中国人到底要什么

    面对中国，西方评论界与华尔街相差不大，总是倾向于在恐惧与贪婪这两个极端之间摇摆。恐惧方面：中国正操纵汇率，强化军备，镇压异见人士，准备在经济与地缘政治上蚕食我们的利益！贪婪方面：没错，可你得想想所有那些崛起中的中产阶级消费者，他们迫切想要接受我们的价值观，购买我们的产品！

    中国既是全球最古老的文明，也是最具活力的现代经济体，但上述两种观点都源于对中国的无知。如果我们想要与十几亿中国人和平共处乃至从中获利，我们就必须理解其政治、经济与文化选择。简而言之，我们必须培养出文化上的“同理心”，如此才能换位思考，透过中国人的眼睛来看世界。

    只有与中国社会长期亲密接触才能获得此种同理心。唐锐涛是一位美国广告公司经理人，他过去14年来一直在中国工作、生活。他如今执掌智威汤逊广告公司的大中华区业务，西方电视、广播制作人需要在短时间内获得对中国人行为方式的精湛见解时，往往求助于他这位专家。

    通过《中国人要什么》一书，唐锐涛提供了一本关于中国人的文化心理与消费理念的初级读本，其价值不可估量。尽管他的目标受众主要是希望打动中国消费者的西方营销人员，但对任何想要了解现代中国运行方式的人来说，他的书应该都颇具吸引力。

    归根结底，唐锐涛是个广告人，他不断重申自己的信息，直到它们像可乐广告曲或毛主席语录一样深深嵌入读者的小脑。他的关键观点是：中国人渴望安全感，惧怕陷入混乱。与西方人不同，他们主要以社会认同而非自我实现作为成功标志。他们希望融入群体，又想要脱颖而出。这会影响他们购物时的选择——无论要买的是汽车、衣服、珠宝还是纹身。

    唐锐涛指出，中国人很少会挑战权威人物，因为儒家尊重等级秩序的观念根植于中国文化之中。他们的道德观念也是相对的，而非绝对“任何有利于团结与社会和谐的事情都是好的，任何诱发不稳定的事情都是坏的。正因为此，西方的普世人权观念往往无法获得中国人的深深认同，对中国人来说，社会稳定总是胜过抽象的道德观。

    唐锐涛还尖锐地强调，著名政治异见人士、当代艺术家以及蓬勃发展的网络媒体和生动的地下摇滚等等反主流文化的现象，并不能预示中国正在变得更加自由化——至少不会符合西方人对这个词的认知。

    Not unlike Wall Street, Western commentary on China tends to oscillate between extremes of fear and greed. The fear narrative: China is manipulating its currency, building up its military, oppressing its dissidents, and preparing to eat our economic and geopolitical lunch! The greed narrative: Yeah, but think of all those emerging middle class consumers, just itching to embrace our values and buy our stuff!

    Both perspectives are rooted in ignorance of China, home to the world's oldest civilization as well as its most dynamic modern economy. If we're to coexist peacefully and even profitably with billions of Chinese, we need to understand their political, economic, and cultural choices. In short, we must develop the cultural empathy that will allow us to see the world through Chinese eyes.

    That kind of empathy comes only from long, intimate experience with Chinese society. Enter Tom Doctoroff, an American advertising executive who has lived and worked in mainland China for the past 14 years. Doctoroff runs greater China operations for J. Walter Thompson and has also emerged as a go-to pundit for Western TV and radio producers seeking quick, sharp insight into Chinese behavior.

    In What Chinese Want, Doctoroff presents an invaluable primer on the culture and buying patterns of the Chinese. Although he writes primarily for an audience of Western marketers seeking to reach Chinese consumers, his book should interest anyone who wants to understand what makes modern China tick.

    An ad man at the end of the day, Doctoroff repeats his messages relentlessly, until they lodge in one's cerebellum like a Coke jingle or a Maoist precept. His key points: Chinese crave security and fear chaos. Unlike Westerners, they define success primarily in terms of social recognition rather than self-actualization. They want to stand out while also fitting in. This influences all their buying choices, from cars to clothes, jewelry, and even tattoos.

    According to Doctoroff, Chinese rarely challenge authority figures because their culture is rooted in Confucian respect for hierarchy. Their concepts of morality are relative, not absolute: Whatever promotes unity and social harmony is good, and anything that promotes instability is bad. For this reason, Western notions of universal human rights tend not to resonate deeply in China, where social stability trumps abstract morality every time.

    Doctoroff argues, provocatively, that countercultural manifestations like China's celebrated political dissidents and contemporary artists, as well as its burgeoning online media and lively underground rock scene, are not signs of a society in process of becoming more liberal, as Westerners understand that term.