Why Mexicans Think & Behave the Way They Do!

Book Explains Unique Character of Mexicans
With Advice on How to Deal with Them
More Effectively

Jack Culebra

BOOK REVIEW:

In his book Why Mexicans Think & Behave the Way They Do!—The Cultural Factors that Created the Character & Personality of Mexicans, Boyé Lafayette De Mente, internationally known for his cultural insight books on China, Japan, Korea and Mexico, removes the masks that have traditionally obscured the realities of Mexican culture.

In doing so, he provides invaluable insights that make it possible to both understand and deal more effectively with Mexicans individually, in business, and in maintaining constructive international relations with the country. The book should therefore be of extraordinary interest and use to business people, immigration officials, law enforcement agencies, educational institutions and those planning on visiting Mexico as tourists.

The book not only points out the cultural pitfalls and misunderstandings most people encounter when dealing with Mexicans, it provides pointers on how to avoid these problems and turn the experience with Mexicans into a plus.

Mexicans have a saying: Como México, no hay dos! (There is no other place like Mexico!), and De Mente not only agrees, he recounts in vivid detail the cultural factors that created the unique character of Mexican men and women.

He writes: “Mexico’s traditional values and morals were forged in a caldron of aggressive racism, religious intolerance, male chauvinism, corruption and an elitist political system that connived with the Catholic Church to keep ordinary people ignorant and powerless and deny them the most basic human rights.

“But,” he adds, “the reality of Mexico has always been obscured behind a variety of masks—of piety, pride, courage, gaiety, indifference and stoicism.”

De Mente relates how the sexual miscegenation policy of the Spanish conquistadors who destroyed the Aztec empire, and the Spanish administrators and military forces that followed them, created a new race of mix-bloods—mestizos—whose only source of pride and dignity—for mestizo men in particular—was an extreme form of machoism and personalism that was to plague the country down to modern times.

“Personalismo or personalism was and still is the foundation of Mexican society—in business as well as in social relationships,” he says. “It still rules the lives of Mexicans to a degree that is both fascinating and frustrating, especially to Americans.”

De Mente also explains the traditional Mexican view and use of time, of truth, of respect, of face, and the simpatico syndrome. He says that the historical Catholic Church-inspired taboo against criticism of any kind—of anybody about anything—was the primary factor in the continuation of the negative facets of Mexican culture down to recent times.

He goes on to say that despite the fact that the traditional character of Mexicans is a mixture of medieval Catholicism, traditional Indian and Spanish authoritarianism, machoism and self-serving personalism, it has another face: an inherently joyful nature that manifests itself in music, singing, dancing and art.

“For Mexicans life is very personal, very intense,” he adds. “One is always on a stage; with every action, every word, subject to careful scrutiny that must measure up to cultural standards of courtesy, dignity, pride and self-respect in a virtual world based on situational ethics and morality instead of principles.

“But,” he continues, “the same character and personality attributes of Mexicans that often frustrate foreigners in their attempts to understand and deal with Mexico can also make life there deeply satisfying emotionally, spiritually and intellectually.”

Other books on Mexico by De Mente include There’s a Word for It in Mexico!—The Complete Guide to Mexican Thought & Culture and Romantic Mexico—The Image & the Realities!
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Why Mexicans Think & Behave the Way They Do!—The Cultural Factors that Created the Character & Personality of Mexicans is available on Amazon.com, other online booksellers, and through Borders, Barnes & Noble, and other bookstores. It is available to the trade from the Ingram Book Company and Baker & Taylor. To see a full list of De mente’s 60-plus books go to his personal website: http://www.phoenixbookspublishers.com/

Using Key Words as Windows to Other Cultures

Author Says "Cultural Code Words"

Help Understand Other People

Boyé Lafayette De Mente

It has become painfully obvious that defining people by their race while virtually ignoring their ethnicity is both dumb and dangerous, and the importance of understanding cultures is a new mantra for business leaders as well as diplomats and politicians.

For most people, however, understanding the cultures of others is a process that requires long periods of living in and personally experiencing the cultures, often preceded or combined with extensive studies of research by anthropologists and sociologists.

But there is an easier and faster way of getting into and understanding the mindset of people--a way that I use in my “cultural insight” books on Japan, Korea, China and Mexico.

