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Little-Acorn
01-22-2011, 01:39 AM
Lots of talk has gone by about the Obama admin throwing a big state dinner for Hu Jintao, Premier of China. Obama bowing to Hu when he arrived at the WH, big celebrations, various celebrities, Streisand saying her connection with China was that she once worked in a Chinese restaurant, Obama's 9-year-old daughter waving a Chinese flag and Hu giving her simple lessons in Chinese language, etc. etc.

But.....

My wife is Chinese. She was born and raised in Tiyuan City, the 4th largest city in Mainland China, some 300 miles southwest of Beijing. She was in college in Beijing when the Tian An Men Square uprising happened, and came to the U.S. to go to college here, shortly after that. She got her green card under a program under George H.W. Bush 41, where people who were students in Bejing at that time, and who came to the U.S. afterward within certain dates, would be granted green cards. Now she is a naturalized U.S. citizen.

But she grew up completely Chinese, as steeped in Chinese culture as any other Chinese citizen of that time. She frequently tells me about various aspects of that culture. And she told me something very interesting, about this state dinner, that she feels most Americans don't know but EVERY Chinese citizen of her era, does know.

The state dinner is getting huge coverage in China, on every Chinese news channel, newspaper, etc. etc. But for different reasons than Americans may think.

Obama's daughter was waving a small Chinese flag when Hu came to the White House. Many Americans thought it was cute, a small gesture of welcome, etc. But, my wife tells me, people in China see it rather differently.

In Western countries (America, Europe, etc.) when armies fight wars, and one eventually surrenders, they indicate their capitulation and surrender by flying a white flag, one with no national insignia of any kind. But in China (example: China fighting against Japan in WWII), when one side surrenders, they indicate it by taking a flag of the enemy and flying it over their own heads. This indicates that the surrendering forces now acknowledge that the enemy forces are their masters, their rulers, the victors in the conflict; and that they will not fight any more, but will agree to capitulate to the other side.

And many Chinese people are remarking that that is what Obama's little daughter, seems to be doing by waving a Chinese flag in the presence of the Chinese leader. Most Americans will be unaware of this, my wife tells me, But it is a very ingrained tradition in China, that you NEVER fly another country's flag in your own hand, unless you have lost a major conflict to them and are acknowledging their superiority.

This was news to me. I just considered it to be a cute gesture of welcome, as I mentioned ealier here. But a billion Chinese people on the other side of the pond, don't see it that way, according to my wife who grew up there.

There is also talk about Premier Hu giving the President's daughter simple lessons in Chinese. All he taught her, was a simple greeting that children in China sometimes use to elderly people: He taught her how to call him "Grandfather Hu" in Chinese. It's just a few simple words.

But again, in China there's a little more to it than that. People in China are accorded social rank, mostly by their age relative to each other. And words like "brother", "sister", "Father", "Grandfather" etc. are used, both to denote blood relations, and also to describe the relative amount of respect one person gets from another even when they are not family or blood relatives.

Everybody, both in China and America, expects a child to call her dad "Father" or "Dad" etc.; and her grandfather "Grandfather" or Grandpa" etc. But in China, unlike America, a child might address an elder as "Grandfather" even when he is not her biological grandfather. It is a gesture of respect and obesiance in that country. What's more, it is a way of the child acknowledging that the elder is more socially respectable than someone she simply calls "Father" or "Dad"... including her biological father.

My wife tells me that for Obama's daughter to address Premier Hu as "Grandfather Hu" while in the presence of her biological father, can be interpreted as a mild slight against her own father - an implication that the "Grandfather" is more deserving of respect than her Dad is. She says that, with the subtle sense of humor many Chinese people have, this is just the sort of sly tweak they would love to set up - all with the knowledge that the silly Americans are completely clueless about what's going on.

