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Doubting values of society where Guo Meiei flaunts wealth
By Bo Brennan |
February 21, 2012, Tuesday
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Print Edition
Print Edition
MY name is Bo Brennan, and I have been a long-time reader of the Shanghai Daily.
I read the article by Tan Weiyun entitled "If you've got it, flaunt it" (February 15). It was a thought provoking article.
Stories of Chinese flaunting newly found wealth have become almost commonplace on the internet and in newspapers. Now many are familiar with the names of Guo Meimei, Mrs Duo Lynn, and Jackie_Zheng Wen, who have posted their extravagant spending habits on the Internet for all the world to see.
It seems that most of the attention and criticism falls on the people themselves. Obviously, they need some sort of validation from the process, or else they wouldn't waste their time.
Yet, the question that is important is why they feel the need to seek this validation. We can look at their personal shortcomings, but that is only one side of the equation.
What about the society that these people live in? What is it about current Chinese society that makes people like Guo Meimei feel they need to flaunt their wealth while others struggle to feed themselves?
Mianzi
The concept of face (mianzi) is very important on this issue. Everyday, people in China, including Chinese and foreigners who have spent any amount of time in China, worry about face on varying levels.
Of course people like Guo Meimei are on the extreme end of the spectrum. Yet, whether its wearing nicer clothes, or buying a car or an apartment, or spending more on dinners than you can actually afford, most people in China are worrying about the same issue that Guo Meimei is, just on a much less obscene scale.
We can condemn people like Guo Meimei, and Mrs Duo Lynn, and perhaps we should condemn them, but this issue is much larger than a handful of extreme outliers.
There is a reason China is becoming the world's largest luxury goods market. This is not a single, isolated case. With more and more people coming into wealth, this issue will continue to grow, and they must realize the responsibility they have to other members of Chinese society.
No man is an island, and everyone has to interact with the society that surrounds them. These stories would not be in newspapers and on the Internet if they did not stir a reaction in people.
The people like Guo Meimei, Mrs Duo Lynn, and Jackie_Zheng Wen are not important, for no one will remember or care about any of them in 10 years. Yet, the lesson society can learn from them is what's important and what is the amazing thing about that lesson is the potential to turn a negative situation into a positive one.
(The author can be reached at: Bo.Brennan11@gmail.com)
I read the article by Tan Weiyun entitled "If you've got it, flaunt it" (February 15). It was a thought provoking article.
Stories of Chinese flaunting newly found wealth have become almost commonplace on the internet and in newspapers. Now many are familiar with the names of Guo Meimei, Mrs Duo Lynn, and Jackie_Zheng Wen, who have posted their extravagant spending habits on the Internet for all the world to see.
It seems that most of the attention and criticism falls on the people themselves. Obviously, they need some sort of validation from the process, or else they wouldn't waste their time.
Yet, the question that is important is why they feel the need to seek this validation. We can look at their personal shortcomings, but that is only one side of the equation.
What about the society that these people live in? What is it about current Chinese society that makes people like Guo Meimei feel they need to flaunt their wealth while others struggle to feed themselves?
Mianzi
The concept of face (mianzi) is very important on this issue. Everyday, people in China, including Chinese and foreigners who have spent any amount of time in China, worry about face on varying levels.
Of course people like Guo Meimei are on the extreme end of the spectrum. Yet, whether its wearing nicer clothes, or buying a car or an apartment, or spending more on dinners than you can actually afford, most people in China are worrying about the same issue that Guo Meimei is, just on a much less obscene scale.
We can condemn people like Guo Meimei, and Mrs Duo Lynn, and perhaps we should condemn them, but this issue is much larger than a handful of extreme outliers.
There is a reason China is becoming the world's largest luxury goods market. This is not a single, isolated case. With more and more people coming into wealth, this issue will continue to grow, and they must realize the responsibility they have to other members of Chinese society.
No man is an island, and everyone has to interact with the society that surrounds them. These stories would not be in newspapers and on the Internet if they did not stir a reaction in people.
The people like Guo Meimei, Mrs Duo Lynn, and Jackie_Zheng Wen are not important, for no one will remember or care about any of them in 10 years. Yet, the lesson society can learn from them is what's important and what is the amazing thing about that lesson is the potential to turn a negative situation into a positive one.
(The author can be reached at: Bo.Brennan11@gmail.com)
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