I hope that this post finds all its readers in good health, and that a happy and prosperous 2008 is heading your way.
Here’s my return to blogging at Lost Laowai after a busy few months of moving house and changing jobs. When I often blogged on my own site (which now languishes behind the ‘Great Firewall’ with all other Google Blogspot blogs) I did weekly satirical cartoons, so here’s a brand new one especially for LLW, based on a recent realisation that there’s a great deal more in common between Italian and Chinese people than might initially meet the eye.
With apologies to Milan Kundera for the title of the cartoon, here’s “The Unbearable Italian-ness of being Chinese†(Please wait a moment for all 5 images to appear, below):
Pasta
Won ton
Mafia
Thank you, thank you, thank you! I was praying that someone would post 🙂
With 11 Lost Laowai bloggers, I figured a few would fill in during my absence (still in Canada forcing the wife to watch hockey and drink Tim Horton’s coffee) … but well, ya get what ya pay for ;-).
I guess everyone’s just in the same boat as myself, and just far too caught up in holiday cheer to do anything but comment.
I apologize to all for the lack of posts recently, I’ll be back in China soon and vow to post more.
Thanks again Steven for keeping the lights on here.
Wasn’t ice cream given to the Italians by the Chinese? Sadly, it melted long before Polo got it back to the under-supply Gelato stands.
@Ben, yes, there are certainly many more similarities!
@Ryan, you’re welcome. I was just a bit worried about the images zapping too much bandwidth, but i made them as low in file size as possible whilst still looking crisp and clear. Hope it’s all right :-p
eat and shout..the more the merrier (if possible)
I love the pic of the Italian woman pulling a Britney.
In addition: the love for children and for the family,their pop music,the habit of living mostly on the street than inside their appartment and yet their feticism for food
Heya! Wonderful idea, but can this actually perform?
. -same shallow patriotism. Actually Italians in Italy are very critical about their government, and almost once a month they feel ashamed of being Italians. Same for Chinese, but just in front of a laowai they would always wear the proud-5000 years of history BS…
2. -same attitude to foreigners: ius sanguinis. A foreign-looking person would never become Chinese; a foreign-looking person would never become Italian.
3. -same use of the female body. Indeed even if China had communism, the society is still very “macho” and in tv shows, or car show or whatever else they use half naked girls…
4. -similar view on sex. China’s Vatican is the party
5. -similar traffic rules and way to deal with them
6. -similar importance given to FOOD, FAMILY, NEWEST MOBILE
7. -Similar importance given to “faceâ€.
8. -similar degree of americanization…
9. -interesting analogy between 2 country’s history: Roman Empire and Han; they collapsed almost in the same period, and a foreign religion spread out in both countries (Christianity for Rome, Buddhism for China)
10. -both Latin and Classical Chinese influenced their neighbors