海外网友：西方的影响下，新加坡人身上的中国特色真的消失了吗？

新加坡是一个让我们感情很复杂的国家，因为这里74%都是华人，当年中国的三次人口大迁徙，其中下南洋这一批就是今天无数新加坡人的祖先，他们大多来自中国南方，尤其广东福建等地，和我们同文同种，也是华夏文明的一个分支。但随着一代又一代的新人和移民的增加，他们更加西方化了。在美版知乎Quora上，海外网友提问道：在西方的影响下，新加坡人身上的中国特色和元素真的消失了吗？这引起各国网友的围观和热议，我们看看他们的观点。

问题

新加坡网友曾仪的回答

I am a mainland Chinese who has lived in Singapore for 12 years. Let me share my thoughts.

我是一名在新加坡生活了12年的大陆人，让我分享一下我的想法。

Are Singaporean Chinese culturally Chinese? The answer depends on who you ask.

新加坡华人在文化上是否是中国人？答案取决于你问谁。

For my compatriots, who live in the mainland and learn about Singapore through local TV and newspapers, the answer must be yes. Compared with all other countries in the world, Singapore is the only country in which Chinese are the majority.

对于我的同胞，他们生活在大陆，通过当地电视和报纸了解新加坡，答案肯定是肯定的。与世界上所有其他国家相比，新加坡是唯一一个华人占多数的国家。

In the old era, people thought that "there is no royal land under the sky, and there is no royal courtiers on the shore of the land". People were flowing in the ups and downs of history. They believed that all Chinese people under the sky were a family, and it was automatically regarded as a part of "us", a group that integrated Chinese culture and blood (or race).

旧时代的思想认为，“普天之下莫非王土，率土之滨莫非王臣”，人们在历史的起伏中流淌，他们认为天空下的所有中国人都是一家人，它自动被认为是“我们”的一部分，一个融合了中华文化和血统（或种族）的人群。

On the other hand, for my mainland friends and I who have stayed in Singapore for some time, we learned that Singapore's traditional Chinese culture is fading. As a cultural Chinese, as the older generation receiving Chinese education and learning Chinese history grows older, the young generation's understanding of Chinese culture is fading. Chinese people in their 30s and under are mainly English educated and know little about Chinese history, so they have no meaning to the old ideas I mentioned in the previous paragraph.

另一方面，对于我和我在新加坡呆了一段时间的大陆朋友来说，我们了解到，新加坡的中国传统文化正在消退。作为一个文化上的中国人，随着接受中国教育并学习中华历史的老一代人老去，年轻一辈对中国文化的认知正在消逝。30多岁及以下的华裔，主要受英语教育，对中国历史知之甚少，因此对我在上一段中提到的旧思想毫无意义。

For mainland people, culture is not just food, dragon dance or moon cakes. For us, Chinese culture is a sense of belonging, which is built by sharing the same long history and being proud of it. In this sense, we understand that Singapore is not an authentic Chinese culture since the moment when it implemented education in English. We do not know what kind of culture Singaporeans have, but we are convinced that this is not the Chinese culture in the minds of mainland people.

对大陆人来说，文化不仅仅是美食、舞龙或月饼。对我们来说，中国文化是一种归属感，这种归属感是通过分享同样悠久的历史和为之自豪而建立起来的。从这个意义上讲，我们理解新加坡从用英语实施教育的那一刻起就不算是正宗的中国文化了。我们不知道新加坡人有什么文化，但我们确信，这不是大陆人心中的中国文化。

新加坡网友Teo的回答

I have to assume that people in Chinese Mainland will not think that we are "culturally similar". I define "culturally similar" as having similar cultural customs with Chinese Mainland.

我不得不假设，中国大陆人不会认为我们“文化相似”，我把“文化相似”定义为与中国大陆有相似的文化习俗。

Some people in Chinese Mainland don't even think that we are Chinese, and they often make fun of our behavior of following the West.

一些中国大陆人甚至不认为我们是中国人，然后经常会对我们尾随西方的行为进行调侃。

Of course, we are Chinese. The word here refers to race. Our race is an unchangeable scientific fact. As for culture, except for Chinese New Year and eating moon cakes, other Asian races, such as Japanese, Korean and Vietnamese, have nothing in common.

当然，我们是中国人，这个词在这里指的是种族，我们的种族是一个无法改变的科学事实。至于文化，除了中国新年和吃月饼，其他亚洲种族，如日本人、韩国人和越南人也一样，我们没有任何共同点。

Of course, many Singaporeans come to China, and no one will realize that they are foreigners, but this is only because of the language and our appearance, but our culture is very different.

当然，许多新加坡人来到中国，没有人会意识到他们是外国人，但这仅仅是因为语言和我们的外表，但我们的文化非常不同。

Chinese people think that a week's National Day holiday and the Mid Autumn Festival are part of your culture, right? There is no such thing here.

