Who is April Rabkin? I don't really know but this is among the worst Slate articles I've ever read, and someone should tell her to write about something up her alley. It reminds me of stuff you read in the 80s about the perils and evils of communist, totalitarian states. Yes the rituals have changed, but times have also changed. Sure some of the changes have been due to the government and what happened during the cultural revolution, but some things, like kowtowing to your elders, probably would've went away on its own.

It's also pretty rich for people to use SF chinatown as an example of what chinese new year really means given the tourist trap that it is.

She's a racist and should be put on a plane out of Beijing!

It may have been insulting to the government, but to the average Chinese? I didn't catch that vibe at all.

Note: I signed up for a Slate account just to reply to this article. It really bothers me when there are broad swathing generalizations about an entire nation/race that masquerades as a novelty "hey, guess what?" type of bar-chat. This happens to be made worse as it is published on a respectable online news magazine. Commentary like these is what makes Americans look so bad when they talk about foreign affairs abroad, made all the sadder because many readers genuinely thought they were learning something today. The previous comment sums it up perfectly as most readers just nod their heads along, taking in these generalizations as if they were always meant to be.

Examples:

"The government has been doing the same thing for decades." - Always lead with how the Chinese government is oppressing something. This is gonna be good!

"Since they are one of the only celebratory outlets permitted today" - Yes, ladies and gentlemen. No clapping, hugging, crying, shouting, or toasts are permitted in China. Only firecrackers.

"It may just be an attempt to seem more human rights-friendly in the lead-up to the Beijing Olympics" - every positive statement from 2004-2008 must be viewed in light of the government trying to pretty up for the olympics.

"People in the north used to shower only at the New Year and get a ceremonial haircut on the 27th day of the 12th month of the lunar calendar; any later would subtract from intelligence, according to tradition." - Ahh yes, let's laugh at the ancient chinese tradition of being filthy, 5000 years ago they also chose to have someone stand on a stool with a bucket to simulate a shower.

"As a child, my 78-year-old neighbor, Wu Shu Qin, couldn't even afford red banners." Oh my god, 60 years ago Chinese families had no money to spend on holiday decorations!

Look, I think the topic is interesting. But wouldn't it be nice to read an article that doesn't interject so much commentary? Take the high road, April.

Please don't think that Americans are the only people guilty of stereotyping people in foreign lands. Some of the most racist people I've ever met were Europeans, and the Japanese have a long history of self-perceived racial superiority.

I read the article, and I guess I just didn't catch the negative aspects of it. Perhaps many details were left out. Maybe she glossed over important things and emphasized others that weren't so important. But racist? I definitely saw nothing in this article that put Chinese in a negative light.

Dude, you're responding to a person who has a nic of wangersinc...this can only go downhill from here. ;)

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happyatheist:

Dude, you're responding to a person who has a nic of wangersinc...this can only go downhill from here. ;)

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LOL...I hardly noticed his handle...you make a good point

Look I don't think the article is racist. I think it is ignorant and a lazy piece of journalism. The endless reference to the demise of the Kitchen God shows either she knows very little about chinese religions and superstitions, or she doesn't really care enough to think of anything else. It's like saying that waning popularity of santa or the easter bunny is illustrative of the tyranny of rampant consumerism. In fact the article reads like stuff from the pre-1990 days when there wasn't a whole lot of information about mainland China, stuff that ended up shaping a lot of the American stereotypes about "chinese culture". For a freelance writer who lives in Beijing, you would think she'd take some time to go beyond the obvious cliches, at least some of them.

Yeah, for most Americans whose only knowledge about China is what they read on the internet and in papers, this article presents a pretty false picture of China. Posting this article is irresponsible journalism.