While working in Asia as a trade journalist in the 1950s and 60s I learned that the attitudes and behavior of the Chinese, Japanese and Koreans were summed up in a relatively small number of key words in their languages—words that explained why they thought and behaved the way they did.

I first became aware of the role that these key words played in the mindset and behavior of the Japanese in my attempts to explain their way of thinking and doing things to American importers who began flocking to Japan in the early 1950s.

I made use of this approach in my first book, Japanese Etiquette & Ethics in Business, published in 1959, introducing such terms as wa/wah (harmony), nemawashi/nay-mah-wah-she (behind the scenes consensus-building), tatemae/tah-tay-my (a facade or front) and honne/hone-nay (real intentions, real meaning) to the international business community.

The more I got into the Japanese, Korean and Chinese way of thinking and doing things the more obvious it became that they were culturally programmed and controlled by key words in their languages, and that these words provided a short-cut to understanding them.

I then went on to write a series of “cultural and business code word” books on China, Korea and Japan, and eventually added Mexico as well.

People in all societies, especially older societies, are in fact primarily programmed by their languages--and learning the meaning and everyday use of key words in their languages is far more effective than any psychological testing.

My books that are based on this “cultural code word” concept include Japan’s Cultural Code Words, China’s Cultural Code Words, Korea’s Business and Cultural Code Words, and Mexican Cultural Code Words.
All of these titles, except for the Korean book, are also available in paperback editions under different titles, including The Japanese Have a Word for It, There’s a Word for It in Mexico, and The Chinese Have a Word for It.
[As a result of my trade reporting experience in early post-World War II Japan I was the first to introduce the now popular Japanese words kaizen (kie-zen), meaning continuous improvement, and kanban (kahn-bahn), just in time parts delivery, to the international business community.]

My latest book using the "cultural code word" approach is Elements of Japanese Design--Guidelines for Understanding & Using Japan’s Classic Sabi-Wabi-Shibui Concepts. In it I identify and explain the concepts and principles that are the foundation of the design of Japan’s arts, crafts and modern-day products, and are having a profound influence on designers around the world.

These ancient Japanese concepts and principles, all expressed in key words, are rapidly becoming the universal standard for well-designed products.
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Copyright © 2007 by Boyé Lafayette De Mente.

[A list of my 60-plus books, with descriptions of each title, is available on my personal website at www.phoenixbookspublishers.com. All of them are available from Amazon.com, other online booksellers, and major bookstores around the world.]

Changing the Culture of Hate, Intolerance & Violence

A Simple Proven Training Process

That Will Change the Character of Children

Boyé Lafayette De Mente

It goes without saying that hate, intolerance, discrimination and violence have been the mark of mankind since the dawn of human history—and all efforts to curb this characteristic behavior through laws, religions and other forms of influence have failed.

In fact, male-dominated religions, the largest, most organized and most powerful of these efforts, have fueled rather than diminished the hatreds, the intolerance, the discrimination and the violence that have plagued humanity since day one.

But despite the evils that have been inherent in the dogma and teachings of religions and the propensity for evil that is part of the primitive nature of men in particular, ordinary people in many societies have achieved a level of civilization that is praiseworthy.

However, most countries in the world remain awash in irrational and violent behavior because their cultures are generally incapable of instilling in people the mindset that is necessary to build and sustain rational, positive, humane, and constructive societies.

The reasons for these cultural failures have been known to many people for ages, but the very evils that have traditionally plagued mankind have prevented most societies from being able to create the kind of cultures they should have.

And yet the answer to this challenge is not mysterious or unknowable. In fact, it is simple common sense. The answer is that cultures should not program their children to hate, to be intolerant, to discriminate, and to engage in violence.

The problem is that the beliefs and institutions that control present-day societies make it virtually impossible for people to agree on and work together to develop and implement training programs that would transform the way children are raised, and most parents do not have the knowledge, the incentive, the opportunity or the experience to undertake the necessary training themselves.

As simplistic, and perhaps as other-worldly as it may sound, there is one training program that all children could be enrolled in at an early age that would go a long way toward instilling in them all of the cultural attributes that are the most desirable and admirable in human beings—and the only thing their parents would have to do is enroll them in this program and keep them in it from around the age of five to fifteen.

Churches, schools and other social and governmental institutions would not have to be involved in any way. It requires only a decision and a commitment by parents to give their children the opportunity to develop the kind of attitudes and behavior that would fundamentally and dramatically improve their chances for success in all areas of life.

