ESSAY

Peter Peverelli Many Shades of Earl Grey— Chinese Social Media as a Mirror of Chinese Culture 格雷伯爵茶的不同色彩— 中国文化在社交网络中的反射

Instagram artist: photogarrett

arl Grey is my favorite Bojue, where Gelei is the transliteration for washing down my break- of Grey and Bojue the translation of E fast. It has been for years. I was Earl. So far, so good. I know Nicolette, therefore delighted to see Earl Grey’s as she likes to call herself, as someone statue in the English port city of New- with an eclectic taste, who can strike a castle earlier this year and to learn a bit good balance between the Chinese tra- more about why this particular tea was dition and foreign influence. She is not named after him. one of those young Chinese who inter- A couple of months later, I read a lace their language with English words note on WeChat, one of the most popu- and phrases, as if their own language is lar Chinese social media, from a former insufficient to describe the thoughts of a Chinese student of mine: “I love to member of the ‘after-ninety’ generation, drink a cup of .” Interest- the Chinese designation for people born ingly, while the message was in Chi- after 1990. nese, the name of the beverage was in This is certainly not a typically Latin letters. Apparently, she regarded Chinese phenomenon. I am confronted it as a very foreign thing, something with it daily in my own country. Many that did not have a proper name in Chi- people do not refer to their offspring nese. In fact, it doesn’t. is mar- as kinderen, the Dutch word for “chil- keting its Earl Grey tea in China as Gelei dren,” but as kids. Most of the readers ESSAY

to think that I am a good host, I am not Only a few days after reading that a waiter. However, I also remembered the post on WeChat that had aroused message on WeChat, a friend from my interest a couple of days earlier. China was in town, leading a small Was this merely a coincidence, or was delegation from the bank she works this sudden liking of Earl Grey tea per- haps a fad, a vogue among young and for. We had invited her and her well educated Chinese women, possi- party to have at our home. bly to differentiate themselves from the The moment she entered the front others? After she and her colleagues had door, she stated brashly that she was left, I wanted to check this little theory thirsty, and would like to have a cup of mine. WeChat is an online social of—you guessed it: Earl Grey tea. medium; call it the Chinese Whatsapp. Was this liking for Earl Grey transmit- ted through social media. Had it per- of this text will do so, too, but then haps “gone viral”? Another extremely you are mainly Americans, whose popular medium is Weibo, the Chinese mother tongue happens to be English. counterpart of Twitter, which comes The word kids, by the way, is always with a good search engine and made it pronounced “kits,” because native a good way to start my little research speakers of Dutch have a problem with project. ending words with voiced consonants. Weibo literally means “micro blog” Still, these fellow countrymen do in Chinese. Twitter has been blocked not always refer to their children with by the Chinese authorities for some that English expression. There seems to time. No reason has been publicly be a pattern, a set of contexts in which announced for that decision, but most Dutch kinderen becomes kids. Someone people believe it was because the Chi- should set up a research project to nese government had no control over check this out, but it won’t be me. I was the contents of messages tweeted into trained as a linguist once, but switched China. However, others—in particular to another field two decades ago. those more familiar with the Chinese However, I still have my radar open for cyber-scene—have claimed that it was peculiar language. also a move to let Weibo monopolize Only a few days after reading that the Chinese market. message on WeChat, a friend from I opened the Weibo app on my China was in town, leading a small iPhone and typed in “Earl Grey” in delegation from the bank she works for. Latin script in the search box, to focus We had invited her and her party to my search on tweets that regard the have coffee at our home. The moment beverage as “foreign.” This resulted in she entered the front door, she stated an avalanche of Chinese tweets about brashly that she was thirsty and would Earl Grey tea. And that was by no like to have a cup of—you guessed it: means a collection of posts covering the Earl Grey tea. My first reaction was to past few months, weeks or even days, remind her that our home is our home but only of that particular day. and not a café, and that although I like Although the peculiar nicknames make guessing the gender of the writ-

