Heart of glass
Heart of glass, aka 玻璃心 is a condition that seems to affect many Chinese people lately. This term is used to refer to someone who gets easily offended, especially on the internet. I think the first time I heard it was from a Hong Kong colleague; it appears that people from Taiwan and HK love to use this term when talking about mainlanders. And what can I say? I think they’re right. Chinese people are offended very easily, especially by foreign criticism. It’s also said in Spain that Spaniards can bash Spain and Spanish things all they want, but a foreigner doing it is completely unacceptable. However, it’s really a whole different level here in China.
If you follow international news, you might have heard the phrase “hurt the feelings of the Chinese people”. It’s an expression that Chinese officials love using when they have a disagreement with some other country. And, oh my, China has disagreements with so many countries that this sentence has become a cliché. Let’s have a look at some examples:
- Canada arrests a Huawei top executive: Canada is hurting the feelings of the Chinese people.
- Australia wants an investigation about the origins of coronavirus: Australia is hurting the feelings of the Chinese people.
- South Korean pop band mentions the anniversary of the Korean War during a speech: Pop band is hurting the feelings of the Chinese people (I didn’t understand this one at all).
- Swiss jewelry brand lists Hong Kong as a separate country in their website: Jewelry brand is hurting the feelings of the Chinese people.
- German car brand posts a quote from the Dalai Lama on their Instagram: Car brand is hurting the feelings of the Chinese people.
I think you get the idea. Be careful with what you say, because you can hurt the feelings of the Chinese people! But who exactly is asking the Chinese people if they are feeling hurt or not? That’s the key piece of information I’m missing. I don’t think my husband was consulted about his feelings towards any of those actions.
This great infographic from Bertelsmann Stiftung tails who has hurt the feelings of the Chinese people the most. Who’s the winner? Japan! (In this case, hurt feelings are understandable as they are probably related to the horrible things Japan did in China during the war).
I’ve also witnessed this phenomenon myself. Once, in one of the WeChat groups I’m in, a couple of foreign women were commenting that they had seen children peeing or pooing in the street or in public transportation in China. It’s a friendly group and they were not being nasty or abusive, just saying that they had seen it themselves. A Chinese woman took offense and was very angry at them, asking how they would feel if someone said those things about their country. Well… if a foreigner told me that the streets in Spain are full of dog shit and stuck chewing gum, I’d reply: “Yes, it’s true and it’s absolutely disgusting”. I wouldn’t feel personally attacked as I’ve never left a dog poo or threw a chewing gum on the street myself, but many people do, and I’ve often complained of the dirty streets myself. (By the way, I’ve also seen children pooing in the street and peeing in the bus in China).
Another thing happened a few weeks ago, when one of the cartoons my son likes to watch suddenly disappeared from Chinese streaming platforms. After an online search, I found out the cartoon had been removed because an episode about the Korean holiday Chuseok (which is also celebrated in China and called Mid-Autumn Festival) made children believe that the holiday was originally from Korea. I thought this was an idiotic reason for erasing all of the show’s seasons (can’t concerned parents just explain that it’s a holiday celebrated in several countries?) but it seems the show also committed the mortal mistake of “showing incorrect maps“. Guess which words are included in that news report… yep, you guessed it, the cartoon “hurt viewers’ feelings”. Later on, my husband told me that China and Korea have been fighting for ages about which country invented the Mid-Autumn Festival.
So why are Chinese people so easily offended? In this great blog post from a Chinese professor living in South Africa, the author posed this question to a friend, who replied: “I don’t know why I feel offended when people raise criticisms about Chinese policies on Tibet, Taiwan, and family planning… I just can’t control myself and feel like I’m being insulted personally”. That might be the key: Chinese see an affront to China as an affront to themselves personally. The rise of patriotism and nationalism during the last few years might be also related.
