tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8382651243381952237.post8033036417198732..comments2023-10-14T15:17:52.903+08:00Comments on Shenzhen Undercover: Money Money MoneyMike Baihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10068341672299379597noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8382651243381952237.post-2354542060453702562008-05-27T10:16:00.000+08:002008-05-27T10:16:00.000+08:00Hey Mike,Shanghai is somewhat similar, but the mor...Hey Mike,<BR/><BR/>Shanghai is somewhat similar, but the more I think about it the more it seems to be stronger among Guangdong people. <BR/><BR/>Know this post is a bit old, but am now writing an article about China and the fire it lights under the ass of your inner entrepreneur and will link to this.<BR/><BR/>Maybe it's because most of my Chinese friends, even in Shanghai, are from the South that it seemed all of China is this way.<BR/><BR/>Thinking about ethical ways to make money is capitalism at its finest, nothing wrong with it as long as it doesn't consume you.<BR/><BR/>So are you leaving or sticking around like you mentioned in your most recent post? I'll probably be back in Shenzhen soon.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8382651243381952237.post-78156047534128272262007-03-02T18:33:00.000+08:002007-03-02T18:33:00.000+08:00The culture usually comes as the nouveau riche try...The culture usually comes as the nouveau riche try and buy credibility with the established aristocracy. What's odd about places like Hong Kong (and this may apply to Shenzhen too) is that the aristocracy is still defined by money/success rather than their elite pursuits. Why hasn't Hong Kong developed a closed circle elite like other places? I'd suggest three reasons: 1) It's still quite young as cities go 2) The past dominance of expats who'd make their money and go 3) That good old confucian tradition of granddaddy making the money, daddy managing it and the third generation squandering it all. Schumpeterian creative destruction in action!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8382651243381952237.post-78081098665445850002007-03-02T13:13:00.000+08:002007-03-02T13:13:00.000+08:00deeza, i completely agree with your view d of guan...deeza, i completely agree with your view d of guangdong and the north. They are most definitely important contributors to those regions. <BR/><BR/>In my post, i briefly mentioned Shanghai and other areas. In retrospect, I dont think that's correct. I would argue that the strong focus on money and the lack of culture in shenzhen is so much different than any other place in China (including Shanghai) that a comparison is unfair and inaccurate. It is truly a unique place, in China and the world.<BR/><BR/>Please check out the discussion of this issue back on ChinaLawBlog.comMike Baihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10068341672299379597noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8382651243381952237.post-49907912723791531162007-03-02T11:30:00.000+08:002007-03-02T11:30:00.000+08:00i think a lot of it has to do with the political c...i think a lot of it has to do with the political centre being up north in beijing. guangdong has had a history of being a renegade province oblivious/ignoring what the leadership in the north is saying. its proximity and cultural ties to free-wheeling hong kong definitely helps. there are no hong kongs in the north..<BR/><BR/>related to this is the fact that places like the northeast relied on the iron rice bowl for all those years...why innovate, work hard and go after the mighty yuan when you can do nothing at your danwei and be taken care of for life? <BR/><BR/>great observations, mike.Dezzahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03223308027876959251noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8382651243381952237.post-3269345763074441012007-02-27T05:05:00.000+08:002007-02-27T05:05:00.000+08:00Yea, that's the thing. It is definitely creeping ...Yea, that's the thing. It is definitely creeping up from the South up up and away. Being from Harbin in the Northeast originally, I see it everyday. It isnt as much as Shenzhen as I talked about in the post, but it is definitely disconcerting when my 75 year old grandmother is talking about making money soo much. You add the north with it coming into the west and you'll have a country of 商人 and no culture.Mike Baihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10068341672299379597noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8382651243381952237.post-47989934330151430332007-02-26T20:46:00.000+08:002007-02-26T20:46:00.000+08:00Alas, the money focus in South China, I'm forced t...Alas, the money focus in South China, I'm forced to conclude, is indigenous. And it's also spreading north mighty fast, even up here in the land of the literati elites, Beijing.<BR/><BR/>Hong Kong didn't infect Guangdong (or Fujian, or Zhejiang and Jiangsu) province with it: the <I>shang ren</I> mentality has been part of the culture for a mighty long time--salt merchants of Yangzhou, the traders of the Fujian coast, the compradores in the treaty ports.<BR/><BR/>Was a time not long ago where we in Beijing could look down our noses at the philistines further south. But now it's barely possible to hold so much as a casual chat where real estate prices don't creep into conversation. I remember once walking through Shanghai restaurant on the way to my table--must have been in 2001 or 2002--and hearing the phrase "<I>Yi bai wan!</I> come up from at least four or five tables I walked past. Wouldn't surprise me if I heard it in Beijing now.<BR/><BR/>But if you ask me, it's a necessary stage, if an unpleasant one, that China has to go through. It's not like the wealth of the West can be traced back to Croesus: there've always been arrivistes, the nouveaux riches. Hell, I'm plenty yuppy myself. I've even let my wife talk me into buying an SUV when what I really wanted was a Prius. Ugh.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8382651243381952237.post-76636702956737999912007-02-25T15:59:00.000+08:002007-02-25T15:59:00.000+08:00Good post!Good post!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com