36 WEBER THE CONTEMPORARY WEST SPRING/SUMMER 2015 ers behind these tweets more diffi- “tea,”which would have produced a cult than regular Chinese names, the rhyming tweet. He had missed that majority of those twitterers seemed to linguistic detail. Anyway, the photo be female. The two friends introduced seems to indicate that his lady friend above are also female, so that already was quite impressed and that is all that was a strong link with the outcome matters. of the search. Most netizens, as they Diana apparently believes that are usually referred to in the China some of her followers are not familiar Daily, China’s prime English language with this type of tea and volunteers the newspaper, associate Earl Grey (and information that Earl Grey is Lapsang , which is also mentioned souchong + bergamot oil + . frequently) with high-end living. When If you believe that is incorrect, please you are tired, there is no better way don’t blame me; blame her. to boost your spirits as well as your QueenJ confides to us that she is a physique than a cup of Earl Grey and single-minded woman: her favorite per- a piece of cake. More than a few of the fume and beverage are both Earl Grey. messages are accompanied by photos of a cup of tea and a piece of pie. Let’s have a closer look at the first four pages CheckPoint Coffee in Bengbu, of the search result. A young girl (she adds a selfie, Anhui province, introduces Early so we can establish the gender) who Grey tea from Tea Pigs as the best calls herself Yvette shares a picture brand for this product, explaining of her cup of tea and her, also female, companion. A boy (again a selfie, with that it is Himalayan a girl [friend?] in the background) scented with Italian bergamot oil. even tweets in English: “A cup of Earl Here we can observe a very Chinese Grey Tea made my day.” The photo of the “cup” shows a paper cup with way of thinking: what has come a plastic lid, much less sophisticated from afar, in particular from abroad, than Yvette’s picture of a China cup. must be good. He also should have left out the word

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Businesses are also active. Check- exaggerations about how all aspects of Point Coffee in Bengbu, Anhui prov- his life are so good may be a hint that ince, introduces Early Grey tea from in fact the opposite is true. Many of his Tea Pigs as the best brand for this posts are reminiscences of Chinese food product, explaining that it is Himala- and how good it tastes at home. So, yan Darjeeling tea scented with Italian cake and Earl Grey tea may actually be bergamot oil. Here we can observe a a poor substitute. Extolling something very Chinese way of thinking: what is a very Chinese way of expressing has come from afar, in particular from sarcasm. abroad, must be good, so we should not The post of Zhang, also living in forget to point out the geography of the Canada, strikes me as almost a poem: ingredients, which have been blended in the UK and then shipped to China, to A hazy sky, red maple leaves, a wet be consumed by high-end tea lovers in street; it is the rainy season in Vancouver. Bengbu. The last day of October is already half Chinese residing abroad chip in too. finished. Drinking a cup of Earl Grey [in A Canada-based Chinese, Leeeeeeeeeon Latin script], cleaning my room. Although (sic), tweets completely in English. it is only noon, the unlit room looks gray. “Cake is soo good! Earl grey tea is soo good! Sunshine is soo good! Ohsogood This IS a poem, and a classic Chi- is soo good! Everything in my life is nese one too. However eager Chinese soooooo good.” Zooming in on his may seem to learn about foreign account, I see that most of his posts are regions (and their beverages), in in Chinese, so the choice of English for the end there is no place like home. his tweet on Earl Grey also stresses the Throughout Chinese history, Chinese “foreign” character of this brew. He residing outside the Chinese homeland describes his location as “Overseas, have been writing poetry about their Canada.” Canada alone is insufficient, anguish for being separated from their so he adds the emotionally laden hometown and their friends. expression “overseas” (haiwai) to stress The single most famous poem in this how far away from home he lives. His genre was written by Li Bai (701–762),

