Matthew Gibson
China Summer Fellow 2016
Shanghai, China
From an American perspective, conversations about race, ethnicity, and identity are increasingly common. However, in China, these conversations happen at very small scales. Almost the entire country shares the same ethnic heritage, and there is no adequate translation of “identity” be it personal or social. But at NYU Shanghai, there is a growing awareness of issues of social justice that I believe is moving the student body in a positive direction.
I spoke with a few friends about their experiences outside of China and how things changed when they returned home. Below, I have included important highlights from my conversations with three of them as well as paraphrasing of their original responses in Chinese.
Jack is an undergraduate student in New York who was raised in Inner Mongolia and later moved to Shanghai for high school. He believed that there is often a prejudice against students who study away or leave China, because much of the older generation views it as an attempt for young people to escape the Chinese gaokao–higher education entrance exam. But he finds that more and more young people see the advantage of going abroad, which he says it true from his personal experience. After only one year abroad, his understanding of himself and his personal identity has deepened, and when he thinks of himself in comparison to his Chinese peers, he finds that his mindset is more open and he thinks at larger scales than before.
呼和是哥伦比亚大学大二学生。他在内蒙古出生的，在上海上高中。他说明中国内人对留学生或者海归会有偏见是因为有人认为留学生希望逃避高考，但是呼和说肯定不是所有人。他觉得年轻人也越来越意识到国内教育的坏处和国外经历对于个人发展的好处。所以越来越多的人开始考虑留学或者去国外工作。他回中国以来，觉得他比普通的中国人学生想法更多，对自己的了解身份更明显，清晰。他说出国之后他对自己各方面的潜力有了更多的探索。出国的一年里尝试了很多新鲜事物，可以说他的身份还是在不断变化。
Chris is a Shanghainese student at NYU Shanghai who spent the last year studying at NYU Tel Aviv. Chris feels that after returning to Shanghai, many Chinese think that his behavior and his actions don’t agree with what is expected of him, and if he doesn’t act according to Chinese standards, he might be accused of becoming too “Western” or too obsessed with Western culture. Speaking from his experience abroad, he thought that while at home he only represents his school and his family, but while in Tel Aviv, he represented all of China and his people.
一天是上海纽约大学大四学生。去年他在以色利留学。一天回上海之后，他觉得中国人对他会有偏见。他们会觉得他行为举止不像传统的中国人，如果他没有按照中国的标准来做，他们会觉得他是因为习惯了西方的管理，可能把觉得他崇洋媚外。他觉得他在国内，只代表他的家庭和学校，而在国外，他代表的是整个中国，整个中华民族。他觉得出国有很多好处，但是，他觉得出国坏处是可能会失去根本的文化观念。赵一天觉得很多普通的中国大学生安于现状，没有敢于挑战自己的生活。
July is a Hangzhounese student at NYU Shanghai who studied away in New York City and Madrid last year. When talking about the prejudice that Chinese students who study away face at home, she said that she often hears that she must be wealthy or not have good enough grades if she wants to study abroad. Other times she hears, why haven’t you brought back a foreign boyfriend after being away for so long? While abroad in Madrid, she felt like many people were unaware of Chinese culture and society, so she represented “China” and as a result she paid more attention to her behavior and actions.
之颖是上海纽约大学大四学生。去年他在马德里和纽约留学。她说，回来上海以后，有一些中国人会开玩笑：“你出国留学了，一定很有钱吧？”还有一些会说：“你为什么要出国留学呢，是因为成绩不够好吗？”还有一些会说：“怎么出去了那么久，还不带一个外国的男朋友回来呢？”但是，他觉得一般会有这些偏见的都是年纪比较大的中国人。她认为出国了之后她觉得她更加代表中国，所以她会更加注意她的行为禁止。
Years ago, Chinese people who left China were looked down upon and persecuted. Over time they came to be highly respected, and now are so prominent in Chinese society that they are almost common-place. There are many misconceptions that the outside world has regarding China, and to be fair, China has many misconceptions about the outside world as well. But in a globalizing society, we see more and more connections being built across borders and divisive lines, and our perceptions of one another are changing in turn. The experiences of these three young people are just a few perspectives on this social change, but I feel that they show the impact that is already occurring.