This program is nothing more than the physical, emotional, intellectual and philosophical training provided by the modern-day version of karate (kah-rah-tay), the martial art that originated in Okinawa when that chain of islands was conquered by a Japanese warlord in 1609 (in cahoots with the Tokugawa Shogunate) and the and the residents were forbidden to have weapons of any kind.

Karate literally means “empty hand,” and originally referred to a way of inflicting serious injury or death on a person using only the hands. During the following centuries of the Tokugawa era [1603-1868] this way of fighting was gradually subsumed into the training of the samurai who ruled Japan, and later became a part of the training of Japan’s imperial army and police forces.

After the fall of the Tokugawa Shogunate in 1868 and dissolution of the samurai class in 1870 karate was transformed into a sport aimed at developing the character of the individual, with special emphasis on respect for others, concentration, self-confidence, diligence, a sense of order, perseverance, honesty, courage and compassion.

Today most people around the world are familiar with the word karate as a result of movies, video games and comic books, and they tend to see it as a fighting technique. But it is no longer aimed at developing prowess in combat. It is aimed at building the kind of character and behavior that all parents would like to see in their children.

The number of karate training centers around the world is growing as more and more parents come to understand its remarkable benefits—how it can improve the character, personality and behavior of their children.

I believe that the physical, intellectual and philosophical discipline offered by karate training could go a long way toward reducing, if not eliminating altogether, many of the evils that continue to afflict mankind.

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Copyright © 2007 by Boyé Lafayette De Mente

Boyé Lafayette De Mente is the author of Samurai Principles & Practices that will Help Preteens & Teens in School, Sports, Social Activities and Choosing Careers; The Japanese Samurai Code, and Samurai Strategies.

To see a full list of his 60-plus books go to: www.phoenixbookspublishers.com.

Gambatte! (Gahm-baht-tay!) – A Japanese Word that Everyone Should Know

Japan’s Do-or-Die-Trying Cultural Syndrome!

Boyé Lafayette De Mente

Japan’s famed feudal era samurai warriors left their imprint on the culture of the country in every aspect and area of Japanese thought and behavior—an imprint that still today is discernible in the character and personality of the Japanese.

In the exclusive and elite samurai class male children from the age of six or seven were trained in the necessary mental and physical discipline to commit a painful form of suicide (as adults from the age of 15) when ordered to do so by their lords, to be courageous in battle well beyond the norm for soldiers, to carefully groom themselves every morning before going out in public, to master a number of martial arts, and to be extraordinarily diligent in everything else they set out to do.

As the centuries passed (the samurai class developed in the 12th century and lasted until the early 1870s), the training style and mindset of the samurai gradually seeped into the attitudes and behavior of the common people, resulting in the typical Japanese being extraordinarily concerned about appearance, extraordinarily diligent about learning the skills of their particular trade (or activity of any kind), to continuously trying to improve themselves, and to refusing to accept failure.

This mindset led to the extraordinary importance and use of the word ganbaru (gahn-bah-ruu), which means to persevere, to persist, to never give up (also sometimes written in English letters as gambaru / gahm-bah-ruu). At all times in all things that were demanding to any degree, the Japanese were continuously admonished and encouraged to gambatte! (gahm-baht-tay!)—to do their best; to not give up no matter what the odds.

The concept of gambaru-ing eventually became so deeply embedded in the psyche of the Japanese that it was equated with being a true or real Japanese. In military situations in particular not persevering to the very last breath of life was considered seriously shameful to the whole country.

Still today gambatte and gambarimasho (gahm-bah-ree-mah-show!) – Let’s do our absolute best! – are two of the most used words in the vocabulary of the Japanese. They are used in work situations, in sports, in games of any kind, in learning any kind of skill, and especially in any kind of competitive activity. [In recent times Olympic athletes have been threatened with death when they failed to win their event.]

I do not recommend that other people adopt this extreme approach to cultural training and day-to-day behavior, but some of them could definitely benefit from a heavy dose of it. And if businesspeople, diplomats and others who deal with Japan are not familiar with this aspect of Japanese culture they are likely to be seriously disadvantaged.
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Copyright © 2007 by Boyé Lafayette De Mente

For definite essays on several hundred other key Japanese “cultural code words,” see the author’s books: The Japanese Have a Word for It [McGraw-Hill] and Japan’s Cultural Code Words [Tuttle Publishing]. Also see his: KATA – The Key to Understanding & Dealing with the Japanese and Japan Unmasked: The Character & Culture of the Japanese; The Japanese Samurai Code and Samurai Strategies…all available from Amazon.com, other online booksellers and major retail outlets. For a complete list of his books, go to: http://www.phoenixbookspublishers.com/.

