Opinion on Asian Customs

[Machine_Elf]

@Velocity

In China, people will blatantly cut in line, or not stand in line at all. In Japan, people are great at queueing.

This. Not just about waiting off to the side for elevators and trains to empty, but actively elbowing one’s way to the front of a well-defined queue for a cash register. It’s one of the reasons that tourists from mainland China have a bad reputation in Japan.

cultures in which people don't line up

After some recent experiences with Chinese tourists who didn’t seem to understand or care about the concept of waiting in line to receive service, a brief web search turned up a lot of articles about exactly that thing. Here’s one example, in which the author suggests that the behavior arose during the mid-1900’s, when regular and widespread food shortages meant that if you didn’t elbow your way to the front of the crowd before supplies ran out, you were gonna go hungry that night. Presumably…

@Dr_Paprika

• more reluctance to speak the truth

Japan has concepts of “tatemae” and “honne”:

Honne and tatemae

I recall reading once about a related concept in Chinese culture. It was described humorously with an example of a social group trying to decide which restaurant to visit; no individual in the group wants to suggest a place they like, lest they be seen as self-serving - so the only satisfactory solution is for the group to visit a restaurant that nobody likes. I want to say that this social concept was “qi” or “chi,” but I know those names refer to other things, so I just don’t know.