Artist draws comics to compare Chinese culture vs Western culture through everyday life

My name is Siyu. I was born and raised in Beijing, and I’ve spent the last 10 years visiting around the world, studying and working abroad within the US, United Kingdom, and France. Many people that I met have been curious about China, but their opinions of China would turn out to be with words like ‘communist,’ ‘pollution’ and ‘no fb.’ Whilst many information are real, the contemporary, residing and multifaceted Chinese life is hardly ever heard of. I began “tiny eyes” comics a year ago in the desire of sharing the Chinese way of life via everyday life. To me, studying about other cultures has constantly been an amusing experience, and i need to pass this feeling to those who are curious about China. In lots of my comics, I compare Chinese culture vs Western culture.

Through comparison, we realize how differently we act in front of the same situation and the way we tend to think in a positive way instead of another.

In the end, each way of life is “weird” in its way, however it’s also the weirdness that makes it exciting.

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It’s hard for Chinese to directly express their love to their families and friends. Instead of saying love, we show care to the health of people we love, ask them if everything goes well, and buy nice things to make their life more comfortable. In history, Confucius enforced social orders by putting people in different relations/obligations, but the expression of personal feelings was never encouraged. Emotions need to be under control. How do you show people that you care about them?

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Can you name a classic Chinese design or a brand? Probably difficult. But have you bought anything “Made in China”? Very likely yes. Chinese products are often associated with the word “cheap” and not high quality, sadly. Many aspiring local designers have been trying to create original and valuable products, but problem such as the lack of copyright protection has complicated the process. Still a long way to go.

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Chinese people love their food, they spend lots of time savouring and enjoying their meals. Food is not just “fuel” for the body, but a pleasure, an art, and a way of socialising. If you want to make friends, go eat. If you want to close a business deal, go eat. If you want to pursue a romantic relationship, go eat. Since ancient times, food has been considered priority in Chinese culture. The government’s goal was to make sure that each person is taken care of and “has enough to eat”. From another angle, it also suggests the realistic character of Chinese: food goes before ideas, and this life is more important than after life.

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People have less trouble naming Chinese political figures than naming great Chinese artists and scientists, who have also played a great role in shaping Chinese culture. Why? They don’t learn much about it in school; they don’t see them in the media often; and in China we lack initiatives and channels to communicate to the outside word.

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Chinese have trouble taking compliments from other people, because they are raised to be humble, to be self-reflective, and to not stand out from the crowd. So when someone notices you and makes a compliment, you tend to lose the inner balance and get nervous very quickly.

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In China, it’s not rare to see young people choosing to live with their parents after getting out of college. For one thing, it’s more economical than renting a house on your own. And for another, Chinese are very family oriented, so getting support from your family it’s expected in the social norm. In the the United States, however, people value independence so much that it’s embarrassing to have things given to you while you have the ability to live on your own.

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