A Different Set of Values

Home » Life April 27, 2009 No Comment

Fake clothes. Pirated DVD’s. Knock-off designer brands. Brand copy-cats. Shanzhai.

Despite the fact that all the genuine stuff we buy in the west is usually “Made in China”, somehow the country itself has developed a reputation for fakes. It’s a common theme for foreigners in China who both love to buy these cheap goods while lambasting the country for its poorly enforced intellectual property laws. So common, in fact, that the scene that played out in my neighborhood last Saturday completely threw me off-guard.

The adidas logoIf you’ve been reading this blog for longer than a month you’ll know that I love to play basketball (I learn special things about Chinese culture when I do).  Every Monday, Wednesday and Saturday I head to the gym to enjoy a couple hours of trying to put a leather ball into one of two iron rims.  In preparation for this wonderful exercise last Saturday I put on my genuine Adidas sweatpants, my genuinegenuine Crocs (I change into basketball shoes at the gym), and my genuinegenuine iPod to play music that I had legally bought off of iTunes.  I’m not trying to brag. These few items represent some of the only quality products I own, the rest of which are Wal-Mart brand or Chinese-bought knock-offs.  I just happen to wear all my quality clothing at the same time that day.

Adidas shirt, my fitted cap bought in the US.  As I closed the door behind me I turned on my

As I walked outside under the warm sun sporting these quality brands for all to see I actually began to strut, thinking to myself “Man, I am hot stuff.  It’s no wonder all the Chinese people look up to us westerners“.  Those weren’t my exact words, but it was the general idea.  Prideful, pitiful, stupid, and adolescent…I know.  Still, the point is that I felt pretty good about myself.

Pride comes before the fall, though, and my fall came quick.  Within two minutes my bubble was popped by two passing teenage boys who pointed at me and laughed.  I couldn’t believe it.  Didn’t they know how cool this Adidas clothing was? Did they realize how much money this iPod and all it’s music represented?  I paid hard-earned cash to be this cool!  To be fair I don’t know what they were laughing about – I could have had peanut butter hanging on my chin from the pre-workout sandwich I just ate – but the fact is that they laughed.

During the rest of my walk to the gym (sans strut) I couldn’t stop thinking about what had just happened.  They weren’t groundbreaking thoughts, mind you, but I thought I’d share some of them with you.  I think it’s interesting how I expect the Chinese to give the same value to the things I have been told are valuable.  Examples:

  • My iPod: In China I can buy machines that play music, movies, and games while surfing the internet, teaching you English and making a pot of coffee – all for half the price, if not less.  Why should they be impressed with my iPod?
  • My Crocs: which cost close to $30, are seen as house slippers here that cost no more than $1 at the local market.
  • My fitted cap: This situation is interesting.  The tongue of a Chinese hat normally extends 3 inches longer than a western hat so everybody thinks my hat is too small for me, as if I’m wearing a child’s hat.
  • Name-brand Clothing: Surplus weakens demand, so all the readily available knock-offs make my genuine Adidas clothing run-of-the-mill. Likewise, free MP3′s make buying legal CD’s nearly impossible.

For fun, I’ve also been thinking about things that the Chinese expect me to find valuable:

  • Shiny Shoes: If the plethora of sidewalk shoe-shiners are any indication, Chinese love to have shiny shoes. I wear sneakers and some leather loafers which couldn’t shine if I wanted them to.
  • Cell Phones: Even the trash guy has a better cell phone than I do.  As long as it makes and accepts calls, it works for me.
  • Product Packaging: Obviously companies want to make their packaging look nice for consumers, but here in China it goes beyond what you see on the outside.  Multiple layers and unnecessary papers make it feel like I’m ripping into a giant graduation announcement.

Any others you would add?

All of this is changing as western companies make their way further east, but for now (at least here in the far west of China) all those expensive brands mean very little to my peers.  Tends to bring all that money I spent into perspective, you know?

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