外国人眼里的中国人是什么样的？

The article named What China Gets Right about Relationships written by Sam Massie reminds me of the Quora question – a classical one – about the opinion about China and Chinese people. Well, obviously, the answer won’t be the same if you ask different people. Here, I want to discuss this question with all of you.

山姆·梅西写的名为《关于人际关系，这些事得向中国人学习》的文章，让我想到Quara上的一个经典问题：你如何看待中国和中国人?很显然，问不同的人得到的答案不尽相同。这里，小编想与大家探讨一下这个问题。

Now, let’s imagine that we are going to have an interview about the opinion about China and Chinese people. To me, the interviewees can be classified into two groups: those who know not much or have a very basic idea about China; and those who understand the Chinese culture very well.

首先，假设我们要做一个关于对中国和中国人看法的采访，那么受访者大概是可以分为两类的：一类是不太了解中国或仅有个基本概念的，另一类是很了解中国文化的。

To those who have never been to China or have never got any chance to get to know the Chinese culture and people, it’s very easy for them to reach some stereotypicalconclusions about China and Chinese people:

对于并不太了解中国或没什么机会接触中国文化和中国人的群体来说，很容易陷入程式化的认识。

“When I was child, I was taught to be careful around Chinese people, that they were the type that smiled when offended because they'll stab you in the back (literally andfiguratively) in revenge, that they valued money over human life, that that was motive for all their activities. – Quora User

“当我还是个孩子的时候，别人教导我要小心中国人，他们当面一套背后一套，被冒犯的时候表面也是笑着的，但会在背后报复回来。他们爱财甚至胜过人命，一切向‘钱’看。一位Quora用户的答案中有这么一段。

This answer provides us, if I can say so, a racist’s stereotype of Chinese people (though there is no denying that some of our fellow-citizens just behave so, which always makes me feel ashamed).

可以说，这个答案是一种对于中国人带有种族歧视的程式化形象(虽然确实有些同胞是这样的，我也感到很丢人。)

Of course, some people do have a vague idea about China – a long history, a huge population, the Great Wall, Panda Express, festivals, tea, kung fu movies, karate (oops it’s Japanese), cheap and bad clothes (oh, no… and I’m afraid they’re not really cheap), the manufacturing power, a very large internal market, and hardworking (yes, especially high school students).

当然，一些人对于中国是有一个模糊的概念的，像是悠久的历史、庞大的人口数量、长城、熊猫快餐(美国的一家中式快餐连锁店)、节日、茶叶、功夫电影、空手道(是日本啊喂)、便宜但劣质的衣服(哦不……而且其实也不便宜)、制造能力、巨大的国内市场、以及勤奋(嗯，尤其是高中生)。

All of these are rather simple and general.

这些概念都很简单而粗略。

By contrast, to those what we call a China hand, it is quite obvious that the word “Chinese bears much more.

相比较而言，对于那些我们所说的“中国通而言，“中国人这个词显然包含了更多含义。

In today’s ever globalized world, more and more foreign friends are becoming more and more interested in Chinese culture. They learn the Chinese language, make Chinese friends, watch Chinese movies and TV series, and pay visits or even move to China.

在如今日渐国际化的世界，越来越多的外国朋友对中国文化越来越感兴趣。他们学习中文、与中国人交朋友、看中国电影电视、到中国旅游、甚至是搬到中国生活。

They understand the differences between the oriental and the occidental, and they could see through the appearance.

他们理解东西方的差异，而且能够透过现象看到更深的东西。

Just as what Sam Massie has recognized, maybe in many cases, the first impression of some Westerners about China is no more than rudeness, but it is actually not that simple. What should be highlighted here is thein-group / out-group effects. I think he is right of saying that “rudeness to strangers is the flipside of deep bonds with loved ones.

正如山姆·梅西注意到的，也许很多情况下，一些西方人对中国的第一印象无外乎是“粗鲁，但其实并不这么简单。这里需要注意到的是一种所谓的群体心理效应。对于“对陌生人的粗鲁和对亲朋好友的关爱对立却无法分开这一观点，我想他是对的。

I also feel happy that he understands the generosity and other good qualities of Chinese people: the emphasis on action rather than words, introversion and sincerity, as well as the intimacy of friendship and so on.

同时，我也很高兴，他能了解到中国人的慷慨以及其他的好品质，比如少说多做、内敛真诚和朋友间的亲密等等。

To me, no matter what the Westerners’ opinions are, what really matters is how we behave and the way we treat others. What’s your opinion?

在我看来，其实，不管在外国人眼中我们是什么样的形象，最重要的还是我们自己的举止行为和待人之道。