Singapore phenomenons

Our collage: Singapore Phenomenons 

Our Language: Singlish

Singlish is a form of slang spoken in Singapore, which is adding Hokkien and Chinese words to emphasise and bring across our desired meaning. 

Our behaviour: Kiasu or kiasi 

Singaporeans are known to be either kiasu or kiasi. For example, many parents are known to be kiasu pertaining to their children's results, and also, many kiasu people, so as to "CHOPE" or reserve seat in hawker centres, place tissue papers on the table, which is a form of "reserving their seats". 

Our Food: Buffet= eat all u want!

Singpaoreans can never resist delicious food. However, some, or many, Singaporeans take it too far, especially when free food comes into place. The moment we see the words "free for all to take", most likely the product will be used up in less than an hour. Some people might think that this sort of behivour is rude and unruly, but in singapore, it is just a norm for all. I mean, who can resist the delicious pile of food, free for your taking?

Reflextion on Terracotta Warriors ~Lixian~

From the terracotta warrior statues found in Xi An, China, I learn that they are actually the things left behind by Qin Shi Huang. This shows a lot about his tyrannical ways and the terracotta warrior statues were actually there to protect his tomb. A lot of people were hired to carve out these statues, only to be killed or disabled in the end as Qin Shi Huang did not want others to have a copy of his warriors. I can learn that people under his rule will suffer because of his demanding ways. However, I can also infer that the people at that time lived in a highly organized society because since Qin Shi Huang wanted so many organized rows of terracotta warriors to protect him when he passed on, the military during that period of time would be quite powerful and well-trained as well. Hence, the terracotta warriors are symbolic because it shows a lot about Qin Dynasty and how it was like under Qin Shi Huang's rule. 

Family structure in China and how it affects the society

Firstly, in China's family structure, girls are not favored because a woman was quite explicitly removed from the family of her birth (娘家) and affiliated to her husband's family (婆家), a transition always very clearly symbolized in local marriage customs, despite their variation from one region to another. This has caused woman's position in the society to be lower than man and many people has this fixed mindset of the men being the superior ones (男尊女卑) Many women are looked down on and treated badly if they are unable to produce a male offspring, this is creating a kind of gender discrimination in the society and it brings about unfair treatment for females. In traditions, Chinese also thinks that the girls should stay at home to take care of the house matters while the males will go out to work, many believed that girls should not be educated and there is this saying that goes “女子无才便是德”. Chinese tend to have this impression of girls being weak and useless, and that they can only take care of house matters, but not go,out to work, thus there is no need and it is not worthwhile for them to receive education. Nowadays,with the modern growth of industries, urban populations, and foreign influences, women have been proved to be no far off men. In china, you can often see girls receiving education together with boys, there are also many woman now working in the society and providing for themselves. However, in those remote villages, such mindset are still deeply rooted in peoples mind and even in urban cities the trails of such traditional bias can still be found within peoples thoughts and thinking.

 Next, respect for the elders is very much stressed in the family structure of China, the elders and seniors of the family receive the largest degree of reverence, respect and obedience.This is mainly because one of the most important moral values in Chinese's culture is being filial. As the chinese saying goes, “百善孝为先”, this morality has been emphasized in many of the books written by great philosophers like Confucius and Mencius. It is common to see that the whole family has to listen to the wills and orders of the family's elders. Traditional law also held a child's insubordination to a parent to be a capital offense, and a daughter-in-law's insubordination to her parents-in-law grounds for divorce. Nowadays, many people do not live with their grandparents or even their parents, unlike in the past where three generations or even four to five generations live under one roof (三代同堂/四
世同堂）For those living with their parents, many are because they could not afford to buy a new house or rent an apartment. A national survey found that about 23 percent of China’s senior citizens over the age of 65 live alone . Another survey in Beijing found that less than 50 percent of elderly women live with their children.

 Also, in the past, people use to have at least three to five children in each household and it was common to see big families living together. But now, a unique phenomenon of the Chinese family is the one child policy that has been enforced by law in the country. This policy was introduced as a means of controlling the rapidly growing population and to control the draining of the country’s natural resources. In the rural areas the families are given some exceptions especially if their first born is not a boy. The one child policy geared towards controlling the population outburst has had widespread effects on the marital relations between couples along with the status and prospects for women in society. With one-child policy, instead of the usual bottom-heavy structure, the only child is now supported and brought up by two parents and four grandparents, resulting in an inordinate amount of attention and pressure on the child.With regard to the workplace, this can potentially have two negative side-effects. First, with only one child available to succeed and support them in their old age (expected by parents in China) parents and grandparents will aim to be even more in control on their child. In modern China every aspect of a child’s life, including courses of study, careers, friends and free time is decided and managed by the parents and other relatives. When those children later enter the workplace, they generally not only have little to no experience thinking and making decisions on their own, but also as a result of a school system focused on memorization and diminished free thinking, they have been specifically taught to avoid such things. Second, under the sole focus and care of so many family members, Chinese children of the post ’80s generation have acquired a reputation for being spoiled and self-centered, also known as the “Little Emperor Syndrome.” One result is that young talent in China is more likely to become dissatisfied with their current employment. They are much more likely than their Western counterparts to switch jobs after short periods, chasing happiness or a larger paycheck.

 Zhang Yue (21)

What's hot and cool among Singapore youths

What is hot and cool among Singapore youths: Music and social networking sites

Music: KPOP, EPOP, CPOP

Social Networking sites: Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, Twitter, Line, Whatsapp