Introducing an oblivious friend—even a close one— to the vast universe that is Chinese culture is a difficult endeavor, to say the least. Because Chinese culture is so prevalent in society today, even a student living under a metaphorical rock knows about dragons, avid rice consumption and the fact that it was China that started COVID-19 (more on that later). As a proud player on the Poolesville High School varsity football team, there is a certain degree of tact I must employ in artfully dispelling a myriad of racist, systemically imbued stereotypes that have been ingrained in my (mainly conservative white) teammate’s minds about the Chinese race (mainly in our cuisine and upbringing), and general confusion in differentiating the main East Asian countries (Japan, Korea, China, etc.).
I recall an occasion last year (my sophomore year of high school) where one of my white teammates from football was assigned a presentation on Chinese culture in an AP World History class. Being the sole Chinese player on the entire football team (and one of two East Asian players overall) and knowing that I was (as a person) deeply rooted in Chinese traditions and culture, he’d naturally come to me for help (or so he said, as I later found out he had first gone to the other East Asian on the team, a Korean fellow, and, after a tirade of insults, was kindly informed that Korea was NOT in fact a city in China). I was beyond excited—finally, this was an opportunity to genuinely express my deep-set love and appreciation for Chinese culture by someone who showed genuine interest! Yet there was also a degree of apprehension, as I knew I’d been given this opportunity to influence and effectively establish all that he’d know about China for certainly quite a while, and I was determined to paint the truest image possible.
I began with an introduction to the cuisine of China, as I find often that there are the most common misconceptions there. I was quickly proven right, as my friend asked right off the bat what dog tastes like. I then patiently explained that the vast majority of Chinese people do not eat dogs or cats, and that the belief stems from a racist stereotype perpetuated by a general lack of knowledge in the public. After clearing that up, I launched into a deep dive on true Chinese cuisine, from the meat-stuffed bao bun and delicious, crispy scallion bing to the charred lamb chuan and sticky nian gao. My mouth watered as I pictured the delicious aromas, and I saw rapt fascination in his eyes at all the delectable dishes China had to offer. Internally, I felt sorry for him, knowing he didn’t have the memories I did of these comforting, deeply traditional Chinese dishes, and made a mental note to take him to a Chinese restaurant (which I did!). At some point, I got lost in my reverie of wonderful Chinese food, and he had to physically shake me to snap me back to reality. To prevent another such incident, I quickly moved on to Chinese architecture and style.
When I asked what he knew of Chinese architecture and Chinese clothing style, he was surprised to hear that China actually has buildings and wasn’t just a country of farmers living in dirt houses (looking back, I think he had China confused with pre-revolution Russia…), and was even more surprised to learn that Chinese people do not all wear straw, cone-shaped hats. After again dispelling the stereotypes, I again delved deep into the true beauty of Chinese architecture and style, telling of flowing silky gowns and beautiful high-rise buildings rising so high they seemed to graze the clouds. Chinese architecture is famed internationally for its efficiency and sleek design, a fact I remain eternally proud of. His eyes widened as he heard of towering Chinese architecture and ancient relics like the Great Wall of China, and even more as he heard of the army of Terracotta Soldiers buried in the tomb with emperor Qin Shi Huang. He promised to do more research into the topic, and wondered how it was that the Chinese managed to construct such a vast structure as the Great Wall (spoiler: it was a brutal but fascinating process). I could see him genuinely thinking and processing the information I was telling him, which only spurred my enthusiasm. Finally, I moved onto Chinese traditions and upbringing.
He was astounded once more to learn that Chinese people did not ritually eat bats (COVID-19 was an isolated incident), and even more so that I was not beaten severely for getting a 95 instead of an 100 on assessments. I later found out he’d wrongly employed the use of syllogism to surmise that since I only got straight A’s, and I was not regularly beaten, that all Chinese children must be severely beaten for anything lower. I quickly corrected him, as Chinese traditions are much more progressive these days, and that the tradition of ambition among Chinese people is not generally forced by the parents, but voluntarily pursued by the students. I slowly started seeing him draw parallels between Chinese upbringing and his own Western upbringing, and coming to the eventual conclusion that our childhoods weren’t really so different after all; our parents simply wanted the best for us, and it’s something I’m truly proud of.
He walked away from our conversation with a newfound curiosity for Chinese culture, and I did the same with a sense of pride that I’d represented Chinese culture as best as I could. As a Chinese football player, I am often reminded of this fact by my teammates and I may as well be the only Chinese person in the universe for all that they ask me. I love introducing Chinese culture and tradition to my friends, and I take every opportunity, every occasion I can to say more and more. It’s quite amusing, dispelling the often outrageous stereotypes my friends hold about Chinese culture, and watching a new light dawn in their eyes at how Chinese cuisine isn’t just rice and dumplings, how Chinese style isn’t just straw hats, and how Chinese architecture isn’t simply mud houses. Every time I’m able to introduce Chinese culture to another, I find myself more and more enamored with it myself, even when I didn’t think it possible to love my culture more. The interaction was not only inspiring for my friend, but it refreshed my own memory of just how vast and beautiful Chinese culture truly is, and gave me a newfound appreciation for the person I was and the colorful history I’d come from.
(Third Prize)
