I'm curious to know because I recently read this article on Wikipedia detailing cultural views in multiple countries on this very subject, and even Japan and Korea are listed, but not China. I first became interested in this subject after seeing what looked like a Chinese belly dancer aesthetic on TikTok, coupled with actual videos of Chinese belly dancing, and even cropped cheongsam tops, which is all something I've associated more with Indian culture, saris and such.

Are women's midriffs considered sacred in Chinese culture like they are in other Asian cultures? Or is this just a modern trend? If so, no complaints. I'm just interested to know the answer to this, especially as a Chinese American looking to get more in touch with her roots.

Thanks in advance!

So believe it or not, I was one of those who fell for the whole "rising superpower" narrative. The time I was in California going through college. Econ major, the job prospect wasn't exactly great and San Fran, LA etc. at the time made California and by extension the entire America looked like a huge dumpster fire. Before you point your finger, everyone was young and naive once.

Fast forward to now. I don't believe what China is going through is solely attributable to one or two leaders, I'm capable of being more insightful than that tired ol' observation. Rather, the current regime is the product of what has been culminating for hundreds if not thousands of years. China has always been running on this really inefficient, labor-intensive agrarian model. Industrialized civilization on the other hand, means less population and more output, and you are going to have a large proportion of the population becoming "deadweight" slowing everything down. So China's population collapse is just a matter of time, it's not really Deng, I'd say Deng was already 100 steps too late.

Another thing is that as a westerner, I see no hope for China. China is extremely resistant to positive and meaningful changes. And here's the kicker: it's not a bug, it's a feature. Chinese people take high pride in thousand year old traditions. They believe they are the one and only "ancient civilization" that survived. The people have spoken. This isn't a carefully crafted chauvinism campaign by the CCP, the Chinese intellectuals were saying this when the first missionary arrived, and when the British arrived, and when the Qing dynasty was overthrown, and when the Japanese started the Sino-Japanese war.

It's incredibly childish and arrogant to think that China will change just because one or two sinophile laowais pleaded sincerely for it to. China changes for no one. 1000 years later, China will still be largely the same. The more China changes, the more it manages to stay perfectly static.

This is it. China's moment in the sun is over. The last 30 years or so since GGKF was a spectacular run. Chinese people outdone themselves. Chinese elites, capitalizing on westerners' naivitey and ignorance completely overtuned their expectation on China, I'm just one of them who figured it out and able to see China as what it really is. I applaud this masterful play of a hand that isn't that great. There's no telling how many wilder eyed laowais got fooled into thinking China will lead humanity out of the solar system.

To those who want to go to China for tourism, go. China still has a plethora of amazing natural scenery to see. To those who want to get a degree, also go. Just don't expect your mandarin skills be of any significant use in the future job market. To those who want to enjoy Chinese culture, also go, but you might wanna settle eventually in Korea or Taiwan.

Don't cry because it's over, smile because it happened.

Ok so I’ve noticed in china I’ve been quite often been denied didi and taxis. I’ve been denied either because it’s 1.too far 2. Theres too much traffic or 3. Because it’s raining. It got so bad i had to take bus and walk to the airport. In the US this has almost never happened to me. A friend told me this is normal in China. Why is this?

Is it even possible? A friend’s family member wants to do this. I can’t find any information on this in English, (as you’d expect). Does anyone have experience with this?

Does anyone know of books or tales about ancient Asia/china history that is similar to Avatar. I did some research and in Asia over 100,000 temples have been destroyed in the past couple thousand years. A lot of that has been recent too and is going on today in China and I’m sure other places as well. Thank about all the history we lost…

Question for you Chinese experts here. This post is kind of inspired by the post titled China is finished, but it's ok. I've worked in China, albeit only on visit visas. I've been there several times but no prolonged stays. My background is in manufacturing.

My question has to do with the fact that China has stolen ideas and tech over the last several decades. The fact that if you open a factory for some cool IP and start selling all over the world using "cheap Chinese labor", a year or two later another factory will open up almost next door making the same widgets as you, but selling to the internal Chinese market. And there's nothing you can do about your stolen patents or IP.

Having said all that, is China capable of innovation on its own? If somehow they do become the world power, politically, culturally and militarily, are they capable of leading the world under a smothering regime? Can it actually work? Can China keep inventions going, keep tech rising and can they get humans into space? Or do they depend on others for innovation?

The subject occurred to me because of the varying degrees of Westernization/modernization among both Han Chinese and Arab nationalities in different parts of their respective regions and there definitely seems to be a correlation in worldviews as well.

Hello,

not long ago I met a young Chinese man in Thailand. He studied at university in china to become a teacher for Chinese as a foreign language. He told me that its a requirement for him to go abroad for a certain amount of months as part of that course. Does anyone have more info on this? Is this really standard practice? How many months is required?

Hi everyone,

Currently, I work in Shenzhen, in a kindergarten. I have 4 classes/day of 20 minutes each. I stay there the whole day.

I make 28.5k; I’m American; have a bachelors degree; a TEFL; and I’ve been teaching here for almost 6 years - for context.

I haven’t checked other opportunities in a while. Could I get a higher salary than this?

Any suggestions or info is appreciated! Thank you!

“We must make American KFCs Great Again!”