Bōnen Kai (Bohh-nane Kie): A Japanese Word Everyone Should Know!

A Year-End Party to “Forget Bad Things”

Boyé Lafayette De Mente

Most cultures have created one or more ways for settling disputes and bad feelings among families, friends and co-workers without resorting to physical or emotional violence.

These different ways range from apologies of one kind or another, giving gifts to the “injured” party, having a third person make the apology or deliver the gift, and so on.

In the United States and Europe the routine rise of friction and conflicts between people eventually gave birth to the modern-day practice of “anger management,” counseling and various other forms of psychology.

But the Japanese came up with the most innovative and interesting method of helping people get rid of the anger and resentment that typically builds up against the people around them, particularly their co-workers.

This Japanese invention is known as Bōnen Kai (Bohh-nane Kie). Bō means “to forget.” Nen means “year,” and kai means an assembly, a gathering, a meeting, or a party. In other words, a Bōnen Kai is party to forget the year.

In the latter part of December most smaller Japanese companies and sections and departments in larger firms and organizations sponsor Bōnen Kai for their employees that are aimed at helping them get rid of any bad feelings against their fellow employees and managers they may have developed during the year just ending.

These “forget the year parties” use the lubricating and loosening affects of alcoholic drinks and food to wash away bad feelings and restore or instill feelings of friendship, goodwill and a cooperative spirit among employees.

The purpose of the annual Bōnen Kai is, of course, to wipe the “feelings slate” clean so that employees can begin the New Year with a renewed spirit of camaraderie that is vital to a well-functioning group of people.

Having attended many Bōnen Kai over the decades, I can attest to their efficacy in reducing and eliminating bad feelings among co-workers, and highly recommend that this innovative and interesting cultural custom be adopted worldwide.
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Copyright © 2007 by Boyé Lafayette De Mente

For definite essays on several hundred other key Japanese “cultural code words,” see the authors books: The Japanese Have a Word for It [McGraw-Hill] and Japan’s Cultural Code Words [Tuttle Publishing]. Also see his: KATA – The Key to Understanding & Dealing with the Japanese and Japan Unmasked: The Character & Culture of the Japanese…all available from Amazon.com, other online booksellers and major retail outlets. For a complete list of his books, go to: http://www.phoenixbookspublishers.com/.

The Sex Trade—Why it Survives & Thrives!

It’s a Sacred Cow!

Boyé Lafayette De Mente

The sex trade is one of the world’s largest and most enduring industries, even though it continuously inflicts immeasurable suffering on millions of young girls, women, and children.

Not surprisingly, the business of sex has long been fodder for the news media, which periodically covers it like any other news category but never gets down to the nitty-gritty of why the industry continues to flourish on such a massive scale.

Selling and buying sex also periodically gets the attention of politicians and religious leaders who routinely decry its presence, but they too ignore the underlying reasons for its existence. And as is well known, many of them participate in the action themselves, although they try to keep it secret.

You might think that there is some kind of conspiracy going on—a worldwide conspiracy that both allows and protects the sex industry from serious interference by anyone or any organization. And you would be right.

The conspiracy is as ancient as the industry itself, and is an outgrowth of the natural sexual instincts of males to have sexual relations with females (or boys or animals when human females are not available) on a regular basis—and to have sexual access to more than one female whenever possible.

This predatory sexual nature of males is a built-in characteristic that is a fundamental part of the survival instinct of all organic life forms. Males are driven to have sex with females. In males this drive can be so powerful it prevents them from thinking and behaving rationally, and when it is denied and/or repressed bad things can happen.

The human male sex-drive kicks in at puberty and remains strong for several decades—in some men in good health it is still strong when they are in their 60s and 70s. In young males sexual energy builds up—like a battery being charged—in a matter of a few days. In older males the build-up takes from several days to a number of weeks.

When the energy in the “sex battery” of males is not dispelled by having intercourse (or masturbating) it begins to have a negative impact on them. Their thinking and their behavior changes, and those with more powerful sex drives often resort to some kind and degree of violence to obtain sexual release. [Masturbation only partially relieves the sex energy buildup.]

