Society

The past is another country as reports take us back in time

By Duan Yan, Wang Yan, Hu Yinan, Cui Jia, He Na, Hu Yongqi, Xu Wei and Zhang Yuchen (China Daily)
Updated: 2011-05-31 07:59

Foreigners in China

As China had just opened its door to the outside world, foreign visitors started to come to China in the early 1980s. Newspapers issued guidelines to Chinese on how to treat their foreign friends while authorities worried about "corrosive" ideas from the West. Now, about 1 million expats live on China's mainland and more than 90,000 are in Beijing.

Reports from the West

Because many Chinese have never seen a foreign visitor before, they gather around the tourist to see, to learn, and to listen. Some even try out the English that many are studying in local schools.

. . . This was my second trip to China, and everywhere I went - in the cities and in the countryside - faces were always warm and friendly and filled with great curiosity. Regardless of age, they reflect a sense of dignity and self-respect. And the faces of the children sparkle with excitement.

"The people of China"

Christian Science Monitor (Boston)

Jan 21, 1981

The official Workers Daily on Saturday cautioned Chinese who deal with foreigners to mind their manners and not leave their pants unbuttoned, eat with a knife or laugh when someone has an accident.

The column on "things to bear in mind when meeting foreign guests" was published as part of China's current campaign to promote good manners and widen relations with foreign countries.

Perhaps the most important piece of advice was, "when chatting with foreign guests, avoid political arguments at all costs."

"Tell Chinese to mind their manners with foreigners"

United Press International

March 14, 1981

The lifting of the Bamboo Curtain has caused new problems for China, including the necessity of immunizing hotel staff against seductive foreign women and imported pornography, the Peking Daily said Tuesday.

The official newspaper told of an unsuspecting attendant cleaning up a room in the Peking Hotel when a foreign woman pulled the drapes and started to "tempt and corrupt him."

It said the young man left the room right away and told his bosses about the attempted seduction.

Indoctrination had once again triumphed over the evil foreigner.

"Beware of Western women and girlie magazines"

United Press International

May 26, 1981

Current comments

Xia Xueluan, professor in sociology at Peking University: "China's national pride has been growing to treat foreigners as equal to native people when the country achieves great success in economic and social development. However, a trend still exists that western China has to follow Beijing's step to know more about foreign people and their countries."

Sports

A table tennis competition draws active players and intense onlookers in Wotian village, Xinxing county, Guangdong province, in 1983. Zhu Jianxing / for China Daily

Chinese table tennis players and female gymnasts climbed to the top of the world in 1981.

Reports from the West

"In 1973, when they first came over here, they weren't very good," he (the legendary US gymnast Frank Cumiskey) said. "They had some guy who was about 35 who was their best gymnast, and he could not do a heckuva lot. And we beat their girls easily. Now they have girls 11 years old in international competition. They had about three of them compete against us."

Cumiskey flatly predicts the Chinese women - or girls, as he explains - will sweep the next Olympics and the men will do well, too. "I see the Chinese women going 1-2-3 in everything . . . They will come up with kids we never heard of who will win."

Jim Benagh's column

The New York Times

Jan 5, 1981

In men's and women's singles, Americans were outclassed by players from China, which was competing in the event for the first time. The three men and two women representing China swept through the preliminary rounds, setting up all-Chinese finals.

"Chinese give table tennis lesson to the US"

The New York Times

June 22, 1981

Current comments

Wu Wenqiang, professor at Beijing Sport University: "Sports were least hit by the 'cultural revolution' (1966-76) and kept developing. China surprised the world in the early 1980s with its excellent performance in some sports, especially gymnastics and pingpong, since its athletes had been to few international contests for more than a decade."

Young Chinese

Young people of the time, mostly born in late 1950s and early 1960s, had already experienced several significant events: The "cultural revolution" came to an end in 1976. College entrance examinations resumed a year later, promising an equal opportunity for students seeking college experiences. In late 1978, China put into effect its reform and opening-up policy.

Reports from the West

Thomas B. Gold, a sociologist from Harvard University, . . . spent a year until early 1980 at Fudan University in Shanghai. . . . Gold describes young people in Communist China's cities as alienated and cynical . . . [A] Dolly Parton fan wanted to make a contribution to his country and to do interesting work . . . "Unchallenged by his job," Gold added, "he spends most of his time either gossiping about which cadre is sleeping with which female employee, or trying to exchange cassette tapes out on the street."

"Many young Chinese reported apathetic, cynical"

The Associated Press

April 14, 1981

In China everyone works and everyone has a job, but usually not his own choosing.

Many youngsters are placed in the nursery almost from birth. Some are picked up by parents in the evening; other go home only on weekends.

Grandparents also play a large part in helping to care for the children, and they find that their pensions help the family make ends meet.

"China's working force"

Christian Science Monitor

Jan 23, 1981

Current comments

Gu Jun, a sociology professor at Shanghai University, was himself a youth in 1981. "At the time, Chinese young people were mostly ambitious and had an inextinguishable passion for knowledge. The country was experiencing a big social change, with a main theme of opening-up. How could most of them be apathetic?"

Zhou Xiaozheng, a professor of sociology at Remin University of China: "In the early days of reform and opening-up, people's lives were comparatively poorer, and the political situation was everybody's concern. Young people nowadays are all beneficiaries of opening-up, but they seem to care less about politics and social events."