I wonder if this post will hurt someone’s feelings…
Excellent post, Marta! “Heart of Glass” seems to be spreading worldwide. People take offense for really strange reasons and won’t open their eyes to the reality of what’s going on around them (remember, we had Trump who insulted everyone and pouted when he was criticized).
It’s a complicated topic, because it goes to the extremes and people may say they have been offended by other people’s reactions to their very offensive actions or words… sigh.
I am offended :)
Yeah, collective ego is particularly prominent in China, although the US isn’t far behind.
Oh, I’m sorry! Did I hurt your feelings? :P
The US is like a different planet to me, hahaha. I can barely understand anything that happens there.
For a long time, enemy #1 for the US was the USSR and then Russia. But when Putin supported Trump for president, Trump decided to stop criticizing Russia, so he needed a new enemy: China. His Republican supporters fell in line. Now I think the biggest enemy for Americans is anyone from the other political party. Instead of complaining that someone “hurt their feelings,” Republicans’ current phrase is that the other party is practicing “cancel culture.”
Oh, I’ve heard that of “cancelling”. I feel like I’m old and I don’t understand anything anymore…
A good look at a very disturbing phenomenon–patriotism cultivated as a communal sense of historical victimization and strategic use of emotional language in the service of a seamless national narrative.
Wow, great summary. You made it sound very academic.
This post is so refreshingly honest, Marta. Thanks. Everyone seems to be afraid to offend this group or that group that it’s become stifling and disingenuous. People also, these days, lack irony and self-reflection, quick to get offended at others but if the tables are turned, suddenly, they’re the ‘victim’ again.
I can’t help but wonder if all these hurt feelings is a newsworthy tactic made to play and prey on guilt and feelings of natural goodwill towards others. It’s also something you can’t dispute. You can’t say ‘your feelings are not really hurt, you’re just pretending’ and so feelings have become a kind of gospel truth.
I’ll definitely share this in my newsletter this week as I find this so fascinating.
P.S. Not offended by ppl criticizing the US… can you imagine? Hahahhaa – we’d be crying all day. :P
I completely agree that people seem to lack irony and self reflection. Or maybe it’s just the internet, that enlarges things that are really not that important, and where people act like crybabies? Not sure. But it’s mostly online that I’ve found this “offended at everything” attitude.
I think it’s a them versus us mentality, who’s the better country, build up the national pride so much no country can hurt us, create unity within that country. Unless you travel most countries think the same way, they can bash each other internally, but a foreigner doing so no. If you travel, live in another country you see and think differently as you haven’t been blind sided, lead with blinkers. I actually now watch very little UK news since covid started. It’s full of scaremongering, EU versus UK (more so after brexit), more racial divide. I just check in with BBC world news, mostly culture, science, environmental news and El Pais in English and sometimes in Spain so I know what’s happening here. I deleted Apple News App which is worse and feel way better. I noticed that the BBC when reporting the Catalunya independence riots what I was seeing and reading in Spain was different!
I am like you. If someone says that the UK is grey and rainy I agree although I cheekily add is Spain 25 degrees sunshine all year round? I’d the same if a British person says Spain is sunny all year round! Makes them think!
I often get comments about how “Spanish people have a very relaxed life” (implying that they work very little) and I roll my eyes, but I don’t feel offended, hahaha.
The news… Sigh. I’m also happier if I don’t read them. I think you can only trust half of the story. Only once I personally witnessed something that ended up showing in the news, and what the journalist reported had many differences with what actually happened…
Yeah, Nationalism is a helluva drug, and the Republican Party in the US is high on it regularly. They cannot bear any criticism when they are in power. (Democrats criticize USA when they are in power–and when they aren’t–and will usually be the first to admit to our history of colonialism, imperialism, and genocide.) Republicans flipped out when a musical group criticized President Bush when touring internationally and burned their records. But then, of course, plenty of Republicans made disgusting racist comments about President Obama and his family and even hanged effigies of the President. The hypocrisy and willful ignorance that usually go with Nationalism are both astounding and terrifying.
