ENTERTAINMENT / Hot Pot Column
My China debrief in 10 seconds or less
By Charlie Shifflett (China Daily)
Updated: 2007-07-12 09:15
Since my friends and family can't visit China themselves, I try to bring
China to them - at least, all of the country I can cram into two
suitcases.
The usual gifts - chopsticks, Great Wall T-shirts, calligraphy, scroll
paintings, silk kites, tea sets - tend to reinforce their vision of a
land where people eat food with sticks and build magnificent walls on
mountain peaks. But I've also tried to bring them parts of New China: pop
music from Pu Shu and Jay Chou, movies from directors Jia Zhangke and
Wang Xiaoshuai - oh, and some random knick-knacks, such as coupon
booklets from McDonald's and Chinese-language newspapers.
Unfortunately, these "New China" gifts aren't usually a hit. Friends and
family seem to prefer gifts from the China of old.
Once, while screening a DVD of Wang Xiaoshuai's Beijing Bicycle for my
family, I proudly pointed out Beijing landmarks and offered (perhaps a
little too much) insight into city life. Soon, however, yawns and hunger
began to overtake the whole family. Everyone took turns going to the
refrigerator. Mom started ironing and folding clothes. Dad fell asleep.
Only my brother remained. He insisted on sitting through the whole movie,
but I knew deep down that he'd rather have been running up the score on
some hapless team in his Xbox football game.
Over time, I've learned that my friends and family prefer to see hutong -
not high-rises. They want to hear traditional folk music - not a Chinese
Usher. And when I hand over the newspapers and McDonald's coupons, well,
their puzzled look says it all.
"What am I going to do with this?"
Good question.
From what I can tell, gifts from China are meant to be shown off to
whomever comes within range of it. Get too close and a silent alarm will
sound, prompting my mom to say, "Oh, that - Charlie brought it home from
China. Isn't it beautiful?"
She could be talking about the scroll painting of the sparrow on a pear
tree branch. Or she could be talking about the jade frog sitting on her
desk at school - or about the neat mini-umbrella that opens to reveal the
logo for the 2008 Beijing Olympics. These gifts are conversation starters
- conversations that end soon after they begin.
What else is there to say? Traditional, touristy gifts likes these
confirm general information and assumptions about China. For the average
person, this is enough.
In giving gifts, I hope to buy permission to talk people's ears off about
China. Not just about the things they already know, but about the things
I want them to know. That taxi drivers are some of the coolest Chinese
people I've met. That waking up on the other side of the world can be
terribly lonely, and also unbelievably exciting.
Sometimes my friends and family are gracious enough to give me a few
minutes, but more often I'm left to answer the "So how's China?" question
in 10 seconds or less.
In such cases, I just let the scroll paintings and Great Wall T-shirts
speak for themselves.
(China Daily 07/12/2007 page20)
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