Customer Reviews

The Ugly Chinaman and the Crisis of Chinese Culture

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First of all, a confession. This reviewer has only read the original Chinese version of the book. However, assuming that the English translation has been faithful to the original, the comments apply to both versions equally.

Bo Yang had a particular purpose in his mind when he wrote the book. His target audience was his fellow Chinese, especially those living in Taiwan, who at the time were still lulled in the belief that Chinese culture (or at least as it was preserved in Taiwan) was the best among all civilizations. While everyone acknowledged that the West was technologically superior, many felt that spiritually and culturally China still triumphed over the decadent West. No one disputed that Chinese society had severe problems. But prior to Bo Yang's work, it was customary to blame these ills either on Westernization or a departure from China's true values. Bo Yang turned the tables by arguing that the culture itself was the source of these ills. It is as earth-shattering as William Bennett coming out and identifying Judeo-Christian values as the source of much that is wrong with the West.

When Bo Yang's work crossed the seas and entered the mainland, the effect was somewhat different. Mainland China had always blamed China's evils on the "feudal" (whatever that term means) culture of ancient China, so in many ways Bo Yang's criticism of Chinese culture resonated with what the communist government and mainland intellectuals believed at the time (this anti-tradition stance had reached its height in the 1919 May 4th Movement, and continued ever since on the mainland. In Taiwan, however, the ruling government returned to a staunchly pro-tradition, neo-conservative stance). In recent years, as nationalism gradually replaces Marxism Leninism as China's new orthodoxy, Bo Yang's work might be viewed in yet a different light. Would he be blamed as the unpatriotic quisling? Only time will tell.

It is difficult for the reviewer to gauge this book's impact on a Western audience. In so many ways Bo Yang assumes an intimate knowledge of Chinese matters, and uses satire to debunct many time-held notions. A Western reader certainly should not use this as a primer on Chinese culture, but it does offer a fascinating glimpse into the mind of a very influential writer in the Chinese speaking world. Nor should a Western reader use this book as "evidence" of the total failure of Chinese culture, any more than non-Westerners should understand America by reading only "The Ugly American". Bo Yang's work could instead be viewed as one attempt by a still very vibrant, living culture to come to terms with what it means to be modern yet true to one's sense of self. Ironically, thus far it has arguably been the more "Westernized" Chinese societies (Hong Kong, Taiwan, to an extent Singapore) that has been better able to preserve "Chinese" values.

Bo Yang is a very good writer of Chinese prose, and has made excellent (although sometimes rather carefree) translations of the seminal Chinese historical work "zizhi tongjian" from the original classical language. I hope English speakers enjoy "the Ugly Chinaman". It will probably not generate the range of emotions among non-Chinese as it did in the Chinese speaking world. Read it lightheartedly.

This book helped me very much to understand many actions and attitudes I encountered while living in Hong Kong in the late nineties. Before reading it, I had thought the bad manners in the shops, and the rude, pushy behaviour of the crowds were simply due to the tragic fate of the Hong Kong Chinese, having to live as refugees after fleeing from their homes in China. Hong Kong is a tiny place and to have millions of refugees pour in over the past several decades, well, who wouldn't be cranky?

But Taiwanese journalist Bo Yang showed me that the problems go much deeper than any woes created by the present regime in China, or the ending of British protection in 1997. Bo Yang argues the problem goes back centuries, a long period of repeated stultification within Chinese society - a combination of repressive leaders, static social systems and a reverence of doing exactly what your ancestors did, nothing more, nothing new.

I felt I understood China and Hong Kong a little bit better after reading this. The crowds along Des Voeux Road in Central, Hong Kong, may still be one of the most offensive social phenomena in the world; people may still laugh when old ladies slip in the blood of the Wanchai Wet Market; spitting, belching and wind-breaking may still be dealt out with nonchalance, but Bo Yang showed me there was a very good reason for this. A very moving, sad and poignant reason. I couldn't stay angry or annoyed after reading this.

As someone who lived in Hong Kong, I rank this book up with Timothy Mo's The Monkey King, Paul Theroux's Kowloon Tong, Austin Coates' Myself a Mandarin and Jan Morris' Hong Kong as the books that helped me most understand that intersting city, which is (or was) both a local financial center and an oasis for all the millions of Chinese refugees who tried to eascape from the mainland, from what Bo Yang so sharply calls "the putrid vat of soy sauce," (his phrase for the unpleasant side of China's otherwise fascinating culture).

Terribly sad story, brilliantly told in a unique Chinese way.

Reading this book is like eavesdropping on a family feud that is too interesting to turn away from, but also a little embarrassing. It would be easy to dismiss Bo Yang as a dyspeptic crank, if it were not for the 9 years he spent in prison for writing what he believed to be true. He was not writing for a Western audience, and he did not claim to present a fair or balanced view of Chinese culture. Let other writers praise the virtues of the culture--he wanted to challenge his countrymen to be better.