Yeah, strong agree. it’s been strange and disheartening to see the ramping up of division and hatred in the US, especially when you live abroad and have a warm place in your heart for all Americans (almost all). Very dangerous as well – see Capitol Building. I think social media/the media has a great deal to do with that but it’s just my personal opinion. But this is a different flavor of nationalism in China. Completely different feel and all one sided – supported by the state and very serious censors. It’s nationalism with Chinese characteristics. Marta’s got her finger right on the pulse.
Nationalism is scary! Some people seem to think that country borders were somehow set in stone and given by God or something…
wow, that is very interesting.. we have a whole generation here in U.S. that is known as the “offended” generation. They are called “snow flakes” here and it is mainly directed at young people ( millennials) and political affiliation ( liberals).I had no idea anything like this existed in other countries, albeit on a different level.Here, the offense taken might be about something as huge as racism , but extends all the way out to any books/movies/photos, etc that offend individuals. Or it may be about someones choice of diet ( vegan vs. non vegan) or environmental choices ( wearing cloths made from leather, or using disposable anything).
I’ve heard about snowflakes! I think in many cases they are right and they complain about things that need to change, but in other cases… I don’t understand anything.
When Chinese officials say “the feelings of Chinese people have been hurt” it’s really no different from, say, the US government claiming to represent the opinion of the American people or the “international community”. It’s just a lazy way for governments to legitimise their position and it does not necessarily reflect the reality.
However, on issues of history and territorial integrity (read Hong Kong, Taiwan, Tibet, and Xinjiang), you can bet that the Chinese people really are furious when the Chinese government says their feelings have been hurt. The reason for this should be rather obvious and understandable because in addition to China’s experience with foreign aggression, there’s the simple fact that no one with a modicum of love and appreciation for their country would take kindly to it being undermined and carved up by foreigners. Imagine, for example, the reception Russians would get if they were to go to Spain and campaign for the independence of Catalonia, or if Russia were to offer political asylum for pro-independence Catalan politicians.
Yes, I agree, it’s just a lazy way to legitimise their opinion. However, I think the wording China uses is so strange… it comes across as if Chinese people are weak and too sensitive.
Well, some Catalan politicians have been in Belgium for years, and as far as I know Spain still has potilical relations with Belgium. It doesn’t make me feel offended either.
I think the problem probably comes from cultural-linguistic differences. What the Chinese government says doesn’t quite translate to “The feelings of Chinese people have been hurt,” and in Chinese it doesn’t sound as juvenile and ridiculous as it does in English.
The EU has revoked the diplomatic immunity of the Catalan politicians hiding in Belgium, so it remains to be seen how long before the Belgian authorities give them up to the Spanish government. But I used Russia as an example because it’s not a member of the EU and it is regarded as more of an outsider, more foreign, and thus more likely to generate anger and hostility among the Spanish people. I suspect it would be even worse if China was encouraging the Catalan independence movement.
Yeah – you can really feel it in the air recently. I think it’s a combination of things but the nationalism is getting a little out of control. Very 0 sum and it’s a little worrying. I would guess as a European, you’re more sensitive to it than me, given the bill you all have had to pay for nationalism run wild. Quite different and worse than before – and I remember when the mob trashed the Japanese area of Suzhou. It’s still absent from one on one interactions (at least in my life) but strongly present in the public sphere. I have also had a few let’s go after the foreigner (me) in a few large wechat groups I’m in and it’s been strange. I didn’t take it personally but it did remind me of talking to a religious nut, a single team sports fanatic or a really racist person – just bizarre conversations. How did Churchill describe a fanatic, something like – someone who can’t change their mind and won’t change the subject. My few long term expat friends and I have talked about it and feel that shit is just getting a little weird.
Hehe, I was also here when the Japanese thrashing. That was weird (and also government supported… ahem). I personally don’t see much nationalism on my WeChat moments for example, but that may be because I block the moments of any person whom I see posting bullshit.