Females are also genetically imbued with a survival instinct and are driven to attract males to impregnate them, but from the first days of the human species they were under the control of males who were superior in size and strength, and subject to being severely punished, if not killed, if they did not accommodate males who approached them. This situation still exists in some present-day societies.

The sexual behavior of males and females is, of course, inherent in the species. In simple terms, men are driven to have sex every time their “battery” is fully charged, and in many cases any available female will do. Females on the other hand, are programmed to be more selective in their sex partners. When they have a choice they will select or submit to males who appear to offer an advantage to them—whatever that advantage might be.

As the human species advanced intellectually and began to form larger and larger groups it gradually became customary in most societies for the male rulers and their male-priest allies to establish rules that limited most men to one wife at a time, or prescribed the maximum number of wives they could have—a movement that totally ignored the sexual nature of both males and females.

As is also well known, in many societies these limitations did not apply to the rulers and top officials, resulting in concubine and mistress-keeping become common among the ruling elite and the wealthy minority (who were invariable aligned with the political and religious leaders).

But whatever the society and whatever social system it had, a large number of men always ended up without the opportunity for regular sexual release. And, of course, many who had wives simply gave in to the urge to have extra-marital sex. These factors, combined with the material and security needs of many females and their families, led to the early development of sex as a trade.

In some societies religious leaders recognized and accepted the true nature of men, and created a system in which men—married or single—could have sex with female priests and acolytes. [Interestingly, Hawaiians had separate “sex houses” for royalty and for commoners that featured a variety of sex games. One game for commoners consisted of bowling for sex—rolling a wobbly coconut across a floor toward a lineup of females to select a partner for the night...surely hoping it would go to one that was attractive.]

Obviously, political, social and religious leaders have never resolved the sexual nature of males or females, which explains why the sex trade has survived into modern times. In short, it serves the purpose and needs of many men, and, in a perverse way, some women.

As is well known, law enforcement agencies in the U.S. periodically attempt to keep the sex trade behind closed doors, typically targeting females instead of males, even though the trade caters almost exclusively to males.

As the cultural restraints against extra-marital sex and consensual sex among singles weaken, the need for commercial sex will no doubt diminish, but it will not go away in
the foreseeable future…not as long as so many men need—or think they need—the services the trade provides.

The only way that the sex trade could be dramatically and quickly reduced in size would be the mandatory state-enforced use of chemicals to block the natural sex drive of men. I don’t see that happening as long as males are in control.

The “natural solution” that seems to be developing is a simple sexual free-for-all situation that is culturally approved as long as it is consensual.
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Copyright © 2007 by Boyé Lafayette De Mente

Boyé Lafayette De Mente is the author of more than 60 books on the business etiquette and ethics, social behavior in general and languages of China, Japan, Korea and Mexico. For a list and descriptions of his books, see his personal website at: http://www.phoenixbookspublishers.com/, or type his full name into Google’s Books search box.
For a definitive scenario on the problems caused by the misunderstanding and abuse of human sexuality, and one possible result, see his ebook, Brave New World of American Sex! on http://www.diesel-ebooks.com/, or Amazon’s http://www.mobipocket.com/.

The Human Sex-Drive & the Life is Sacred God-Myth!

A Social Problem that Cultures Have not Solved!

Boyé Lafayette De Mente

People in cultures that have been profoundly influenced by the Judeo-Christian God concept have been taught that life is sacred, and that only God can legitimately give and take life—human life, that is, since God (it is said) gave mankind dominion over all other life forms (otherwise we would not be able to kill and eat animals, fish, fowls and a variety of other forms of life without committing a sin).

The idea that a God created all life—especially human life—and that life is sacred is so transparently invalid that it should have made any belief in the concept patently impossible. And yet it is one of the primary teachings of Judaism, Christianity and Islam.

The life-is-sacred myth is, of course, a concept created by the founders of Judaism and Christianity as a means of weaning people away from their instincts to mistreat and kill others and to reprogram them to be respectful, kind and cooperative. In the eyes of these ancient founders only a God would be capable of such a miracle, and rightly so.

As it happened, however, the primitive destructive instincts of the human species were so strong that just being told that life was sacred was not enough to suppress these instincts in many people, with the result that mayhem and murder continued to be a distinguishing characteristic of humanity.