I read the chinese version and being a "chinese" who lived in a non-chinese country for 13 years, I was not awared of all the "bad habits" of the chinese until I read this book. This reflects exactly the point of the book, that chinese, being "soaked" in the pool of bad habits, do not critically evaluate them and think they are perfectly normal.

As well as spitting and shouting loudly in the public, most (but not all) chinese confuse the difference between patriotism and nationalism - most chinese (especially chinese parents) dislike chinese to speak anything bad about the chinese, yet most of the time, the fundamental reason is that they believe "chinese should not criticise chinese". In that respect, I believe the author has taken a very important step to start disentangling the often self-contradictory and convoluted aspects of chinese culture.

This is a book that I believe all chinese should read, chinese who grew up in non-chinese territories should also read it if they are to "understand their roots". If chinese wants others to respect them, then it will take more than just sending a few rockets to the moon.

First of all let me gravely announce the obituary of the author Bo Yang:

Bo Yang died in hospital on 29th April 2008 of pneumonia complications at the ripe age of 88, at 1:10AM Taiwan local time (GMT+9) in Sindien City, Taiwan. He will be sadly missed.

I rate and recommend Bo Yang's "The Ugly Chinaman" highly, indeed second only to the Bible alone.

Each and every individual Chinese and all others who have any exposure or connection to the Chinese culture should read it at least THRICE. Have some background knowledge on Chinese history, open up your mind with a rational thinking . . . and you will actually WANT to read it over and over again. You will then wonder why Confucius has been regarded for millennia as the greatest Chinese philosopher ever. Now we have one greater than Confucius by leaps and bounds - Bo Yang.

Bo Yang was stating the grim fact that (at least part of) the Chinese culture has long rotten. So rotten that generations after generations of Chinese people under it are so much influenced that they have lost their own identities, lost their individual ways of thinking, lost their abilities to judge, lost the power to unite, and ultimately, lost their very own dignities.

He further points out the saddest and most appalling thing under this rotten culture: that any individual who dares to show his individual way of thinking or his ability to judge would be treated as an outcast, a "cultural traitor", a pariah of society, which, in ancient China, could be punishable by imprisonment of arbitrary periods. Or even death.

The author was NOT attacking the Chinese people in general. He pointed out that if the Chinese were to unite, the nation could well emerge to be the world's strongest and most sophisticated - but, alas, the Chinese could never unite! He was attacking those who oppress or otherwise take advantage of other fellow Chinese people under the guise of "Chinese culture" - in other words, those who use the (rotten) Chinese culture for their own interests but at the expense of others'.

The hypocrisy, the vanity, the slavish, servile characters, the noisiness, the greed for power (especially political power), the cruelty unleashed in order to achieve and maintain such power . . . ugh, all the vile scums, the dark qualities and the sinister aspects of the Chinese culture unveiled at Bo Yang's most eloquent flick of a pen. What a delight, and what a revelation on reading and repeatedly reading it!

All because the author was challenging us - the ethnic Chinese - to jump out of the rotten culture and improve on ourselves as a people, as a race, as a nation.

It takes a lot of courage for someone to write a generalized critique of the people and the culture he comes from. I have to say that it has been more than 15 years since Bo Yang wrote this book, and some of the uglier attributes of the Chinese people, such as treating customers with really bad manners, are no longer prevalent in some Chinese nations (e.g. Hong Kong, Taiwan, and Singapore). However, his critiques of the Chinese culture is still valuable to the Chinese people, especially those in Mainland China. One important problem Bo Yang points out in his book is that the Chinese business people are very untrustworthy. They have no concept of contractual obligations and would breach promises on a whim. Already, many non-Chinese businesspeople are wary of the Chinese people as instances of corruption, and bad faith are common. As many of us know, China is still dependent on foreign investments. Bo Yang's words are still valuable to the Chinese people today. Chinese people will suffer if bad cultural attitudes still persist.

Why do dictators, communists, crazies, psychos like Red commies in North Korea, ex-USSR, North Korea or Cuban dictator for life, Fidel Castro have an obsession with controlling the press or shutting down newspapers.

Does it have something to do with with Telling the Truth?

Bo Yang himself spent years in prison for criticizing the incompetent-idiot chiang kai-shek.

Why does China have the most elaborate Internet firewall in the world.

Does it have to do with fear of the Truth?

Bo Yang risk his own life and limb to write this book.

"The Ugly Chinaman" along with "The Private Life of Chairman Mao" is two of the most important books of the 20th. century. Both are censored in China. Why do they have censorship. Because they are afraid of the people knowing the Truth.

