China’s spittoon has become an “Oriental Fruit Basket” when it explodes abroad, and this kind of cultural “contrast ignorance” can be a little bit more ｜ New Wave

Do you know the spittoon?

The spittoon used by many Chinese families to spit and hold urine in the past has successfully achieved a "counter-attack" on Amazon. It has become the "1960s Chinese Traditional Fruit Basket" (Chinese traditional fruit basket in the 1960s), which is worth as much as 60 US dollars. Around RMB 380.

Merchants told foreigners that Chinese spittoons have "fascinating antique-style design, red and white retro collisions, allowing you to go back to the 60s, creating a retro and romantic atmosphere, and it is an indispensable decoration for the kitchen table." Serve vegetables, bread and fruit, roast chicken and cold beer.

This interesting cultural misunderstanding is not the first time.

Chinese culture that fascinates people

Taking spittoons for food is considered "not a small improvement." Many years ago, some foreigners used spittoons to drink beer directly. In their eyes, this kind of Chinese cultural beauty is similar to a wine glass. It really makes sense to think about it. They are all liquid-filled items.

China has a tradition of burning paper money for deceased people. When foreigners see the "large banknotes of Tiandi Bank" we burned, they seem to have discovered a treasure. Some foreigners burned "ancestors' money" live on the Internet and burned "one billion" for grandpa at one time. She hoped that grandpa would not treat herself badly in heaven, but she didn't know whether Western heaven recognized Dongfang Mingbi.

The preserved eggs that the Chinese are all eating. The black egg whites and silver snowflakes are full of mystery in the eyes of foreigners. It is rumored that they have become "demon eggs." According to foreign reports, if anyone hatches them, they might be able to. Obtain a fire-breathing dragon just like Long Ma.

The "Goddess of Nations" Lao Ganma sells a bottle of 40 yuan in foreign countries. This kind of Chinese catering sauce is eaten a little bit. Foreigners don't care about that much and stuff it in their mouths.

Cultural misunderstanding? We also have

Foreigners occasionally misunderstand Chinese culture, and we also occasionally misunderstand foreign culture.

In terms of English names, the Chinese named themselves Cherry, Cylinder, and Candy, just as interesting as foreigners named themselves Emperor Kangxi, Ergouzi, and Square Dance . Girls should pay special attention to that, don’t name Cherry, don’t name Cherry, don’t name Cherry!

Foreigners will remind Chinese people to avoid using such names, and Chinese people will kindly remind foreigners of the correct usage of spittoon: "Any Chinese over 35 years old knows that this is a pot of sputum and urine . Of course you can use it to do whatever you want to do, I hope you have understand what it is. "

Deng Tat-chi, a famous fashion designer in Hong Kong, said that he believes that foreigners do not know the true purpose of spittoons, and only because they think they have a Chinese-style appearance and are very attractive, they will buy them . He said that unsuspecting foreigners' ideas may be quite practical. Some foreign families will buy champagne buckets of dozens of dollars. In comparison, the price of spittoons is about the same. Buying a Chinese-style "bucket" is not too expensive.

Chinese and foreign cultural misunderstandings can be seen everywhere, just as fun as the misuse of the spittoon.

Look at this slippers, it’s bright and flashing, look at this straw hat, it’s big and round, look at this so-called national style, it looks like a foreign Gaia, look at this talk show, it’s a kind of ridicule, Look at this husband and wife lung film, it really does not cost husband and wife…

Misunderstanding can create new ideas, or it may "roll over"

The process of misunderstandings between different cultures and their continuous elimination has been infinitely magnified by the Internet, and even derives new cultural phenomena. Many things that have been stereotyped in the culture are radiated with new vitality and go to the world.

Chinese hot pot "conquered" foreigners' stomachs, and foreigners' coffee is blooming everywhere in China.

Chinese traditional culture has injected new elements into foreign fashion design, and foreigners who absorb these elements occasionally create some fashion rollover cases that make people laugh.

However, while creating new ideas, misunderstandings may also go to the opposite side.

Mahjong, which makes foreigners so intoxicated, is regarded as one of the essence of Chinese culture, and contains valuable knowledge such as game theory, psychology, and Chinese culture.

