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SCMP Series

What does it mean to be Chinese? Views from SCMP Opinion

In the Being Chinese column, SCMP writers and contributors – whether they are Chinese by birth, descent or osmosis – explore the different aspects of Chinese identity and experience in personal reflections.

Updated: 02 Nov, 2024
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[1]

Being Chinese | We’re Chinese and we fight to pay for dinner

Economic and societal shifts have forced me to reconsider the fight-to-pay ritual at multi-generation family gatherings.

02 Nov, 2024
At the end of a Chinese family meal, it is common to see the tug of war over who picks up the bill. Photo: Shutterstock
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[2]

Being Chinese | In US vs Chinese soft power, guess how children are voting?

As children around me get sucked into the rabbit hole of Disney, Marvel and Netflix, I wonder about the reach of Chinese culture.

19 Oct, 2024
Children have a chat at Shanghai Disney Resort in 2020. Photo: Reuters
[3]

Being Chinese | From my Chinese Malaysian childhood, a lifelong reality check

A defining childhood moment came when I was warned my identity as a Chinese female would count as ‘two strikes’ against me.

05 Oct, 2024
Children play with firecrackers in a temple ahead of Lunar New Year celebrations outside Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia in 2017. Photo: Getty Images
[4]

Being Chinese | What’s come between China and It bags? Maybe it’s not just the economy

Chinese may be growing out of their obsession with high-end Western brands, like how I outgrew my fascination with ‘decadent Western’ jeans.

21 Sep, 2024
People walk past a Gucci store in the Wangfujing shopping area in Beijing on September 13. China’s slowing growth has begun to weigh on luxury brands. Photo: Bloomberg
[5]

Being Chinese | I am a Chinese mother. Hear me worry

Like Mencius’ mum, I want to give my son a better learning environment, including by moving house. Yet I also want him to be happy.

07 Sep, 2024
Children play with spinning chairs at a shopping mall in Beijing on July 13. Photo: AP
[6]

Being Chinese | How I transcended my Hong Kong identity crisis

I felt neither British nor Chinese growing up in Hong Kong. Travelling the world and living in Beijing helped me find my bearings.

31 Aug, 2024
Fans wave China flags as the Hong Kong flag is displayed on a phone, before the table tennis mixed doubles semi-final between Hong Kong and North Korea at the Paris Olympics on July 29. Photo: Reuters
[7]

Being Chinese | Put a ring on it? Chinese women don’t need marriage any more

Women in China once believed marriage to be a necessary passage in life. Now they know they can choose to follow their desires.

24 Aug, 2024
Women on Nanjing Street, Shanghai, on January 11. Chinese women’s attitudes towards marriage and motherhood have changed as societal attitudes become more enlightened. Photo: EPA-EFE
[8]

Being Chinese | Could Olympic-inspired Hong Kong dare to fail?

For Hong Kong youth who want to take an unconventional path in life, the bar for parental approval is set too high.

17 Aug, 2024
Boys practice at a fencing school in Jordan, Hong Kong, on August 1. The success of Hong Kong fencers at the Olympics has boosted interest in the sport in the city. Photo: May Tse
[9]

Being Chinese | Why must Chinese parents make children dread piano?

Music lessons are practically a rite of passage for Asian children but when forced, they can strip our kids of a lifelong enjoyment of music.

10 Aug, 2024
Piano lessons are a rite of passage for many Chinese children, but how many continue to play as adults? Photo: Handout
[10]

Being Chinese | How the world has changed for a Chinese-looking person

It is remarkable how assumptions and expectations of a Chinese-looking person have evolved, as China’s fortunes changed over decades.

03 Aug, 2024
A Chinese tourist in traditional Thai dress poses for a photo at Wat Arun or the Temple of Dawn in Bangkok in 2023. Photo: AP