Blistex posted:

simplefish posted:

You thought this was about appreciating family, like a government PSA?

Hahahaha hell no it's an advert for a furniture company

"Love your home because your home loves you" means literally buy more poo poo, not about parents' love
That message about not making GBS threads on workers isn't a message for social change, that's just an accepted part of life that customers can relate to: everyone is abused by their lecherous boss and publicly ridiculed by their colleagues in a shameful face-loss incident. The real message is "furniture is important in your life and you should always buy the best". Furniture is people not to show the workers' plight, but to illustrate that it's always there for you and how would you live without it?
The "Buy Imported Blonde Sofa" billboard isn't about how Chinese women in the workplace are treated or objectified, or native Chinese workers feeling threatened by their company bringing in foreign experts with degrees from real universities that will expose the worker's incompetence. No, that is to encourage you to buy domestic - you saw how sad that poor woman was after losing her job, you wouldn't do that to your sofa, right? And guess what, the commercial is for a domestic Chibese furniture company

Really try watching it again after reading that. See if you agree (it's ok to disagree, I only watched the ad once). I think your cultural colourblindness got in your way the first time, and you expected it to appeal to customers in a certain way that adverts just don't in China.

The Great Autismo! posted:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=COTdMeKzlVI

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j9mtn2Fnerc

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t4oebxLUHTg

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OF6aypsGLAA

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ypXZbdq00y8

china will grow stronger!

ocrumsprug posted:

World ice hockey domination plan actually coming together.

Blistex posted:

Assuming you're talking about that really famous one from 2011

18 Schoolchildren, 1 teacher, and the driver. 44 were hospitalized (64 passengers total). Also this wasn't a bus as much as a 1 Ton van with an empty back end so they could cram students in it "Auschwitz style".



Edit: says they're not investigating the crash in that photo, but assessing how much to get the bus up and running again.

Sten Freak posted:

Imperialist Dog posted:

Painting the mountain green: demon, easy

quote:

One of the main reasons for its uniqueness is its language, called Chaoshan (also known as Teochew). It is said that this dialect of Chinese is one of the most difficult ones to master, as it has 8 tones, compared to the 4 tones found in Mandarin.

Imperialist Dog posted:

I thought China had an Uber-like app which gained use from the totally coincidental banning of Uber?

Magna Kaser posted:

Reminds me of when a couple of weeks ago I was at a bar and overheard two old english dudes complaining about how much non-english they heard in the UK when they were last there, and also how annoying it is they can't just use English everywhere in China.

Fojar38 posted:

we did it everyone

Sheep-Goats posted:

I like how in the article they're like "yeah they said 6.4% but even if it's only 4% a ton of countries would love to get that" and I'm sitting here thinking lol more like a 3% retraction

Fojar38 posted:

this is the follow up every time there is an article in a major publication about how chinas numbers are faked "so what if its only 4% imagine if the west was getting growth rates like that!"

the caveat of course being china is still poor as gently caress while the west is rich and if you are going to compare china to the US or the EU 4% is actually pretty low

of course it isn't even 4%, china is probably not growing at all right now

Magna Kaser posted:

Reminds me of when a couple of weeks ago I was at a bar and overheard two old english dudes complaining about how much non-english they heard in the UK when they were last there, and also how annoying it is they can't just use English everywhere in China.

Haier posted:

chabuduo

Gorilla Salad posted:

I need to thank you for this word.

I have a Chinese colleague who is always sending out emails complaining about staff half-assing their work, when it's always the most trivial poo poo and he endlessly goes on about how, in his culture, they pride themselves on doing their work perfectly.

So I snuck 'chabuduo' into an email back to him and he's now stopped sending emails to my entire department.

I am so happy about this I cannot describe it.

quote:

The Story of Mr. Cha Buduo

Do you know who the most famous person in China is?

When you mention him, everybody knows instantly who you're talking about because of his fame. His family name is Cha, and his given name is Buduo, and he lives in every village of every county of every province. You have certainly seen him at some point and heard others discussing him. Mr. Cha Buduo is on everyone's lips all the time because he represents each and every individual in China.

Mr. Cha Buduo looks, well, more or less like you or I do. He has two eyes, though he doesn't see particularly well; two ears, though he doesn't hear very clearly; and a nose and a mouth, though he isn't vary discerning about scents and tastes. He has quite a brain on him, too, though his memory isn't very attentive and his thoughts aren't well organized.

"'Close enough' is quite enough in all matters," he often says. "What need is there for attentiveness?"

When Mr. Cha was a boy, his mother once sent him out to buy some brown sugar. She scolded him when he came home with white sugar instead, but he just dismissed it with a shake of the head, saying: "Brown sugar and white sugar are basically the same thing."