中国人认为一周的国庆假期和中秋节是你们文化的一部分，对吗？这里没有这样的东西。

Christmas and the New Year are also important holidays for us. Like New Year's Eve, they are also national holidays. We will spare no effort to plan to do something with our friends. Although this is not the case in Chinese Mainland, where some young people may celebrate, it is not a national holiday, and some people even denounce it as a western festival incompatible with their culture.

圣诞节和新年对我们来说也是重要的节日，和除夕夜一样也是一个全国性的节日，我们也会不遗余力地计划与朋友们一起做些事情。虽然在中国大陆并非如此，那里可能有一些年轻人庆祝，但并非全国性节日，甚至被一些人谴责为与他们的文化格格不入的西方节日。

Singaporeans speak Putonghua with the same accent as people in southern Chinese Mainland, but our working language is not Putonghua. Sometimes it is difficult for us to communicate because there are many words we only know in English. I heard some people in Chinese Mainland say that knowing Mandarin is enough to walk around Singapore, which is really a misunderstanding. 30% of non Chinese Singaporeans cannot speak Mandarin, and a few Chinese cannot speak Mandarin. For the same reason, people in Chinese Mainland, even people from the south, cannot become local people in Singapore just because of their language.

新加坡人说普通话的口音和中国大陆南部人一样，但我们的工作语言不是普通话，有时我们会很难沟通，因为有很多单词我们只知道英语。我听到一些中国大陆人说，懂普通话足以在新加坡到处走动，这真是一种误解。30%的非华裔新加坡人不会说普通话，少数华裔不会说普通话。出于同样的原因，中国大陆人，即使是来自南方的人，也不可能仅仅因为语言就可以融入新加坡成为当地人。

We don't usually talk in Mandarin. Our common language for conversation is Singapore English, which is a mixture of all languages in the region and a unique part of our culture. We will not send messages or emails to each other in any language other than English, so when we communicate with you in Mandarin, we will use our common language for communication.

我们通常不会用普通话交谈，我们通常的会话语言是新加坡英语，它是该地区所有语言的混合体，也是我们文化的一个独特部分。我们也不会用英语以外的任何其他语言相互发送短信或电子邮件，因此，当我们用普通话与您交流时，我们将使用我们日常的通用语言进行交流。

Let's look at other differences.

让我们看看其他差异。

We use Mastercard, Visa and Paypal, while people in Chinese Mainland usually use UnionPay, Alipay and WeChat to pay.

我们使用万事达卡（Mastercard）和维萨（Visas），也使用Paypal，而中国大陆人通常使用银联、支付宝和微信支付。

We use Whatsapp for communication, while Chinese Mainland uses WeChat, but more of us are also using WeChat.

我们使用Whatsapp沟通交流，而中国大陆使用微信，但我们中的更多人也在使用微信。

We don't drink tea every meal, and most of us rarely do.

我们不是每顿饭都喝茶，我们大多数人很少这样做。

We usually split the bill among our friends instead of taking turns paying it. We are used to living in a society with many non Chinese people. We must pay attention to their needs, which is an important reason why we use English.

我们通常在朋友之间分摊账单，而不是轮流支付。我们已经习惯了生活在一个有很多非中国人的社会，我们必须注意他们的需求，这是我们使用英语的一个重要原因。

In short, we have some basic cultural similarities and festivals, but these are very few. We do speak Mandarin, but we use it quite differently. We use very different social media, communications and payment methods. We use very different media sources and languages.

总之，我们有一些基本的文化相似之处和节日，但这些都很少。我们确实会说普通话，但我们对它的使用却大不相同。我们使用非常不同的社交媒体、通信和支付方式。我们使用非常不同的媒体来源和语言。

So I think it's hard for a Chinese Mainland person to think that we are similar in culture.

所以我认为，对于一个中国大陆人来说，很难认为我们在文化上是相似的。

In fact, Australians, Americans or Britons have more in common with us. They have no language barrier in Singapore, use the same media, and use the same electronic software and services as us. Now I see many people feel disdain for this, please remember, it will make you narrow minded. Different from what you may be used to, being a Chinese, being a Chinese citizen and practicing Chinese culture are different things.

事实上，澳大利亚人、美国人或英国人与我们有更多的共同点，他们在新加坡没有语言障碍，使用相同的媒体，使用与我们相同的电子软件和服务。现在我看到许多人对此感到不屑，请记住，这会让你心胸狭窄。与你可能习惯的不同，身为华人、身为中国公民和实践中国文化是不同的事情。

We may be Chinese, but first of all we are Singaporeans. We have been growing up in a multicultural society. In this society, we have abandoned racial discrimination, and cultural differences with Chinese Mainland are predictable. We should not copy China in everything, nor should we regard different cultures as our negative characteristics. This does not mean that we think we are superior, but different.

我们可能是中国人，但我们首先是新加坡人，已经有好几代人了，我们在一个多元文化的社会中长大，在这个社会中，我们摒弃了种族歧视，与中国大陆的文化差异是可以预料的。我们不应事事复制中国，也不应将与中国不同的文化视为我们的负面特征。这并不意味着我们认为自己优越，只是与众不同。

新加坡网友Eamon Dan的回答

According to my understanding, Chinese Singaporeans are regarded as Chinese in terms of race and culture, but there is a gap between the so-called Chinese Mainland culture and Singapore culture.