In fact, not long after the creation of the life-is-sacred concept, religious leaders themselves began to use violence in the name of their God in an attempt to force others to believe as they did and to obey the rules they had devised in an effort to control all thinking and behavior.

Life is indeed precious to most human beings, but the history of humanity demonstrates that there is absolutely nothing sacred about it. Those who continue to profess belief in the sacred concept merely demonstrate that the human mind can be manipulated like any computer software program, and when confronted with reality they resort to claiming it is a matter of faith, not facts.

It is the universe itself that is the Great Creator. It is infused with an inherent force to create life in forms and functions that are seemingly countless…in environments that are incredibly diverse and extreme. On Earth, new forms of life are discovered almost daily as scientists and others dig deeper into the reality of existence.

Regardless of the form and function of any life form, in whatever environment, life to that particular form is precious, but it is not sacred. All life forms, including humans, are subject to being obliterated, often in an instant, by natural forces or by other life forms.

Life is, in fact, based on life forms killing and eating other life forms—a food chain that is exactly the opposite of the religious concept that life is sacred. Nature creates life and life destroys life in order to survive and grow and become more adept at devouring other forms of life (not counting incidents of human cannibalism, of course).

Human beings are the most advanced form of life known, and some humans are capable of creating masterpieces of art, architecture, literature, music and technological marvels. In many areas, scientists and technicians are literally transforming life itself in “god-like” ways.

And yet, large numbers of human beings are still driven by the instincts of their primitive ids to use force, to repress, to maim and murder to get what they want. This destructive behavior, on an individual as well as on group and national levels, is often done in the name of their God.

There is obviously a great deal of good in cultures influenced by Judaism, Christianity and Islam, but the myths and myopia of these religions spawn and often justify irrational behavior that continues to bring immeasurable suffering, destruction and death to millions of people.

We need a new universal cultural paradigm that is devoid of theological-based myths and ignorance, and is based instead on the positive potential of the human species—a potential that now includes actually becoming god-like in our ability to do good…or evil.
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Copyright © 2007 by Boyé Lafayette De Mente

Boyé Lafayette De Mente is the author of more than 60 books on the etiquette and ethics of business, social behavior in general and languages of China, Japan, Korea and Mexico.
For a list and descriptions of his books, see his personal website at: http://www.phoenixbookspublishers.com/, or type his full name into Google’s Books search box.

Buhe Luoji De – A Chinese “Thing” Businesspeople & Diplomats Should Know!

The Power of Fuzzy Logic!

Boyé Lafayette De Mente

As I note in my book China’s Cultural Code Words (how and why the Chinese think and behave the way they do), there are three distinct categories of “logic” in China: traditional Chinese logic, Chinese Communist logic, and Western logic.

Traditional Chinese logic is an outgrowth of Confucian, Buddhist and Taoist thinking combined with the reality of staying alive and living as peacefully and as comfortably as China’s historical circumstances would allow.

This means that in addition to doing whatever was necessary to survive in the real world, the Chinese also had to obey the dictates of imperial governments that were often both irrational and anti-human, forcing the people to live by a system of situational ethics.

This circumstance resulted in the Chinese becoming skillful in the use of buhe luoji de (boo-hay loo-oh-jee duh), which I translate as “fuzzy logic”—that is, logic that does not appear to be objective or rational and instead is designed to keep them out of trouble because it is not clear and non-committal.

The coming of the Communist regime in the late 1940s made it even more imperative that the Chinese at large learn how to disguise their real thoughts and become adept at “Communist speak” in order to avoid serious consequences, which included imprisonment, torture and often death.

During the 10-year long so-called Cultural Revolution between 1966 and 1976 (when Mao Zedung attempted to destroy all aspects of traditional culture and capitalistic leanings in China) engaging publicly in clear logical expression [or just looking as if you were a thinking person] brought extreme reprisals from Red Guard students whom Mao had enlisted to carry out his campaign.

After Mao died and Deng Xiaoping became the supreme leader he gave his blessings to the limited use of Western logic in business and in other economic enterprises, putting China on the capitalist road to wealth and power.

Since Deng inaugurated the “get rich is glorious” era in 1976/7, Communist logic has virtually disappeared except in the upper echelons of government, and even there it is evolving into something that is far more rational and pragmatic.