But the most interesting thing that happened, came when various celebrities peformed for Obama and Hu as they sat at the state dinner. One of the performers was Yo Yo Ma, a famous pianist, cellest and orchestral conductor who is from China but frequently performs in the U.S. He played the piano for the two heads of state and their assembled guests. The first piece was an American piece, pretty, straightforward, well played, and enjoyable. The second piece, was a theme from a classic Chinese movie made in that country around 1950. It was a piece very well known to all Chinese people of my wife's era. No lyrics were sung, Yo Yo Ma merely played it on piano, and did very well. But, my wife tells me, every Chinese person knows both the melody and the lyrics - the movie was state-sponsored and approved by the Chinese Communist Party, as every movie, song, and book of that time had to be. And it was taught in every school, played in every town, and generally drummed into every citizen the Chinese government could reach in that era.

This musical piece was called "My Country", and was written for a movie made in China during the Korean War, called "Heroic Sons and Daughters". And the main theme of the movie, was praise and adulation for the great heros of the northern Chinese Communist army and their strength and valor in fighting with their allies the North Koreans, beating back those vile running dogs, the Americans. The lyrics, and the entire theme of the movie, reiterate again and again how cowardly and worthless the American pigs are, what despicable bastards they are, how poorly they fought against the great Chinese heroes, and how soundly they were thrashed and driven from the fields to cower in Seoul. The song was specifically written at that time (1950), to revile the hated Americans, belittling them and insulting them for the cowardly scum they were.

That music was played in the background of the movie practically for its entire length. And at one point near the middle of the movie, one of the leading characters stands up and sings the lyrics to the heroic Chinese troops who had just won a mighty victory against the barbarous Americans.

Very few Americans have ever heard of this movie, and none have every heard the lyrics, certainly not in English they could understand. So to Americans, this piece merely sounds like a miscellaneous movie theme, nothing significant. But to nearly every Chinese citizen, it means something very different. This music is very well known, and is a traditional song of celebration. And every one of them, know the lyrics and what they mean... and who they refer to.

My wife says, that that is one of many songs that are traditionally sung even today, during celebrations such as Chinese New Year. And the Chinese people who sing it, mean no particular disrespect to Americans, any more than Americans mean disrespect to their own troops when they sing "Yankee Doodle", which is in fact a song made up by the British to lampoon clumsy American troops during the wars of the late 1700s and early 1800s. To most of them, it's just a fun song to sing when they are celebrating.

My wife also tells me that many Chinese people who are now in America, are reluctant to sing this particular song in this country, even during traditional Chinese celebrations they hold here. They realize that the theme and its lyrics are quite disrespectful to Americans, and they have no wish to be disrespectful. So they carefully leave that song out of their celebrations when in this country, and caution each other not to sing it.

But this song was carefully INCLUDED in the presentation of the Chinese celebrities to the American President and his entourage, in their own White House, at their own table, last night... and in the presence (and certainly the foreknowledge) of the Chinese Premier Hu Jintao himself. News about this event is making huge waves in China even now, with heavy coverage all over the country.

My wife points out that the calculated insult of this song, displayed in front of the President of the United States in the capitol of this country, in public and on nationwide TV, is actually less important than one other factor:

Twenty years ago, there is no way such a thing would ever be done to the Americans, even if they could be sure the Amerians didn't know of the insult. The Chinese were very dependent on the Americans for assistance, technology, financing of new factories, etc. But today, it was presented, baldly and coldly. It was Hu's way of saying to us, "The shoe is now on the other foot. Our country is now ascendent, while yours is in decline; and you owe us far more than we owe you. We are on our way to assuming the mantle of the #1 superpower on Earth, and there is nothing you can do about it any more. You have lost your superiority, and we will soon be the Masters."

How many Americans are even aware of the sly, calculated insult that was delivered so openly to the American government last night? I had no idea, myself - I had never heard of this song or that movie. Has anyone in this country, who is not a native speaker of Mandarin Chinese?

