I grew up in a very small town in the Midwest, where the population at the time was around 15,000 people. And sadly, it was the largest city for hundreds of miles. I attended a high school were everyone was white or native american, and where many of the teachers had lived in my hometown for their entire lives. During my undergrad, I went to a small college where the vast majority of the students were white. Needless to say, I never learned about Chinese culture until I met Jonas.
As you read the following Chinese culture myths, please keep in mind that they are based on ignorance and not stupidity.
These myths are things that I actually thought were true about Chinese culture. They are all things that Jonas taught me were untrue, as he tried not to laugh too hard. :) (Although this situation is often reversed, when Jonas asks me questions about American slang, which is pretty funny also).
If you are Chinese, you will probably find this very amusing. If you are a caucasian, sheltered, midwesterner, maybe you will learn something new. Ok, here they are:
Myth #1: Chinese cuisine includes General Tso's Chicken, Sweet and Sour Pork, and Crab Cheese Wontons. Yum! The truth: There is MUCH more to Chinese food than what I ate at my favorite Chinese restaurant in college. (Jonas, maybe you can name a few real dishes sometime). My favorite discovery was the amount of tofu dishes in real Chinese cooking. Double Yum!
Myth #2: Chopsticks are only used in rural parts of China and perhaps during traditional/special occasion meals. (I am horribly embarrassed to say that I once thought this was true.) The truth: Even people in the most modernized and Westernized Chinese cities use chopsticks when eating.
Myth #3: All Chinese people speak one language- Chinese of course! The truth: There are a variety of different Chinese dialects. I believe the two main dialects are Cantonese and Mandarin, while Chinese characters have the same meaning for all of the dialects.
Myth #4: All Chinese people are well-mannered, soft spoken, and extremely polite. The truth: Just like any other culture, there are polite people and there are rude people, there are quiet people and there are loud people. I do still believe that the Chinese people I know are slightly less obnoxious than many of the White American people I know. (Like, for example, the white guy at the bar this weekend who actually yelled at me for refusing to dance with him.) But maybe this has more to do with the company I keep and the places that I am meeting people, especially since I met all of my Chinese friends in graduate school (as opposed to the bar). There are subtle cultural difference in terms of manners, but it is pretty complex and too difficult to generalize.
Well, I think those are all of the myths that I can think of right now. But I might do a "Chinese Myths Revealed- Part 2", if I can think of more myths that I once really thought were true. :)
