Q: Is it true that Chinese people don’t like blacks in China? What do you as a Chinese think of me as an African?

A:

Rationally speaking, the Chinese accept blacks as humans with equal dignity, yet there may be a psychological barrier.

"Imprinting" is a psychological phenomenon. Remembering plays an important role early in an animal's development, influencing its emotions and behavior throughout its life.

The first person to discover the phenomenon of mental imprinting was the British zoologist Douglas Alexander Spalding (1841–1877). The originator of ethics (ethology) and Australian zoologist Konrad Zacharias Lorenz conducted a systematic study on the phenomenon of imprinting. Zoologists have found that chickens and ducks have a short period of remembering after they are hatched. They recognize the first object they see as their "parents". For example, the first thing they see is their behavioral instinct and behavior. Zoologists who are accustomed to experiments will regard the first scientist they see as their "parent". Wherever this "parent" goes, they will follow him. This is called "behavioral remembering".

Bear in mind that psychological phenomena influence an animal's behavior throughout its life and even its sexual behavior. In the late 1960s, when China was still isolated and overseas pandas were about to become extinct, the London Zoo let their female panda Qi Qi mate with the male panda An An from the Moscow Zoo. As a result, Qi Qi refused to have sexual contact with An An. On the contrary, Qi Qi is attracted by the Moscow Zoo Panda keeper and engages in sexual seduction. This is the remembrance behavior caused by Qiqi's upbringing. The result is not difficult to predict. The breeding between Qiqi and An An failed. Overseas panda matings often fail, and the imprinting effect is one of the important reasons, which leaves a way for Hua Guofeng's panda diplomacy.

Bearing in mind psychological phenomena can explain many behavioral phenomena. For example, early computer scientists preferred UNIX systems, but now teenagers prefer Microsoft Windows. This is known in the computer market as imprinting symptoms. Don't look at Microsoft's criticism of Chinese piracy every day. In fact, "piracy" is an important marketing strategy of Microsoft. Microsoft has made "piracy" very easy by "developing a professional version" that can be easily installed, making it very easy for novice computer students. The first one to use it was Microsoft Windows. Microsoft took advantage of this psychological effect to occupy a monopoly in the computer market.

There is another phenomenon we call the "husband and wife phase". It is common for couples to quarrel because the love between married men and women is deeply affected by the "remembering effect". They often judge people by their appearance, resulting in the phenomenon of "husband and wife resemblance". The similarity in appearance is the result of the "remembering" of the parents by the baby, not the actual effect. A congenial marriage.

There is often a popular misunderstanding on the Internet today, saying that Chinese people are more discriminatory towards black people and find it difficult to accept intermarriage with black people, while white people are more likely to accept intermarriage with black people. This is the monumental effect of American slavery. Slavery has been practiced in the southern United States for hundreds of years, and the babies in the family are taken care of by black slaves. Therefore, it is easier for white people to accept intermarriage with black people.

In the history of the United States, there was no slavery in the North, but there was slavery in the South. Southern politicians in the United States still oppose interracial marriage. This means that the North is less discriminatory against black people, while the South is more discriminatory against black people. However, the rate of intermarriage between whites and blacks is higher in the South than in the North, because the South uses more black nannies and wet nurses, which has more of a remembrance effect. The most famous case of intermarriage (or adultery) in the American South is the historical incident of the founding father of the United States, Jefferson, and his female slave, Sally Hemings, who had children.

Interracial marriages often involve a high rate of intermarriage between men from the dominant race and women from the enslaved race. However, it is difficult for women from the dominant race to accept intermarriage with men from the enslaved race. The reason is that it is women, not men, who work as nannies and wet nurses. For example, the marriage rate between white men and Chinese women is higher than the marriage rate between white women and Chinese men. The reason is of course that Chinese women have the opportunity to be babysitters and have the opportunity to make the imprinting effect work.

Today's world has progressed, and intermarriage is accepted rationally by many people, but emotionally it is still dominated by psychological phenomena.