I would very much appreciate it if anyone here could corroborate this story. I have heard it from only one person - my wife, who was born and raised in China, educated mostly in that country in ways approved by the Communist Chinese government, and only came to the U.S. in her college years. Does anyone else know anyone who is Chinese, and who has reason to be familiar with the things that Chinese people are traditionally taught in that country, to grow up with as part of their culture? Can you mention some of these things to them, and find out if the things I've heard are true or false?

revelarts
01-22-2011, 05:01 AM
Thanks for posting this POV,
very sobering and somewhat forboding lilA.

I wonder if part of it is a bit of delayed payback for a previous visit here with Bush Cheney. If so it's still a small caveat to the obvious 2nd banana position where in with China these days into the foreseeable future.

here's some news/comment from the Asia Times




...In 2006, the occasion of Hu's previous visit, George W Bush was still riding high in the early years of his second term. The "war on terror", with a few bumps, was rolling along and doing in the surviving members of the "axis of evil" - North Korea and Iran - was at the top of the foreign policy agenda after the third member, Iraq, had already been dealt with. Confronting China - long a preoccupation of vice president Dick Cheney and his wife Lynne Cheney - to moderate its support of North Korea and Iran was an important priority. [1]

In April 2006, when Hu visited, the US campaign to financially isolate and destabilize North Korea - initiated with the Treasury finding that Macau's Banco Delta Asia (BDA) was a "financial institution of money laundering concern" and toppled it into insolvency - was in full swing.

And China was feeling the heat.

As the architect of the effort, David Asher, subsequently testified to the US congress, the objective of the BDA designation was an aggressive effort to "kill the chicken in order to scare the monkey", that is, intimidate China into actively participating in the financial blockade of North Korea by threatening its own institutions such as the People's Bank of China with a BDA-type designation if it continued its dealings with the Pyongyang regime.

The campaign, led by Treasury under secretary for terrorism and financial intelligence Stuart Levey, was global in reach and reportedly successful enough to force some Chinese banks into cutting banking ties with North Korea. However, the US did not succeed in getting the Chinese government to change its North Korea policy or even abandon its support for BDA. [2]

China's role as an impediment to Bush administration policies did not make for a particularly hospitable environment for Hu's visit.

As Dana Milbank reported at the time:

The protocol-obsessed Chinese leader suffered a day full of indignities - some intentional, others just careless. The visit began with a slight when the official announcer said the band would play the "national anthem of the Republic of China" - the official name of Taiwan. It continued when Vice President Cheney donned sunglasses for the ceremony, and again when Hu, attempting to leave the stage via the wrong staircase, was yanked back by his jacket. Hu looked down at his sleeve to see the president of the United States tugging at it as if redirecting an errant child.

Then there were the intentional slights. China wanted a formal state visit such as Jiang [Zemin] got, but the administration refused, calling it instead an "official" visit. Bush acquiesced to the 21-gun salute but insisted on a luncheon instead of a formal dinner, in the East Room instead of the State Dining Room. Even the visiting country's flags were missing from the lampposts near the White House. [3]

In addition to his sunglass-donning transgression, Cheney also had to deny he had marked Hu's Oval Office briefing by taking a nap in his chair (thereby, perhaps inadvertently, leaving the impression that he had actually chosen to feign sleep in order to show his contempt for the red supremo).

The capper to the disastrous visit was the outburst of Dr Wang Wenyi, Falungong's point person on the issue of vivisection and organ harvesting allegedly inflicted on Falungong practitioners by the Chinese government.

Despite having been denied press credentials by Maltese security during a previous overseas trip of Hu's, somehow Wang was able to evade the scrutiny of the White House press office and acquire a one-day credential for Hu's visit as the press rep of Falungong's Epoch Times.

It is difficult to avoid the suspicion that somebody in the press office thought it might be a fun prank to throw Hu together with a Falungong activist.

In 2006, the Secret Service did not cover itself in glory, either, as Milbank described:

90 seconds into Hu's speech on the South Lawn, the woman started shrieking, "President Hu, your days are numbered!" and "President Bush, stop him from killing!"

Bush and Hu looked up, stunned. It took so long to silence her - a full three minutes - that Bush aides began to wonder if the Secret Service's strategy was to let her scream herself hoarse. The rattled Chinese president haltingly attempted to continue his speech and television coverage went to split screen.

