eh, it's hardly isolated to china, people are jerks everywhere. the only things that change are the cultural mores and tropes.
sorry humans are like this bro.
this post was submitted on 02 Mar 2026
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Understandable, as Asian people don't seem to age until they are like 60 at which point they instantly turn into looking like 90.
That’s just an online stereotype.
Stereotypes are based on observable real events. They are not randomly made up.
Only sometimes. Often they are based on ignorance and prejudice, and gain credibility through raw repetition in the absence of any real-world observations. Like, shit, you can't even comprehend of the existence of negative hurtful slanders as stereotypes? GTFO with that.
Stereotypes are peer reviewed scientific observations
Or
Stereotypes are just made up by a person very likely as a joke and people of very high intelligence parrot them without any critical thinking and laugh like hyenas at their ability to accurately repeat words
I've always wondered if that had something to do with the cultural revolution in China in the late '60s early '70s. Like was there something about living in or before that time that made you look older as you aged? And maybe the people born well after that time just weren't under that kind of stress and ended up looking younger.
This stereotype isn't China-specific, though. For Japan, the cutoff point would be WW2, which is the same as for most of Europe.
Gonna keep this in my pocket until next time one of my Asian friends asks if I’m gaining weight.
I can only speak for myself, but I don't mind being called "old" at age 60, because I'd rather be old than dead. "Old" means I'm still alive and kicking, and not everyone gets to be old. I am old, at least the accusation is true. Also, I feel like I finally fully understand my parents, though they both died years ago.
That's funny-as-hell: whatever culture my soul/continuum's previous human-category-life was in, being called young was an insult.
I've never understood why anybody would want to be "young" instead of "old", because when you're old, you've outgrown foolish-nonunderstanding/ignorance..
_ /\ _
"old" also means less healthy. No one wants to have backpain and the like, though the particular issue here is probably just the vanity of not wanting to look old (e.g. aged skin, thinning hair, those "I have pain in my back/legs/etc."-postures, or even just having an outdated sense of style).
Schrodinger's age: It can be both a complement and insult until you observe their intentions.
Yeah I suppose thats my question, is it like in the U.S. it can be a little minefield implying someones wizened or experienced without being old? Like the trap of of you know so much because you've been around, than just calling someone old?
Don't east asian countries put tons of value on seniority? Is this changing, is china just not like that, or is there something else that I'm misunderstanding?
Different terms
For example: Its impolite to call a woman 阿姨 (Auntie), and you're supposed to say 靚姐 (idk how to translate this, it's [beautiful/pretty] + [character for "older sister"]). But I guess if they're old enough to be you're grandma, then you could say 阿姨... basically I think you use the term that's one-level younger than what they looks like: so if they look like an "Auntie" to you, you're supposed to use the "Beautiful Sister" term... (it sounds weird when translated but I heard it being used in Cantonese a lot its just normal)
On the other hand, 老師 (Teacher), 老細 (Boss), or 師傅 (to address someone that has learned a trade) are considered polite (at least that's what I hear my mom use). Similarly 老爺 is used by mom to address my paternal grandfather. These all have the 老 (old) character in it but its fine??? I guess 🤷♂️
"Oh i didnt know you had a beautiful sister!" Is a wierd type rope kind of flirt in (american?) English that i know of.
Interesting, seems like a very gendered issue.
Damn, they've been using unc as an insult all this time?
In Japan, it's common to hear comments on weight and such. Pressure to conform and, sometimes, genuine concern about health. I think aging is unavoidable so it makes it less of a target. Even calling someone tired-looking can be an insult here if done in the wrong way (despite a greeting being お疲れ様です which is often used)
Oh yeah, what about the fat thing? Is it about endearment, or is Chinese culture just 'edgy' like that?
Idk. But I remember my mom calling a 肥仔 in a light-hearted tone and I sort of felt the endearment... like my first instinct was oh mom's teasing me again, like I didn't feel offended at all, just annoyed that it become my nickname. If I had to make a comparison: I guess it's sort of like calling a fat cat a "Chonker"
I wasn't even that fat by American standards lol, literally at the time, in school there were kids bigger than me in the same grade.
One is in your control. The other is not.
Not being short... although I guess you could get that bone-breaking leg surgery that makes you slightly taller. 😅