Singaporean Chinese have more in common with West than China
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I strongly agree with Mr Leon Tham on first being a Singaporean, then a Chinese (ST Oct 24).
I've had the opportunity to live in Shanghai for about three months and found myself wrestling with the question of identity, be it national or cultural.
From my stay in China, I found myself to be so different from the local Chinese. We grew up with different experiences and are shaped by different cultural and linguistic backgrounds even though we are essentially from the same gene pool.
To prove a case in the linguistic context, terms like 'lu' and 'kai' popped up in work meetings which I found to mean aluminium and calcium respectively.
I've never heard of such terms before I was in China. I cannot even fathom the names of other common elements like silicon or common everyday terms like 'desktop shortcut' in Chinese.
However, it was more than the language. Once, a Chinese colleague was trying to tell me how to write her name and mentioned the 'Jin' in 'Ba Jin'. I asked her what was 'Ba Jin'. She was in disbelief and asked me if I had never heard of the famous Chinese author Ba Jin or read his books. The fact is I had not read any of his books or a book by any famous Chinese author. Identity crisis was setting in.
Most of us grew up reading Enid Blyton, Hardy Boys and Roald Dahl. Children even during my time grew up watching Sesame Street, which is virtually unknown in China.
This presents a unique problem, one I term 'The dichotomy of identities facing Singaporean Chinese'.
Chinese culture has a huge impact on Singaporean society but at the same time, our upbringing, outlook and identity aren't that Chinese. This is a difficult issue to resolve, perhaps one which is unresolvable.
Many Chinese Singaporeans may resist this notion but I think we share more cultural experiences with the West than with the Chinese per se, even though the Asian mentality may be very prevalent in our society.
For me, this is indeed an odd situation to be in and it tugs at my cultural identity in different directions.
Eng Zhen-Hui -
It's like 40 years of nation building and national identity gone down the drain when even people at the top claim we are "relatives" to the people in China.
I seriously doubt PRC considers us in the same vein.
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this would depends r u the more jiak gan dang singaporean or cheena singaporean lor......
certain industrial terms may need a little getting used to, but can't be tat lost lah... at least not for me... then again i cheena one
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2 sundays ago a reporter went to china and spoke to the people in china. they actually do think we are the same. as long as we are chinese.Originally posted by charlize:It's like 40 years of nation building and national identity gone down the drain when even people at the top claim we are "relatives" to the people in China.
I seriously doubt PRC considers us in the same vein. -
Compare us to chinese who were born and raised in the US or Europe... they are definitely more ang mo pai than us.. generally -
That's the same as denying out own identity and angkat-ing another culture.
I'm also proud of my Roald Dahl and Enid Blyton childhood, with my nyonya afternoon lunch made by my granny, why should I give this up and follow a culture of a nation I do not belong in?
I'd say improve the Singaporean identity and not let 40 years of nation-building go down the drain under the auspice of more angkat. -
is nationality more important or race?
is this a sensitive question? -
yah man, we should be proud of being singlish lah! we talk, dun care angmoh or chinese, no other country ppl noe wat talking us okie!! *ya ya*Originally posted by LazerLordz:That's the same as denying out own identity and angkat-ing another culture.
I'm also proud of my Roald Dahl and Enid Blyton childhood, with my nyonya afternoon lunch made by my granny, why should I give this up and follow a culture of a nation I do not belong in?
I'd say improve the Singaporean identity and not let 40 years of nation-building go down the drain under the auspice of more angkat. -
We all live in amerika coca cola wonderbra
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u sick little boy! stop cross dressing!!!Originally posted by The man who was death:We all live in amerika coca cola wonderbra 
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i had the same childhood.. but replace the nyonyaOriginally posted by LazerLordz:That's the same as denying out own identity and angkat-ing another culture.
I'm also proud of my Roald Dahl and Enid Blyton childhood, with my nyonya afternoon lunch made by my granny, why should I give this up and follow a culture of a nation I do not belong in?
I'd say improve the Singaporean identity and not let 40 years of nation-building go down the drain under the auspice of more angkat.
anyway anyone here thinks its possible to have the best of both world? Equal mastery of both english and chinese... plus very ang moh pai but deeply traditional?
lazerlordz.. 4 more to 10 K -
i'm crossdressing!! i'm just making coca cola rhyme with bra, it's actually a song from a german band abt american imperialisationOriginally posted by tare:u sick little boy! stop cross dressing!!! -
it is ok to like and enjoy things that are american. but least keep your own identity.Originally posted by DriftingGuy:i had the same childhood.. but replace the nyonya
anyway anyone here thinks its possible to have the best of both world? Equal mastery of both english and chinese... plus very ang moh pai but deeply traditional?
lazerlordz.. 4 more to 10 K
thats important. -
singlish is our identity must keep it!!
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Actually I would say that we have some things in common with the west and with China. We are unique in the sense that we are a blend of both East and West.
We are by race chinese. However that does not shape our beliefs, our culture, education etc. The living environment does. Even if we were to compare our culture with the West, we will find many differences once we are living there because Singapore is such a unique blend of cultures itself.
If a PRC husband and wife were to migrate to USA and have children there, their kids won't be able to identify with the culture in China as well. The Chinese might think we are the same because we are of the same race.
Anyway, in Singapore itself, there are already a 'divide' between the more 'Ang Mo Pai' Singaporeans and the 'Cheena' ones. The lifestyles and beliefs are really different from what I have seen.
However, ultimately what is most important is respecting each individuals ideals and practices. Afterall, the whole world is a melting pot of cultures and practices with technology bringing us closer day by day anyway.
