I lived in Shanghai for four or five months about twelve years ago. In such a short period of time I couldn’t get to understand the Chinese culture to any great depth. But I stayed long enough to notice a number of things that seemed strange to me, or very different from how things would be done in Scotland or Japan.
Sometimes, when I was walking around Shanghai in the morning, I would see Chinese people in their pyjamas.They might be wearing a bathrobe, or pink fluffy nightwear. And they would be walking outside in the city too.
I always wanted to speak to these people and ask them, “Excuse me, but why are you wearing pyjamas outside? Do you do everything in reverse, and wear a suit and tie in bed?”
In Scotland, if I saw an elderly person walking outside in pyjamas, I would assume that they were senile. I would check to see if they were confused or needed any help. In Japan, if I saw a young person walking outside in pyjamas, I would assume that there was some kind of weird cosplay event, and take a look around for other people dressed as ninjas or robots.
I don’t know why those people in Shanghai were wearing pyjamas outside. I suppose that they just felt comfy in pyjamas, and didn’t really care what other people thought of them. In a way, it could be a powerful symbol of confidence and individuality. “I don’t care if almost everybody else wears trousers or skirts, sweaters or shirts outside. I like my pink fluffy bunny pyjamas, and society’s not going to tell me what to do!”
I was reminded of Chinese in pyjamas by a news article this week. The local government in Suzhou had to apologise for on-line shaming of citizens who had been caught wearing pyjamas outside.
Surveillance cameras captured pictures of the pyjama-wearers. Facial recognition software then identified who the people were. So the local government criticized them on-line, published the pictures of them in pyjamas, and gave their names and the details on their national ID cards.
If wearing pyjamas outside really is an expression of confident individuality, I can see why a repressive government, which is installing hundreds of millions of such surveillance cameras around the country, might not like it.
Vocabulary:
not to any great depth– not very well, not very much, etc.
senile – of an elderly person, showing a loss of memory or mental powers because of old age
comfy–comfortable; feeling pleasant
shaming – the act of trying to make people feel ashamed, or guilty about their behaviour
surveillance – close observation, especially of someone suspected of committing crimes or other wrongdoing
repressive–tending to restrict or limit personal freedom or liberty
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