This leaves traditional Chinese logic and modern-day Western logic, which combined has become a powerful force that gives the Chinese many advantages in their dealings with Westerners. Americans in particular tend to be susceptible to this mixture because we are not programmed to deal with non-linear cultures.

In effect, typical Chinese has several “cultural faces” that they wear at different times, depending on the circumstances, that are a combination of Chinese and Western thinking. These “faces” include a family face, a kinship face, an old friend face, a co-worker face, a government official face, a face for dealing with foreigners, and so on.

Learning when and how the phrase buhe luoji de is used and all of the cultural nuances and uses of these various faces is a major challenge for Western businesspeople and diplomats dealing with China.
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Copyright © 2007 by Boyé Lafayette De Mente.

For a comprehensive discourse on the traditional Chinese mindset, see the author’s book China’s Cultural Code Words (McGraw-Hill), which consists of definitive essays on the cultural nuances and uses of 305 key Chinese words. It is available from Amazon.com and major book retailers. To see a full list of his books, go to: http://www.phoenixbookspublishers.com/.

Fu (Fuu) – A Mother Bird Sitting on its Eggs!

Why Truth in China is Hard to Come By!

Boyé Lafayette De Mente

When the first Westerners began to take up residence in China they often complained bitterly and at length that the Chinese didn’t know how to tell the truth—that they automatically lied even when there was no benefit and no danger to them individually or to anyone else.

This was particularly vexing to the horde of Christian missionaries who descended upon China from the early 1700s determined to win bodies for their particular brand of religion, and to the traders who flocked in with visions of vast riches to be had by selling the Chinese things they didn’t need—especially a heroin, for which the British went to war with China to enforce its virtual monopoly on the drug trade.

There are, of course, historical and cultural explanations for the Chinese view and use of fu (fuu) or truth, and part of this explanation is embedded in the ideographic character that has traditionally been used to write the word.

This ideograph is a stylized rendition of a mother bird sitting on her eggs or hatchlings to prevent them from being seen and becoming tempting targets for hungry animals and other species of birds.

The reason this symbol was selected to represent truth was because throughout China’s long history telling the naked truth could be disruptive to personal and work relationships as well as well as get one into trouble with the ruling elite—and the latter could be fatal.

Rather than speak truthfully or bluntly about anything the Chinese were conditioned to speak in vague terms, and to simply ignore questions about things, including things that were often neutral and posed no threat. The wise course on virtually every level of society was to avoid taking responsibility for anything by passing the buck to higher ups by inaction or a meaningless response.

Until recent decades, this reaction to questions was often especially exasperating to foreigners who might have asked a hotel clerk if there were any vacate rooms and either got a shrug or a ritualized response that meant “no” to those who were really clued in to Chinese culture, but didn’t make any sense to the clueless.

A great deal of the people-to-people communication in China is nonverbal and requires acute cultural intuition to understand and master. It generally takes substantial knowledge of the language and customs to achieve this level of telepathic understanding.

Another factor in the Chinese use of truth that still prevails to some extent is that the government has traditionally treated factual information about the country as state secrets not to be disclosed to the public, especially to foreigners.

This information paranoia has weakened considerably but enough of it remains that people are still charged and punished for inquiring about or passing on information that in other countries is routinely made public knowledge by the government and by private organizations.

Over the centuries the Chinese developed specific tifa (tee-fah), or “ways of saying things,” that became institutionalized, ritualized and sanctified that were usually benign enough, but when the Communist party took over in 1949 it created a totally new set of tifa that were designed to control the thinking and behavior of the people, and failure to use these expressions in the right way at the right time could be deadly.

This insidious “Big Brother” effort to program people in “Communist think” has also mostly gone by the wayside, but its influence can still be seen and felt. People must still be careful about what they say because they never know what could be used against them.

Despite all of the fundamental changes in life in China since the 1970s arriving at the truth in most public and official situations is still not a simple straightforward matter. It must be arrived at by carefully finessing each situation through follow-ups, secondary sources, and a great deal of patience.
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Copyright © 2007 by Boyé Lafayette De Mente.

For a comprehensive discourse on the traditional Chinese mindset, see the author’s book China’s Cultural Code Words (McGraw-Hill), which consists of definitive essays on the cultural nuances and uses of 305 key Chinese words. It is available from Amazon.com and major book retailers. To see a full list of his books, go to: http://www.phoenixbookspublishers.com/.