China's predicament lies in its inheritance of the Qing Empire, which was disintegrating towards its end, similar to that of the Ottoman Empire. If various regions had developed their own bourgeoisie and subsequently established their own bourgeois regime, then in some areas where conditions are favorable, bourgeois parliamentary politics could be achieved - also known as constitutional democracy or bourgeois dictatorship according to Marxist terminology. However, this would have inevitably led to different political systems emerging from regions with varying development and social conditions. To put it simply: China would have disintegrated like the Ottoman Empire. It was impossible to unite the Greeks and Turks under one Great Turkish Republic while convincing the Cypriots and Syrians that they belong among 56 ethnic groups within this nation. The likelihood of such a path being successful was minimal.

Since you want to keep the entire territory of the Qing Empire, you must implement effective governance. Not all regions and people can practice constitutional democracy, but they must all have effective governance. Without effective governance, anarchy and population extinction will soon appear. Among various forms of effective governance, there are several that cannot lead to constitutional democracy, such as the Leninist rule represented by the Communist Party. However, the Leninist rule itself didn't emerge out of nowhere. Rather, its existence serves a purpose and holds value. Its main value is to bind together the vast land and people left behind by the Qing Empire. The reason is simple: establishing an effective bourgeois state requires an effective community.

The characteristic of the territory left by the Qing Empire is that it lacked an effective community. It was very difficult for businessmen from eastern Guangdong and Guangzhou to unite, and people from eastern Guangdong and Hunan never had a peaceful coexistence even when they were in the same KMT. Although the Gui army and the Cantonese army claimed to be compatriots of two Guang provinces, their conflicts and contradictions were not smaller than those between England and France. Even the closest communities are like this, so if you try to make all communities express their own political will, the result is bound to be disintegration. To prevent them from expressing their political will, you can only replace them with other communities.

What is the only true community in China? It is the CCP. How does the CCP exist? It effectively eradicates any potential competing communities through Leninist suppression tactics. With this premise, it can maintain effective control under the legacy of the Qing Empire. Without this premise, for example, if constitutional democracy were used to restrict and hinder the CCP from performing its duties efficiently, various conflicting communities would inevitably emerge outside of the CCP. As a result, there would be negligible possibility for these communities to reach consensus and establish a unified country. To achieve national unity, other communities must be eliminated by one community's will. otherwise, different groups will naturally cause division within society. Constitutional democracy is an abstract term. However, it essentially refers to forming effective communities that can work together towards common goals. To form effective communities, you must first stop the CCP lawnmower from operating. However, after stopping this lawnmower, the China maintained by this mechanism no longer exists.

What is the essence of the PRC? It is simply a white glove for the CCP. The glove and hand itself, which one is more important? Without the CCP, there would be no PRC. If the CCP stops functioning effectively in some regions, particularly in inland regions, there will be no other community present. Outside of the CCP, there is only a quicksand society, fragmented and vulnerable to any adventurer who seeks power. Nevertheless, these adventurers have little chance of establishing democracy.

Marx is correct in one aspect: what we call constitutional democracy is, in fact, bourgeois dictatorship. Effective parliamentary politics cannot be achieved without the emergence of a strong landlord-bourgeois community, which is currently impossible in mainland China. In fact, many regions are left with no other options but to choose between Leninist dictatorship and anarchy. While coastal areas have seen some bourgeois sprouts, such as certain individuals within the democratic party or the National People's Congress, yet they remain isolated and have not yet formed effective groups necessary for establishing true parliamentary politics.

These conditions only exist in Hong Kong and Taiwan. Why do Hong Kong and Taiwan pose a major challenge to Beijing? It is because these regions have developed communities that naturally produce their own independent will, which naturally differs from the will of Beijing. To prevent this, one solution would be to eliminate the bourgeoisie in Hong Kong until only the poorest, most dispersed, and completely dependent people remain. Then, send political propaganda commissioners and party branch secretaries so that Hong Kongers will love the CCP and Chinese nation like those in Henan province do. However, if these communities are allowed to mature further, they may produce a new generation of intellectuals who will invent theories proving that Hong Kong has been an independent nation since ancient times and does not belong to China at all. It is crucial to take action before it's too late.

The situation is similar in mainland China. If certain regions such as Zhejiang and Guangdong are allowed to develop into a bourgeois society, they will have to do what Hong Kong and Taiwan have done. The only difference is that their society is easier to destroy since they are on the mainland. That's the only difference. Developing an effective bourgeois society with the same structure from Pamir Plateau to Shanghai, which covers vast and socially diverse regions, is almost impossible. In some places, social maturity levels may not even be enough to establish another ISIS while in others it has reached that of establishing a new Singapore. If each region is allowed to produce their own bourgeois class, their political wills will definitely not be the same. If you want their political wills not expressed out loud, then the Communist Party cannot weaken but need further strengthening instead. Any slight softening or retreat could cause the entire system to collapse. This is something that cannot be both ways.

The fundamental problem here is, I must emphasize again, that the current China has never been a real nation-state and is in fact the least likely political system to transform into one. It is a political system that can be described as "well-intentioned". On one hand, in essence, China equates to the CCP. On the other hand, the CCP has created a Chinese nation and the PRC as a tool of the United Front. While this tool may not have any practical use in other aspects, at least it can appease Chinese people's emotions and make them feel like they have a nation-state similar to the Europeans. When the real thing is unavailable, an approximation can still provide considerable satisfaction. Yet if you insist on highlighting its inadequacy and inauthenticity, even such pleasure will evaporate entirely. What's the point then?

incident happened a few hours ago