38 WEBER THE CONTEMPORARY WEST SPRING/SUMMER 2015 while in exile. It is entitled “Thoughts The first post on Pu’er captured On a Quiet Night” and runs: on still the same day likens various In front of my bed, there is bright moonlight. types of beverages to different types of It strikes me as frost on the ground. friends: I raise my head and gaze at the Bright Moon, Some friends are like mineral water: pure I lower my head and think of my hometown. and transparent. They are always there for That lonely Chinese in Vancouver in you, when you need them. Some friends late October 2014 is expressing exactly are like : fragrant and pleasing. When you are together you feel warm, the same feelings as those of Li Bai, even when not speaking. Some friends are even using a few analogous symbols. like : strong flavored. When Now, Earl Grey is no longer a bever- you are together, you are never short of a age that has come from abroad and topic for conversation. Some friends are gives the consumer the privileged feel- like Pu’er tea: they leave a long after taste. ing of being able to recognize and enjoy Their deep thoughts stay with you while such a rare drink. It is a symbol of being making strategic decisions. stuck in a foreign land with very little reminding you of home. Even the tea, Wow, the difference with the ele- China’s national beverage, is foreign. gance of Earl Grey is striking! It clearly This was a great catch. So many dif- shows that Pu’er and other indigenous ferent shades of meaning given to Earl have deep roots in Chinese culture. Grey tea in Chinese tweets, and all in a The next tweet is very down to single day. earth referring to Pu’er’s reputation of Given this function of Earl Grey as decreasing body fat. Nothing philo- a signifier of foreignness, I was curious sophical there. Another recommends whether a traditional , like Pu’er tea for a mental boost, or as (s)he Pu’er, would be discussed in the same puts it in Chinese: “to make your spirit media. Pu’er is a special kind of tea return (hui hun).” I wonder where it grown in southern Yunnan province. went. According to Chinese medicine, It is widely believed in China that after a heavy meal, a cup of Pu’er tea will help to dissolve the grease and remove It is widely believed in China that excessive fat from the body. It is tradi- tionally pressed into bricks, which are after a heavy meal, a cup of Pu’er easy to transport and store for longer tea will help to dissolve the grease periods. In the old days, traders would and remove excessive fat from the sell the tea bricks in Tibet and Southeast Asia. There even was a special Tea- body. It is traditionally pressed into Horse Road, a kind of Silk Road for tea. bricks, which are easy to transport Nowadays, Pu’er tea is exported to all and store for longer periods. In the continents, bringing in more than USD 2 million p.a. in hard currency. It has old days, traders would sell the tea become such an important product for bricks in Tibet and Southeast Asia. its home region, that the local govern- There even was a special Tea-Horse ment changed its original name, Simao, to Pu’er a few years ago. Road, a kind of Silk Road for tea.

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make us believe it can prevent cancer. He Who Carries a Sword, in spite of Perhaps that’s why he chose such a nickname for his Weibo account. I his mythological cyber-name, gives remember that during one of my longer a scientific explanation about the periods in China, during the early polyphenols in Pu’er tea, the active 1980s, I was struck by a beer advertise- ment in the China Daily. It too claimed antioxidants that play a key role that drinking it regularly could prevent in all those positive effects ascribed several diseases, in particular cancer. to this brew. When you surf to his The next day’s issue also carried that ad, but without the strong medicinal Weibo home page, you learn that claim. This apparent ease in making he has a medical background, but is medicinal claims for everyday beverag- now a tea merchant. He seems like es like tea or beer is again linked to the Chinese medical tradition, which sees a guy who is literally following that a huge overlap between nutrition and Chinese tradition of mingling food medicine. When you have lung prob- and medicine. lems, you can visit so-called medicinal restaurants in China and ask the chef to compose a meal from dishes that allevi- humans have two souls. The hun, or ate lung ailments. ethereal soul, is coming from the father, He Who Carries a Sword, in spite of three days after birth, and the po, the his mythological cyber-name, gives a corporeal soul, is given by the mother, scientific explanation about the poly- three days after conception. The hun phenols in Pu’er tea, the active antioxi- leaves the body immediately after you dants that play a key role in all those die, while the po remains with the body positive effects ascribed to this brew. until it has completely decayed. When When you surf to his Weibo home your hun leaves the body, like the astral page, you learn that he has a medical body can leave the physical one, during background, but is now a tea merchant. out of body experiences, you are los- He seems like a guy who is literally ing something quite essential to your following that Chinese tradition of min- existence. You would want it to return, gling food and medicine. soon preferably. If Pu’er can help you RED (sic, again) from Shanghai rec- do so, it is a powerful concoction, a ommends a newly opened restaurant medicine, almost. that serves Yunnan food. One of the I sense a link with the friends that dishes highlighted is shrimp prepared are like Pu’er tea. Such friends are like in Pu’er tea. That doesn’t ring a bell. a mental boost, like people that help However, my instinct tells me that it is you keep your body and (ethereal) a kind of “local” dish that restaurant soul together. Such friends should be owners often create outside their home cherished. region to make their dishes even more Several posts about Pu’er tea of that authentic than genuine traditional ones, day follow suit. Some discussants add like if I would start a Dutch restaurant that Pu’er can also lower hyperten- in New York and put “shrimp prepared sion. Stupid Man (sic!) even wants to in Heineken” on the menu. It would not appeal to the Dutch palate, but Ameri-

