Although most of my posts have been comical in nature, I also would like to enlighten the world and my own community about the very different experiences we all have while living in Shanghai. The first post, in a string of “Being ___ in China”, is about the Black American laowai community. I don’t think I need much of an introduction to explain why being black in China may be a little different from most of the other ethnicities so let’s jump start this bad boy up.
I sat down with Kris and Leo, husband and wife, and asked some questions about their experiences living in China. They are awesome people with hilarious and interesting stories about their lives abroad and their hometowns. Leo first came to China in 06′ and taught English for a year in Xi’an while pretending to be Dwyane Wade. After his contract was up, he stayed in the States for two years before coming back, this time with his newly wed wife and two kids. Here is what Leo has to say about being Black in China:
When my boy AK asked me to write a post about being Black in China, I agreed with no hesitation. As a matter of fact, my wife and I were just having a discussion about that same topic a few days before and she mentioned to me that most of the information she reads in blogs, in the papers, or online about this topic has been entirely negative. So I decided that it was time to put something positive…well, at least a little less negative out there.
Before I go any further I would like to preface what I am about to say by saying that I am only one man and I can no better speak for the rest of my race than any other individual can for theirs. But if you would like to know what makes me qualified to give an opinion on being Black in China, and that is a fair question, then here is a little bit of info about me. I am a Black American man in my 20’s from Washington DC, I have lived in several cities in China off and on since 2006. During this time I have been fortunate enough to run across many people from many countries and based on our interactions, some positive, some negative, but all entertaining, I have been able to form an opinion on what it is like to be Black in China in 2010.
I think it is important to say that I have formulated my opinion based solely on questions people ask me and conversations I have had with friends, co-workers, and total strangers. I will start by listing the questions I have received and then giving two responses. The first of these responses is my internal voice aptly named IC. This is the response that without the help of the prefrontal lobe of my brain (the part of the brain responsible for impulse control), I would have given but have thankfully learned to control. The second, will go by the acronym AR, which stands for my actual response. This is my politically correct, often boring, yet face saving response. You may notice that some of these questions are not exactly questions but more like statements disguised as such.
Question #1: Can you slam dunk?
IC: Wow! You just completely skipped the part about me liking basketball or any other sport for that matter. Assumed me to be athletic and based on my physical appearance alone credited me with not only the skill set to play basketball well, but the sheer ability to at 5’11 jump high enough to slam a basketball. Wow that was racist!
AC: Not anymore.
Question #2: You like hip-hop/rap/and or 50 cent!?
IC: WHAT?! Just because I’m black you think I like hip-hop music? How narrow minded of you! The world is made up of all types of people from many different places, and we are all different! Just because I am a black American does not mean you can pigeonhole me into a predetermined little box of stereotypes! I enjoy all types of music! People like you make me sick! (Spit at the ground in disgust)
AR: Hell yeah I love rap, you heard the new Devin the Dude CD?
Question #3: So… is it true? Do you have a big penis?
IC: WTF?! Dude, I don’t even know you! What the hell happened to hello? How are you just going to walk up to me on the street, obviously drunk, and ask me some profane shit like that? Of course I do!
AR: Define big.
Question #4: Can I touch your hair?
IC: What the fuck is this, a petting zoo? Hell naw you can’t touch my hair. What kinda shit is that to ask someone? Can you touch my hair? Get outta here.
AR: Sure, why not!
Question #5: You can teach me how to dance!
IC: Cool! And you can teach me how to do a flying heel kick!
AR: Sorry, but I have two left feet.
I could go on for days but you get the picture. Changing subjects now… My unique experience in China is not solely based on the fact that I am Black but also the fact that I have a wife (Black American as well) and two young boys with me which makes us a Black family in China. Making the decision to bring my entire family thousands of miles away from home has drawn criticism from family and friends alike. Some have called us brave and adventurous while others branded us as foolish and shortsighted. Some have been supportive and others skeptical. Yet despite the concerns of our friends and family, we made the decision to relocate to Shanghai regardless and we couldn’t be happier.
The lifestyle we have here makes me think that I wasted time in America and wonder why I didn’t come out here years ago. I mean we have an Ayi who takes care of our youngest son while our oldest boy goes to a $20,000USD/year private International School for kindergarten and we don’t pay a dime! My wife works at the school so our kids tuition is all free. In addition to our ayi and paid private school tuition, our apartment is twice the size of the one we had in DC for a fraction of the cost. Not to mention the boys are growing up learning to speak, read, and write Chinese on a native level, something that will benefit them immensely in the future. It’s not all perfect. Some people stare, point, and want to touch the kids hair and faces all the time, I will save those stories for another post, but it is a much better quality of life than what we had before.