Fast-forward to 2011.

China is perhaps the second-largest economy in the world, has weathered the "great recession" nicely, and has sufficient cash and clout for Hu to avoid being treated like a punk dictator on this trip.

Hu received the full state visit treatment from Obama, including not one but two dinners with the president. He was also treated nicely by Vice President Joe Biden, who greeted him at Andrews Air Force Base with the red carpet and a military color guard. ...

http://www.atimes.com/atimes/China/FH27Ad02.html

revelarts
01-22-2011, 10:30 AM
I can only confirm the truthfulness of the musical piece. But that would lend credit to the rest of her opinion. (does you wife know you question her on this,:p)

the Wall Street Confirm the Musical Dis. Except that it was Lang Lang not Yo Yo Ma.
http://blogs.wsj.com/chinarealtime/2011/01/22/lang-langs-performance-at-the-white-house-display-of-harmony-or-subtle-dis/



...Then, the plot thickened—at least, that’s how some read it. After bilingual comments to the assembled VIPs in which he said it was a “great honor” to be playing, he proceeded to perform a solo piece, which he introduced as a “Chinese song called ‘My Motherland.’”

The song is not just any old song. As Chinese netizens have pointed out, “My Motherland” is the theme song for a famous anti-U.S. movie about the Korean War from 1956, titled “Battle on Shangganling Mountain.”

The song lyrics do not mention the war and are very peaceful, speaking of memories of a hometown and how “young ladies are like flowers.”

But the film depicts a particularly brutal battle between Chinese and American troops during the Korean War, or what the Chinese call “The War to Resist U.S. Aggression and Aid Korea.” The movie also depicts Chinese troops enduring freezing weather with no food or water and American soldiers using flame throwers and laughing at burning Chinese soldiers. In retaliation, there’s a lot of killing of American troops later in the film.

Lang Lang himself appears to have been blissfully unaware of the political minefield he was stumbling into. In a blogpost on Sina.com headlined “Sharing a Day at the White House”, he describes the beauty of the song and its resonance with Chinese people. “I’m deeply honored and proud that I was able to play this song that praises the strength of China and the solidarity of the Chinese people in front of many foreign guests, especially leaders from all over the world.”
...

revelarts
01-22-2011, 10:48 AM
the music in question starts at about the 5:30 mark

<iframe title="YouTube video player" class="youtube-player" type="text/html" width="480" height="390" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/a51YSljGbvg" frameborder="0" allowFullScreen></iframe>


Check out some of the comments on youtube


@leisbb I got redirected to here from a post in a Chinese BBS. Not sure if you are familiar with the Chinese online communities. From what I see, most ppl see this as a 'diplomatic victory', an event in which the performance itself regarded a humiliation to the U.S. government, considering the origin of the song during Korean War. If you can read Chinese, you can get that in previous comments.

there are some other milder opinions

Little-Acorn
01-22-2011, 12:59 PM
Sho 'nuff. An article from a Wall Street Journal blog called "Speakeasy":

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

http://blogs.wsj.com/speakeasy/2011/01/22/did-pianist-lang-lang-dis-the-white-house/

Did Pianist Lang Lang Dis the White House?

by Cathy Yan
January 22, 2011, 10:30 AM ET

Chinese-born pianist Lang Lang in many ways embodies the Sino-American comity that both President Hu Jintao and President Barack Obama emphasized during their summit this past week—which is no doubt why he was chosen to perform at the White House state dinner for Mr. Hu on Wednesday.

So it comes as a bit of a surprise that he is now being praised by nationalist Internet users in China for a perceived anti-U.S. slight supposedly implied in the 28-year-old’s choice of music that night.

As part of the state dinner’s “quintessentially American” program, Mr. Lang was invited along with a number of U.S. jazz musicians in an “Evening of Jazz.” He and the legendary jazz pianist Herbie Hancock played a four hands version of a Maurice Ravel song, exchanging hugs afterward.

