Top Down Society

One of the things that makes Chinese culture very different from Western culture is how we view authoritative structures. In the US, we are very much anti-authority, always questioning those above us and around us, I think a bottom-up society. China, on the other hand, is very much a top-down society. Whether its from the national government or your boss, Chinese people view those above them with a sense of respect. This respect for authority sounds great, but in reality it makes things very to get done, leaves very little room for flexibility and reduces peoples choices.

Just a few examples of this:

In the US, when you have a home or an apartment, you pay for your electricity each month when you receive a bill. In China, when you rent an apartment you are given an electric card. To get electricity in your home you must go to a state-owned bank, wait in a long line to load with money. It can be really inconvenient because you may run out of money on your card in the middle of the night and the electricity gets shut of (like what happened to me) and because the only way to pay for electricity is to wait in the electricity line at the bank, which is usually 20 people long.

I went to see Harry Potter today, and unlike in the US where you can sit anywhere you'd like, in China you are given assigned seating. I think I like this way better, because you don't have to rush to get to your movie but it is another example of someone else making choices for Chinese people and not leaving it up to the individual.

On public buses in China, their are usually two or three doors. Each door is for either entering or exiting the bus. I am sure many cities in the US are like this but in China, there are no exceptions to this rule. If you are next to the entrance door and you need to get off you MUST move to the exit door because the bus drive will refuse to let you off through the entrance door. The only exceptions I have seen for this are the elderly.

During my exam week, I had my grammar exam in the morning of one of the days. Both of the classes that day were grammar, so I had the same teacher. I figured we would have the 2nd class free since we had just had an hour and half exam. Turned out I was wrong, my teacher said her boss told her we are supposed to have class all day, no exceptions. So despite her being tired, the students being tired, and only 4 out of 17 students staying for the second half, the teacher decided to push on with the lesson.

I know there are many more examples of the cultural differences but these are just the four that came to my mind now, since they happened recently.

On another fun note, here is a picture I secretly took of a 50 year old man and his man bag. No lie, I didn't fake this picture.