40 WEBER THE CONTEMPORARY WEST SPRING/SUMMER 2015 cans may actually buy it as typically knowledge about this famous tea. So Dutch. why post it after all on this medium? Businesses are posting about Pu’er Are they perhaps so proud of this one tea as well, like an outlet of Coffee of China’s national treasures? Chinese Accompanies You (Kafei Pei Ni) in do have a propensity to stretch patrio- Luoyang, Henan province. Coffee? tism to the verge of nationalism. Sure, why not. We drink coffee when Hey, what’s this: the Editorial Board we need a mental boost, and Chinese of Pu’er Tea magazine. So there is a drink Pu’er for the same reason. French magazine dedicated to this tea? I was missionaries must have realized that not aware of that, but it makes sense. when they brought a coffee sprout to Chinese are not only strong patriots, Dali, another city in that region. This but even more ardent regional chau- small sprout rooted itself deep into the vinists. Think of Li Bai’s poem that I local soil, and this century-old coffee quoted earlier, where he writes that the tree is said to still stand tall today. 98% moon-lit ground reminds him of the of China’s coffee production is located frosty soil of his home town. in Yunnan. If it is Pu’er tea that puts your home I am reading on, hoping to stumble region on the map, then it is worth across more exciting thoughts, like compiling a magazine for it, filled some of the posts about Earl Grey tea. with stories and information, perhaps Several tweets tell a little history of even more poems. Interestingly, the Pu’er tea. Not uninteresting by itself, magazine’s logo consists of the stylized but for whom? They must realize that Chinese characters for the name and most of their readers share a basic Pu-erh in Latin letters. This is the older

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Wade-Giles transliteration of Chinese, WeChat is a stage on which the devised by Western missionaries in the entire family can talk, chat, or exchange second half of the 19th century, and photos. It’s great fun. WeChat has a the most common one until 1958, when function which allows you to exchange the Pinyin transliteration crafted by short spoken messages that you can Chinese linguists was officially adopted play and reply to in your own time. by the United Nations. This was when It is like making a telephone call with Peking became known as Beijing; and shorter or longer pauses in between the Pu-erh became Pu’er. statements of the interlocutors. When It is getting time to turn to what the you receive a message at a moment at Chinese think about their social media which it is inconvenient to speak, you themselves. My dear friend and aca- listen and wait for the next moment demic associate, Lynda, was thrilled you can record and send your reply. when hearing about my writing about In theory, spouses who are in different the Chineseness of Chinese social parts of the world can be engaged in a media. The ideas she shared with me continuous teleconversation, starting at are deep, so I will share them here with home in the morning, continuing in the you. subway on your way to the office, while She believes that the Chinese feel at work, during lunch break, any time. that Weibo is a way for individuals to Sometimes statements will be seconds promote themselves and for companies between one another, but at other times to promote their brands. Weibo is also there can be pauses of several minutes a platform on which friends or rela- or longer. tives communicate on a small scale. And that is not all. WeChat allows According to Lynda, some people say you to be engaged in such continu- that Weibo “is like putting your stink- ous conversations with several people ing socks outside on the street to dry.” simultaneously. You can do so by inter- Weibo does not have a broad scope, mittently replying to messages from but through word of mouth transfer, several contacts, or by grouping close rumors can be spread quickly and can friends, family members or colleagues be a cause of irritation. together in a group, so you can leave