Then, the plot thickened—at least, that’s how some read it. After bilingual comments to the assembled VIPs in which he said it was a “great honor” to be playing, he proceeded to perform a solo piece, which he introduced as a “Chinese song called ‘My Motherland.’”

The song is not just any old song. As Chinese netizens have pointed out, “My Motherland” is the theme song for a famous anti-U.S. movie about the Korean War from 1956, titled “Battle on Shangganling Mountain.”

In any case, the irony of playing an ode from an anti-American Chinese movie at a White House event dedicated to Sino-U.S. cooperation and friendliness has set the Chinese web abuzz—and more than a few people are convinced it wasn’t an accident.

Both the Sina and Sohu news portals reposted an article that they attributed to the Beijing Evening News, with the headline: “Lang Lang Played ‘My Motherland’ at White House, Flaunting National Power.”

“Those American folks very much enjoyed it and were totally infatuated with the melody!!! The U.S. is truly stupid!!” wrote a user named You’re In My Memory on Sina’s micro-blogging site. This particular post was re-posted many times.

Mr. Lang’s representatives could not be reached. A spokesman at the U.S. Embassy in Beijing said that they were not aware of what songs Lang Lang played at the state dinner.

You can read more on of fellow blog, China Real Time Report ( http://blogs.wsj.com/chinarealtime/2011/01/22/lang-langs-performance-at-the-white-house-display-of-harmony-or-subtle-dis/ ).

Little-Acorn
01-22-2011, 04:09 PM
My wife has told me about the lyrics to the song played by Lang Lang. The article's description, that the song does not mention war or America, is barely accurate.

It starts off very innocently, describing how beautiful the motherland (China) is, how nice the people, how much the singer loves them, etc. Very sweet and aboveboard.

But then comes the second part of the song. It states that when the vile, rabid wolf and the (_________) (my wife couldn't translate ths one, it's another unspeakably evil animal) comes to destroy our beautiful motherland of China, we will grab our guns, shoot them, kill them, utterly destroy them. Our noble Chinese soldiers will be victorious over the vile, evil, subhuman animals.

Those are the literal lyrics of the song that Lang Lang played for Obama and Hu Jintao at the White House. True, America is not explicitly mentioned, and I suppose you could say that "war" isn't either. But in the movie, the vile evil animal obviously means America. The entire movie was commissioned by the Chinese government when America entered the Korean war. Its purpose was to unite the Chinese people in absolute hatred of America.

My wife points out that, until the Korean War, China had never had a war with America, and frankly never paid much attention to America - China was "a very closed country", my wife says. But when the communists took over in the 1940s, they also began the huge propaganda projects we all know and love. And they were pretty effective - including this movie. My wife says that this movie uniteed the Chinese people in hatred against America, just as the events of Sept. 11, 2001 united the American people against militant Islamic terrorists.

Thinking that Lang Lang didn't know the significance of this piece, is ludicrous, she says. Like thinking that, if you show a picture of an airliner hitting a skyscraper, the Americans would not know the significance of that, and just would just think it's a pretty fireworks display for a celebration or something.

It's also not possible that Lang Lang simply picked this song himself. My wife is 100% sure that every Chinese person in the delegation at the White House, knew in advance that Lang Lang was going to play this piece... and knew in advance what it really meant. Approval for this song, and quite possibly the original suggestion, came from the very top, she says.

Olive B.
01-22-2011, 06:24 PM
I'm a Chinese. I was born and raised in China, educated mostly in that country. I left China in 1989 when I was a college professor in Shanghai. So, maybe I'm qualified to say something here.

"But in China (example: China fighting against Japan in WWII), when one side surrenders, they indicate it by taking a flag of the enemy and flying it over their own heads. This indicates that the surrendering forces now acknowledge that the enemy forces are their masters, their rulers, the victors in the conflict; and that they will not fight any more, but will agree to capitulate to the other side. ... But it is a very ingrained tradition in China, that you NEVER fly another country's flag in your own hand, unless you have lost a major conflict to them and are acknowledging their superiority."