When he was in school, a teacher once asked: "Which province is located west of Zhili?"

"Shaanxi," Mr. Cha answered, to which his teacher said: "Incorrect. It's Shanxi, not Shaanxi." Mr. Cha responded: "Shanxi, Shaanxi; they're basically the same thing."

Mr. Cha Buduo later made his living working at a bank. He was capable both with a pen and calculator, but he was never precise. He often miswrote 10s as 100s and viceversa, and every time he faced the wrath of his employer, he would laugh it off and say to himself: "It's just a difference of a zero; close enough!"

One day, he had to catch a train to Shanghai for an urgent matter of business. After casually making his way to the train station, he found himself two minutes late and missed his train. Staring vacantly at the smoke bellowing from the now distant locomotive, he shrugged it off: "Well I guess I've got to go tomorrow. Today, tomorrow, it's all the same, more or less. But boy that train operator takes time way too seriously. 8:30, 8:32, it's all the same! More or less."

He blabbered to himself as he slowly made his way home, wondering out loud why the train did not wait those two extra minutes for him.

Later in his life, he came down with a sudden illness. He instructed his family to call over Dr. Wāng from East Street. They ran with haste but couldn't immediately find any Dr. Wāng on East Street, so they instead found Dr. Wáng, a veterinarian specializing in cattle, from West Street. From his sickbed, Mr. Cha Buduo knew they had brought back the wrong doctor, but he was gravely ill and in great pain and could not wait any longer. "It's a good thing that Dr. Wáng and Dr. Wāng are basically no different from each other," he mused to himself. "Let's let him have a look." And so the vet approached the bed and used his knowledge of treating cattle to heal Mr. Cha. The sick man was on the verge of death within the hour.

As Mr. Cha was more-or-less dying, he heaved difficultly as he spit out his final words: "Life and death... they're... practically the same... Close enough... is quite... enough... What need... for being... so... serious...?" And thus was his last breath.

After he had passed, Mr. Cha Buduo was remembered fondly for his insight and ability to think through problems. He was called a man of great virtue for never taking things seriously, never "settling the score," and never being petty, and he earned the posthumous Buddhist title "Master of Flexibility."

His fame spread further and wider as more and more people learned from his example. And that is how everyone in China became a Mr. Cha Buduo -- and how China became known worldwide as a country of lazy people.

Tupperwarez posted:

There are few things that will make you pray for deafness more than listening to Englishmen whinging in a pub while abroad.

Edit: Upgrade 'deafness' to 'death' if you have the extreme misfortune of being in earshot of the Droning Tory Grandpa.

Kharnifex posted:

drat, I am bummed to hear our friend Rene the lecher is sick, I hope he at least can get some comfort looking at post 90's beauties.

Fojar38 posted:

we did it everyone

Nanomashoes posted:

Should have sent the entire story of Mr. Cha Buduo

quote:

Mr. Almost Good Enough

Do you know who is the most celebrated person in China? His name is well known by everyone and in every land. He is called Mr. Almost Good Enough, and he lives in the village Everywhere, located in Anywhere county of Various province. You must have met him yourself, and heard his name mentioned from other’s conversations. The name of Mr. Almost Good Enough is on the mouth of everyone, because he is the representative of Chinese people.

Mr. Almost Good Enough looks almost the same as you and me. He has a pair of eyes which are bleary; and ears that are not so sharp. He has a nose and a mouth, but cares not much about scents and flavors. He has a brain of a good size which cannot hold many memories, and he is not very intelligent.

He often says, “Why do we need to be thorough so long as ALMOST serves us well?”

When Mr. Almost Good Enough was young, his mother sent him to buy some brown sugar. He returned with white sugar, and his mother scolded him. Shaking his head, Mr. Almost Good Enough thought to himself, “Aren’t brown sugar and white sugar almost the same?”

When Mr. Almost Good Enough was a young student his teacher once asked, “Which province is to the west of Zhili province?” Mr. Almost Good Enough answered, “Shan!” The teacher said, “No, it’s San, not Shan.” Young Mr. Almost Good Enough protested, “Aren’t they almost the same?”

As a young adult, Mr. Almost Good Enough became a teller at a bank. He could write and calculate, but just wouldn’t bother himself to do his work precisely. Fairly often he would lengthen his figures or notations from ten to one thousand, or shorten them from one thousand to ten. The bank manager was very angry with Mr. Almost Good Enough and blamed and scolded him blamed him many times. Mr. Almost Good Enough just grinned and apologized, but though instead, “One thousand just has two more zeroes than ten. Aren’t they almost the same?”

