The Foreign Service Journal, March 2008

Culture Clash I’m Furious (Wo Fennu, trans- lated sections available online) Zhang Jiehai, Huadong Normal University Press, 2007, RMB 25 (approximately $3.40), paperback, 202 pages. R EVIEWED BY A NNA B ETH K EIM In 2006 “Chinabounder,” an anon- ymous Westerner living in Shanghai, used his blog to describe sexual con- quests of Chinese women in demean- ing terms, infuriating millions of Chinese. Zhang Jiehai, a psychology professor at the Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences, used his own blog to call for Chinabounder’s expulsion from the country, then published this bestselling book. Combining blog excerpts, inter- views and readers’ responses, the aptly titled I’m Furious ( Wo Fennu ) condemns not just Chinabounder and his fellow Western expatriates but the Chinese women who accept their advances and the Chinese men who lack confidence in their virility. Those problems, Zhang says, stem from China’s general lack of self-esteem and a coherent vision of itself in a Western-controlled world. Zhang presents himself as psychol- ogist to the nation, in the tradition of early 20th-century novelists Lu Xun and Bo Yang, whose 1986 book, The Ugly Chinaman, is still influential. But unlike his predecessors, Zhang uses research into sexual relations between Chinese and Westerners to analyze the Chinese psyche. The result is an unusual work that offers an intriguing look at Chinese society today. The first chapter, “The Spiritual Erectile Dysfunction of Chinese Men: The White Pages,” reports Chinese men’s answers to the question, “Do you want to pursue a Western wo- man?” The men denied it, Zhang says, praising Chinese women’s slim figures and silky skin. Zhang then used the projection method to expose the men’s answers as cover for crushed confidence: he asked if they thought other Chinese men desired Western women. The men agreed they did, leading Zhang to call on his compatriots to shed their awe of Westerners and address China’s cul- tural flaws. Only then, he contends, can China fulfill its destiny as a great nation. The author’s diagnoses of Chinese culture are grim. Its emphasis on hierarchy and wealth means that the Chinese treat each other with disdain and fawn on the rich, especially white Westerners. A wall between family and outsiders damages civic responsi- bility, causing everything from envi- ronmental degradation to refusals to give up one’s seat on a bus to the elderly, all worsened by the Cultural Revolution. With a fractured moral backbone, the Chinese cannot attain their rightful global stature. Zhang advocates many solutions, beginning with calls for Chinese to modify their relationships with West- erners. Men must stop denying that they desire Western women, while Chinese women should stop “revolv- ing around Western men.” Zhang defends this double standard by say- ing: “If the men of a country are weak, that country will not survive.” He also advocates the establish- ment of American-style soup kitchens and the use of public advertisements, based on psychological research, to improve morality. There is a deep inconsistency here: Zhang insists that China should not admire the West, but these prescriptions are based on Western models. For this, and for criticizing Chinese culture, he has been denounced by many readers of his blog. But many others agreed with his diagnoses and commended his bravery. “[The criticism] cut deep because your love is deep!” wrote one. Amateurish writing and suspect assertions permeate Zhang’s book; for instance, he never cites a source for the “recent American study that proves Chinese are the smartest race.” Yet I’m Furious is worthwhile for its expo- sure of the conversation Chinese peo- ple around the world are conducting about how (or even whether) their country’s culture should change, and how they should deal with Westerners. Indeed, the readers’ responses form the most valuable part of the book. As Zhang notes, in Chinese cul- ture there is “public talk” and “private [real] talk,” and it is rare for a West- erner to hear the latter. The voices are discordant: some object to any criti- cism of Chinese culture, while others agree that the culture is sick. Some Chinese women write to protest male chauvinism, while others say feminism has weakened China as a nation. Some argue for tolerance and friendship with individual Westerners; others — including members of the Chinese diaspora — insist that Westerners are instinctively aggressive and must be quelled by “the dragon raising its head.” It remains to be seen which voices will prevail. Although this book, meant for a Chinese audience, is not slated for English-language publication, a trans- lator known as EastSouthWestNorth has posted two sections of Zhang’s blog online (they are also in the book). These can be read at www.zonaeu ropa.com/20060107_1.htm and www. zonaeuropa.com/20060828_1.htm. Unfortunately, none of the readers’ responses have been translated. Anna Beth Keim is a freelance writer who has lived in China for six years. M A R C H 2 0 0 8 / F O R E I G N S E R V I C E J O U R N A L 71 B O O K S