问题描述：
Pink cheena's是什么意思?
问题解答：
我来补答
The young man who did not know what Cheena meant
By Li Min Wen
Some things in life cannot be changed. If you are born with black eyes, black hair and yellow skin, you belong to the yellow race. And if you have a Chinese surname, that makes you a Chinese. You can have whatever makeovers you can imagine, but in the eyes of other people, you remain a Chinese.
In response to a recent article by The Straits Times’ Life! editor Richard Lim entitled “A wake-up call from China”, a young man called those from China working here as “really such a crude lot” and derided the Chinese people as cheena.
At his National Day Rally Speech, Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong reminded the young man that Chinese are called Orang Cina in Malay. “If we are not Cina, what are we? Ang moh?” he asked.
The Prime Minister’s advice to the young man: “...grow up - quickly - and start looking beyond his nose...”
The mentality of the young man begs the questions: Does the attitude reflect the thinking of the majority of young Singaporeans or just a handful? Are young people here too Westernised and thus have no wish whatsover of “keeping their roots”? Are they proud of being Chinese at all?
People who grow up in different environments will have their cultural differences. It is understandable that the young man feels no affinity to the Chinese people elsewhere. Young people in Singapore are now mostly 3rd or 4th generation offspring of early Chinese immigrants. Our lifestyle, education and other systems differ from other places in the region. As a result, the values that young Singaporeans cherish are also dissimilar to those upheld by Chinese in other areas.
Such differences also exist in other countries. Let me cite an incident that happened last semester as an example. After an examination, many students were chatting away merrily and turning the examination hall into a market. A Chinese teaching assistant tried to maintain order by asking all to keep quiet. Unfortunately, his Chinese-accented English had the students in stitches instead and some even made fun of his English. Among them were some Chinese students.
Sure, it was only a small matter. But it makes me wonder: Would a new generation of Singaporeans lose their “roots” by accepting Western culture wholesale? In a Western society, it may be impossible even if Chinese want to retain their “roots”. Chinese immigrants should count their blessings if their children could speak Mandarin. And even fewer could write in Chinese. They could probably forget about getting them to understand the history and culture of the Chinese people and inculcating in them traditional Chinese virtues and values.
With palpable feelings of sadness and resignation, a Chinese professor once told me the biggest regret in his life - that his son could not even speak a word of Mandarin!
The biggest hope for Chinese who live outside China, I think, is probably to keep their “roots” intact. This will allow their offspring to pass down precious heritage and traditions from generation to generation.
In Singapore, our policy on the mother tongue creates favourable conditions for the various ethnic groups to preserve their cultures and traditions. In other words, we are much luckier than Chinese living in the United States. Activities that the government encourages, such as the “Singapore River Hong Bao”, “Dragon Boat Race” and “World Chinese Book Fair” have attracted the support and participation of Singaporeans, especially the younger generation.
However, as Chinese language is no longer taught after secondary education, the interests of Chinese students in such events have also waned. Soon, an invisible wall begins to develop between them and Chinese culture.
A friend of mine, who came from a prestigious school with a strong Chinese tradition here, once told me excitedly that China’s marine industry was already well- developed during the Ming Dynasty. He came to know about it from a course on “Introduction to China”, which touched on mariner Cheng Ho’s expeditions to South-east Asia.
I told him that as early as the Han Dynasty, there was already the Silk Road leading to the western region. And the troops of Genghis Khan had fought all the way to the outskirts of Moscow. He was so fascinated that he kept asking me to tell him more.
Of course, I told him what I knew. But I felt a sense of regret - do we have to go all the way to the West to learn about our own history?
Singapore’s bilingual education has nurtured many who have a good command of both the Chinese and English language, so it baffless me why there are younger Chinese who know so little about the Chinese people.
(The writer is a young Singaporean studying at Cornell University. Translated by Yap Gee Poh.)
By Li Min Wen
Some things in life cannot be changed. If you are born with black eyes, black hair and yellow skin, you belong to the yellow race. And if you have a Chinese surname, that makes you a Chinese. You can have whatever makeovers you can imagine, but in the eyes of other people, you remain a Chinese.
In response to a recent article by The Straits Times’ Life! editor Richard Lim entitled “A wake-up call from China”, a young man called those from China working here as “really such a crude lot” and derided the Chinese people as cheena.
At his National Day Rally Speech, Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong reminded the young man that Chinese are called Orang Cina in Malay. “If we are not Cina, what are we? Ang moh?” he asked.
The Prime Minister’s advice to the young man: “...grow up - quickly - and start looking beyond his nose...”
The mentality of the young man begs the questions: Does the attitude reflect the thinking of the majority of young Singaporeans or just a handful? Are young people here too Westernised and thus have no wish whatsover of “keeping their roots”? Are they proud of being Chinese at all?
People who grow up in different environments will have their cultural differences. It is understandable that the young man feels no affinity to the Chinese people elsewhere. Young people in Singapore are now mostly 3rd or 4th generation offspring of early Chinese immigrants. Our lifestyle, education and other systems differ from other places in the region. As a result, the values that young Singaporeans cherish are also dissimilar to those upheld by Chinese in other areas.
Such differences also exist in other countries. Let me cite an incident that happened last semester as an example. After an examination, many students were chatting away merrily and turning the examination hall into a market. A Chinese teaching assistant tried to maintain order by asking all to keep quiet. Unfortunately, his Chinese-accented English had the students in stitches instead and some even made fun of his English. Among them were some Chinese students.
Sure, it was only a small matter. But it makes me wonder: Would a new generation of Singaporeans lose their “roots” by accepting Western culture wholesale? In a Western society, it may be impossible even if Chinese want to retain their “roots”. Chinese immigrants should count their blessings if their children could speak Mandarin. And even fewer could write in Chinese. They could probably forget about getting them to understand the history and culture of the Chinese people and inculcating in them traditional Chinese virtues and values.
With palpable feelings of sadness and resignation, a Chinese professor once told me the biggest regret in his life - that his son could not even speak a word of Mandarin!
The biggest hope for Chinese who live outside China, I think, is probably to keep their “roots” intact. This will allow their offspring to pass down precious heritage and traditions from generation to generation.
In Singapore, our policy on the mother tongue creates favourable conditions for the various ethnic groups to preserve their cultures and traditions. In other words, we are much luckier than Chinese living in the United States. Activities that the government encourages, such as the “Singapore River Hong Bao”, “Dragon Boat Race” and “World Chinese Book Fair” have attracted the support and participation of Singaporeans, especially the younger generation.
However, as Chinese language is no longer taught after secondary education, the interests of Chinese students in such events have also waned. Soon, an invisible wall begins to develop between them and Chinese culture.
A friend of mine, who came from a prestigious school with a strong Chinese tradition here, once told me excitedly that China’s marine industry was already well- developed during the Ming Dynasty. He came to know about it from a course on “Introduction to China”, which touched on mariner Cheng Ho’s expeditions to South-east Asia.
I told him that as early as the Han Dynasty, there was already the Silk Road leading to the western region. And the troops of Genghis Khan had fought all the way to the outskirts of Moscow. He was so fascinated that he kept asking me to tell him more.
Of course, I told him what I knew. But I felt a sense of regret - do we have to go all the way to the West to learn about our own history?
Singapore’s bilingual education has nurtured many who have a good command of both the Chinese and English language, so it baffless me why there are younger Chinese who know so little about the Chinese people.
(The writer is a young Singaporean studying at Cornell University. Translated by Yap Gee Poh.)
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