Perception of students of Chinese?

[PaoYu]

Absolutely no idea which forum this should go in. Moderators feel free to move it at thy will!

I have met very mixed reactions from people from China and Hong Kong in regard to me studying Chinese. Some think that it is ridiculous; others think it is fantastic. Then again, I have met similarly mixed reactions from Westerners.

It may also be because the Chinese are much more open with their opinions than the British. Or could it be some fundamental Sinocentrism within the Chinese people, meaning that they want to "keep it for themselves"?

I have also heard that the Chinese tend to judge students of Science and Maths as more intelligent than students of the Arts.

Is a BA Chinese actually respected in China -- how does it rate on both an academic, intellectual level, and on a vocational, work level? How would it be perceived by the general population and by employers?

I do not "want to be Chinese", as some people like to joke, I merely enjoy the study of China. I can understand a certain amount of scepticism from my home country, England, but has anyone experienced negative behaviour from the Chinese themselves, specifically in relation to the study of their country?

That was a rather rambly post. To sum up:

Is a BA Chinese respected as proof of academic ability by the Chinese? Or just some sort of wishy-washy, artsy-fartsy subject?

What is the general Chinese perception of foreigners, and particularly Westerners, studying their country and language?

[md1101]

i think the more up to date ppl in china are used to the idea of foreigners speaking chinese and i found a lot were willing to help. like you said many will be totally amazed when you speak some chinese (even a simple nihao will sometimes do) or at least say you are learning it.

but i certainly haven't felt that ppl dont want me to learn it. its usually the opposite. there are ppl i notice will just refuse to speak chinese to me but i can tell its because they want to practise their english (which does annoy me occasionly).

i admit sometimes i think the chinese believe knowledge is born into the blood and think its impossible that a foreigner could know chinese or chinese history and god forbid know something about china that they dont.... "what do you mean?" .. "you wouldn't understand... you're not chinese"

but like i said.. they are more often friendly and happy about the idea that you take an interest in china. there are plenty of expats that have been in china for years and dont know much about china at all.

[novemberfog]

The common attutide from Taiwan seems to be that degrees in the fields of engineering, medicine, physical sciences (like physics or chemistry), and economics are held in high regard. At least in Taiwan, going into engineering or medicine or other such fields means you got high entrance scores on your University entrance exam. That is the major reason why those fields command more respect than art history. At least to the general population that is.

I do not think you should let what people in China think deter you from studying what you enjoy studying. People in China who appreciate the arts hold them in high regard. They would be impressed if you could quote some classical Chinese poetry, probably. You will not be able to please everyone no matter what you try. If you want to study Chinese, go for it.

China is still a relatively closed society, so that could be some of the reasons for meeting resistance. Don't let people's judgements in the UK get to you either. Funny how so many people hold French in such high regard, yet they blow off Chinese. I never really bought the whole "French is the most beautiful language" line--I prefer the sounds of German to be honest.

[libertango]

i always thought it was interesting to compare the university students in japanese language courses and chinese language courses...there is such a world of difference between them. needless to say, i prefer the chinese the company of students studying chinese.

[novemberfog]

i always thought it was interesting to compare the university students in japanese language courses and chinese language courses...there is such a world of difference between them. needless to say, i prefer the chinese the company of students studying chinese.

I do believe a lot of the Japanese courses in the beginning are filled with a lot of anime geeks, much like entry level computer science courses are filled with computer geeks. As you rise in the difficulty of classes, the no-so-hardcore geeks drop out and you are left with serious students, or at least some of the more mature geeks who figured out no one wants to hear about their anime hobby or computer hobby.

Chinese classes are not completely free of the weirdos though. There are often Kung Fu geeks, at least in the courses I took. But I would have to side with you and say I prefer the Kung Fu geeks to the anime geeks. For either language, I do feel sorry for the teachers that have to teach entry level classes.

[atitarev]

I can't boast that I get a lot of support. People around me think it's weird I just have this feeling. I get a lot of looks when I read a Chinese textbooks in public transport at peak hours, especially the one based on Russian!

I had the same feeling, PaoYu, when I went to a Chinese video or book rentals. They look at me as an alien and I felt so too with ability to read the titles.

It doesn't bother me, though. I am interested to learn Chinese language and culture, that's what matters.

[carlo]

My experience is that many people are very supportive, unfortunately human psychology is such that if we get 10 positive or neutral reactions and one negative one, we're likely to remember the negative one, because it hurts. This is what psychologists call "the snake bite effect".

An overwhelming amount of people are flattered that you are studying their language, some may wonder why you are doing it (especially if they don't have a high level of self-esteem) when everybody else they know is learning English, and hence this image of the Western student of Chinese as a starry-eyed, unpractical but ultimately innocuous geek. Then there are face issues: as a student of Chinese sooner or later you're likely to know more about *something* than the average Chinese person, just as I know more about English grammar than the average native English speaker because I had to learn it. People universally react to this in a number of ways, ranging from reality denial ("you're not Chinese so you can't possibly know this") to self-flagellation ("I'm bringing shame to my ancestors because I don't know how to write X and you do"). Even on my Chinese blog you can see some of the reactions, even though the average Chinese 10 year old writes better than me. My advice is, smile, be polite and go your own way.

As someone who is both an employee and an employer, I'd say that a knowledge of Chinese is really valuable (you can read original sources, take part in discussions, understand local issues quickly etc), but usually other skills are necessary, depending on what you want to do.

[wrbt]

On the anime/kungfu geeks thing... in my college 101 class (taken at night ones since work full time) there were a few older white guys who had younger Chinese wives so wanted to learn the language, but they all dropped like flies.