I turned off my wechat moments last year. Liberation.
Marta, I lives in Wuxi, neighbor city of Suzhou. I don’t think your comment is appropriate. I met a lot of westerns living in China, a lot of them have discrimination to us. For example, an Australian lecturer living in Wuxi, he always told Chinese people that Chinese government is evil, Chinese institutes are rubbish, China has stolen all technology of western world, Chinese police and PLA are bandit, Chinese aren’t honest as we entrapped money from Western world. He has been an English teacher in Wuxi for a dozen of years. What will we think about his statement? Would he be considered as offence if he has said these to Spanish in Spain?
Hi Marshall, thanks for your comment and for expressing disagreement so respectfully! (It really is uncommon these days). To answer your questions, most Spanish people don’t give a crap when the government is insulted, unless they happen to be hardcore fanatics of the political party ruling at that moment. Most people are no big fans of the police and the army either. For that kind of things, most people don’t feel offended. The guy you are describing sounds like a total dick, of course you can feel offended if you want. Or angry. Or you can just ignore him, because there’s obviously something wrong with him (it’s not very smart to live for that long in here if you hate everything, and it’s not very smart either to voice those opinions as a teacher).
Marshall I think you’re reinforcing the message of this entire post…
Marta!!! I love this post so much! Your insight on China is great. Can you tell me how to say “hurt the feelings of the Chinese people” in Chinese? I’m curious how the news/orgs say it. I love learning the latest Chinese from you through these blog spots!
With my close Chinese friends they were pretty open to criticism, although I tried to avoid bringing up Taiwan and Hong Kong. I do think the media is much stricter than it used to be when I was there from 2011-2015. I visited in 2017 and I couldn’t believe how much China had changed! Taking off that cartoon from TV is ridiculous, they totally could have spun it as a holiday celebrated around the world (like Chinese New Year).
America gets criticized all the time and I usually have to agree with the criticism. I think in the states the far left would agree that America needs to change, while the far right would be offended by any criticism.
Hi Mary! The English expression is a literal translation of the Chinese: 伤害了中国人的感情
https://zh.wikipedia.org/zh-cn/%E5%82%B7%E5%AE%B3%E4%B8%AD%E5%9C%8B%E4%BA%BA%E6%B0%91%E7%9A%84%E6%84%9F%E6%83%85
While it’s perhaps the closest translation I wouldn’t say it’s a literal translation. “感情” is not the equivalent of “feeling” in English because the former has a deeper, more intimately relational connotation. You’re unlikely, for example, to hear a Chinese kid say to another “你伤了我的感情”, but you would expect an English-speaking kid to say, “You hurt my feelings.” This is why the Chinese government’s pronouncement sounds so ridiculous to an English-speaking audience.
@Ruby Ronin According to this logic, why did FaceBook block Donald Trump’s account? Why had USSR and East Europe been overturned? Were they as evil as description of Western medias indeed? Here is American’s argument with Indian in US from a blog of US. Could you show to westerns? It has made us laugh all the time.
@Marta Would you please not to delete dialogue?
Edited: Weird racist barrage about Indians.
The 3rd: “Sorry,I wasn’t really aware that this is supposed to be a racist blog for white people.”
Excuse me, may I share my point of view with everyone. I’m an ordinary Chinese (not a member of CPC) used to working in western investment companies.
1st. Criticism can be based on rumor. The creation of rumor is to disturb others’ society. I don’t think anyone will adopt the rumor outside to overturn his/her social order. There were precedents of East Europe and USSR. We Chinese were reluctant to follow.
2nd. Western ought to mind their owner business in priority, not always to take part in others’ interior business. Not everyone of this world regards him/her as the Christ.
3rd. Western supremacy has never been fair to other nations, for example, USD hegemony exploitation all the world. Western world ought to give up the supremacy to offer all the human being a brilliant future.
