Season 01 Compilation 04
Compilation 04
Mosaic of China Season 01 - China Facts
Original Date of Release: 16 Jun 2020.
If you're an annoying person like me, you will love to share little pieces of trivia to unsuspecting listeners. You will think it makes you look clever to those around you, and you will accept their polite silent nods as proof of your awe-inspiring worldliness, oblivious to the reality of your unending tediousness. If any of that sounds familiar to you, then you will love today's special compilation episode from Season 1.
Today we listen to how all the guests from the season answered the question: "What is your favourite China-related fact?". We cover everything from traditions to timezones, from diversity to durians, and from railways to rural migrant workers. So let's hear from you: what is your favourite China-related fact or piece of trivia? Please contribute to the communities on WeChat, Instagram and Facebook.
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[Trailer]
Tom BARKER: When you talk about the Shanghai recycling regime that they're introducing, if you have a durian, it is not food waste.
OF: Because of…?
TB: I assume, because durian is disgusting.
[Intro]
OF: Welcome to Mosaic of China, a podcast about people who are making their mark in China. I'm your host Oscar Fuchs.
OK, this is already the fourth special compilation episode from Season 01, so I hope by now you get the deal. For this compilation, we're looking at how all the guests from the season answered the question “What is your favourite China-related fact?” The idea of asking this question is to provide you with the ammunition to impress people when you're next at a polite gathering and the topic of China comes up. So get ready to take notes, and with just a bit of practice you could one day be as much of a pretentious know-all as I am.
[Main]
[Voiceover]
OF: Gigi Chang, the translator from Episode 24.
[Clip]
GC: Some years ago, I discovered that Noël Coward wrote ‘Private Lives’ in Shanghai.
OF: Really?
GC: At the Cathay Hotel, which is the Peace Hotel. And I think he got a cold or influenza, and he got stuck. It’s just this utterly, utterly English upper-class play is written in Shanghai in 1930.
OF: Wow.
[Voiceover]
OF: Michael Zee, the Instagram influencer from Episode 07.
[Clip]
MZ: 你好 [Nǐ hǎo] doesn’t mean ‘hello’. I think this is the interesting thing about translation, that we always want to have equals, equivalents, of words. “This word in my language means this word in your language”. And 你好 [nǐ hǎo] is ‘you good.’ Literally, ‘you good.’ And it's implied there's a question. Whereas ‘hello’ is ‘I'm here, but I'm not asking for your recognition: Hello’. In the sense of, you can just say “Hello” to an empty room. But you would never say “你好 [nǐ hǎo]” to an empty room.
[Voiceover]
OF: Vy Vu, the fitness community leader from Episode 08.
[Clip]
VV: Everybody knows the four great inventions, which were gunpowder, the compass, paper and printing. But no one knows that they also invented the fishing reel, the wheelbarrow, kites and the umbrella.
OF: And the umbrella?
VV: Yeah, amazing really.
OF: But it rains so much in Europe, what the hell were they doing?
[Voiceover]
OF: Sebastien Denes, the inclusion advocate from Episode 11.
[Clip]
SD: It's a very simple one, it’s 1.4 billion people. I love this number, because it’s a mirage. The illusion of capturing this 1.4-billion-people market, right. Having spent seven years here in China, I've seen so many companies with that in mind, coming here to think they’re gonna conquer this market.
[Voiceover]
OF: Emily Madge, the aquarium conservationist from Episode 14.
[Clip]
EM: One in every five people in the world as Chinese.
OF: Is it one in five? Wow. And presumably they’re not all in China, this is the whole diaspora included?
EM: Yes.
[Voiceover]
OF: Nick Yu, the playwright from Episode 13.
[Clip]
NY: Traditional management in the village. I think that's something like a dream before. That is really good.
OF: Right.
NY: I can give you an example. My father is a teacher in the county, in the village. But before, he didn’t have a salary. So who will pay him? The village would give him a field.
OF: A field?
NY: Yeah. And this field would be free for him. And all the people in the village don’t pay a salary to him, but this field, you can plant, and when you have gain, you can get the food.
OF: So actually then, they would farm the field, and whatever they made in that field, they would give to your father.
NY: Yeah.
[Voiceover]
OF: Greg Nance, the ultramarathon athlete from Episode 23.
[Clip]
GN: My favourite China-related fact is that the 黄浦 [Huángpǔ] River, the river that flows through Shanghai here, was actually excavated and dredged to be created around 2,500 years ago during the Warring States period. It starts around 松江 [Sōngjiāng], which is like far southwest Shanghai, it's a district. And it winds its way merrily over the Bund, 陆家嘴 [Lùjiāzuǐ], on to the Yangtze River, which drains into the East China Sea.
OF: OK.
[Voiceover]
OF: Jorge Luzio, the marketer for Sprite from Episode 05.
[Clip]
JL: There are 675 million active gamers in China.
OF: Wow.
JL: So I don't know what the population of Europe is, but I think it's less than that. So imagine more than the population of Europe playing games every day of their lives. So for me that's like ‘wow’.
[Voiceover]
OF: Eric Olander, the journalist from Episode 03.