Honestly, I'd never heard of this until I read your post. By the way, when President Obama went to Beijing in 2009, didn't you see Chinese waving American flags?

"My wife tells me that for Obama's daughter to address Premier Hu as "Grandfather Hu" while in the presence of her biological father, can be interpreted as a mild slight against her own father - an implication that the "Grandfather" is more deserving of respect than her Dad is. She says that, with the subtle sense of humor many Chinese people have, this is just the sort of sly tweak they would love to set up - all with the knowledge that the silly Americans are completely clueless about what's going on."

In China, when a little kid greets an old man, she/he always uses the word "grandpa", no matter if her/his dad is present. It's just a courtesy, not at all meant to be a slight againt her/his dad.

"The lyrics, and the entire theme of the movie, reiterate again and again how cowardly and worthless the American pigs are, what despicable bastards they are, how poorly they fought against the great Chinese heroes, and how soundly they were thrashed and driven from the fields to cower in Seoul. The song was specifically written at that time (1950), to revile the hated Americans, belittling them and insulting them for the cowardly scum they were."

Well, for all the hatred you mentioned above, I'll post below the lyrics from Wikipedia, so you'll find out yourself.

1. Chorus

This is a great river, its waves are wide and calm
The wind blows through the rice flowers, bearing fragrance to either shore
My home is right there by the water
I am used to hearing the punters' whistle
and seeing the white sails on the boats

Solo

This is a great river, its waves are wide and calm
The wind blows through the rice flowers, bearing fragrance to either shore
My home is right there by the water
I am used to hearing the punters' whistle
and seeing the white sails on the boats

Chorus

This is the beautiful motherland
The place where I grew up
In this expansive stretch of land
Wonderful landscape can be seen everywhere

2. Solo

Young ladies are like flowers
Young men have a big heart and grand visions
In order to construct a new realm
They have waked the sleeping mountains
And made the rivers change their appearance

Chorus

This is the motherland of heroes
The place where I grew up
In this stretch of ancient land
There is youthful vigour found everywhere

3. Solo

Great mountains, great rivers and an amazing place
Every road is flat and wide
When friends are here, there is fine wine
But if the jackal comes
What greets it is the hunting rifle

Chorus

This is the strong motherland
The place where I grew up
On this stretch of warm and friendly land
The sunshine of peace is everywhere

"I would very much appreciate it if anyone here could corroborate this story. I have heard it from only one person - my wife, who was born and raised in China, educated mostly in that country in ways approved by the Communist Chinese government, and only came to the U.S. in her college years. Does anyone else know anyone who is Chinese, and who has reason to be familiar with the things that Chinese people are traditionally taught in that country, to grow up with as part of their culture? Can you mention some of these things to them, and find out if the things I've heard are true or false?"

My advice: It's time for you to make a trip to see China first-hand yourself.



Lots of talk has gone by about the Obama admin throwing a big state dinner for Hu Jintao, Premier of China. Obama bowing to Hu when he arrived at the WH, big celebrations, various celebrities, Streisand saying her connection with China was that she once worked in a Chinese restaurant, Obama's 9-year-old daughter waving a Chinese flag and Hu giving her simple lessons in Chinese language, etc. etc.

But.....

My wife is Chinese. She was born and raised in Tiyuan City, the 4th largest city in Mainland China, some 300 miles southwest of Beijing. She was in college in Beijing when the Tian An Men Square uprising happened, and came to the U.S. to go to college here, shortly after that. She got her green card under a program under George H.W. Bush 41, where people who were students in Bejing at that time, and who came to the U.S. afterward within certain dates, would be granted green cards. Now she is a naturalized U.S. citizen.

But she grew up completely Chinese, as steeped in Chinese culture as any other Chinese citizen of that time. She frequently tells me about various aspects of that culture. And she told me something very interesting, about this state dinner, that she feels most Americans don't know but EVERY Chinese citizen of her era, does know.

