 21, 2003

Chinese returning from abroad encounter reverse culture shock

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After living overseas for a time, Chinese who return home often encounter culture shock in their own homeland when they see some people still spitting everywhere, speaking loudly in public or rushing for seats on buses and trains.

"I was really in a daze at my first sight of the United Kingdom but became accustomed to it soon. However, I was shocked when I went back to China and re-encountered such bad manners four years later," said Sun Dacheng, a manager with SinoChem International Co., Ltd.

According to Peng Lin, a professor with Qinghua University, traditional words of respect are disappearing in China and people feel embarrassed when they want to communicate politely with others.

Words such as "how are you", "thank you", "please," "that's all right" and "good bye" are pasted on walled of shops in many cities of the country, which has always been known as a land of propriety.

"China has its own traditional virtues, such as showing greater respect to parents and the elderly and having a stronger sense of family and honesty," said Gan Shaoping, a professor with the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.

But in modern times, Chinese people should learn to respect the public so as to mend their etiquette despite the country's thousand-year-old reputation for virtue, he said.

As subjects of the rulers in long-standing feudal society, Gan said that the masses were forced to fulfill their "obligations", resulting in a lack of public consciousness and social duties, which are in urgent need for the development and improvement of ethics and etiquette today, said Gan.

Lifestyles, including the style of working, making friends and entertaining, have made great changes as the market-oriented economy has had strong impact on the former social structure in the country.

More and more farmers left their familiar surroundings in rural areas for strange cities to strive for better living conditions.

However, the large amounts of migrant workers are not accustomed to the urban surroundings and their city lifestyle, theprofessor said.

For lack of "supervision" from their acquaintances, their freewheeling activities, such as spitting and rushing for seats in buses, are considered bad manners.

The Chinese Government has attached great importance to resolving the problems related to ethics and etiquette in the pasttwo decades, including issuing a Guideline on the Promotion of Citizens' Ethics two years ago and recently setting Sept. 20 as the day for the annual promotion of ethics and etiquette across the country.

The guideline will just play a role as "lubricant", while cultivation of a sense of responsibility and consciousness of rules are more important for ethics promotion, Gan said.

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