Three white women in the United States founded The Mahjong Line (The Mahjong Line) company. They felt that the rules of Chinese mahjong were too complicated, and they could not understand the Chinese characters on the cards. The mahjong design was not fashionable at all.

Therefore, they innovated mahjong and redesigned 5 sets of fashionable mahjong according to their own aesthetics, "removed unnecessary characters and patterns", removed the Chinese characters such as "fa" and "万" that they could not recognize , and added them. Many unknown patterns and English onomatopoeia, such as bubbles, lightning, flour bags, leaves, etc., have also been completely revised.

Now many Chinese quit, where is still mahjong. A few little girls modify China's centuries-old national quintessence at will, and use such a condescending tone to blatantly express the superiority of white culture. Soon, Mahjong Company received thousands of comments expressing protest. The Mahjong Line company had to issue an apology.

Chinese sociologist Nancy Wang Yuan said: "It is a different matter when one culture is inspired by another, but their behavior and speech obviously do not respect the traditional Chinese culture, and there is a superiority to surpass the original content. It’s hard to accept it.”

Unknowing and non-malicious misunderstandings are often "inadvertently planting willows and willows", just like misunderstandings that make Chinese spittoons shine in foreign countries, but obviously with prejudice and arrogant misunderstandings, they can point fingers at the historical accumulation of a culture. People feel unwell.

Misunderstanding is not the fate of cultural output

The comedy rollover brought about by misunderstandings can not only eliminate misunderstandings in an instant, but also bring new sparks to the collision of the two cultures, and a new cultural form has emerged-cultural "contrast ambiguity."

Knowing that some foreigners don't eat animal offal, they took the other party to eat hot pot, and introduced the delicious ways of eating various animal offal. The other party shivered with fear, and was uneasy when eating, and finally was completely conquered by the food. This is using cultural "contrast ambiguity" to promote Chinese food culture to the world.

This new cultural form is almost all over the world and is one of the best ways to eliminate misunderstandings. However, in order to cater to the taste of the other party, the two sides are not pleased and deepen the misunderstanding of both sides.

As a model of Chinese cultural export, Li Ziqi showed foreigners a beautiful Chinese pastoral life. After the attention increased, many Chinese believed that the life in the works was ungrounded, "excessive beautification, and too big a gap with reality." Foreigners who have lived in rural China also commented that "this is not true (Chinese rural life)." In the end, things broke up. Foreigners who didn't know the truth called out "It turned out to be fake", and there were many domestic doubts and criticisms. , But left a negative impression on people.

There are many cases of cultural output rollovers. For example, the movie "Mulan" that made many people feel uncomfortable watching. A friend of mine commented:

This is an American blockbuster filmed by Americans for the world to see. It satisfies foreigners’ imagination about the China in their minds. It is about the American way of thinking, which not only fails to show the real China, but also deepens the views of others. China’s misunderstandings, many Chinese people would reject such a very unnatural export of American culture out of instinct, and foreigners who have a little knowledge of Chinese culture would find it strange.

The output of over-beautification and the condescending examination are essentially the same, that is, subconsciously feel that the two sides are inequality , misunderstanding is not the destiny of cultural output, it is to eliminate misunderstanding.

Why is the spittoon culturally misunderstood and still allows both parties to "please hear and hear"? Because its core is real and not artificial.

Eliminate misunderstandings and create beauty

The process of eliminating misunderstandings is a process of breaking information asymmetry, and it can also bring new elements to one's own culture.

Regarding the fact that foreigners use spittoons as tableware, some people think that it is black humor, and some people think it is quite normal: "The thing is still that thing, and it is people who don't know the truth can eliminate the inherent impression and discover more possibilities for it. Of course. , Must be built on the basis of equality and respect."

If you compare the world to a painting, some culture is oil painting, and some culture is ink painting. Oil painting does not need to be condescending to think that ink painting lacks the tension of color, and ink painting does not need to think that oil painting cannot convey the beauty of artistic conception, let go of prejudices, eliminate misunderstandings, and learn from each other. , Make progress together to make this painting more colorful and pleasing to the eye, isn’t it?

Huh? Up to this point, how come the more you look at the spittoon, the more beautiful it is. What should I buy to hold it?

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