The state dinner is getting huge coverage in China, on every Chinese news channel, newspaper, etc. etc. But for different reasons than Americans may think.

Obama's daughter was waving a small Chinese flag when Hu came to the White House. Many Americans thought it was cute, a small gesture of welcome, etc. But, my wife tells me, people in China see it rather differently.

In Western countries (America, Europe, etc.) when armies fight wars, and one eventually surrenders, they indicate their capitulation and surrender by flying a white flag, one with no national insignia of any kind. But in China (example: China fighting against Japan in WWII), when one side surrenders, they indicate it by taking a flag of the enemy and flying it over their own heads. This indicates that the surrendering forces now acknowledge that the enemy forces are their masters, their rulers, the victors in the conflict; and that they will not fight any more, but will agree to capitulate to the other side.

And many Chinese people are remarking that that is what Obama's little daughter, seems to be doing by waving a Chinese flag in the presence of the Chinese leader. Most Americans will be unaware of this, my wife tells me, But it is a very ingrained tradition in China, that you NEVER fly another country's flag in your own hand, unless you have lost a major conflict to them and are acknowledging their superiority.

This was news to me. I just considered it to be a cute gesture of welcome, as I mentioned ealier here. But a billion Chinese people on the other side of the pond, don't see it that way, according to my wife who grew up there.

There is also talk about Premier Hu giving the President's daughter simple lessons in Chinese. All he taught her, was a simple greeting that children in China sometimes use to elderly people: He taught her how to call him "Grandfather Hu" in Chinese. It's just a few simple words.

But again, in China there's a little more to it than that. People in China are accorded social rank, mostly by their age relative to each other. And words like "brother", "sister", "Father", "Grandfather" etc. are used, both to denote blood relations, and also to describe the relative amount of respect one person gets from another even when they are not family or blood relatives.

Everybody, both in China and America, expects a child to call her dad "Father" or "Dad" etc.; and her grandfather "Grandfather" or Grandpa" etc. But in China, unlike America, a child might address an elder as "Grandfather" even when he is not her biological grandfather. It is a gesture of respect and obesiance in that country. What's more, it is a way of the child acknowledging that the elder is more socially respectable than someone she simply calls "Father" or "Dad"... including her biological father.

My wife tells me that for Obama's daughter to address Premier Hu as "Grandfather Hu" while in the presence of her biological father, can be interpreted as a mild slight against her own father - an implication that the "Grandfather" is more deserving of respect than her Dad is. She says that, with the subtle sense of humor many Chinese people have, this is just the sort of sly tweak they would love to set up - all with the knowledge that the silly Americans are completely clueless about what's going on.

But the most interesting thing that happened, came when various celebrities peformed for Obama and Hu as they sat at the state dinner. One of the performers was Yo Yo Ma, a famous pianist, cellest and orchestral conductor who is from China but frequently performs in the U.S. He played the piano for the two heads of state and their assembled guests. The first piece was an American piece, pretty, straightforward, well played, and enjoyable. The second piece, was a theme from a classic Chinese movie made in that country around 1950. It was a piece very well known to all Chinese people of my wife's era. No lyrics were sung, Yo Yo Ma merely played it on piano, and did very well. But, my wife tells me, every Chinese person knows both the melody and the lyrics - the movie was state-sponsored and approved by the Chinese Communist Party, as every movie, song, and book of that time had to be. And it was taught in every school, played in every town, and generally drummed into every citizen the Chinese government could reach in that era.

This musical piece was called "My Country", and was written for a movie made in China during the Korean War, called "Heroic Sons and Daughters". And the main theme of the movie, was praise and adulation for the great heros of the northern Chinese Communist army and their strength and valor in fighting with their allies the North Koreans, beating back those vile running dogs, the Americans. The lyrics, and the entire theme of the movie, reiterate again and again how cowardly and worthless the American pigs are, what despicable bastards they are, how poorly they fought against the great Chinese heroes, and how soundly they were thrashed and driven from the fields to cower in Seoul. The song was specifically written at that time (1950), to revile the hated Americans, belittling them and insulting them for the cowardly scum they were.