All in all I would say living in China is beyond cool, it’s an indescribable feeling. It is one of the coolest things I have ever done, and for those of you who don’t know me, I am an extremely cool person who has done some extremely cool shit. Here in China you have no reason to fear the police, most if not everyone you meet is respectful, and they all assume you to be the coolest person in the room, which in my case is usually true no matter where I am, and above all it is an opportunity to not only learn but to teach. You get the opportunity to teach the rest of the world about your culture. Surviving here also depends on your approach and attitude. I would sum up my experience here by saying living in another country requires great patience and understanding no matter what color you are or where you are from. How receptive you are to other people and their culture and a lot of times their ignorance to your particular situation are key factors. Your attitude can and will determine whether or not you enjoy your life, and that’s true if you never leave the house you grew up in. One of my favorite quotes of all time is “there is nothing good or bad that thinking does not make so.”
- Leo
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The hair touching shit is true. I saw my grandparents doing that to random black people before. Even in the states, lol.
Miss you, Kristen!
Love the casualness of the videos. You can ask me some questions but my lady is going to cut my hair while we do it.
I have an African friend (female) who said that she felt like an orangutan while travelling around China. Everyone staring, and occasionally children started to cry/scared when seeing her.
Once, I invited to my place and a Chinese friend opened the door for her. It was really dark outside. My Chinese friend opened the door, screamed in terror (just like in the movies) and closed the door on her face. She said: “I have seen a ghost. Just 2 eyes as in the Japanese horror stories”. We explained, she opened the door again and let my African friend in (who was really pissed off by then). Of course, my Chinese friend apologized the Chinese way (saying BU HAO YISI and smiling/laughting all night long while shily looking at my friend….she really felt so embarrased that she could not help the ever-so-irritating-for- foreigners “Chinese buhaoyisi smile” all nite long…even if we told her that culturally she was worsening the situation by just acting too Chinese again and we begged her to STOP smiling, she could not).
Interesting how you hear a lot of different things. I have met quite a few racist people in China. Saying about black people: ‘oh, we don’t like him because he is black’. Without giving a reason why they didn’t like black people..
On the whole raising your kids thing. Not sure how it is in the US (I’m from Europe), but China is not the first place where I consider raising kids. The main reason for that would be that I have no faith in the chinese health system, moreover high levels of pollution and low levels of food safety are certainly not something I would like for my kids…
Your patience is commendable. I am the kind of person who would use the italicized remarks. In fact, I lived in China for two years, and sometimes I did use the italicized remarks. Now I’m back in the states and sometimes I have to use the italicized remarks to our ignorant crowd, the republicans.
Nice piece. However there is some sugar coating. Chinese are very racist and the sooner they get to realize this the better. African students on average speak way way better Chinese than the average African-American expat and interact more with Chinese and yet Chinese love the expats more, does it have something to do with who has money. At the end of the day Chinese think all blacks are the same. No less than a third of them (Chinese) are pretentious and look down on blacks the remainder know this and choose to do nothing when blacks get openly abused. I am wary of advising newly arrived blacks to master the language because the rudeness can get deafening. And I hate the justifications some of them use for their prejudice that it has something to do with some black criminal elements. Let me make this clear this prejudice predates the arrival of these so called criminal elements.
What an awesome sounding guy Leo is. Huge respect to you for being so cool. I hope I run into you one day.
Yes,we have different colors outside—-white ,black,yellow ,brown,maybe blue in the future…However,deep down, we are all just human individuals made of blood and flesh living humblely for a while on the earth in the entire universe. It is just unfair and superfacial to judge people from outside .It is also too difficult to read people from inside without considering the social environment. Yvonne and I discussed yesterday that there are different levels of laowai individules here in shanghai—-arrongant white losers, hardworking and nice white expats, friendly and intellegant but still- very -open to learn black people and so on. I haven’t seen enough to tell all these kinds and it is pointless to place everyone. You know it and keep it to yourself and make friends natrually this way. I am glad that I have worked with Leo and met your genius wife and two adorable sons. I wish you have a wonderful life and enjoy being You in Shanghai.
i guess the “sugar coating” mentioned earlier goes with the fact that this post was supposed to be less negative concerning attitudes toward black people.
i read an interview back in 2008 of a chinese student indicating that there was no racism in china because there are no black people in china. being here since 2007, i resented that statement. i read somewhere on another newspaper that black people are dirty and have hygiene problems.
over time, there has been changes… people actually do ask to touch my hair instead of just touching it.. people even ask to take pictures now.. instead of trying to sneak a shot in the metro. shanghai on the whole is pretty open… at least when visiting tourist sites i’m not part of the attraction compared to going to the great wall or forbidden city.
after the whole scandal of the poor lou jing whose grandmother told her that she’s half black because her mum was sick and had to take medicine, i realized that the view towards darker skin tones will always be negative and i made the choice to be somewhat oblivious to remarks and stares.
