Wilson's Wanderings

Reflections:

My last post was merely a quick report of our trip. I have not taken the opportunity to offer some of my reflections on China, its people and what I have learned. I think this is important to share. I feel that that I have really misunderstood this country.

I was watching a man close up his small street stand tonight. He carefully laid a tarp over all of his goods. He strapped down the tarp so he would not blow away in the wind. There was no lock or any other mechanism to prevent loss from theft. These people are not wealthy and could not sustain a loss from theft; yet, in full confidence that his goods would be safe and secure during the night, all he does is protect the goods from the weather.  We would never think of doing such in the United States, but it is done here because the Chinese disposition is inclined to be honest.

This causes me to ponder some words from an ancient record that the people had “no more disposition to do evil, but to do good continually.” Mosiah 5:2 I find that this is true of most of the Chinese people I have encountered. Their values are based on the ideas of Confucius and his followers. Confucius was a great philosopher and was different that those in the west in that his words deal with the day to day relationships we have with one another and the necessity to serve the community to ones best regardless of station. (He was the probably the one of the first to promulgate the idea that it takes a village to raise a child.)

I am working a man by the name of Xia Fei (pronounced shah fay), a business owner of a very large business (http://www.bostd.com/ factory is pictures below). I find him to be a very humble man and anxious to learn what he can of English, culture, and business practices. Thirty percent of his business is in the United States. He is very concerned with the quality of the product of his American-based competitor.  He knows he can gain market share on his competitor, but does not understand why a company would lessen the quality to achieve more profit when there is risk. Xia Fei showed me some pictures of the 2008 earthquake in Sechsuan province. The work he company did on an embankment on the Yalong river in Sichuan province survived the quake while previous by others was heavily damaged and the integrity of the river embankments there jeopardized. I have grown to have a very high regard for him and his approach to business.

The Chinese role of grandparents in the raising of children has been fascinating. I have found a significantly high majority of my students were raised by their grandparents. The necessity for both parents to work has created a situation where grandparents have a greater relationship with children than parents. I am not talking just providing the day-care. In many cases, these children reside with the grandparents and the parents may reside in different cities. Sometimes the mother may reside in one city, the father in another and the child with grandparents in still another.  (You may want to also read the following article: http://www.theatlantic.com/china/archive/2013/09/in-china-its-the-grandparents-who-lean-in/280097/)

The retirement age (60 for men and 55 for women) coupled with the late marrying age of young people make this possible. In addition, housing costs and availability means that young people will often reside with parents. This is a cultural norm that is quite foreign to the culture found in America. Raising the children often provides something for grandparents to when retiring at such a young age. This affords a connection to the past for these young children, but I also know that many social scientist have raised concerns about this. Nevertheless, it is the present state of the family here and I have seen the value even though there are arguments against it.