[Clip]
EO: They created this anti-Valentine’s Day. So it was Singles Day and they picked November 11, because it's representing single people. And Alibaba, the world's largest e-commerce company, started just discounting products. And they created this phenomenal type of culture around selling. And so everybody, all the brands line up, the whole country, it becomes like a national holiday. So basically take Black Friday, Black Monday, Cyber Monday, all of those kind of sales and put it on steroids. And this is compacted into just one 24-hour period, they're selling more in volume than all of the Christmas holiday shopping season in the United States. It's remarkable. 24 billion, and it just keeps going up every year.
[Voiceover]
OF: Lori Li, the private club GM from Episode 10.
[Clip]
LL: I like the stone inscriptions at tourist sites. Because every dynasty, the people saw the same view - same mountain, same lake - but they have different feelings. So all of them, they put their feelings on the stone. So generation by generation, you can tell the different people's feelings.
[Voiceover]
OF: Abe Deyo, the tour manager from Episode 27.
[Clip]
AD: China is the only place with over 100 cities with over a million people. So there's 102 cities in China with over a million people. In the US the number is 10.
[Voiceover]
OF: Lexie Comstock, the cookie supplier from Episode 20.
[Clip]
LC: I recently have learned about this thing called ‘Panda Diplomacy’. Apparently China owns most, if not all, of the pandas worldwide. And they kind of use them as like a bargaining tool. So you can see the strength of the relations between countries - and, like, your standing with China - based on the panda situation. I think that's so funny. And that these super sweet but dumb pandas are getting tossed around. I just think that's great. So that's definitely my favourite China fact.
[Voiceover]
OF: Stephane de Montgros, the events company CEO from Episode 19.
[Clip]
SDM: So I think the one thing we need to be aware of is that China is the number one economy in the world today. I do enjoy that storytelling around the world that China is up and coming and that they will be number one by 2030. The truth is, they are already number one, but they don't want people to know. I think they understand that being number one is also a burden. Because once you’re number one, you have a lot of responsibility. So I think the Chinese are extremely smart in trying to keep that brand of like “We are a developing country, we are getting there, give us a bit of time”, where actually they are already extremely strong.
[Voiceover]
OF: Nini Sum, the artist from Episode 16.
[Clip]
NS: I don't really know if this is a fact. But I like how surreal China is, and how fast it changes. And how alive this place is. Like when I was young, even a can of Coca-Cola is precious. I remember this, my parents would take me to the street, and also some kind of field trip. And I would beg them to buy me a can of Coca-Cola, this would be a rare chance maybe for the whole season, I could get a sip of that. But now if I go to a supermarket, I see all these products on the shelves. I'm just like "Where is this place?” It's just a short, maybe 10-20 years, and it has changed so much. New things are popping up all the time, it’s really surreal living in this place.
OF: Is that what you're trying to encapsulate in your art?
NS: Yes. And I want to keep that feeling, but also add a poetic twist.
[Voiceover]
OF: Astrid Poghosyan, the violinist from Episode 04.
[Clip]
AP: You know, that put together, all of China's railway lines could loop around the Earth twice.
OF: …And they're still building more right?
AP: Yes. So maybe it's gonna be three times.
[Voiceover]
OF: Noah Sheldon, the documentary filmmaker from Episode 09.
[Clip]
NS: There was 287 million rural migrant workers in China in 2017.
OF: Wow.
NS: Which I think is amazing, to be migrant workers in your own country. I think that's a really interesting kind of policy, because of the residency permits and stuff like that.
OF: Yeah because there could be equivalents in other countries, but they don't track it in the same way, right?
NS: You know, this is a way of controlling things like urban slums and stuff, right? They keep people tied to the countryside. Which is a really interesting policy.
[Voiceover]
OF: Yael Farjun, the historical researcher from Episode 12.
[Clip]
YF: You know how people claim that you can see the Great Wall from the moon? That is not true.
OF: Right. I wonder how that rumour got started?
YF: Yeah, that that would be interesting research.
[Voiceover]
OF: Octo Cheung, the fashion designer from Episode 30.
[Clip]
OC: I loved Chinese history when I was young. All the first kings of each dynasty destroyed the previous dynasty. And you feel that it’s time to make some change. And if it’s long-lasting or not, we didn't know. Maybe that's why I became a designer. I like to create things.
[Voiceover]
OF: Philippe Gas, the Disney resort CEO from Episode 01.
[Clip]
PG: This is such a big country, vast geography, and one timezone.
OF: Right.
PG: And so it has been something quite fascinating for me. Don't ask me why, but that's something.
[Voiceover]
OF: Lissanthea Taylor, the pain expert from Episode 28.
[Clip]
LT: I love the fact that China has one timezone. The sun doesn't rise till 10am in 新疆 [Xīnjiāng]. And I just love the ability to say “We're just gonna do just one time”.
[Voiceover]
OF: Maple Zuo, the comedian from Episode 02.
[Clip]
MZ: I like strong female characters. So there was one woman called 武则天 [Wǔ Zétiān], right?
OF: Yes.
MZ: And she's the emperor, I so admire her. I can't imagine how she got through it. I know she killed a lot of people. But like, every emperor killed loads of people.
