陈凯博客： www.kaichenblog.blogspot.com

从中国人的眼睛看中国人心态
From the Chinese Eyes to See Perversion

价值一语： Words of Value:

What is evil? -- Whatever springs from weakness. --- Frederich Wilhelm Nietzsche

什么是邪恶？ -- 就是那些从你的软弱中跳出来的东西。 --- Frederich Wihelm Nietzsche

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By Kai Chen 陈凯 (Written 5/10/2006, Reprint 9/28/2011)

Have you noticed that you can tell much where someone is from from the manner and the eyes of him or her.

If I see someone talking without looking directly into the partner's eyes, if I see someone having to look around to make sure his words are not heard by others before he opens his mouth, if I see someone having to constantly use his eyes to hook in audience to support his position, or sheepishly smiles to avoid confrontation of certain points.., I know he is from Mainland China, or some authoritarian, despotic countries.

Some say that the Chinese don't look directly into people's eyes when they talk is only a cultural idiosincracy or habit or differences. But I see deeper than that. The fear comes from a few sources:

1, The talker is not sure about what he is talking about.

2. The talker is afraid of his words from his heart being heard by authority and he will be punished.

3. The talker is a cultural product of Chinese social hierarchy: He has to make sure he is above or below before he can open his mouth. Typical example is that a Chinese has to find the listener's social status, his family background, his educational background, his job, his income, his marrital status, etc... before he can open his mouth.

4. Due to a cultural deprevation, a Chinese person has no concept of objective truth or moral absolutes. Therefore, his focus of the talk is not on making sense, but on pleasing the audience. Especially since Chinese complex of worshipping power backed only by guns and number of population, he is extremely uncertain morally, for the only moral standard in his life is the government authority and the approval of the majority of the audience. So one constantly has a sense that a Chinese is forever performing on a stage to show other people he is good and smart, regardless the intrinsic logic, reason, rationality and moral absolutes from God. His only moral judge is not God or his conscience, but how many people he can persuade to his side to support his position.

5. He is constantly afraid of offending others, yet he is never afraid offending the truth.

6. He is only glancing at you from time to time to sense any vulnerability or cracks in your personal character, much like a house fly to seek a crack in an egg to bore in. He is thinking about how to demean you to boost his own confidence, for he never has any objective standard. Zero-sum game is what he is good at.

When an American looks into people's eyes directly when he is talking, he is paying respect to the audience, and to see if there is any truth from the response of his audience, regardless who and how many they are. This is because he is never afraid of offending people with truth and sincerity. He has an objective standard that is reality, facts, truth, and God - his conscience. He does not have to look for approval from any others to open his mouth, for there is an eye in his own soul watching him constantly - logic, moral absolutes, reality, God.

I shudder to think what kind "Chinese style democracy" would be, in an population without God, moral absolutes and concept of objective truth. Such a Chinese style democracy can only based upon the sick complex reflected in the Chinese eyes when they talk. Guns, threat of violence, number of blood-and-flesh soulless people, are their moral foundation for their Chinese style democracy. Beside "Tyranny of Majority" the West has always been able to avoid, I don't know what else such Chinese democracy will entail.

I welcome your opinions.