Meet the Students

Last week, I gave an assignment to my students to describe "What does it mean to be 'Chinese?'" in 3 words. They were to interview their grandparents, parents, a peer, and then give their own opinion. After a class discussion and presentations, I learned a lot about China, Chinese people, and most importantly, my students.

I cannot stress how bright these students are, they're young, 18 or 19. But they're sharp and curious. Sometimes,  I get the impression that the rest of the world seems to think Chinese people are mindless, following the government at its whim. That's hardly true. From migrants I've talked to on the train to this very assignment, people are aware--and critical--of what's going on in China.

Their grandparents emphasized other things--"tradition," "Mid-Autumn Festival," and "harmony." Several students mentioned that despite going through "The Great War," their grandparents have found the subsequent development of China to be peaceful and good. One student shared that her grandparents emphasized having a "Tiananmen Square" mentality. My eyes almost bugged out of its sockets when I heard this, thinking she was going to talk about 1989. She kept on talking about how her grandparents meant that every Chinese person needs to visit Tiananmen Square at least once in their life, as a kind of pilgrimage because of Mao's embalmed body and the heavy presence of CCP buildings. As an American, it was almost paradoxical to hear that this is what the "Tiananmen Square" mentality to mean. Good job, Chinese propaganda.

Many of the students interviewed their peers and friends, commenting on the inequality and high pressure for the current generation. Some students, especially from poorer provinces, shared that their parents talked about how they work so hard but still remain in poverty. Other words included "corrupted," "unfair," and "stressful." They expressed frustration about their own prospects for the future--getting a job, an apartment, providing for their parents.

But at the same time, in each of my classes, more than half of the students brought up the Sichuan earthquake efforts in 2008. This was a moment of national unity, coming together to help each other. As suspicious and frustrated as they have grown of the government and the system, they believe in each other.

And that is what I took away from all of it--these students are choosing to be optimistic. They've seen so much transformation in just their lifetimes. And I think, they're hoping for just as much transformation as they grow up to lead China.

Best one was still: "To be Chinese, teacher, means to have an "iron stomach." After a quizzical look on my face, he responded with "Remember the milk powder incident? And all the stuff with lead? Yeah, we need to have an iron stomach here to survive." He touched the core of China's biggest issues--corruption--with such effortless humor. All around, an apt representation of the China I know.