OF: Yeah.
MZ: But now people judge her “Oh, you're evil”. But all male emperors are evil. So I feel like she must have done something so spectacular to get there. And that inspires me. You know, I want to be a queen some day.
[Voiceover]
OF: Roz Coleman, the theatre producer from Episode 22.
[Clip]
RC: There are 10 million Chinese people entering the middle classes every year in China. Which I find to be absolutely astounding, but to make perfect sense. And that when I see the hunger for experiential art, and finding new things to do, I can attribute it a lot to a country that's really saying, like “OK, we're here, this is where we're going, this is what we're going to do, this is how we wanna spend our time.” It's just time travel. It's Shanghai time, it moves so fast, and I feel like you can see that in that fact, somehow.
[Voiceover]
OF: Gina Li, the invention company CEO from Episode 06.
[Clip]
GL: The Chinese are always good at surviving.
OF: OK.
GL: Yeah, because we have a long history of 5,000 years of change and wars, everything. But I think Chinese do deeply inside know that it doesn't matter what horrible things are happening, whatever change is out there, the best way is to adapt, to keep yourself alive. Survive first, and then you figure it out later.
[Voiceover]
OF: Sabrina Chen, the dance programme curator from Episode 26.
[Clip]
SC: The cultural diversity. Because China is so big. And when you travel to Beijing, you realise the city is completely different from Shanghai. Some people like it, some people hate it. For me, I really enjoy this diversity. And this is the reason why I decided to come back to China after my studies, because I found so many interesting things going on in this country.
OF: I think it's more like a continent than a country, right?
SC: Yes.
[Voiceover]
OF: Tom Barker, the diplomat from Episode 25.
[Clip]
TB: At the moment, I'm just, I'm really stuck on this one thing I heard this afternoon, which is that the skin of durians is not considered organic matter. And so, when you talk about the Shanghai recycling regime that they're introducing, and where you put certain items of your household waste: if you have a durian, it is not food waste.
OF: Because of…?
TB: I assume, because durian is disgusting.
[Voiceover]
OF: Yang Yi, the broadcaster from Episode 21.
[Clip]
YY: In Chinese we call it 中庸之道 [Zhōngyōng zhī dào]. I don't know how to translate it into English. I searched on Wikipedia, it’s called Doctrine of the Mean.
OF: ‘Doctrine of the Mean’, yes.
YY: Yeah, I think it’s the psychology about balance. Chinese medicine uses this philosophy. In Chinese medicine, if you were sick, they didn't try to find a reason behind that. They just keep your body balanced. At that time, when the body got back into balance, you will feel better.
[Voiceover]
OF: Angie Wu, the jewellery craftsman from Episode 18.
[Clip]
AW: OK, so the first time I heard this fact, I was fascinated and shocked. Shanghai itself is around 26 million people. The entire Taiwan is no more than 23 million people. And this just blew my mind.
[Voiceover]
OF: Simon Manetti, the business leader from Episode 17.
[Clip]
SM: There are more English speakers in China than there are in the United States. It's a good reminder of the diligence and the approach to education here. And also a reflection of China's scale.
[Voiceover]
OF: Srinivas Yanamandra, the compliance leader from Episode 15.
[Clip]
SY: The most interesting fact I always try to tell any visitor who comes to China: you can't write your name in Chinese at all. So if I say for example “Srini” there is no way in which you can write ‘Srini’ in Chinese. It is like mathematics. Can you write ‘Srini’ in mathematics? No, because you have got nine characters which can represent the entire mathematics. And in those nine characters, you can't create a combination called ‘Srini.’ And that's the most, I think for me, is an eye-opener, and the reason for shutting down my Chinese classes.
[Outro]
OF: Thank you so much for listening. And please share your own China-related facts with me on social media. We are on @oscology* on Instagram or @mosaicofchina on Facebook, or add me on my WeChat ID: mosaicofchina* and I'll add you to the listeners community there.
Next week, we will be at the halfway point of these compilations, and we will also be around the halfway point of 2020. This has been a tumultuous year, and right now these are still tumultuous times, so I'm going to continue trying to offer some respite. And next week's episode will be on perhaps the most frivolous of all topics: the best and worst purchases that my guests have made in China. I'll see you then.
*Different IDs were mentioned in the original recording. Those IDs are now obsolete, and the updated ones have been substituted.
[Clips]
PG: Thank you very much.
MZ: Thank you.
EO: Thank you so much.
AP: Thank you too.
JL: Thank you very much.
GL: Thank you.
MZ: Thank you again.
VV: Thank you so much.
NS: Great, thank you.
LL: My pleasure too.
SD: Thank you very much.
YF: Thank you.
NY: Thank you.
EM: Thank you.
SY: Thank you so much.
NS: Thank you for having me.
SM: Awesome, thank you.
AW: Thank you.
SDM: Thank you.
LC: Thanks for having me.
YY: Thank you for having me.
RC: Thank you so much for having me.
GN: Thank you for having me.
GC: Thank you
TB: Thank you very much.
SC: Thank you.
AD: Great to see you too.
LT: Thank you so much.
SB: Thanks.
OC: Thank you.