Hangzhou—Road to Paradise, China(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, China(杭州—天堂之路)	2020-07-28 07:05:57

2019-07-21

【Aiden in English】

A lotus flower grows to a certain height. Within a patch, the ideal situation for all is that each grows 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; the lower flowers appeared a bit smaller. I thought about this and reflected upon my 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. The crowd eventually ended up on the train, and everyone sat down not better than one another.

I've always questioned some parts of Chinese culture, much like 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 slightly confused. I've definitely experienced this rush before. Just a few days ago, Mom was shoving her way to the entrance of the 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 never putting much thought into the author's parental message, I enjoyed listening to the librarian drone on about the bad things that could occur if you rushed first.

In the afternoon, I brought this up to my mom while we were sipping tea in West Lake Teahouse, Hangzhou. She somewhat presented a different view than I already knew. China, a seriously overpopulated country, required people to stand out. That mindset of "being first" remains etched into kids' personalities, even into adulthood. Chinese associate a successful life with exceptionalism. At a young age, Americans present the ideal life as being happy, not the best. In fact, many students have the "oh well next time" belief, never entering a do-or-die moment until through 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 tough 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.

【红霞译文】

出水芙蓉亭亭净植。同一池塘中，最好朵朵荷花齐刷刷地长得一般高，棵棵菡萏才会因此而“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，我禁不住联想起刚刚目睹的一幕。

今天早上，我和妈妈搭乘南京至杭州的高铁。入站时，我被“队列”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，反正人人终究都能上车，况且座位没有好坏之分。

我对某些中国文化一直无法理解，如同对其它民族心存质疑一样。举例来说，中国正式宴席上，人们在开吃前干嘛总要凝视片刻? 同样地，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的勇士，我依旧满头雾水，眼前场景似曾熟悉。恰在几天前，为避免在南京工商银行排长队，妈妈猴急开辟出来一条捷径──别误会，即便如此仍需等上好几个钟头。

可是，迫不及待地登上车厢却没有一点意义，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书名叫《三明治》，故事提到不要时时求先，虽说当时无法理解作者的谆谆教诲，但我记住了图书管理员的那句话，欲速则不达。

下午，在杭州西湖湖畔茶居喝茶时我和妈妈谈起这个话题，不出所料，她对此持有不同看法。中国是一个人口爆炸的国家，需要“出于其类拔乎其萃”，“争第一”早已蔚然成风，并且深入民心，国人爱把成功的人生归咎于与众不同。美国人年幼时追求的是快乐而不是第一，其实很多学生坚信“下次努力”，在上大学之前大可不必破釜沉舟。我从来没什么紧迫感，但敢说本人比一般美国佬更看重学习。

话锋再转回开头提及的莲花。当大家站在同一起跑线上，机遇成就人生，不管是否首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，若下次见到亚洲人或其他族裔不甘落在后面的话，你得明白他们这么做完全基于个人价值观，切勿将其整体文化视作“有失风度”或“争强好胜”。对你来说，也许是自然而然的事情；可对他们而言，第一个上火车意味着比别人享受更多阳光。

Today in History(历史上的今天):

2019: Hangzhou—West Lake State Guest House, CN(杭州—西湖国宾馆)

2018: Toulon—Cruise Farewell Feast, France(法国土伦—游轮告别宴会)

2018: Toulon—Major Naval Base, France(法国土伦—大军港)

2018: Marseilleveyre Massif, France(法国马赛群山)

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

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

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

2018: Chateau d'If the Count of Monte Cristo, France(法国伊夫堡—基督山伯爵)

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

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

2018: Marseille the Phocean City, France(法国马赛─太阳城)