The team being introduced
by a host at one of the parks just before their performance.
Dancing in china. After
living for four years in China, the writer got over his cultural shock and
started to live life both as a Ugandan and Chinese. He shares his experiences.
The character Su Lee from the classic Mind Your Language, and
kungfu film stars I watched growing up (Jackie Chan, Chow Yun Fat, Bruce Lee,
Sammo Hung, Donnie Yen, Jet Lee, Yuen Biao) influenced my primary impression of
China as a nation of Chairman Mao zealots and fierce ambassadors of their
heritage.
My stereotype thinking never evolved much
until I first visited in 2009. But four years intermittently touring China
while working as an African-cultures dancer, learning Mandarin Chinese, and
experiencing the different Chinese ethnicities and cultures firsthand has
stripped the romanticism from my previously uninformed views on China.
Though obviously not enough for me to claim expert knowledge of the culture aspects that constitute China’s 5000-year history, those years showed me eye-popping differences between China and Uganda, and oppositely gave sharper focus to curious similarities.
Though obviously not enough for me to claim expert knowledge of the culture aspects that constitute China’s 5000-year history, those years showed me eye-popping differences between China and Uganda, and oppositely gave sharper focus to curious similarities.
The Concept of “Face”.
Mandarin Chinese describes embarrassment as having lost face (diu lian le), and being shameless as not wanting face (bu yao lian), and giving or seeing face (gei /kan mianzi) is the one for honoring or respecting someone. Simple in theory, there are extremes like the boy who sold his kidney for 2000 pounds so he could buy an iPhone and iPad.
I quizzed a Chinese friend who had travelled extensively in Africa regarding why face can be such a life-or-death issue. Her response? “Face’s isn’t copyrighted to China. I’ve heard introductions that go ‘This is Anita, she drives a Surf, works at a bank and her children are studying abroad’. Really, show me where the difference is”.
Mandarin Chinese describes embarrassment as having lost face (diu lian le), and being shameless as not wanting face (bu yao lian), and giving or seeing face (gei /kan mianzi) is the one for honoring or respecting someone. Simple in theory, there are extremes like the boy who sold his kidney for 2000 pounds so he could buy an iPhone and iPad.
I quizzed a Chinese friend who had travelled extensively in Africa regarding why face can be such a life-or-death issue. Her response? “Face’s isn’t copyrighted to China. I’ve heard introductions that go ‘This is Anita, she drives a Surf, works at a bank and her children are studying abroad’. Really, show me where the difference is”.
The little sip for business’ sake.
Regarding the face concept, a personal application for me was the obligatory drink-up at a lunch or supper organised specifically to talk business. An absolute teetotaler before China, I had to ganbei (bottoms up) whenever I was caught off-guard or plainly forgot to carry the bottle of pills I used to beg off from drinking down the tot which is a crucial part of the Chinese deal-making process.
Regarding the face concept, a personal application for me was the obligatory drink-up at a lunch or supper organised specifically to talk business. An absolute teetotaler before China, I had to ganbei (bottoms up) whenever I was caught off-guard or plainly forgot to carry the bottle of pills I used to beg off from drinking down the tot which is a crucial part of the Chinese deal-making process.
In practice, you would be cajoled, coaxed, or “fined a shot” for
some hastily made-up charge, anything went as long as you swallowed whatever
amount of drink that is called sake, offered. What initially felt like selling
out for monetary gain, my principle on consuming alcohol was again put in
perspective by my Chinese friends. As they explained, if I was too
self-centered to accept even one sip for the boss’s sake, would I really expect
any consideration to come my way when I wanted to do business with the boss?
Of weddings and daytime fireworks
Fireworks at weddings were initially a sore point for my Ugandan sensibilities which are accustomed to fireworks at events like New Year’s Eve, or at concerts and mega church dos.
Originally to chase jealous spirits away from the couple, the duration and volume of the fireworks is now one indicator of how moneyed or not the wedding is.
Extremly loud fireworks for the well-heeled, fewer and less powerful ones for the putongren (common people). Not as annoying is the comparatively hassle-free wedding organisation and even shorter receptions.
Fireworks at weddings were initially a sore point for my Ugandan sensibilities which are accustomed to fireworks at events like New Year’s Eve, or at concerts and mega church dos.
Originally to chase jealous spirits away from the couple, the duration and volume of the fireworks is now one indicator of how moneyed or not the wedding is.
Extremly loud fireworks for the well-heeled, fewer and less powerful ones for the putongren (common people). Not as annoying is the comparatively hassle-free wedding organisation and even shorter receptions.
Instead of the “begging meetings” we now
use to make celebration events happen, a hongbao (red envelope) sealed with
one’s contribution to meeting wedding costs is given at the entrance to the
reception hall.
We performed at a wedding in Shaanxi, where two hours were enough for dinner, speeches, the guests receiving their gift packs from the couple, and the obligatory fireworks display which continued unabated for 15 minutes.
We performed at a wedding in Shaanxi, where two hours were enough for dinner, speeches, the guests receiving their gift packs from the couple, and the obligatory fireworks display which continued unabated for 15 minutes.
