Dumb Americans/Smart Chinese???

Hi Dan:
Well, having lived in China for 12 years, This is the first time I have ever heard Americans being dumb. Naive perhaps but not dumb. I just now showed the linked article to some of my Chinese friends and they couldn’t believe it. Honestly, I don’t find this sentiment anywhere in China. Perhaps I frequent the wrong (or, right) circles.

I don’t think Americans are dumb. In as much as national culture makes a difference (which is not as much, in my opinion, as the vast majority of the sino-blogosphere makes out) I find Americans to be better individually, but perhaps do not have the same level of familiarity with team work that the emphasis on team sports (cricket, football, rugby) instills in the average Brit.
In my childhood back in the 80s it was common to assume that Americans had no understanding whatsoever of sarcasm and irony simply because the US television shows which reached the UK (Happy Days, Cheers, M*A*S*H* etc.) lacked it so completely. This view has changed, but I must still say that the British sense of humour is much more dry and enjoyably cruel than the American one.
If a few Americans have a certain unfamiliarity with foreign countries which can set their British hosts on edge (“what’s that in real money?”) the British are not too different when they go to other countries – perhaps worse. The habit of going to a foreign country where English is not spoken and insisting in speaking loudly in English whilst pointing as a method of communication is as stereotypically British as it is American.
The one huge difference I would point to is religion. This certainly is a can of worms, but if I may be allowed to venture a comment, if there is a real-world origin in the stereotype of the innocent, naive American, perhaps it might be found in the cultural backround of those who grow up with such a sheltered upbringing as to believe that the Earth really was created over the course of six days six thousand years ago.
Are the Chinese “smart” compared to “naiive, innocent” Americans? Let me simply say that I found the credulity of the mid-Western bible literalist missionary who I shared a train compartment with during a nine-hour trip across the Czech Republic a couple of months ago no worse than that of the wannabe CCP members I knew in Nanjing.
Given the opinions which were apparently genuinely held by some (Mao invented the wrist-watch, women have been scientifically proven to be less intelligent than men, homosexuality is a foreign invention, CCP members are self-sacrificing individuals who lives lives of poverty dedicated to the people, negative news reports in the foreign press are entirely the result of bias etc.), I would say that the average creationist believing in intelligent design has swallowed a better lie than those some of their Chinese counterparts have accepted, as it will not impair them so much in seeing the world today as it really is.
Where I will credit the Chinese both compared to the Americans and to the British, is in their entrepreneurial spirit, and their willingness to engage in cheerful, spontaneous (dare I say innocent?) fun at the drop of a hat.

The article is very well written – it’s descriptive but not moralistic.
I am an Englishman, and I have found this attitude in China. Oh yes!
There are several strands to such stereotypes. I make several sweeping statements below – I see them more as tendencies than facts, more as points of view than reality.
Firstly, we are much more expressive with our faces. Second, we are more likely to speak our minds regardless of who the other person is. Third, we trust more easily. Fourth, we are more ‘honest’ – i.e. unquestioning. Fifth, we are more selfish (though not necessarily any more self-involved, if I can make such a distinction).
Each of these has advantages and disadvantages.
Sophistication can bring great knowledge, improved communication and understanding. It can also lead to mistrust, division and back-biting as people scheme instead of trust.
Laowai can be very sophisticated too – but most Chinese do not understand where the Laowai complexities lie (there’s more to queuing than obeying the invisible God!)
It’s safe to say that most Laowai don’t understand Chinese sophistication either! Several Chinese I know have studied in England and believe Laowai to be dumb/honest – their sophistication didn’t help them understand English culture.
PS. I second FOARP’s comments on the differences across the pond. But I think belief is much more complex than he makes out. One doesn’t simply choose to believe. Ideas are communal.

Thanks for linking this post here Dan.
I added this on my blog because of a story I was told gleefully by my Chinese boss in the States. He said that when he was in college in the US he took a job mowing lawns for the school with a few other newly arrived Chinese. Every day they would work for two hours and then sleep for one, and this way he could earn more money. Thirty years later he was still beaming about how he had cheated the only people who were willing to hire a man with virtually no English. So when I read Yaxue’s post, it rang true to me, and I’m glad that it’s proving interesting to others.

I think this is a classical example of “I know a few people in China and the United States and based on one thing that happened, I write a blog post that assumes that everyone in China also has those beliefs.”
Personally, I don’t know of anyone that thinks of Americans as dumb **even as a stereotype**. The Chinese stereotype of Americans is loud, stylish, sexually open, arrogant, and maybe even bad at math, but “dumb” is not one of them. There is a stereotype of Americans as “naive” and “simple” but that’s usually considered a good thing.
And it’s not clear from the story that even the people they talk about have those beliefs. When someone says “the Americans are dumb.” They might be saying “the Americans that run this office are idiots” and they might be right.

Americans are no smarter or dumber than others but they often are more efficient in appearing clueless about things not mainstream American. And remaining ignorant is a form of intentional dumbness. In Americans it is accompanied by a “We’re number #1″ belief that, if it was ever evidence-based, has long since, under almost all measures of culture, society and politics, ceased to be true. An intrepid people they often make lemonade out of a lemon by claiming that what they don’t know isn’t important. Recently I’ve noticed that Americans have also, in a large measure, become complainers about their unique misfortune when, in fact, most of their woes are self-inflicted. They are exceptional in their worship of themselves.