One day Mr. Almost Good Enough had to take a train to Shanghai for some emergency. He walked to the train station at a lazy pace, and was two minutes late by which time the train had already gone. Mr. Almost Good Enough stood staring at the smoke from the train in the distance, and shaking his head, said, “So I have to catch the train tomorrow. It is almost the same to leave today as tomorrow, but the railway company just treats this matter too seriously. Isn’t 8:30 almost the same as 8:32? ” After thinking that, Mr. Almost Good Enough made his way home at a pretty slow speed, still wondering why the train couldn’t wait 2 more minutes.

Some time later, Mr. Almost Good Enough caught a serious illness and one of his uncles sent for Dr. Wang who lived in East Street. The uncle rushed to East Street, but failed to find Dr. Wang, so he asked Dr. Wan the veterinarian. Mr. Almost Good Enough groaning in his bed knew that Dr. Wan was the wrong kind of doctor. The fever was peaking and Mr. Almost Good Enough felt so much pain in his body and anxiety in heart that he could wait no longer. Mr. Almost Good Enough thought, “It’s lucky that Dr. Wang and Dr. Wan are almost the same!” and just let Dr. Wan try to cure him. “So veterinarian Dr. Wan went to the bed and treated Mr. Almost Good Enough in the same way that he would treat a buffalo. In less than an hour Mr. Almost Good Enough’s heart gave up beating. As he lay dying, Mr. Almost Good Enough strained to breathe and gasped, “It is almost the same to be alive as to be dead. Why should people be so serious about things, since things that are almost done still work?“ With these famous words on his last breath, Mr. Almost Good Enough died.

After the funeral, all of the people praised Mr. Almost Good Enough saying that he had seen the truth in everything. They said that Mr. Almost Good Enough was really a man of honor because he couldn’t be serious about anything, wouldn’t take responsibility, and cared for nothing. Soon after all, of the people referred to Mr. Almost Good Enough as the Revered Master of Easy-going Life.

Mr. Almost Good Enough’s reputation was soon widely broadcasted far and wide. Many thousands of people followed his example, and every one earns the name Mr. Almost Good Enough. Henceforth, China became the country known for lazy people.

Fojar38 posted:

nominal plunges of course we dont do any of that dumb plunge power parity poo poo here

simplefish posted:

Why do you hate PPP so much? Seems like a useful measure when supply chains are vastly different

Gorilla Salad posted:

I need to thank you for this word.

I have a Chinese colleague who is always sending out emails complaining about staff half-assing their work, when it's always the most trivial poo poo and he endlessly goes on about how, in his culture, they pride themselves on doing their work perfectly.

So I snuck 'chabuduo' into an email back to him and he's now stopped sending emails to my entire department.

I am so happy about this I cannot describe it.

Fojar38 posted:

because idiots use it to compare the sizes of national economies when that was never what it was designed to do and it doesn't in fact measure anything real

Mameluke posted:

14 years since hosting their last Olympics? Jesus if China's so hot to throw its money at Nike, McDonald's, and Coca-Cola, it can do simpler things

Deceitful Penguin posted:

dammit now i want to read the story from the point of view of the idiot with the laptop

Haier posted:

I remember this. That photo is so staged, it's wonderful.
But what I really mean is the gifv you posted on this thread. I assume the building that was turned to dust was really a primary school / daycare / senior home / puppy store.

Hahahahahaha

But...but...but.. Jack Ma just said the the USA spent a lot of money on war and neglected infrastructure face projects that China was focusing on!

----------------

Last night I had a wonderful chat with this girl I have to work with sometimes. I will be talking to or seeing her until I leave, and we must cooperate. I was going to ignore her because I had a feeling we would be at odds in general association, but she really wanted me to add her to Wechat.
I feel like she's been fishing for information on my single life and if I am available for her, and so I am pretending to be a total prude and can't consider being more than friends with a woman. This is frustrating to her.

She's a Chaoshan person:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chaoshan

She was telling me about how her hometown is and what Chaoshan culture is like. Much of it is based on One-Up-manship and holier-than-thou. You can immediately get a sense of this when reading the Wikipedia article about them.
She works in Huaqiang electronic market here in Shenzhen and said that about 90% of the people working there (owning shops and selling) are Chaoshan people, and Chaoshan people stick together.
She said true Chaoshan do not allow their women to get married, because the family will own some business and she can work there, so education is useless. She's 23, but has been pressured for two years now to get married, since Chaoshan women don't get educations, they just get married to get a raise at work. Her parents sent her to university but she said they call her every other day to complain how her education made her unfit for marriage and now she's too independent working in a company rather than with some person connected to her family or their friends (the nerve!).

