介绍:
Xiaohua: A recent report shows the average height of Chinese adult is 167.1cm for male, and 155.8cm for female. Is your height higher or lower than the average?
So I want to ask you guys what is your very first reaction after seeing this?
Heyang: I couldn’t believe my eyes. As a northerner growing up in Beijing... Yeah, I had like higher expectation, I suppose. I thought that it is a bit low both for men and women. And judging by the figures, I’m a giant, I suppose. Well, I’m 174cm tall, so yeah.
Brian: Ok, I guess I’m not surprised. I obviously come from a little bit different perspective. Actually, it’s interesting. I would say, maybe, Americans might be surprised because a lot of Chinese people who have come to US over the past hundreds of years, a lot of them have been from the south, especially Guangdong, and in general as you might know, they tend to be a little bit shorter there. So when Americans think of Chinese people, they tend to think of people on the shorter side. So this makes surprise to Americans. But for me, that actually sounds about right. I don’t find it surprising at all.
Xiaohua: Or for someone who is above 180, 160 or 170 actually doesn’t much of any difference to you.
Brian: There is some truth of that, yeah.
Xiaohua: I guessed so. My first reaction after seeing this is YEAHHHH, because my husband has passed that average height. Not very far, I have to admit, but yeah good for him.
Heyang: And you have also passed the average height of women.
Xiaohua: Yes, of course. A bit further above but I mean, I’m 165. I always thought that is the average height. I thought this is the average height for Chinese female, but no, it seems I’m 10 centimeters taller than the average.
Brian: COOL for you. But this is once again. This is like “oh, gotta beat the average here”... This seems be like a craze in Chinese society as of late like “oh, there is this average, gotta compare it, and am I above that or not? I better be above it, because that matters for some reason, apparently”.
Heyang: Of course it matters. You need a benchmark of measurement in anything, I think, in any field. You want to know what the average is and then do a little comparison.
Brian: Heyang, is your self-esteem based on the fact that you are taller than most people? Cuz that’s not a good way to do it.
Heyang: Well, I wouldn’t say be based on my height, but I have to say the air is really fresher up there. Up here, I mean.
Xiaohua: Oh, man, you have just drawn yourself so many criticisms.
Heyang: I’m sure. Feel free to say bad things about me...
Brian: Rarefied air where Heyang’s getting it all.
Xiaohua: But I don’t know, is it a Chinese thing? I hate to say it is a Chinese thing, but I think we like to compare ourselves in these bigger or smaller areas that can somehow give us comfort or a little bit of superiority in front of others.
Brain: That does in some ways seems to be something you see a lot in modern China. I will tell you something interesting in the US, though. People in US don’t compare themselves about that, but in surveys, if you look at what the average is and what people think they are, the majority of people in the US think they are above average, which is statistically impossible because it is the average.
Heyang: Yeah, I think height could be a plus as most girls prefer to go out with a guy that is a bit taller than them. But, sorry to put my own story here all the time, I’ve realized it is difficult to find men that are suitably taller than I am. So I realize sometimes looks don’t always matter, I think it’s really the person’s personality that I would value the most and first.
Brian: Absolutely. And on that, heels... (Heyang: for men as well?) Actually interestingly, heels were first worn by men there. And I’m gonna say that neither men (Frenchmen, maybe), somewhere in Europe. You know, heels are not necessary. There’s this idea “oh, I need to be tall or whatever, and this is important”. But don’t damage yourself by wearing heels or something ridiculous like that. I even heard of reports a few years ago about people trying to do some kind of surgery where they lengthen their bones and their legs, which sounds so sad when people do that because it must be so painful and so bad for you.
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