Just my 2 cents
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it is of course possible to have equal mastery of both english and chinese (if you are referring to total mastery) but that will take alot of effort and certainly not with the usual curiculum of our education system, and even so only few can do so.Almost all singaporean chinese just have a average mastery of both english and chinese with a slightly better mastery in english.Originally posted by DriftingGuy:i had the same childhood.. but replace the nyonya
anyway anyone here thinks its possible to have the best of both world? Equal mastery of both english and chinese... plus very ang moh pai but deeply traditional?
lazerlordz.. 4 more to 10 K
But the second point,it is not possible,being ang moh pai already means you see things non traditionally,they just cannot mix. -
i am chinese from china
hao jian de singaporean,but west plp do not know what is singapore ,although you look the same book with them . it deserve to proud ?(zhe ye zhi de jiao ao)you can not change your skin ,you want to become yang gui zi ,but never ,you speak english ,use english ,but are there singaporean famours plp in the world ?no ,we speak chinese ,we have many famours stars in the world ,you no .
why ?why singaporean so jian ?ni men zhen mo zhe mo jian ,yi xin xiang bian cheng yang ren
singaporean ,you are not allowed to go to china ,hk ,tw ,yi hou bu zhun lai zhong gang tai ,ni men tai jian le ,you are not chinese
sou bu liao le ,shi jie shang zen mo you ru ci jian de ren -
sometimes there are traits from both sides that i do not wish to be associated with..
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Actually, language-wise, since English is the first language in schools, and the official language of commerce here, is it any wonder if we end up to be a little more 'westernised' than the Chinese from China? That is, if the mastery of a language is a gauge that's used to ascertain the 'western-ness' of the Chinese!
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sim wong hoo, sun yan zhi and lee kuan yew not popular enough?Originally posted by eric shang:i am chinese from china
hao jian de singaporean,but west plp do not know what is singapore ,although you look the same book with them . it deserve to proud ?(zhe ye zhi de jiao ao)you can not change your skin ,you want to become yang gui zi ,but never ,you speak english ,use english ,but are there singaporean famours plp in the world ?no ,we speak chinese ,we have many famours stars in the world ,you no .
why ?why singaporean so jian ?ni men zhen mo zhe mo jian ,yi xin xiang bian cheng yang ren
singaporean ,you are not allowed to go to china ,hk ,tw ,yi hou bu zhun lai zhong gang tai ,ni men tai jian le ,you are not chinese
sou bu liao le ,shi jie shang zen mo you ru ci jian de ren -
Let's not start thinking that one party has the one-up on the other and get all snobbish and arrogant about it, alright?Originally posted by eric shang:i am chinese from china
hao jian de singaporean,but west plp do not know what is singapore ,although you look the same book with them . it deserve to proud ?(zhe ye zhi de jiao ao)you can not change your skin ,you want to become yang gui zi ,but never ,you speak english ,use english ,but are there singaporean famours plp in the world ?no ,we speak chinese ,we have many famours stars in the world ,you no .
why ?why singaporean so jian ?ni men zhen mo zhe mo jian ,yi xin xiang bian cheng yang ren
singaporean ,you are not allowed to go to china ,hk ,tw ,yi hou bu zhun lai zhong gang tai ,ni men tai jian le ,you are not chinese
sou bu liao le ,shi jie shang zen mo you ru ci jian de ren
Sometimes, we are an inevitable product of our society. For instance, my parents were schooled in English, with Malay as the 2nd language, because back then, we were a part of Peninsular Malaya. Their parents could speak their own dialects, having come from China, but they don't know much pu tong hua.
So, my parents end up being able to speak Mandarin, but of course, their English and Malay ended up being much better.
Not by choice, but by nurturing through the education system here at that time.
I struggled with Mandarin, growing up. I had she-devils for Mandarin teachers and they instilled so much fear in me, I was largely paralysed and crying each time I had to do Chinese homework - I didn't know what to do, couldn't catch up with the lessons, parents couldn't help, and worse, at that time, there wasn't such a thing as 'tuition' or at least, it wasn't a popular concept then.
I had a morbid fear of Mandarin, up till Sec 3, when I finally had a sweet Chinese teacher, who actually made me pretty fascinated with the language, which made me watch more Mandarin TV shows, which in turn inspired me to read Qiong Yao (with a dictionary close by, of course! 
).
So, my English is way better than my Mandarin, not by choice, but by nurturing.
Does that make me any superior than you, my Mandarin-speaking counterpart? Nope.
Does that make you any superior than me, a jiak gan-dang person? Nope.
It just means that we're both Chinese, but brought up under different circumstances, and with different backgrounds and exposure.
Live and let live! -
I've always viewed myself Singaporean n nv really think much abt being Chinese. Who cares if I'm Chinese. I don't feel an attachment to PRC n their pple in any other way.
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It's imperialism at its worst that makes the PRC assume that all Chinese want to be associated with them..
This is not the Middle Kingdom anymore.So get off your high horses and respect Overseas Chinese equally. -
There are three things i dislike about Chinese culture, now still prevalent in China, well relatively more than in Singapore or elsewhere
The love for money, corruption, coupled with Chinese businessman attitude towards everything, profit or loss
Pride, this links to the Chinese wanting the overseas chinese, including the Taiwanes to be linked and come under them
Strive for hegemony, big word, but this character has been with all Chinese since the Warring States Era.ie, they want power, no more, no less.... -
this is common among all mankind.Originally posted by laurence82:There are three things i dislike about Chinese culture, now still prevalent in China, well relatively more than in Singapore or elsewhere
The love for money, corruption, coupled with Chinese businessman attitude towards everything, profit or loss
Pride, this links to the Chinese wanting the overseas chinese, including the Taiwanes to be linked and come under them
Strive for hegemony, big word, but this character has been with all Chinese since the Warring States Era.ie, they want power, no more, no less....