She said the Chaoshan culture is heavily invested in social ties for business and other things. Since women don't get educated, and instead instantly get married and shoot out babies before someone else can deflower them, that gossip and "keeping up with the Jones's" are the main ways of interaction. In her case, because she didn't follow the standard timeline of a Chaoshan woman, she said her mom is constantly shamed by her friends and relatives for having such a useless daughter that can't even force herself to marry a stranger and get pregnant already. Every month that goes by without her chabudou'ing a husband is one more month where her mom calls her weeping at the abuse she's facing from her neighbors. It doesn't matter that her brothers and sisters are already married and have kids (I believe she said she has SIX siblings).
She said since gossip is so key to interactions that the idea of NOT telling someone all of your secrets and problems, for your own sake and them to not make fun of you or berate you constantly, is completely unheard of. Privacy is not part of their culture, apparently, and it's cool and good to whisper rumors and gossip about each other and look down the nose at everyone you know. It's like high school for your entire life.

Despite the culture making her adult life miserable, she is extremely proud of the culture. She doesn't find any of this particularly difficult to live with, because Chaoshan people are the greatest in China! Also, because of her culture being so up-her-butt in every part of her life, until coming to Shenzhen she didn't have much interaction with non-Chaoshan people. Working in an office with non-Chaoshan people, and going to different cities for work and meeting non-Chaoshan people has been blowing her mind because.... strangers don't want to gossip and spill every embarrassing life secret with her. Why are they so secretive? The reason must be that they are all bad. Therefore, Chaoshan people are pure and their culture is number one for purity.

This got me disagreeing and arguing "humans are the same everywhere, people do what they want to do." This brought her to saying that women do not cheat. Why? Because only a man can cheat. Women will never cheat, because they only care about their families, not sex. Men cheat because they only care about sex, not their families. Why? Because this is what Chaoshan people do. Chaoshan women are pure, and she's never heard of any Chaoshan woman cheating, only men. I asked her who the men were cheating with if they were always cheating, and that maybe there is finally a secret that Chaoshan people are willing to shut up about. She found this impossible.
Instead, she did Whataboutism with the West, and then greater China, as her travels have led her to assume the worst about her countrymen. Except, it was still the idea that Chinese men only cheat, and maybe some non-Chaoshan women will cheat. The logic system was based on personal experience, and when living in an extremely tight bubble your life, it makes it hard to accept or believe things can be any other way.

She tried to tell me the superiority of Chaoshan advanced culture by saying that men cheat in their culture, but the women just pretend it does not happen. Why? Because there is no divorce. Because there is no divorce, and other cultures/people are divorcing, that Chaoshan people are the true bastions of family values. She further added to this by telling me about a family friend that married two women. He wasn't divorced when he married the second one; she's a second wife. This is much more acceptable than divorce.

Since she's obviously a blabbermouth, I patted myself on the back for not breaking from my prude routine. I decided to tell her stories "my friends had told me" to help her see Chinese in a different way. She saw my gossiping with her as a form of trust for her, so she didn't question that these were really stories from "friends." She did, however, argue that I was making much of these up. She only wanted to know where in China these women were from. Chinese people don't act this way, only Westerners. We argued about that for a while but eventually she agreed that she had heard similar stories before, but didn't think it was real. Now that a non-Chinese was saying the same things there must be a little bit of truth, but probably grossly exaggerated because Chinese are still more pure than foreigners.

She asked me to eat lunch with her today but I said I would be too late. Last day before the Spring Festival holiday begins for everyone.

Sheep-Goats posted:

"________ people stick together" has always rung in a really negative way in my ears. Some people say it with such pride and I feel repulsed. One of the worst things about China for me was how it was almost impossible for the people there to make any decision at all without first placing everything related to it into their us or them pigeonholes.

Every time I say this someone pipes up and says "well that's everyone" and no, it absolutely is not. Even if it were most people though Mainlanders take it to such disgusting extremes that you sometimes see one of them standing there stymied while the us v. them Plinko machine that makes up 95% of their brain rattles everything through the algorithm.

You get similar bullshit in small American towns full of people with farm-German heritage, Britons can be awful about it, etc. It's some genetic hangover from our idiotic pack animal past.

Gorilla Salad posted:

I need to thank you for this word.

I have a Chinese colleague who is always sending out emails complaining about staff half-assing their work, when it's always the most trivial poo poo and he endlessly goes on about how, in his culture, they pride themselves on doing their work perfectly.

So I snuck 'chabuduo' into an email back to him and he's now stopped sending emails to my entire department.

I am so happy about this I cannot describe it.

E_P posted:

Haiers stories are weird to me because he is always running into other foreigners. I see like one a month.

Ibblebibble posted:

My mum's family is Teochew (Chaosan, whatever) but I guess we've been separated from the mainland for so long that we share about 0% of those traits.

Haier posted:

L
O
L
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=__vHa_JZ_iM

JaucheCharly posted:

Nice Klingon. How do they reconstruct the sounds of a language that isn't written in letters?