I know a guy who had a Junior High girl ask him “Does it come off when you wash it?” pointing to his dark skin.
This “only black” applies to other races in China too. Glad to see you all this being as “incredibly cool” and see you seeimg the world as hey, topping and all that. I am quite ambivalent being a brown Indian woman. I am seriously brown, hazel eyes, they do all that and more. They touch my skin, smile many times, or break into a bollywood action (hiphop for you is bollywood forme). While mostly it is cute and endearing , fact is I did not come from DC. I came from Mumbai where plurarity in races/religions is taken for granted and resent that 1 thing about CHina – the Hannoying Han Hanogeneity. It just is a lot of cold water sometimes
DC is probably one of the most diverse cities you’ll find, and if it weren’t, I don’t think Kris and Leo would find living here as easy as they do. I am just saying that there are still lots of places in the world that haven’t had enough exposure to people of different cultures to know how to behave civilly around them. I lived in other parts of Asia and got stared at and harassed just because I was white, but the people here are at least used to white people by now and will get used to others. I do think that their ignorance can quickly turn to racism though. I will say, however, that being a relationship with a man whose not the same race as me is WAY easier here than back home. I have yet to take my boyfriend home, but the stories of mixed couples getting harassed in the States are way too common. Out here, we’re both just 老外 and nobody seems to care that we don’t “match.”
Miss you guys!!!
I think that even being negative in its nature, the attitude towards Black people in China is not racist. Very often it is purely about esthetical preference for a lighter skin color. Many Asians (not only Chinese) would go a long way to whiten their skin.
As for the stereotypes, they are mostly taken straightly from Hollywood movies…
I don’t know about that, Crystal. China’s racism is definitely NOT motivated by hollywood.
Well… what can I say to “prove” my point? Let me give an example not related to black people.
Most Chinese have a negative opinion about Israel. How can we create such impression without being there, or even knowing where that country is on the map? Because we see TV news, ok?
Now – let’s take this analogy and get back to black people. How can Chinese have stereotypes towards black people, while vast majority of us never met a single black person face to face?
From movies… and as I mentioned before it is coupled with esthetical perception of white skin color being more beautiful.
Now, please don’t misunderstand me – I personally worked in travel agency and had many opportunities to work with foreign clients, including black people and never felt any kind of prejudice. Even more, one of the readers of my blog (LoveLoveChina) is a black guy who is going to visit China and meet his Chinese girlfriend, and he wrote me a letter and asked me for some advice, which I was happy to give him.
I think you first should not treat yourself to be different or even inferior to others. ( If it is because of your skin color, that would be even one of the worst ) We need to look at the same things existing in ourselves, and then you will find enjoy and happiness. There are so many same characters we all cherish, why not look at them… ( think about some good words to praise a person, do things others will use these words to describe you )
After responding to a career opportunity post on the net I surfed for Black American impressions of Shanghai life. Most left me wanting. Until you.
I appreciate your perspective as it seems we have some similarity of both backround (I’m a Black Philadelphian) and outlook on life (your closing quote perfectly suits my attitude).
And so based on your “…interactions, some positive, some negative, but all entertaining, I have been able to (begin to) form an opinion on what it is like to be Black in China in 2010.”
Thank You.
Well as a British black male in my 30s, I’ve been in China working for 2 months now and I’m ready to return to the UK.
It’s true that being a black guy in China requires great patience and understanding, but most of the time it’s more than I have energy to provide. I have never encountered a people so lacking in basic manners, etiquette and protocol as the Chinese people; that statement includes the constant staring, pointing, laughing at me, secretly or brazenly taking pictures of me and making rude comments as I walk by from old and young alike. I’ve encountered this in many Chinese cities from Beijing, Guangzhou and Chongqing to Wuhan, Shanghai and Hefei. I realise that many of these people have never seen a black person before but their behaviour betrays a lack of breeding and education which can be energy-draining to deal with on a daily basis. This post is not a rant against all Chinese people, but it does cover the majority of those whom I’ve encountered. I’ve have met lots of wonderful Chinese natives in all kinds of positions but I wouldn’t recommend to another black person that they must experience China unless I knew they were emotionally stable enough to deal with the reactions awaiting them.
I experienced my first taste of racism in China. Im a black male from the Bahamas. Racism never was a big thing for me until China. Will never forget that poor lady face, when she saw me. She looked at me as if I was about to kill her, screaming, crying….
This is so true, I’m a black american teenager(for two more months) that’s been living in shanghai for about 7 months now, It does take some getting used to, but if You approach the situation with an open-minded you will learn to love china.
im 19 and i lived in china for 13 years
there is some racism against black ppl in China, thats mainly because we were taught that black ppl were once slaves ofthe whites and Africa is god damn poor.. historical reasons…
however, most, i mean 90% ppl of our generation think that black ppl are really cool.. again this is because NBA and hiphop.