4th. Western world should be kind to Chinese and China. We saw too much news that American Chinese have been assaulted on streets of US.
5th. Chinese is only civilization is world now which has longest history and excellent culture. We’re smart, diligent, polite and well organized. These advantages have made us catch up with development of the world and finish industrialization from an extremely poor base with 70 years. But it took western world almost 200 years. Our development has grown up breaking up Western’s block. Please search for photos of Olympic Mathematics Competition of US and Canada 2019. Most of the team members were foreign citizen of Chinese origin. A nation good at mathematics and science implies that Chinese owner very high average IQ in the world. We should be well treated as we’re able to contribute a lot to mankind. Civilized nation is qualified to be respected. White house and Capitol Hill should apologize for Exclusion Act to Chinese in history officially.
Could you adopt the criticism from a ordinary Chinese? Thank you, everyone.
Dude. Posting a racist diatribe from a random blog is not cool. I’ll take you at face value as an honest person here and say this – I have seen and heard real racism in my life. Real racism doesn’t sound like that AT ALL. What you posted reads as trolling and that person got you angry enough to post that garbage on Marta’s blog. That troll got you. And as Ruby Ronin pointed out – you’re proving Marta’s point.
I hope you can find some inner calm. China is becoming (or has already become) a super power. As an American I’ll say this – because you’re now a super power, people from all over the world are going to say terrible things about your country. Some will be lies, others half or twisted truths, some with be philosophical differences. Sometimes what they say will be true and terrible. That’s just the way it is and it seems like everyone has an opinion – and they’ll tell you it even if you don’t ask. Welcome to the club. You need a thicker skin or you’re going to be angry for the next 40 years. Today, it’s America. Tomorrow it could be Japan, the Philippines, African countries, Britain. It will never stop. It doesn’t for us Americans either.
Dear Zhou,
Thank you for your point of view. China’s development is based on every Chinese hard working. China has no history of invasion and colonization as G7 countries. We’re clean. I really don’t understand why you’re worried about. We’re a peace loving state all the time as we have longest history of civilization till now in the world. However, we had been suffered hundred years of aggression and pillage. But we have never seen any country have apologized to China. Did UK apologize for Opium War to us? Did you know British, French and American have shameful history to export opium to China as drug dealers in 19th Century? When we rejected their opium, they appealed war to us. Did you know that we have suffered terrible massacre of Japanese in 1931-1945. But we have never asked Japan for compensation. Chinese is an kindest civilized nation. We’re hard working to better our life and defend ourselves. Why does western world always look at us with colorful glasses? Did Westerns realize that their colonization, loot and supremacy has created too much pain for other nations? However, we always see western media abase us and western countries make us troublesome. Why? Does you think that the phenomenon is likely a mafia creates rumor to abase a man of integrity.
Thanks & Best Regards
Sincerely Yours
Marshall Chen
Dear Zhou,
I’ve forgotten a very important issue. China is still a developing country. We must continue striving for 30 years that China will become a preliminary developed country. I think that western countries should open their market for “Made in China”, for example, Huawei 5G equipment, allow China to acquire western enterprises, resource and technology, as well as offer China concessionary loan for 3rd world, which is legal and moral.
May I have your opinion?