Do a search on Amazon. There is a book called the "Ugly American" and "Ugly Japanese" and now the "Ugly Chinaman".
All this is about telling the Truth.

True, there "some" who are Ugly American, Ugly Japanese and some Ugly Chinaman. Not everyone can be an Angel.

The many facets of Ugly Chinese culture are simply True. Spitting, talking loud in public, bragging are all cultural traits from the feudal distant past.

The Worst feudal-primative cultural trait is "dishonesty". The inability to be honeset and tell the Truth. This is a good book for Westerners and Chinese alike to read as China becomes an economic power.

As anyone who has done business with the Chinese. You just cannot "Trust" anything they say. Hence, without Trust, Honesty, Truth, it is impossible to do business in the long-term.

For any nation to be modern, advanced civilized, it must be open to understand what is: right-wrong, good-bad, feudal-modern, truth-lies, real-fraud.

"The Ugly Chianman" is a great book and must-read. It will be a classic for now and the future. These books are good for bull-sessions.

It is not a Physics books about physical laws for all times and all places. Cultures evolve over times. Virtually all cultures can be looked at with the half-half prism. Half-good, half-bad. Just as there are many aspects of Western society that are bad, there are many that are bad or evil.

It the difference between adults and little children. The ability to tell the difference between right-wrong, true-false, good-bad, good-ugly, truth-lies, truth-fraud.

That's what this book is all about. It's a starting poing for China and the Chinese to discuss what is good-bad, good-ugly, true-false, right-wrong about this culture or any culture.

It has been a classic, past and future. This is must-read and must-buy of a major commentary about the Truth and nothing but the Truth.

I read the Chinese version of this book 'Ugly Chinaman...'. I think and I do agree that certain points that Bo Yang had raised were true; such as talking loud in public, spitting in public, all those obnoxious behaviors, etc.

I once saw a Western guy (quite young, twenty something may be) spit in public in Hong Kong. He probably thought this was a normal thing to do so he was just following the culture here.

It was quite true that we cared about ethics inside the house, but very selfish once stepped out, as well as we're concerned about moral values. Whereas, the Western culture was just the opposite, they cared about people outside the house, but very cold with family members, parents, etc.

However, we are changing; we try to take into consideration of both because with better education from schools and the outside world, we try to be more conscientious about people around us and things all over the world. We want our future generations to take the world as one, no racists, discrimination, and best ever selfless.

Bo Yang did raise the problems we had in the past. But I am sure he also agrees that people in China are changing for the better. I think he, or we, never thought that these days, the top guys in the communist party are willing to open the door for trades and other things; though there are still lots of room for improvement. May be another 50 to 100 years we will be more objective, more open-minded, more advanced, more willing to accept objections, different points of views, etc.

Bo Yang's book is a landmark work in the history of China.

Chinese intellectuals all over the world for the last 200-300 have thought about the incredible backwardness of China in the 18th, 19th, and 20th. Century.

Most of the 20th century, China has suffered from foreign invasion (from Japan, 1930s), colonization, (from the British, Germans, Portuguese, etc), massive famines (30 million dead in the 1950s), massive chaos, disorders (Cultural Revolution in the 1960s), inept, tyrannical, evil dictators (Mao Zedong from 1949-1976), no progress for over a thousand years (80% still live on the farms), not a single discovery or invention since the year 1500 (electricity, calculus, car, airplane).

The essential question is what is the cause of this incredible backwardness.

The late Deng Xiaoping said the two greatest disasters in the history of mankind is the Chinese writing system and the elevation of Confucius as the state religion.

The incredible backwardness of China has been the thoughts of leaders from Dr. Sun Yat-Sen to the current leadership in 2004.

Bo Yang's book is really a breakthrough much like Charles Darwin on Natural Selection and Galileo Galileo in the Natural Sciences. Bo Yang's main argument are many but chiefly the mindless reverence for the past and mindless reverence for authority.

Doing the same thing, over and over again for a thousand years. Ancestor worship, rote memorization in schools, dishonesty, close-mindedness are all essential cultural traits.

Chief cause of backwardness is killing of anything news or different. The massacre in 1989 in Tiananmen Square is a long, long line of killing of anything new.

Chinese culture is essentially a strait-jacket that killed anything new in China for the last thousand years. After reading the book, it no wonder, China has contributed nothing in science, technology, innovations in the last thousand years.

Bo Yang great book and his legendary greatness is to strike at the heart of the issue. Backward looking and fossil-like Chinese culture is at the heart why China is unable to modernize.

Bo Yang is really a legend among Chinese intellectuals, translated into English for the first time. This is a great book, must read, must buy for anyone interested in China. Recommend for all to buy and read, and discuss thoroughly.