That music was played in the background of the movie practically for its entire length. And at one point near the middle of the movie, one of the leading characters stands up and sings the lyrics to the heroic Chinese troops who had just won a mighty victory against the barbarous Americans.

Very few Americans have ever heard of this movie, and none have every heard the lyrics, certainly not in English they could understand. So to Americans, this piece merely sounds like a miscellaneous movie theme, nothing significant. But to nearly every Chinese citizen, it means something very different. This music is very well known, and is a traditional song of celebration. And every one of them, know the lyrics and what they mean... and who they refer to.

My wife says, that that is one of many songs that are traditionally sung even today, during celebrations such as Chinese New Year. And the Chinese people who sing it, mean no particular disrespect to Americans, any more than Americans mean disrespect to their own troops when they sing "Yankee Doodle", which is in fact a song made up by the British to lampoon clumsy American troops during the wars of the late 1700s and early 1800s. To most of them, it's just a fun song to sing when they are celebrating.

My wife also tells me that many Chinese people who are now in America, are reluctant to sing this particular song in this country, even during traditional Chinese celebrations they hold here. They realize that the theme and its lyrics are quite disrespectful to Americans, and they have no wish to be disrespectful. So they carefully leave that song out of their celebrations when in this country, and caution each other not to sing it.

But this song was carefully INCLUDED in the presentation of the Chinese celebrities to the American President and his entourage, in their own White House, at their own table, last night... and in the presence (and certainly the foreknowledge) of the Chinese Premier Hu Jintao himself. News about this event is making huge waves in China even now, with heavy coverage all over the country.

My wife points out that the calculated insult of this song, displayed in front of the President of the United States in the capitol of this country, in public and on nationwide TV, is actually less important than one other factor:

Twenty years ago, there is no way such a thing would ever be done to the Americans, even if they could be sure the Amerians didn't know of the insult. The Chinese were very dependent on the Americans for assistance, technology, financing of new factories, etc. But today, it was presented, baldly and coldly. It was Hu's way of saying to us, "The shoe is now on the other foot. Our country is now ascendent, while yours is in decline; and you owe us far more than we owe you. We are on our way to assuming the mantle of the #1 superpower on Earth, and there is nothing you can do about it any more. You have lost your superiority, and we will soon be the Masters."

How many Americans are even aware of the sly, calculated insult that was delivered so openly to the American government last night? I had no idea, myself - I had never heard of this song or that movie. Has anyone in this country, who is not a native speaker of Mandarin Chinese?

I would very much appreciate it if anyone here could corroborate this story. I have heard it from only one person - my wife, who was born and raised in China, educated mostly in that country in ways approved by the Communist Chinese government, and only came to the U.S. in her college years. Does anyone else know anyone who is Chinese, and who has reason to be familiar with the things that Chinese people are traditionally taught in that country, to grow up with as part of their culture? Can you mention some of these things to them, and find out if the things I've heard are true or false?

Gaffer
01-22-2011, 07:37 PM
Wow, a new poster shows up that just happens to be Chinese and says LIL ACORN 's wife is all wrong and quotes from wiki. hmmmmm, paint me skeptical.

Flying the flag of the conqueror is nothing new to history but it's usually promoted by the conqueror. It is a sign of submission. LA's wife is correct on that part. And most of us are aware of LA's trip to China about a year ago. New people would not be aware of this.

I find it all very interesting and a little insidious on the part of the Chinese.

Trigg
01-22-2011, 08:47 PM
Wow, a new poster shows up that just happens to be Chinese and says LIL ACORN 's wife is all wrong and quotes from wiki. hmmmmm, paint me skeptical.

Flying the flag of the conqueror is nothing new to history but it's usually promoted by the conqueror. It is a sign of submission. LA's wife is correct on that part. And most of us are aware of LA's trip to China about a year ago. New people would not be aware of this.

I find it all very interesting and a little insidious on the part of the Chinese.

I find it interesting also, paint me skeptical as well.