Living abroad is hard. Living in China can be even harder. These difficulties can commonly be found in the everyday debates raging on between the pro-China contingent (the red corner) and the China-sceptic brigade (the red, white and blue corner). It is quite hard to not get pigeon-holed into one of these categories, and when writers occasionally point out a legitimately baffling feature of the country some people take that as the author subscribing to the "China = bad" standpoint. This is rather sad. In this article I will try to avoid any cultural mud-slinging, pledge my whole-hearted support for all (most…) things Chinese, yet still try and highlight something truly infuriating about my newly adopted country when talking about… Nowism.
You are now on China-Time. Adjust your attitudes accordingly.
Photo: tripadvisor.com
The problem
Nowism is a seemingly firmly-held ancient Chinese belief that people do not need, or indeed do not deserve, any information about what is happening until it is already happening. As in: "this incredibly important event that you should have known about six months in advance is happening... now!" It is a depressingly familiar story to anyone who has ever worked in a Chinese business or school. Things are dropped on you from a very great height, with absolutely nothing in the way of forewarning, leaving you to try and figure out how to work around whatever new set of circumstances you have been presented with.
Examples
The scene is almost a cliché for expats in China; having taught every Wednesday for two years and with absolutely no reason to suspect this one is any different, you get up as per the norm and set about doing your normal Wednesday things. You walk the fifteen minutes to school only to find the corridors eerily silent. If tumbleweeds were native to Chinese schools they would be here in droves…. You go to your classroom and (due to the conspicuous absence of fifty second-graders) find it beautifully calm and serene. You sit there rather enjoying the unusual calm for a few minutes and wait for everyone to turn up. Five minutes, nothing. Ten, nothing. Then fifteen… At twenty you start to get annoyed. You did, after all, get out of bed for this.
You go wander the corridors until you find another member of staff who can explain the situation. This person will then fix you with a look as if to say you are the single most idiotic human being in existence and say "Yes, the whole school is off. You can rest today." Nowism. Or by this late point, it’s probably Thenism.
Other personal examples include being called at 9.30pm on a Saturday night to be informed that I am now a dance judge and should report to the school gate tomorrow at 6 a.m. prompt for a competition; or, on December 25th, being presented with a mouldy Santa costume, instructed to put it on and sing and dance for the whole school (school-based Nowism seems to be very dance-orientated); or simply being greeted with blank looks of incomprehension after actually turning up to something that is no longer happening, even though the "something" is something you have done repeatedly for years.
The reason
Armchair academics have posited that Nowism is basically a feature of a larger over-arching Chinese management style. In both the East and the West there are generally four styles: Directive, Participative, Empowering and Charismatic, and they are essentially different ways for a boss to act in order to get results from his underlings. In the Western world managers tend to be more participative and empowering with their employees (i.e. involving them in decisions, encouraging them to use their own initiative, being more approachable), whereas in China the ‘Directive’ approach is far more commonly favoured. Here, the manager sets the tone and the staff has to look to him for everything. Nowism is just another aspect of this ‘direction.’ As far as Chinese managers are concerned, their employees should be ready for anything, and by withholding information until the last possible minute it keeps the workforce on its toes, unsure as to what is coming next.
It’s because you’re the foreigner
Chances are that in each and every case of Nowism you’ve encountered a message which was sent out or posted somewhere, but you just didn’t see it. In my case it went up on the school notice board (in characters) at 5 p.m. the previous day. My classes finished at 12, and because I was the foreigner I was overlooked. It can at times feel incredibly rude being neglected in this way, and coming from a Western management style environment where being included is just the way things are done it can really rankle.
However, this is just how it is in China. The way to combat Nowism is to make friends where you work. The management won’t tell you what’s going on, but your mates on the company basketball team might, or the security guards you occasionally sit and play mah-jong with, or the lady you do a language exchange with… Too many foreigners live in a little expat bubble and then complain when China comes and bursts it, which is a little silly. You are in China after all, so get stuck in.
Related links
Illogical or Tactical? Lies in Chinese Culture
When Face Meets Chivalry: Negating Cross-Cultural Communication Clashes
Not so Nice to Meet You – Things Chinese People Don’t Say
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Keywords: Nowism in China Not planning in Chinese culture forward planning nowism china
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if many Chinese can't swim, it's because most Chinese live extremely far from the sea, and there were few indoor swimming pools until recently. There is no culture of going to the beach either.
I find this kind of discourse rather condescending and biased. What do you think, the Chinese are idiots and don't know any way of teaching their kids to swim except just throwing them in the water?
Jan 01, 2012 20:37 Report Abuse
I think I know the school you are talking about. I watched a performance there one time, whenm visiting Nantong, where one of the teachers was playing guitar, and punched another ukelele-playing teacher on stage, because the guy playing ukelele was better. In front of hundreds of frightened school kids.
As I recall, the puncher was run out of town, and later it was found he had similar matters for assaulting staff in other towns. Would that be the school, and is it possible you were involved in that incident?
Jan 03, 2012 23:12 Report Abuse
Yes this is china and they are always last minute decision makers. For 3 years I have missed out on the October first holiday vacation time cause by the time I learned about it, it was too late to get tickets anywhere. So I had to stay at home bored again.
This year I planed ahead and sent my principal a text message more than 30 days in advance of the holiday. No replay so in 3 days I booked my reservations and paid for my flight. Nothing said to me until just before noon on Friday the day before the holiday started. During discussion with the principal and another school person to translate I told them I disagreed with their decision that I had to take 2 days leave (not paid) cause of my flight booking even though they were notified I want to know the holiday dates so I could book my flights
Pay day for the October holiday came and as expected my salary was cut 2 days. I refused to sign my pay slip and demanded full pay. Quoting the fact I had asked more than 30 day advance notice and they refused to notify me I again demanded full salary. The principal raised her voice at me and I fired right back demanding full salary with 3 teachers sitting quietly in the office. After contacting my FAO and another discussion and report of facts with him they decided to accept their inadequacies and lack of informing me in a timely manner and paid my full salary.
This was not the first issue nor was it the last. It is common practice for them to make last second decisions even to the point that it cost many people time and money for the problems they cause. Simply they cannot accept being responsible or accountable for their neglect.
Dec 28, 2011 19:19 Report Abuse
Well it is also making known your schedule too..like for e.g. you anticipate the month end exams., mid term exams and the like ...as FT we should know that unless you are not really a teacher..that then you will be included in the NOWISM. Asked your co- teachers they know...and of course we should know also the holidays here...so then there many holidays here then penned it up in your diary.....unless there is a fortuitous event then that is more than an excuse...well the bottomline UPDATE yourself of the school time table and don't be afraid to ask.....
Dec 27, 2011 23:03 Report Abuse
Ok it started out good but turned into another making excuses for the very wrong thing about China, you could have taken it to a higher level by talking about the fact that nothing is planned for but just done like the new road that ends up going nowhere and is never finished, the sewer system that gets rebuilt every month or so because nobody plans ahead.
There are many cases in the daily lives of this country that get redone and redone again and again because of the fact that they can not plan ahead. try ordering train tickets more then three days ahead of your departure date. What about planning a week end off that has turned into a work weekend at the last minute.
You need to take it to new levels to get the point across here. This only part way article is useless.
Dec 27, 2011 17:32 Report Abuse
And Chinese get annoyed when they go to the west and everything is planned out in advance.
Dec 27, 2011 16:39 Report Abuse
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