Thanks & Best Regards
Sincerely Yours
Marshall
People don’t usually have back and forths on Martha’s blog. First, I like China and Chinese people. I live here. My kid is Chinese. Yes, I know all about the things you’re talking about. They are horrible. That said, you speak like a propaganda machine. Two counterpoints. First, every major country in history has blood on their hands – even Canada, home of the nicest people on there planet. It’s not nice but it is the reality of human history. Second, China’s hands are NOT clean. Not at all. China is old (as we are often reminded) and is not some cute, clawless kitten. It couldn’t survive in this world for 5,000 years if it was innocent and kind to all. China has been aggressive, they have fought all their neighbors, has had times of conquest and expansion – all the way to the Caspian Sea. Heck,the South China Sea claims are based on old expansionist maps (also normal for new superpowers to claim something like that – and all the other superpowers complain – it’s normal). All those people in their ethnic wear dancing in the great wall singing about loving China are all conquered people from your history (also normal). The entire foreign policy in dealing with raiding barbarians was interfering in steppe politics and getting them to fight each other (smart – when it failed you got Genghis Khan and theYuan dynasty). Your current government has the great leap forward famine and the cultural revolution on its bill. Marta’s Spanish – that’s a horrible history. The English might have the worst. Americans are covered in blood as well. It’s a hard world and history is a nasty business. Soften your anger a bit so we don’t keep having horrible hot wars and unproductive cold wars. I hope my countrymen will soften their hearts as well. We regular people are the ones who pay the bills for those wars after all.
Dude don’t give me that crap about cultures wanting to join China. Tibet was overtaken by force, and so are the Uighurs currently. No country is squeaky clean in its history but you don’t seem to see it, proving Marta’s point about heart of glass.
Dear Zhou,
First of all, I’m not a person of prone to be irritated. I’m a person with soften heart. Confucius has already told every Chinese man to become gentle, modest and courteous and set up a harmonious society. You said that China has blood covered history. I don’t think so. We’ve been the highest civilization in East Asia. We just spread our civilization in history. We’ve never appealed war and massacre to other nations. We always helped with our agriculture and handicraft technology to get rid of ignorance. So these nations wanted to join us. That’s why all those people in their ethnic wear dancing in the great wall singing about loving China. We haven’t done anything like Crusades, Slave Trade of Negro, Genocide to Red Indian and Australian Aboriginal. Since you have lived in China for many year, did you see any discrimination to foreigners? Our culture is the most tolerant culture in the world. History of Genghis Khan and the Yuan dynasty belongs to Mongol. Potsdam Proclamation had already announced the South China Sea is territory of China, which has been admitted by USA, UK and USSR. Our war with all the neighbors was self-defensive not aggressive. The barbarian provocation’s to us is prior to our appeal to force with them. Cultural Revolution wasn’t as terrible as description of Western media. It destroyed personal bondage among people of different class in tradition, and released people mind. Why typical Indian are stupid and dull according to American comment of the argument? Their caste system, Hinduism and land ownership by landlords that have lasted thousands years made them can’t break up their barricades. Someone has said that Indian need a Cultural Revolution to ruin all these yokes, just as Renaissance. Thus they can go ahead.
Edited: Racist shit against Indians again.
Thanks & Best Regards
Sincerely Yours
Marshall Chen
Dear Marshall,
China is candyland, everybody is happy, nothing bad has ever happened here and the rest of the countries of the world suck. Are you satisfied now? I’m quite tired of this conversation or monologue.
Dear Zhou,
Currently, it isn’t China that makes troubles to US near Hawaii or coast of California, but United States defies China by force at our gate. Which one should soften his anger, US or China? I think you’d better tell your countryman not to play with fire and push human being to catastrophe.
Thanks & Best Regards
Sincerely Yours
Marshall
Dear Marta,
Ok, I see. I’ll stop here. When a pirate will crash into my home, there is someone telling me, “Calm down, he just want some money, or you’re glass of heart.”
I don’t like Indian because I’ve suffered injure by Indian when we worked together with them. There have been even worse comment to them of some colleagues been to India. I’d told our experience with Indian to the Australian lecturer. He laughed and replied that China ought to conquer India as Great Britain. Should Indian not to be glass of heart to adopt next conquer again?
Thanks & Best Regards
Sincerely Yours
Marshall
You know I typed a long and detailed comment on this to celebrate me poking my head back at blogs once in a while. But then I realized almost too late that I had just registered an account at write.qq.com. So I refrained and deleted the entire comment.
Oh wow, hello! I’d think you’d be safe with your comment though, the police hasn’t come for me or Zhou (yet) and we are in China… hahaha.