I am reminded of the great scene in Animal House when the young fraternity pledge sees that the Animals trashed his father’s car in a joy ride and laments, “I trusted you guys”.
And one of the Animals responds, (I paraphrase) “you trusted us? Oh man, you screwed up! Wow, we’d like to help you but… you trusted us? Bad mistake.”

The post does have a point. (the link to the article).
A lot of these perspectives regarding what is considered wise or smart is relative, almost to a point where it’s sort of redundant to judge at all.
In the end of most of our dealings with people, we all need to at some point put aside our generalizations, prejudices and any “romantic” ideas in order to get the job done, whatever that may be.

Dan,
Yes our world is full of stereotypes and ignorant people. Is that worth a post?
Having been a superpower since 1945 and having wages dubious wars from Iraq to Grenada (does anyone remember that one ?) that is bound to get the wrath of people’s feeling, not just in China but as close as Europe as well. Describing American as dumb is a way to vent some hostility. Everyone knows the US IPAD, and Steve Jobs. Actually the Chinese elite has often look up at the US as an example to follow to get the country where it is today.
On the dumb aspect, that perception is shared by many many dumb Europeans as well.
They are many discussions about how the cultural gap is increasing faster than continental plates between Europe and the US.
On the subject at hand I would like to refer to two authors. Kissinger “On China” who rightfully speaks about the self perceived “Chinese cultural exception”. And again Martin Jacques who has challenging views on the issue of race in China.

@Richard
The comments on the original post are also worthwhile and capture some of my thoughts. To advance in Chinese society, individuals need to bend or break the rules, take advantage of people, and generally game the system, all while protecting their family or immediate network from other rule-breakers. It is no wonder that deviousness and guile are prized in China–these characteristics are generally necessary to succeed in Chinese society. People with those same characteristics in the U.S. tend to be ostracized as antisocial or wind up in jail (or become investment bankers).
Are you really comfortable making such a sweeping statement about all Chinese? I really just don’t see Chinese as being across the board so… bereft of character. For lack of a better term. Not to single out your post, but it seems very much representative of a repackaging of the “cunning, conniving Chinese” stereotype that predates us all, and which still seems to be quite popular, depressingly so. The wealth of well-written blogs (of which CLB is part and parcel) books, and news articles about China sometimes don’t seem to have done much to dent such stereotypes, it sometimes seems to me.
Perhaps we could add a few more occupations besides investment bankers, but that, like the dark haired Swede, is a Norse of a different color. :-)

@ James G.
Be careful, friend. With that western concept of innocent until proven guilty, judge no man until you have walked…penchant for nonpredjudice, nondiscriminatory attitude, there are many who are rubbing their palms, waiting to fleece you.
Not all mainlanders are like this but any mainlander who is frank with you would tell you don’t be gullible. Trust but verify.

Great article, Dan. Thanks for sharing.

@Hua Qiao
I know that there might seem to be some naivete on my part, but I would hardly say that none of the mainland Chinese I have known have failed to be frank with me. At least, in so many other matters I have encountered sometimes startling frankness; i doubt they would hold back when discussing matters of who to trust. I am not talking about matters of business, I mean more personal and/or coworker type relationships.
And that is not to say that I haven’t been warned to “be careful” of Chinese by other Chinese. China is hardly the only country where, given the chance, someone will cite themselves (and their circle) as the salt of the earth, but tell you to keep an eye out for that other fellow, he’s up to no good. Perhaps it just comes down to who exactly is “the other”.
I would also say that even if every Chinese were, at heart, a schemer ready to gain a leg up on me at the first chance, there wouldn’t be anything particularly *Chinese* about this, more them being products of their system, as we all are. Sadly, what I find is that many people are too ready to make the leap to saying their is something particularly Chinese about this dishonesty, as this plays into our well-established stereotypes about the Chinese, and at a time when paranoia about foreigners is running rampant. Actually, paranoia about foreigners is kinda always running rampant, which is why I try to be careful in such matters. Blanket statements are low hanging fruit.
I lived in China for a couple of years, feel comfortable with the language and culture, and am very much involved with China still. Yet I still have a lot to learn, so I will definitely consider all I read and see here. Thank you for replying to my post.

Someone buy that kid a ticket to Charlie Sheen’s tour. Winner!

There are plenty of dumb mainland Chinese too; read Chinese-language news in China and Hong Kong, surf mainland Chinese forums and other portals for proof.
I can safely bet dumb mainland Chinese vastly outnumber dumb Americans, dumb Australians, dumb Brits etc…….

I must say that there are crooks everywhere haha.
I have been constantly warned (by my family nonetheless) that I am too naive and trusting. Maybe it’s a personal trait as opposed to one you can assign to culture/nationality. I am very much Taiwanese (though I am more an international as opposed to a native Taiwanese, having lived there for only less than a quarter of my life).
So much can be attributed to ignorance, whether in regards to scholastic knowledge, or cultural sensitivity. A lot of the misunderstanding is in part due to cultural incongruity. The stereotypical roundabout ways of the Chinese can very well be perceived as inefficient, whereas the more direct western ways could be seen as thoughtless. Regardless, people as a generality to me are hard to crack and I’m not sure if I will ever be able to fully see beyond cultural stereotypes.