周黎明：忠于现实才是大智慧[1]_其他

周黎明：忠于现实才是大智慧[1]

The "high price" refers to the stampede in Shanghai on New Year's Eve in which 36 people died. "Racial quality" is a euphemism some critics assign to the inferiority of their compatriots when it comes to the less-than-desirable behavior in the public environment, such as littering, jostling and jumping the line.

“沉重的代价”指的是新年前夜发生在上海的踩踏事件，导致36人身亡。“民族素质”是一种委婉的说法。当提及社会地位较低的国人们在公共场合的不令人满意的行为时，如乱丢垃圾、拥挤推搡和插队等，一些评论家就会开始大谈民族素质问题。

It may not represent the mainstream voice of China, but there has always been an undercurrent of racism in China - against Chinese ourselves. Only in China would such a bad thing happen because Chinese are selfish, undereducated, scheming or too trustful, among other bad qualities, goes the argument.

这并不代表中国的主流声音，但中国总有一股民族偏见的暗流，诋毁我们中国人自己。他们认为，只有在中国才会发生如此糟糕的事情，因为中国人太自私，受教育程度低，善耍诡计，容易轻信别人。

This kind of statement derives from at least two sources: One is the tendency to blame a whole village for something done by an individual. A report of a serial killer would elicit a wave of responses saying that only a place so vile would spawn a creature like this. And a second possible source is the critical self-evaluation of scholars who scrutinize China's cultural soil for elements holding back its progress.