No Sunday fun day
Our contractual work was always in amusement parks like Beijing Happy Valley, and Baiyangdian Island Park in Baoding. Our experience with Ugandan troupes was that paying crowds mainly appeared for the Sunday family shows. Midweek shows never attracted people as many or as enthusiastic.
Our contractual work was always in amusement parks like Beijing Happy Valley, and Baiyangdian Island Park in Baoding. Our experience with Ugandan troupes was that paying crowds mainly appeared for the Sunday family shows. Midweek shows never attracted people as many or as enthusiastic.
Thus we marveled at how, rain or shine, weekends or not, public
holiday or not, we always had large audiences, even in parks considered
backwater by Chinese standards. In Qinhuangdao’s Yesheng Dongwu (safari park),
for three months we never had a day off because the audiences just kept coming.
Our pleas for one met no success, as it had no business advantage to both the
park and our boss if we dammed the stream.
The Price of a foreign face
Like some parks, Yesheng Dongwu made its money from tourists taking photos with the waiguoren (foreigner) dancers. We initially thought our agent too optimistic she said our salary and return tickets would be realised from those sales. She was right on the money.
Each person appearing in the photo paid 20yuan (Shs8,000 ) per print, or 10yuan if they shot using their own camera. Thus a family of five adults and one baby paid 100 yuan(Shs40,000) for one print, and 20 yuan for every extra print they ordered.
Like some parks, Yesheng Dongwu made its money from tourists taking photos with the waiguoren (foreigner) dancers. We initially thought our agent too optimistic she said our salary and return tickets would be realised from those sales. She was right on the money.
Each person appearing in the photo paid 20yuan (Shs8,000 ) per print, or 10yuan if they shot using their own camera. Thus a family of five adults and one baby paid 100 yuan(Shs40,000) for one print, and 20 yuan for every extra print they ordered.
In such parks, our performances merely
served as curtain raisers for the photo sessions. For a typical 10-hour day, on
average we did three five-minute shows every hour, with photos taking up the
time in-between.
While in Uganda such a business would likely fail in its infancy, in China it has become standard park practice that in parks like Happy Valley, I continually refused money from tourists whose resultant glee was so visible it amused me no end.
While in Uganda such a business would likely fail in its infancy, in China it has become standard park practice that in parks like Happy Valley, I continually refused money from tourists whose resultant glee was so visible it amused me no end.
Foreigners behaving badly
As exotic as we waiguoren seemingly are, I respected that China generally tolerates no bad behavior from foreigners of whatever stature. A Brit who raped a girl on a subway, and a Russian cellist who put his feet up on an old woman’s headrest and then insulted her when she complained inspired “the 100-Day Crackdown” which started on May 15 2012.
It was a campaign to weed China of foreigners with questionable visa issues, and the ‘floating ticket citizens’ (tiao piao ren) who have neither passport nor address, despite being obviously non-Chinese.
Sweeps and spot-checks were conducted by Chinese police in areas with high numbers of foreigners.
As exotic as we waiguoren seemingly are, I respected that China generally tolerates no bad behavior from foreigners of whatever stature. A Brit who raped a girl on a subway, and a Russian cellist who put his feet up on an old woman’s headrest and then insulted her when she complained inspired “the 100-Day Crackdown” which started on May 15 2012.
It was a campaign to weed China of foreigners with questionable visa issues, and the ‘floating ticket citizens’ (tiao piao ren) who have neither passport nor address, despite being obviously non-Chinese.
Sweeps and spot-checks were conducted by Chinese police in areas with high numbers of foreigners.
Contrast that with Uganda, where a certain “Ugandanised”
foreigner I know has for years driven her DMC without getting stopped even once
by the traffic police, even to merely ask for her non-existent driving permit
like they do the rest of us.
The flag-raising at Tian’anmen Square
On a Monday morning in July 2009 I witnessed with admiration and envy as military honour guard executed with much decorum a tightly-choreographed march while carrying the Chinese flag across a temporarily-blocked Chang’an Avenue to hoist it on the flagpoles at Tiananmen Square.
On a Monday morning in July 2009 I witnessed with admiration and envy as military honour guard executed with much decorum a tightly-choreographed march while carrying the Chinese flag across a temporarily-blocked Chang’an Avenue to hoist it on the flagpoles at Tiananmen Square.
I watched fascinated as at the split
second the sun appeared behind them, they unfurled it. Literally in surround
sound, the mostly Chinese tourists /pilgrims hemming me in sang along as the
Chinese national anthem came over the installed speakers.
I admired their fervor because it was not a national holiday, and yet about 10,000 citizens mixed in with the usual busloads of foreign tourists had braved the dawn drizzle to watch the ritual which is accompanied by a military band on the first day of every month.
I was envious because I never imagined a similar ceremony at Kololo nationalgrounds would evoke even half the patriotism the crowd’s presence personified if the dates were not January 26 or October 9.
I admired their fervor because it was not a national holiday, and yet about 10,000 citizens mixed in with the usual busloads of foreign tourists had braved the dawn drizzle to watch the ritual which is accompanied by a military band on the first day of every month.
I was envious because I never imagined a similar ceremony at Kololo nationalgrounds would evoke even half the patriotism the crowd’s presence personified if the dates were not January 26 or October 9.
