Tasting Bitter

Everybody who has ever studied with a traditional Chinese teacher knows the expression, "Tasting Bitter." A standard Chinese prejudice against Americans is that we have never tasted bitter and although we may have talent, be clever, or even achieve some semblance of self-discipline, we will never understand things the way a Chinese person does. This is all due to the "fact" that we haven't "tasted bitter," we haven't experienced profound hardship.

Well, this article certainly spells it out. We ain't changing!

Performers have complained that they sustained injuries from slipping during rain-drenched rehearsals or fainting from heatstroke amid hours of training under the relentless summer sun.

Cheng and 2,200 other carefully chosen pugilist prodigies spent an average of 16 hours a day, every day, rehearsing a synchronized tai-chi routine involving high kicks, sweeping lunges and swift punches. They lived for three months in trying conditions at a restricted army camp on the outskirts of Beijing.....(snip).

North Korea is No. 1 in the world when it comes to uniformity. They are uniform beyond belief! These kind of traditional synchronized movements result in a sense of beauty. We Chinese are able to achieve this as well. Though hard training and strict discipline," he said. Pyongyang's annual mass games feature 100,000 people moving in lockstep.

Performers in the West by contrast need frequent breaks and cannot withstand criticism, Zhang said, citing his experience working on an opera performance abroad. Though he didn't mention specific productions, Zhang directed an opera at New York's Metropolitan Opera in 2006.

NOTE: I maybe posting in bunches for a while until I fix the timer on my blog.