A glimpse into the elite fashion differences between China and the US

Chesley 2022-04-14 08:01:01

Comparing the lives of the characters in the film with the lives of the so-called elites in China, the huge difference can be seen. Below is the text. Correct omissions based on comments downstairs.

There are many successful people in my life circle. This is of course related to the higher education background. Recently, I have gradually discovered that although most of the Chinese among these friends are Ph.D.s, the amateur habits of those living in the United States and those living in China are becoming more and more different.

A friend who is a professor at Peking University can be said to be the top in this field. In a recent phone conversation, he complained that he was getting older (actually two years younger than me) and his health was getting worse and worse. He attributed everything to the typical living habits of Chinese successful people: a lot of social events, a lot of big occasions, eating at a table, drinking a cup of water, traveling without touching the ground, always sitting in the car... I have come into contact with the same type of domestic people. Friends, it's almost the same.

Another friend in the United States recently completed a long-distance bicycle race with a distance of more than 200 kilometers. I was quite surprised after hearing this. I had never heard of her having a hobby of sports in the past. How could she be so "extreme" now?

All of this is probably done as the locals do. She works in a big technology company, and her colleagues are constantly comparing long-distance running and long-distance cycling with each other. Her husband is also into high-tech, and recently became obsessed with bicycles, and asked me to go out for a 40-kilometer ride. I've always been a long-distance runner, and I'm confident I won't lose to him; but the result is a big defeat. Unconvinced, I now start training with an indoor bike and plan to hit the triathlon record.

I just finished working out in the gym that day, and a middle-aged man I didn’t know greeted me kindly and asked about my mileage, time, and speed of progress. After asking for advice, I learned that they once set a record of riding 350 miles (more than 560 kilometers) in one day.

This is the vibe of my life. The Boston area where I work and live, along with Stockholm, Helsinki, Amsterdam, San Francisco, and more, is listed by The Economist as one of the "elite cities" in the world today. The so-called "elite" refers to high-tech concentration and cultural avant-garde. There is a strong correlation between the two. The so-called "cultural avant-garde" includes those who succeed in the competition of the new economy especially like to engage in extreme sports. For example, not long ago, The New York Times published a long article about a father who started swimming from scratch in order to participate in a triathlon with his children. That's a real challenge for someone in their fifties. He told how he remembered Chopin's music when he was struggling in the water, and how his piano training and swimming were analogous. The Wall Street Journal published an article on how to compete in the long distance butterfly. Recently, I published another article, introducing a 41-year-old woman from a law school who owns two companies, but is keen on ultra-long-distance triathlons and mountain biking (more than 160 kilometers a day). She starts at six in the morning, trains for 90 minutes, sometimes two hours, while her eight-year-old son is sleeping, and sneaks in half-hour training sessions in the evening twice a week. Her mountain bikes cost $7,000, road racing bikes cost $4,000, cycling shoes $200, and helmets cost $200, all of which are not affordable for ordinary people. However, the way she consumes and lives is very different from that of the Chinese elite.

Why is this so? In my observation, the new economy in the United States is highly technological and competitive, and requires the energy and creativity of young people. As I described in my book "Growing the Elite," extreme sports are a big fad in Silicon Valley. A woman who wakes up at 4 in the morning to practice long-distance swimming said that she looks old in her forties here. Therefore, people who are over forty must constantly prove themselves. You beat a twentysomething Mao in a marathon competition, and people look at you differently. In a word, success means struggle, means "process". Your entire style of life should reflect that you are in this struggle. That's called "cool". It's no wonder that the recent trend in American life is that cycling has become a fashion for the middle and high production, and golf has become popular among the working class. I remember the Florida professor who wrote the book "The Rise of the Creative Class" once mentioned that on the rivers of the United States, the people who drive the motorboats are often blue-collar, and the people who row there are often white-collar elites.

In China, it is another matter. Success means picking the "fruit" and enjoying it. The successful people seem to have entered a vested interest group. Therefore, the culture of successful people is based on enjoyment. For example, going to a banquet to "drink spicy food", pinching his feet, or playing golf that does not require much physical strength, he feels that he is "upper-class". Some luxury conferences often provide this service. Cycling has become a very dirty way of life. White-collar premature aging has actually become a social problem.

Personal tastes are supposed to belong to the realm of private life. However, the group's personal preferences of the class reflect the style of our society to some extent. A creative society pays attention to struggle and beyond the limits of oneself. The focus is not on what you already have, but on your future potential. As a result, everyone is more "extreme" in sports than anyone else. The rent-seeking society pays attention to card positions, stances, ranks, and relationships, and personal preferences focus on showing how much social resources you already own or divide up. Therefore, China's elites should worry not only about their bodies, but also their spirits.

Southern Metropolis Weekly article / Xue Yong has deleted and edited

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Extended Reading
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