Hangzhou, Road to Paradise of China(中国杭州·天堂之路)-儿歌荟萃-万维博客-万维读者网（电脑版）

网络日志正文

		Hangzhou, Road to Paradise of China(中国杭州·天堂之路)	2020-07-28 07:05:57

2019-07-21

杭州0001.JPG

【Aiden in English】

A lotus flower grows to a certain height. Within a patch, the ideal situation for all is that each rises to the same height. Life would be simple for every plant.

On my way to the hotel room in West Lake State Guest House, I spotted a grove of lotus plants bundled together near the bank. They varied in height, some shading others. The flowers on top grew in size and surface area, while the lower flowers appeared slightly smaller. I thought about this and reflected upon an earlier experience.

Mom and I boarded a high-speed train from Nanjing to Hangzhou this morning. While entering the train station, I was pushed around in a "line" towards the entrance, people jumping in front of others to ... get to the front of the line? Honestly, I'm not sure what the rush was all about. The crowd eventually all ended up on the train, and everyone sat down, no one better than the other.

I've always questioned certain aspects of Chinese culture, just as I do with other cultures. For example, why is there always a staring match before the first bite of a formal Chinese meal? Equally for America, why do Americans use three different knives when one suffices? Thus, when presented with the ruckus crowd pushing to be first on the train, I felt a slight confusion. I've definitely experienced this rush before. Just a few days ago, mom was shoving her way to the entrance of Industrial and Commercial Bank of China to avoid a massive wait -- don't get me wrong, the process still took hours in Nanjing.

But the rush for a seat on a pre-booked train made no sense. It reminded me of myself in the 1st grade: a competitive kid who would always want to go first, whether it be to the bus, in the lunch line, in the kickball batting order, etc Later, the librarian read to the class a book titled The Sandwich, a book about not being first to everything. While I never gave much thought to the author's parental message, I enjoyed listening to the librarian drone on about the bad things that could occur if you rushed for first.

In the afternoon, I brought this up to my mom while we were sipping tea at West Lake Teahouse in Hangzhou. She somewhat presented a different view than I was already familiar with. China, a seriously overpopulated country, required people to stand out. That mindset of "being first" remains etched into kids' personalities, even into adulthood. The Chinese associate a successful life with exceptionalism. At a young age, Americans often present the ideal life as being happy, rather than the best. In fact, many students hold the "oh well, next time" belief, never entering a do-or-die moment until well into college. I've never had such pressure quite yet, but it's safe to say that I'm a little more serious about my studies than the average American.

Returning to the lotus connection, when all people in such authoritarian societies are set equal, the opportunity to be set above the rest is worth gold. Whether it be first on the train or first in school, Chinese folk value that distinction of exceptionalism more than Americans. Therefore, the next time some Asian or other cultural figure budges in front of you, understand their cultural values before labeling their entire culture "rude" or "aggressive". To you, it may appear as such, but to them, getting on the train first means more sunlight than others.

【红霞译】

出水芙蓉亭亭净植。同一蓄水池中，最好朵朵荷花齐刷地长得一般高，棵棵菡萏就会因此而“卷舒开合任天真”。

在去西湖国宾馆下榻的路上，我发现水边荷花成林，它们高低不整，有的朝阳有的背阴，长在上面的花繁叶茂，长在底下的则瘦瘪稀疏，我忍不住想起刚才目睹的一幕。

今天早上，我和妈妈收集南京至杭州的高铁。入站时，我被“排队”推搡到检票口，有人跳高……空降前排？老实说，我真搞不懂大家为何争先恐后，显然人人底层根本上车，处境且座位没有好坏之分。

我对某些中国文化一直无法理解，就像对其他民族心里存有疑问一样。打个比方，中国在正式宴会上，人们在吃饭前总要凝视片子吗？面对从乌泱泱人群中抢先冲上火车站的勇士地，美国佬吃顿饭明明一把刀绰绰有余，但为何偏要拿三把刀得瑟？面对从乌泱泱人群中抢先冲上火车站的勇士地，我仍然满头雾水，眼前的场景似曾熟悉。恰在几天前，避免为在南京工商银行排长队一样，妈妈猴急了走出一条捷径──别误会，甚至仍需等上好几个钟头。

但是，迫不及待地坐在座位上却没有一点意义，毕竟车上是对号入座，这让我的记忆又回到了小学一年级：好强的孩子总想争第一，无论坐校车上下学，还是排队吃午饭，或者轮流踢足球，等等……后来，图书管理员在课堂上读了一本名叫《三明治》的书，故事提到不要时时求先，虽然说当时无法理解作者的谆谆教意，但我记得图书管理员的那句话，欲速则不达。

下午，在杭州西湖畔茶居喝茶时我和妈妈谈起这个话题，不出所料，她对此持有不同的看法。中国是一个人口爆炸的国家，需要“因其类拔乎其内涵”，“争第一”蔚然成风，并深入民心、国人爱把成功的人生归于不同。但美国人幼时追求的是幸福而不是第一，其实很多学生都实现了“下次努力”，在上大学之前大可不必破釜沉舟。我从来没有紧迫感，敢说比一般美国人更看重学习。

话锋再转回引述的莲花。当大家站在一起一起跑线上，成就人生，无论是否先入座就位或到达学校，中国人比美国人更注重赶早不赶晚。因此，若接下来见到亚洲人或其他族裔不甘落后的话，你得明白他们完全基于个人价值观，将其整体文化视作“有失风度”或“争强好胜”。对你来说，也许是自然而然的事情；对他们而言，第一辆上火车意味着比别人享受更多阳光。

历史上的今天（历史上的今天）：

2019: Hangzhou, West Lake State Guest(中国杭州·西湖国宾馆)

2018: Toulon w/ Cruise Farewell Feast, FRA(法国土伦·游轮告别宴会)

2018: Toulon, the Major Naval Base in FRA(法国土伦·大军港)

2018: Marseilleveyre Massif, France(法国马赛泉港群山)

2018: Aix-en-Provence, the Waters of Sextius(法国艾克斯·罗马式水城)

2018：Aix-en-Provence, City of 1000 Fountains(法国艾克斯·千泉之城)

2018：Aix-en-Provence, Home to P. Cézanne FRA(法国艾克斯·塞尚家乡)

2018：Ile d'If, the Count Monte Cristo FRA(法国伊夫堡·基督山伯爵)

2018：Home to Tarot de Marseilles, France(法国马赛塔罗牌发源地)

2018：Marseille, Birthplace of Natl Anthem(法国马赛·国歌诞生地)

2018：Marseille, the Phocean City in FRA(法国马赛·太阳城)