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Thread: Does China face a cultural deficit?

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[quote=GRIZ326,250553]I remember a shipmate's comment on Chinese life in Shanghai in 1978 on returning to my ship, he said, "Poor bastards!" This triggered a conversation between us. He saw China as poor because it lacked modern conveniences. I saw China as rich because of many of the interactions I saw among people.

One fond memory came when I walked down a small alleyway that opened into a small courtyard. There I saw an old man squatting with a group of children, probably his grandchildren, cutting up what I believe were small eels. They were having a grand time watching the old man prepare the food; the children point and the wriggling eels.

Another fond memory was in the #1 department store where I was buying a gift for my 4 year old daughter. I found a little children's coat, but didn't know what size to buy ... or even what color to get. I showed the clerk a picture of my little girl. She passed the picture around to all of the women close by in the department store (must have been 100 people) who gathered around as the clerk held up little coats. They had a dandy time and picking out a little yellow coat that fit my 4 year old daughter perfectly and looked beautiful.

To me, those experiences displayed a richness of culture I have not experienced before or since any where in the world - including modern China.

The loss of that cultural richness is a high price to pay for the elimination of squat toilets.[/quote]

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