42 WEBER THE CONTEMPORARY WEST SPRING/SUMMER 2015 one message that can be read and heard Similarly, a company has attempted by all group members. to establish a Chinese competitor My wife became an ardent user of for LinkedIn, Ushi (Youshi, which is WeChat almost from the moment it was homophonous with the Chinese word launched. She is Chinese residing in for ”advantage”). However, that experi- The Netherlands. Her two sisters live in ment has failed completely. I tried to Beijing, and until the WeChat era, they visit the site while writing this article, stayed in contact through email and only to find out that it is no longer on cheap telephone schemes. Once they the web. had all installed WeChat, they formed a LinkedIn is not blocked by the group called Three Sisters, and they are Chinese authorities. Many Chinese exchanging spoken messages, photos, professionals have joined and use this links to interesting web sites, and even platform actively for networking and making video calls, all using their profiling themselves in general, or seek- respective homes’ existing Internet con- ing jobs, or business for their compa- nection. My friend Lynda introduced nies. LinkedIn seems to work well for me to a group of Chinese academics them for these ends, but from a Chi- active in the same field. Whenever nese cultural perspective it is too cold, someone has read an interesting article, too impersonal—it misses what the (s)he immediately shares it with the Chinese like to call renqi. This expres- group on WeChat. They also share sion literally means “people spirit.” It useful contacts and links for collecting can be used to describe an event like a data, communicate dates and venues trade fair or a location like a shopping of seminars and guest lectures at their street that attracts many visitors, whose respective universities. collective presence constructs a lively This suits the Chinese collectivist atmosphere. The total impression of culture. Take a ride in the underground of any major Chinese city and you will see people of all ages fiddling with their cell phones, typing or record- LinkedIn is not blocked by the ing messages, reading or listening to Chinese authorities. Many Chinese the replies, looking at pictures sent by professionals have joined and use that cousin who is on a trip in the UK. WeChat is still the favorite medium. this platform actively for networking So, are online social media in China and profiling themselves in general, one big success story? Not quite. or seeking jobs, or business for their A Chinese organization has tried to launch a Chinese version of Facebook, companies. LinkedIn seems to work which is also blocked in China. The well for them for these ends, but name again reflects the collectivistic from a Chinese cultural perspective inclination of the Chinese: All People Net (Renren Wang). It was not a success, it is too cold, too impersonal—it and very few people are actively using misses what the Chinese like to call it. WeChat is imitating many features of renqi. This expression literally Renren, while WeChat still has the edge in possibilities for instant communica- means “people spirit.” tion.

SPRING/SUMMER 2015 WEBER THE CONTEMPORARY WEST 43 ESSAY people, their chatter, their diversity, is Why? Because WeChat beats LinkedIn what constitutes renqi. in renqi. And that is probably what makes Am I advising that LinkedIn should Weibo and WeChat so successful. They adapt? I don’t think so. LinkedIn needs are virtual reconstructions of locales to stay as it is, to serve a global cross- high in renqi. You connect there with cultural community. Moreover, the existing contacts and pick up many very fact that it lacks renqi is probably new ones, who share some of your own the reason that it has not been blocked interests. Even professionals like my by the Chinese cyberpolice. LinkedIn is friend, Lynda, who joined LinkedIn therefore an important link between the on my advice, are far more active on indigenous Chinese online media and WeChat than LinkedIn, even in their the outside world. contacts with professional relations. Let Chinese media serve the Chinese people; they are doing a good job.

Peter has been part-time affiliated with the Faculty of Economics & Business Administration of VU University Amsterdam since 2001, alongside his consulting practice. His core academic interests are organization theory, corporate culture and identity and entrepreneurship. Peter laid the foundation for this expertise at the age of 14, when he started to learn Chinese in an evening course, purely out of personal interest. This resulted in a PhD in Arts (Leiden University, 1986). After his freshman year, in 1975, Peter was one of the first Dutch students to be selected to go to China for a year. As that was the final year of the Cultural Revolution, it was quite eventful, which he has recently re-captured in his book, One Turbulent Year— China 1975. Peter moved back to China to teach Dutch at Peking University from 1982 to 1984 and while there, apparently did more than teaching, as he got married to a Chinese national as well. From 1986 to 1991, Peter represented a Dutch firm in China, after which he established his own consulting practice. During his work as a consultant, Peter developed, and is still developing, an organization theory. This has led to a second PhD in Business Administration (Erasmus University Rotterdam, 2001). His co-authored book Understanding the Basic Dynamics of Organization is his core work explaining his thinking on organizations. After several years of publishing academic books and articles, Peter has recently grown an interest in more popular writings. His book about his year in China as a student is the first product of that change.

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