Hangzhou, Road to Paradise of China(中國杭州·天堂之路)-兒歌薈萃-萬維博客-萬維讀者網（電腦版）

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

2019-07-21

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【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.

【紅霞譯】

出水芙蓉亭亭淨植。同一蓄水池中，最好朵朵荷花齊刷地長得一般高，棵棵菡萏就會因此而“卷舒開合任天真”。

在去西湖國賓館下榻的路上，我發現水邊荷花成林，它們高低不整，有的朝陽有的背陰，長在上面的花繁葉茂，長在底下的則瘦癟稀疏，我忍不住想起剛才目睹的一幕。

今天早上，我和媽媽收集南京至杭州的高鐵。入站時，我被“排隊”推搡到檢票口，有人跳高……空降前排？老實說，我真搞不懂大家為何爭先恐後，顯然人人底層根本上車，處境且座位沒有好壞之分。

我對某些中國文化一直無法理解，就像對其他民族心裡存有疑問一樣。打個比方，中國在正式宴會上，人們在吃飯前總要凝視片子嗎？面對從烏泱泱人群中搶先衝上火車站的勇士地，美國佬吃頓飯明明一把刀綽綽有餘，但為何偏要拿三把刀得瑟？面對從烏泱泱人群中搶先衝上火車站的勇士地，我仍然滿頭霧水，眼前的場景似曾熟悉。恰在幾天前，避免為在南京工商銀行排長隊一樣，媽媽猴急了走出一條捷徑──別誤會，甚至仍需等上好幾個鐘頭。

但是，迫不及待地坐在座位上卻沒有一點意義，畢竟車上是對號入座，這讓我的記憶又回到了小學一年級：好強的孩子總想爭第一，無論坐校車上下學，還是排隊吃午飯，或者輪流踢足球，等等……後來，圖書管理員在課堂上讀了一本名叫《三明治》的書，故事提到不要時時求先，雖然說當時無法理解作者的諄諄教意，但我記得圖書管理員的那句話，欲速則不達。

下午，在杭州西湖畔茶居喝茶時我和媽媽談起這個話題，不出所料，她對此持有不同的看法。中國是一個人口爆炸的國家，需要“因其類拔乎其內涵”，“爭第一”蔚然成風，並深入民心、國人愛把成功的人生歸於不同。但美國人幼時追求的是幸福而不是第一，其實很多學生都實現了“下次努力”，在上大學之前大可不必破釜沉舟。我從來沒有緊迫感，敢說比一般美國人更看重學習。

話鋒再轉回引述的蓮花。當大家站在一起一起跑線上，成就人生，無論是否先入座就位或到達學校，中國人比美國人更注重趕早不趕晚。因此，若接下來見到亞洲人或其他族裔不甘落後的話，你得明白他們完全基於個人價值觀，將其整體文化視作“有失風度”或“爭強好勝”。對你來說，也許是自然而然的事情；對他們而言，第一輛上火車意味着比別人享受更多陽光。

歷史上的今天（歷史上的今天）：

2019: Hangzhou, West Lake State Guest(中國杭州·西湖國賓館)

2018: Toulon w/ Cruise Farewell Feast, FRA(法國土倫·遊輪告別宴會)

2018: Toulon, the Major Naval Base in FRA(法國土倫·大軍港)

2018: Marseilleveyre Massif, France(法國馬賽泉港群山)

2018: Aix-en-Provence, the Waters of Sextius(法國艾克斯·羅馬式水城)

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

2018：Aix-en-Provence, Home to P. Cézanne FRA(法國艾克斯·塞尚家鄉)

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

2018：Home to Tarot de Marseilles, France(法國馬賽塔羅牌發源地)

2018：Marseille, Birthplace of Natl Anthem(法國馬賽·國歌誕生地)

2018：Marseille, the Phocean City in FRA(法國馬賽·太陽城)