S and I had an interesting conversation while waiting for the shuttle bus at the Henry Ford Museum.
S: Have people called you Oriental before?
Me: Oh yeah, it happened to me a few times. Has that happened to you?
S: Yeah, even in San Diego.
When I was at a seminar two months ago, I talked to a guy during a break. And guess what he said to me.
He said, "I've never met an Oriental person before!"
Then I said, "FYI, the political correct term for people from Asia is Asian. Oriental is used to described rugs and exotic spices from the far east."
I know this was not the most polished way to explain the difference of calling people Oriental or Asian. But I thought I really had to make a statement at that moment.
Interestingly, he said, "My father also called people like you Oriental too, so I thought that's the way it is."
In my mind, I thought, "Never mind. Another example of cultural ignorance." Lacking of time and patience to explain why calling Asian as Oriental was impolite, I excused myself.
When I grew up, I learned that if people are from Japan, they are Japanese. And if they are from Korea, they are Koreans. Then when I came to the States, I learned that I am identified as Asian.
It's okay to be called Asian as Asia is the continent where I'm from. It would be nicer if people take the time to know which country I'm from even though I am generally categorized as Asian. Seriously, Asia is a vast continent with 37 countries and almost 4 billion people. And definitely, definitely, don't tell me the joke that all Asians look alike. ;)
But still, I felt uncomfortable when that guy called me oriental. You don't use the n word to address an African American nowadays, do you?
Have people called you Oriental before?
Visiting Art Museum
Every time when I went to an art museum, I felt I was more cultured and sophisticated afterwards....
Why I should start using my English name
I ordered an Indonesian fried rice from an Asian restaurant today. It's like a fast food restaurant here. You ordered the food, they asked for your name and they called you when the food was ready. After waiting for 10 minutes, a staff called my name. But you know what, they called me "Yucky".
Since I was the only Asian standing in that area and was looking at him, he immediately recognized that I was "Yucky". When I went up to take the food, I said, "It's Yukki, not Yucky." The staff apologized to me and said the writing on the receipt wasn't that clear.
Don't you think the restaurant should at least teach the staff how to say some common foreign names? Since this is the only Asian restaurant in the area which sells Chinese, Indonesian, Japanese, Vietnamese food, I would assume the restaurant will attract a lot of foreigners who work in the area.
Maybe training the staff to have the minimal cultural awareness is too time-consuming. If that's the case, then don't bother calling the name of the customers. The staff can always call the number on the receipts instead.
I remembered J once asked me why some of my Asian classmates in school had English names (like Adam and Samuel), I said it's because the English teacher strongly recommended the students to have English names so they can use it in class. (My friend Joel then told me he had a Spanish name, Juan for his Spanish class too. :))
When I was 3, my cousin was studying in UK. When she came home, she gave me and my sister English names. My sister loved hers but I hated mine because it was just too common. (hint: a name starts with an A ;))
Well, finally I can put my English names in good use now. I think I should start using my old English name when ordering food next time. ;)
The American Dream and The (Ancient) Chinese Dream
So I think, is there a similar idealism in the Chinese culture?
Growing up in Hong Kong, I watched so many TV dramas of Chinese history. There were usually three kinds of heroes that were featured in different shows- the general who fought hard to protect the country, a young martial artist who accidentally learned a powerful martial art skills, or a poor scholar who studied really hard for the Imperial examinations and became the number 1 first class in the exam. (狀元)
I think the Chinese Dream has a significant tie to the Imperial Examinations. As you know, China has always been a vast and populated country. In order to manage the country well, it needs a number of government officials. Since there are so many people in the country, one of the easiest way to select the best is through a fierce examination system.
So if you can do well in the Imperial Examinations and be the #1 in first class, that's your ticket to success, (if you were born in China two hundred years ago).
According to the Wikipedia,
"there are vast numbers of examples in Chinese history in which individuals moved from a low social status to political prominence through success in imperial examination...
In late traditional China, then, education was valued in part because of its possible pay-off in the examination system...
Even though only a small fraction (about 5 percent) of those who attempted the examinations passed them and received titles, the studying and the hope of eventual success on a subsequent examination served to sustain the interest of those who took them."
(Hmm....5% of the pass rate? That will make the "difficult" actuarial exams appear to be child play as an average actuarial exam pass rate is around 35-50%. )
The Imperial Examinations has been existed in China for about 1300 years. To me, if something can exist that long in a nation, it is deeply rooted in the culture. Though the Imperial Examinations has been abolished in 20th Century, the concept of success through advancement of success is still widely spread.
Every year, when the Hong Kong A-Level results release, the HK newspaper interviews those who had straight As and referred them as 狀元. Sometimes I wonder where the straight As students end up working at 10 years from now. ;)
Looking back at this piece of Chinese history, I believe that my ability to survive through the school exams and hopefully all the actuarial exams is culturally-related. (It's in my blood! :))
Here's a pair of dui lian (Double sentences) (对联） that describes the student's attitude towards the Imperial Exam:
十年寒窗没人问, 一举成名天下知
It means, "Nobody cares if you studied very hard for 10 years, but everyone knows it when you become a Number 1 in the first class."
Hong Konger, Hong Kong Chinese vs. Hongkie
I had an interview lunch with an intern candidate a few days ago. Almost everything went well-except he called people from Hong Kong as "Hongkie". To me, the term "Hongkie" was derogatory. (Okay, first of all, it sounds like "monkey" to me.)
When I was living in Singapore, whenever people in school called me and my friends "Hongkie", I could always feel a negative tone behind it (as in, the stereotype of being loud, Cantonese speaking and like to show off the wealth...). Of course I did my best to educate them- I told them to refer people from Hong Kong as "Hong Kong Chinese" or "Hong Konger" (like New Yorker ;))
Anyway, sometimes ignorance is not bliss (especially during the interview!). But I still want to give the candidate the benefit of the doubt that he didn't know the term "Hongkie" made me feel uncomfortable.
I just hope there are more people with some "cultural awareness" out there!
