Dr. Sun Yat-Sen – China’s Democratic Revolutionary

July 23, 2010

“An individual should not have too much freedom. A nation should have absolute freedom.”
– Dr. Sun Yat-Sen (1866 – 1925)

He is referred to as the father of modern China.  If there were no Sun Yat-Sen and his revolution, there would be no modern China as it is becoming today.

While attending a Christian school in Hawaii, he converted to Christianity, which may have shaped his revolutionary future. It was obvious that his writing was influenced by American thought. With the support he received from the Hawaiian Chinese community, he networked with Chinese people all over the world.

He went on to publish revolutionary ideas seeking to overthrow the Manchu Dynasty and create a democratic China. In 1904, he wrote that he wanted to model China’s government after America but by combining Western thought with Chinese tradition.

Yet, he was considered an idealistic dreamer – that his ideas were impractical.

He said, “The whole world is one family.” (1910)

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Lloyd Lofthouse is the award-winning author of My Splendid Concubine [3rd edition]. When you love a Chinese woman, you marry her family and culture too. This is the lusty love story Sir Robert Hart did not want the world to discover.

2015 Promotion Image for My Splendid Concubine

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China’s Holistic Historical Timeline

2 Comments | China, Chinese Culture, Chinese history, Chinese men, Christianity, cultural differences, government, politics | Tagged: , , , , | Permalink
Posted by Lloyd Lofthouse

Naked Capitalism Gets it Wrong about China

July 18, 2010

Yves at naked capitalism provided a perfect example of Sinophobic comments when writing about doing business in China. In GE CEO Immelt Gets Pissy About China, Obama, I agreed with Yves when he pointed out the hypocrisy of a US corporate executive complaining about how Chinese officialdom is not supportive of GE’s business goals.

However, Yves then quotes “Poorly Made in China: An Insider’s Account of the Tactics Behind China’s Production”  and selected quotes like “Chinese manufacturers cut corners wherever they can, from product quality to factory equipment and maintenance…”  Before you believe everything Yves writes about doing business in China, I suggest you check out what China Law Blog says on the subject. 

I have met Westerners doing business in China, and those who are carless get burned and others, who do their homework and know what they are getting into, have few if any complaints. When a careless, lazy deal with a Chinese manufacturer turns sour, a careful examination often shows that the fault lies with the foreigner—not the Chinese. Understanding China’s culture and laws is the key to success.

See Bob Grant’s guest post about doing business in China

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Lloyd Lofthouse is the award-winning author of the concubine saga, My Splendid Concubine & Our Hart. When you love a Chinese woman, you marry her family and culture too. 

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1 Comment | America, business, capitalism, China, cultural differences | Tagged: , , , | Permalink
Posted by Lloyd Lofthouse

When in China, Buyer Beware (a first-hand experience)

July 18, 2010

If you are buying electronics or paying for a service in China, you should not expect things to work the same as in your home country.

However, a foreigner’s experience may not be the same, since many Chinese treat foreigners differently than another Chinese, whom they may treat “very” rudely, and if you have a Chinese face, don’t expect to be treated as if you are not Chinese.

A Chinese, American friend visiting China recently had a problem with his Sony laptop. Since he never used the laptop on the Internet in the US, he went without security protection. Then, in the hotel, he decided to use the Sony to check his Yahoo e-mail and to send e-mails, but decided to buy Norton Internet Security first.

My friend sent me this e-mail telling me his story.

“Chinese technicians don’t know how to handle a US laptop. To prevent a virus, I purchased Norton Security Software in Shanghai and had a store person install it.

“First, without asking me, he converted the entire system from English to Chinese, and that’s when things started to get really messed up. The next morning, my son discovered that the supposedly installed Norton Internet Security program wasn’t there! When we went to log onto to the Internet, a warning appeared that said we had ‘no virus protection’ on the Sony, so we had to go back to the store to find out why.

