酷我-北美枫

[timmid]

Chinese Intellectuals and Chinese Characteristics
Chinese intellectuals, as I perceive, should be the very embodiment of Chinese characteristics.

China has advocated knowledge from time immemorial. Therefore, being an intellectual has become a hit. It’s something to see the whole nation thrown into the resolute undertaking to make every Chinese an intellectual.

Those who have money enough to burn are exploring infinite pleasure in the resorts of universities because they do not know how to dispose themselves at anything else, just as young men and women get married for the same reason. They are trying to be among intellectuals, fancying that they will become the like, disregarding the truth that they may not have the fabric of an intellectual. Those who have positions of authority are also hustling and bustling on campus, because they need a diploma for show or for promotion. Once at a party, the host introduced to those present with all his superficial admiration a man, middle-aged, belly protruding (too many half-digested nutrients held in excessive fat), saying “we are honored to have M to be our guest. He is the director of the Chongqing Public Security Office and a M.A as well.” After the audience’s exaggerated applause, M cleared his throat, declared in a condescending tone that that was nothing worth mentioning for he just got a M.A from SISU, as if he should have Cambridge or Harvard to grant him a M.A. the truth is that he could read and write after his intermittent education, then took a correspondence course in SISU for half a year and somehow managed to get a M.A.

Those who are still innocent with blind ambition and indissoluble passion, having just passed the conjunctures from homes to society, are driven by the pressure of employment to become intellectuals, although their intention may be quite otherwise. Furthermore, the government is doing its part to display the superiority of socialism with Chinese characteristics. It is granting certificates of all degrees as many as possible to improve the overall quality of the whole nation. That is to say, in the quite near future, intellectuals are very likely to be the majority in China. How wonderful! China has produced so many wonders and this will certainly be the most astonishing and magnificent one, one with Chinese characteristics.
A look at newspapers may tell how much the word “Chinese characteristics” has been abused. As if by doing such propagation, China may make the nation the spotlight of the world. “See, we have our own character!” just as those only with their underwear on, make their public presence to demonstrate they do have the financial ability to buy a brand underwear. The irony is that the foreigners knew Chinese characteristics much better than we did before China became their repeated prey. However, we Chinese intellectuals may declare in righteous indignation that our nation has survived foreign invasions and now still stands lofty and firm in the east of the world. All the humiliation has turned out to be a eulogy of the endurance, perseverance and determination which has been so much accentuated as to be a manifestation of Chinese characteristics. We should be grateful to dialectic because its flexibility offers us so much Dutch comfort.

China boasts of a civilization of more than 3ooo years, which is certainly the source of self-assessment. We Chinese intellectuals do have good reason to boast of Chinese characteristics. This, unfortunately, leads to too big a tempest in a teapot. On the one hand, we Chinese intellectuals are racking their minds to recall the so-called “good old days” and, in effect, classic Chinese has come back with an association of remote intimacy and strangeness. The “good old days” are on screen day and night--- if only we could repeat history! On the other hand, we may vent our complaints about the current system, but in a quite round about way. The reason is that we deem ourselves as sages who should shoulder the major responsibility, but it falls on philistines. Out of jealousy, we may criticize to show that we do have better insight. And we do it with elegant manners and great caution in case the authorities may be annoyed.

All these come down to one thing: we Chinese intellectuals are going to have our day for we are manifesting ourselves the very embodiment of Chinese characteristics by opening Pandora’s box owing to our groundless self-esteem.
_________________
无话可说

[[timmmid]]

Chinese Intellectuals and Chinese Characteristics
Chinese intellectuals, as I perceive, should be the very embodiment of Chinese characteristics.

China has advocated knowledge from time immemorial. Therefore, being an intellectual has become a hit. It’s something to see the whole nation thrown into the resolute undertaking to make every Chinese an intellectual.

Those who have money enough to burn are exploring infinite pleasure in the resorts of universities because they do not know how to dispose themselves at anything else, just as young men and women get married for the same reason. They are trying to be among intellectuals, fancying that they will become the like, disregarding the truth that they may not have the fabric of an intellectual. Those who have positions of authority are also hustling and bustling on campus, because they need a diploma for show or for promotion. Once at a party, the host introduced to those present with all his superficial admiration a man, middle-aged, belly protruding (too many half-digested nutrients held in excessive fat), saying “we are honored to have M to be our guest. He is the director of the Chongqing Public Security Office and a M.A as well.” After the audience’s exaggerated applause, M cleared his throat, declared in a condescending tone that that was nothing worth mentioning for he just got a M.A from SISU, as if he should have Cambridge or Harvard to grant him a M.A. the truth is that he could read and write after his intermittent education, then took a correspondence course in SISU for half a year and somehow managed to get a M.A.

Those who are still innocent with blind ambition and indissoluble passion, having just passed the conjunctures from homes to society, are driven by the pressure of employment to become intellectuals, although their intention may be quite otherwise. Furthermore, the government is doing its part to display the superiority of socialism with Chinese characteristics. It is granting certificates of all degrees as many as possible to improve the overall quality of the whole nation. That is to say, in the quite near future, intellectuals are very likely to be the majority in China. How wonderful! China has produced so many wonders and this will certainly be the most astonishing and magnificent one, one with Chinese characteristics.
A look at newspapers may tell how much the word “Chinese characteristics” has been abused. As if by doing such propagation, China may make the nation the spotlight of the world. “See, we have our own character!” just as those only with their underwear on, make their public presence to demonstrate they do have the financial ability to buy a brand underwear. The irony is that the foreigners knew Chinese characteristics much better than we did before China became their repeated prey. However, we Chinese intellectuals may declare in righteous indignation that our nation has survived foreign invasions and now still stands lofty and firm in the east of the world. All the humiliation has turned out to be a eulogy of the endurance, perseverance and determination which has been so much accentuated as to be a manifestation of Chinese characteristics. We should be grateful to dialectic because its flexibility offers us so much Dutch comfort.

China boasts of a civilization of more than 3ooo years, which is certainly the source of self-assessment. We Chinese intellectuals do have good reason to boast of Chinese characteristics. This, unfortunately, leads to too big a tempest in a teapot. On the one hand, we Chinese intellectuals are racking their minds to recall the so-called “good old days” and, in effect, classic Chinese has come back with an association of remote intimacy and strangeness. The “good old days” are on screen day and night--- if only we could repeat history! On the other hand, we may vent our complaints about the current system, but in a quite round about way. The reason is that we deem ourselves as sages who should shoulder the major responsibility, but it falls on philistines. Out of jealousy, we may criticize to show that we do have better insight. And we do it with elegant manners and great caution in case the authorities may be annoyed.

All these come down to one thing: we Chinese intellectuals are going to have our day for we are manifesting ourselves the very embodiment of Chinese characteristics by opening Pandora’s box owing to our groundless self-esteem.
_________________
无话可说

[星子]

Good point! In China, is there ToastMaster club?

If so, please join in it. I recently joined in one, every good.

[[ANNA]]

Good point! In China, is there ToastMaster club?

If so, please join in it. I recently joined in one, every good.