Crossing the River by Feeling for Stones

The Chinese have a phrase: 摸石头过河 (MōShítouGuòhé) which literally translates as "Feel Stones Cross River" and usually is translated as in the title above.  The meaning is to improvise by trial-and-error; to deal with problems as they arise and adjust for problems as they occur. So, imagine going up to a river and deciding you were going to cross it, with no preparation and no forethought. Stick one foot in and see if you can find a stone to stand on.  Once you find one, feel for another.  If you slip and fall, hopefully you don't drown.  If you are in the middle of the river and suddenly run out of stones, tough luck.  The Chinese government itself has, in the past, declared that this would be their policy for dealing with the modernization of China.

This type of thinking is rather foreign for me, even though I have been in China for years.  I am aware of it, I do my best to accept it and go with it, but it is still very difficult for me to deal with.  It just goes against my grain.  For example, I teach at a college in China.  At every place I have taught in China, I have been given the chosen textbooks either the day before class begins or, a few times, weeks after school has started.  When there are school holidays and I want to book tickets for travel, I have to wait until Beijing makes a decision as to exactly which days school will be out.  Beijing contacts my provincial government, who in turn contact the city government who then contact the local education bureau and they then contact the school's president who passes it down the ranks until it reaches me, at the bottom of the totem pole.   Suddenly, the prices of tickets sky rocket and get sold out fast.  My classes and schedule for the school year are always arranged and given to me the evening before school begins.  I asked a Chinese teacher how she deals with this and she quoted the title of this post.  I guess you just deal with it and figure it out last minute.  I could go on and on with examples.

I grew up being taught to "think and plan ahead", "think long-term", "be prepared", etc.  While it is easy for me to point out the negatives of "Crossing the River by Feeling for Stones", I can also see some value to this perspective.  It does eliminate the stress one may feel while preparing and planning; any stress is much more short-lived and occurs "in the moment".  Also, it doesn't appear to bother most Chinese who are simply used to it and know no other way.  The Chinese people, in general, are the most adaptive people I have encountered.  I have found that in the larger, more developed cities, there is slowly becoming more and more tension with this practice.  However, outside of the most developed cities, it seems to just be the way things are.  There is a similar way to say this in Chinese: 顺其自然 (shùnqízìrán) which translates into the more chicken-soupy sounding, "go with the flow".  After all, this is the heart of Daoist philosophy, which was deeply rooted in the Chinese psyche centuries ago.  I guess it is hard to fight centuries of habit.

Oops.

I wonder which came first: the pole or the road.  And who thought this was a good idea?  Or at least good enough to leave it.  I guess this isn't the worst I have seen however.  The other day I was walking near a construction zone and I noticed two huge holes each about 5 x 5 feet. One was about 2 feet deep, the other was at least 4 feet deep.  Between the two holes was a large pile of sand, in which two young kids were playing.  An arms length behind them was, what appeared to be a live electrical wire.  Within a short distance of the wire was a puddle of water.  You couldn't paint a more dangerous scenario.  

In general, I feel very safe in China. I do not fear a break-in, a murder, suicide bomber, kidnapping, etc. Of course, these things do happen.  As long as you fly straight and stay away from religious propagation and meddling in official affairs, the government will overlook you.  My chances of being pick-pocketed, however are somewhat high.  

Danger comes, however, when you are unaware of what is going around you.  Traffic is a no-holds-bar blender of pedestrians, cars, trucks and electric bikes.  You must declare your intentions and you must do so with very little thought.  If you want to cross the road on foot, wait for a small break in traffic and just start walking in front of the on-coming cars (my mother is probably having a heart-attack reading this).  They will slow down, but they will also assume you will continue at the pace you are going and if you don't, they will come uncomfortably close to you. Rule #1 is to follow and stay in the crowd. 

The unexpected is the other major danger here in China.  Case in point: the pole in the photo above.  You just never know what might be around the corner.  Long-term planning and preparation are simply not a common part of the culture and the Chinese, in general, are some of the best jerry-riggers in the world.  They are also quick thinkers and very adaptable people.  Things here are not built to last, they are built to be patched and jerry-rigged and repaired.

Everyone has experienced this scenario: you are walking and you see someone approaching you, someone who plans to walk past you.  You move to one side or the other, declaring your intention and they do the same and, before you come within reach of each other, it is fairly clear who is going where and nobody bumps into anyone.  Sometimes, however, there is a glitch and the intentions are not in sync and we end of having to stop our stride, blush a bit and say excuse me as we try not to slam into each other. This requires quick reactions, rather than planning and forethought.  When walking on the streets of China, this is a constant occurrence.  You have to be on your toes, you have to react.  I suppose this is probably a common occurrence in many densely packed areas, especially in less-developed, less-organized countries.

To walk the streets of China, you need this mind set.  You need to react and go with your gut, follow your instinct.  You have less time to prepare.  It keeps the brain cells firing and maintains a heightened level of awareness, but can be exhausting.  I see this type of thinking everywhere in China, in all levels of interaction and all activities.  It permeates the Chinese mind and, unless one has spent much time in other areas or countries, seems to be viewed as the only option.

I am not sure if you, who is reading this, will think that this is of little consequence, however, in my mind, this has enormous implication.  It helps to explain much here in China and, an awareness of this mindset, is one of the keys to understanding how China and the Chinese think and act.  Businessmen and women interacting with China must take note.

Chinglish!

FREE HOT PANTS!!!!!

Yep, you read that correctly...free hot pants!!!  I am sure you cannot contain your excitement, but, unfortunately, the short shorts are not, in fact, free.  In case you cannot read the caption above, it says, "In the shopping malls to buy clothes, hot pants can be free / to."  No, I did not make a typo, that is exactly what the sign says (including the slash).  I saw this as I was riding up the escalator into one of the city's larger supermarkets.  Before I inquired as to where I could get my free hot pants, I stopped and read the Chinese, which actually says, "When you buy clothing in this shopping center, pants can be ironed/altered free of charge."  

Chinglish, as this type of language is called, is still very common in China.  In fact, a few years ago, leading up to the 2008 Olympics in Beijing, I saw a report on Chinese television about how the government was dispatching people to go around correcting Chinglish signs in the capital.  Needless to say, I have since been in Beijing and it seems they still missed a few.  Yes, English is difficult, being an English teacher, I am well aware of this fact.  However, often times, the correctness of the English is not a concern; all that matters is simply getting some English on the sign.  Often times, it is simply laziness.  One of the most humorous signs I have seen was a yellow "Caution, Wet Floor" sign, placed at the top of a flight of stairs, which actually read in English, "Slip and Fall Down Carefully."  To top it off, it had a stick figure slipping and falling down.  Hopefully, he fell carefully.

So, unfortunately, for the time being, there will not be masses of Chinese walking around in hot pants, however, things change quickly and, who knows what the future will bring here.