         “Then my five-year-old Chinese cell phone stopped working, so I bought a ‘new’ Nokia mobile phone, which is supposed to be a good-name brand. That Nokia cost me 1,600 yuan (about 235 American dollars). Guess what, after 24 hours, the thing quit working.

“When I returned to the story to find out why, I was told I would have to pay another company for a service plan so I could use the phone. The salesperson then turned the original receipt over and pointed at some Chinese that was so small you needed a magnifying glass to read it.  It said, ‘The customer has to take the phone to a Nokia check center at People’s Square to have it tested.’ Only with a test result that says, ‘No man-made damage by the purchaser,’ would the store consider an exchange or perhaps a refund.”

This 2008 video is almost 48 minutes long but may be worth your time.

In fact, before you visit China, I recommend you become “very” familiar with the China Law Blog. Contrary to popular Western opinions, China does have laws and courts.

See China’s Growing Legal System

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Lloyd Lofthouse is the award-winning author of the concubine saga, My Splendid Concubine & Our Hart. When you love a Chinese woman, you marry her family and culture too. 

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Leave a Comment » | business, China, Chinese Culture, cultural differences, expatriates, legal system, tourism | Tagged: , , , | Permalink
Posted by Lloyd Lofthouse

Marriage and Money

July 16, 2010

I worked in a meat market once in the early 1980s.  I was the maitre d in a nightclub called the Red Onion in Southern California.  The kind of meat I’m talking about is the two-legged kind where men are looking for women.

Danwei has an interesting post about a similar meat market in China without the nightclub.   In China, marriage is often based on how much a man earns.  Since there is a growing shortage of women in China, men have to compete.  The winner is usually the one who earns the most. Danwei posted a letter from a university student in China, who is attracted to a beautiful girl in one of his classes, but he has nothing to offer and is ready to give up before asking her for a date.

This Video emphasizes that fact.  A Chinese laborer who doesn’t earn much and doesn’t own a home wants a wife but he can’t find one because men who earn more than him are getting all the available women.

Even if a girl likes a guy, the parents are going to get involved at some point to make sure the man earns enough to provide for their daughter. If the parents are against the marriage, the odds are it will not happen.

Don’t forget, the biggest reason for divorce in the US is due to money problems—something Chinese women want to avoid.  This is a case where love loses to money.

See Banning Virtual Love for the Troops

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Lloyd Lofthouse is the award-winning author of The Concubine Saga. When you love a Chinese woman, you marry her family and culture too. This is the love story Sir Robert Hart did not want the world to discover.

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Leave a Comment » | China, Chinese men, Chinese women, cultural differences, family values | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , | Permalink
Posted by Lloyd Lofthouse

China’s Sexual Revolution – Part 3/5

July 16, 2010

In China today, teen girls are living lives their parents never imagined and don’t understand. The teens are very open about what turns them on in a guy. Many do not care what their parents think. They only want to have fun.

Listening to the conversation between this group of Chinese girls sounds like listening to spoiled kids in the US talking.

The teens often go out clubbing and the nightclubs are equal to or better than the best in the West. The nightclub featured in the video has life-sized wall paintings from Cultural Revolution posters while teens dressed in sexy clothes dance and grind to loud music. These changes started in the late 1990s.

Even in China’s rural villages, the sexual revolution has been felt as millions of young women leave the villages to the big cities and experience what the urban Chinese are doing. The first stop is the hair salon.

The media is even climbing on board this sexual revolution.  Glitzy magazines, like the Chinese edition of Cosmopolitan, feature the stylish, hot and sexy.

Return to Part 2 of China’s Sexual Revolution or go to Part 4

View as Single Page

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Lloyd Lofthouse is the award-winning author of the concubine saga, My Splendid Concubine & Our Hart. When you love a Chinese woman, you marry her family and culture too.

To subscribe to “iLook China”, look for the “Subscribe” button at the top of the screen in the menu bar, click on it then follow directions.

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Posted by Lloyd Lofthouse

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