I think any well educated ppl in China will be very friendly to black ppl.
but seriously, the black society needs a lot of improvements. It is hard to not be stereotypical towars black ppl when most crimes happening in my city are caused by them..
I’m a lady from East Africa, i was born in China and stayed for 15 years with my parents . I came back to china for further studies of my Doctorate program with my family now(husband and my daughter) but honestly i’m never used to this Chinese people; they are pain in the a****”…..The way they treat black people especially having the knowledge that ur from AFRICA!!!!!!!is horrible!
I once applied for a part time job, passed the interview but at the last stage one of the boss asked me where am from, i never hide coz i am a PROUD AFRICAN WOMAN..that was it i didn’t get the post because i’m from Africa the boss openly stated at me that his customers want people from America or Europe.
And it should be known to all:
Africa is a rich continent; mineral resource, natural resource,human labor,culture and traditional and so forth…. The African-American, Black Britsh, Caribbean descent and all other black people out Africa THEY ARE ORIGINATED FROM AFRICA CONTINENT and stop saying s**** about Africa.
We have everything in Africa what we miss is good leadership. The leaders we have are puppets of whites. They are controlled my whites coz whites can never get enough of Africa..
So these so called white man,yellow man, or what ever color this people are now they come in new form as INVESTORS…”hell on what they are investing coz all they do is cheat and take our minerals”..
Closing up:
Africa is not the only place where criminals and crimes are found.
Neither is it a Dark Continent!..
What is it with the hair touching.
My son had really blonde hair when we took him into hong kong when he was 2.
By the time we got out of the airport, I swear more than 50 people had touched him on the head.
You’d go to jail for that shit these days.
I am a 25 year old African American woman living in China
I have to admit I really don’t like it here. I’ve been teaching here for about 6 months. I signed a year contract that I am really regretting. Meeting people one and one is ok and I have found alot of those interactions to be positive. But doing anything in my daily life is horrible I have learned to ignore the starring but I constantly ask myself what am I doing here why did I come here and I feel like I made a big mistake. I don’t like my life here or the person I am here. The only times I am enjoying myself is when I am flaunting my expat salary which doesn’t make me feel good about myself. I would advise other blacks to visit cause it is a once in a lifetime experince but I would not advise them to live here. Maybe for a man its ok. (my boyfriend whom I live with enjoyies his time here but he can also speak the language)
I can barely speak any Chinese which also affects my time here but I don’t want to have to deal with the comments I pick up on now without knowing barely any Chinese.
Also I have to agree with what other have said about the way they treat Africans, they are extra rude when they think im African but when they find out im American the butt kissing begins. I really hate that.
I’m also an African American women here in Shanghai. This article is written by my husband. In Shanghai we have an Black women in China group where we talk about issues like hair and other issues. Sometimes its just good to talk to people who understand what you going through. You can email me kris10hu1@yahoo.com (Kristen Stanley).
Hey Kristen, My husband & I are black, early 60′s living in Chicago, we plan to visit Shanghai early April. After visiting Dublin I told him I’m tired of being the oldest & blackest person in the entire country!!! Thank God for Oprah & Diana Ross women of color who have paved the “way”. I can now add to that list Kristen & “sisters women group” Meaning I won’t be the first Black Woman to do Shanghai.
Good read. I have definitely found Chinese people in general to be much less racially sensitive and politically correct than Americans (at least on the surface). I believe this is mostly due to there being much less diversity over there–since unlike the U.S., not all countries are headed toward a minority-majority or even close to it. Nice to see that you and your family are contributing to the diversity of race and culture in an increasingly cosmopolitan city. All the best.
That was a great post. Thank you so much for writing it. I’m Black myself and will be studying abroad in China for 8 weeks this summer. I already have a lot of Chinese friends and originally I heard lots of good things about it. But a few weeks ago one of my chinese acquaintances told me DO NOT go to china because they are so racist. I blew her off, because I know it can’t be more racist than America and plus i really didnt like this girl that told me don’t go… A lot of the touching and stares i already expected. (Im glad you pointed out it was just ignorance and not racism) and Im already stand out more than most people. I’ve done alot of things and i think I might almost be cooler than you lol. Im 23yo 6’4″ 200lbs and have the biggest afro i’ve ever personally seen. However i plan on cutting it before I go to China. One of my biggest concerns however is losing lots of weight from the “rice diet” I think I will be on when I travel… But other than that i am even more eager to embark on my journey to China!
I have been researching blogs and sites like this because I have been thinking about applying for a Chinese Government scholarship. While a story like Leo’s makes me less scared, I am extremely daunted by all of the other comments I have seen. I am a self-confessed wallflower and I hate people staring at me now, and I am going to be in the vast majority over there. And it really doesn’t seem like much fun.