根据我的理解，华人新加坡人在种族和文化上被视为华人，但在所谓的中国大陆文化和新加坡文化之间确实存在着鸿沟。

First of all, China is a big country spanning three time zones. There are more than 50 ethnic minority tribes, and dialects, accents and habits are quite different from place to place. To say the least, it is a very diverse country. There are at least four different genres of Chinese food. Each city in a province has different hobbies, and even villages have their own views, practices and ideas about the whole world.

首先要注意的是，中国是一个跨越三个时区的大国，有50多个少数民族部落，各地的方言、口音和习惯迥然不同。至少可以说，它是一个非常多样化的国家。中国菜至少有四个不同的流派。一个省内的各个城市都有不同的癖好，而甚至村庄对整个世界都有自己的观点、做法和想法。

For a Chinese who travels frequently, it is not uncommon to know which province (perhaps city) you come from from just your accent, dialect, hell, or even your clothes, and even to predict your future career according to your birthplace.

对于一个旅行频繁的中国人来说，仅仅从你的口音、方言、地狱、甚至你的衣着就可以知道你来自哪个省（可能是哪个城市），甚至可以根据你的出生地预测你未来的职业，这并不罕见。

Nevertheless, it is worth noting that there are some fundamental differences between modern Chinese society and Singapore, partly because of the separation from the society in Chinese Mainland, the contact with other cultures and languages overseas, and the absence of similar great events in the mainland.

尽管如此，值得注意的是，现代中国社会与新加坡有一些根本性的差异，部分原因是与中国大陆社会分离，与海外其他文化和语言接触，以及没有类似在大陆发生过的巨大事件。

First of all, Singapore has changed from a system partially educated in China to a system educated in English, which has had a profound impact on the way Singaporeans speak Chinese and interact with Chinese culture. Don't get me wrong. Singapore has an older generation, immigrants and outstanding scholars who can speak accurate Chinese. That is to say, many Singaporeans' literacy level in Chinese is different from that in Chinese Mainland. Some conjunctions and characters are used more frequently, and some expressions can be unique to Singapore.

首先，新加坡已经从一个部分受中国教育的体系转变为一个受英语教育的体系，这对新加坡人讲汉语和与中国文化互动的方式产生了非常深远的影响。别误会我的意思，新加坡有老一代、移民、杰出的学者，他们能说准确的中文。这就是说，许多新加坡人对汉语的识字水平与中国大陆不同，一些连词和字符使用得更频繁，有些表达可以是新加坡独有的。

Because everyone lives in a different world, the lifestyle of Chinese Mainland people and overseas Chinese is also very different.

因为每个人都生活在不同的世界里，所以中国大陆人和海外华人的生活方式也有很大的不同。

Let me list these things to make it clearer. These are subtle, but they can affect the subtle differences in the way the two peoples behave.

让我把这些东西列出来，这样就更清楚了。这些都是微妙的，但它们可以影响两国人民行为方式的细微差异。

In addition to its strong Chinese heritage, Singapore has a series of incredible eccentricities that stem from economic, political and social factors, not from the People's Republic of China. There are still some unique aspects in Chinese culture, such as frequent observance of Confucian social values, Buddhism and Taoism and other religions, and appreciation of ancient Chinese art and culture. These all connect us with the backbone of Chinese culture. But at the same time, there are also some unique Singapore flavors, such as the taste of internationalization, the intermediary view of international politics, the concern for economy, the present, rather than the vague greatness of the past.

除了拥有强大的华裔传统外，新加坡有一系列令人难以置信的怪癖，这些怪癖源于经济、政治和社会因素，这些因素并不来源于中华人民共和国。中国文化中仍有一些独特的方面，如频繁遵守儒家社会价值观、佛教和道教等宗教、欣赏古老的中国艺术和文化等，这些都将我们与中国文化的脊梁联系在一起，但同时，也有一些新加坡独特的味道，比如国际化的品味、对国际政治的中间主义观点、关注经济、现在，而不是过去模糊的伟大。

Singapore has its own brand of Chinese culture in Singapore. It has its own brand of chicken rice, shrimp noodles, barbecue, wonton, its own standard of living, and its own way for students to think, learn and imagine their motherland and the world around them. It's not much like mainland, but who cares? This is your own city, with your own culture and lifestyle. What are you ashamed of?

新加坡拥有自己的新加坡华人文化品牌。它有自己的品牌鸡饭、虾面、烧烤、馄饨、自己的生活标准、自己的学生思考、学习和想象自己的祖国和周围世界的方式。这不太像大陆，但谁在乎呢？这是自己的城市，有自己的文化和生活方式。有什么好羞愧的？

中国网友Razor Tao的回答

First of all, most or at least many people in Chinese Mainland do not know what Singapore is like, so they have little opinion about Singapore.

首先，大多数或至少许多中国大陆人不知道新加坡是什么样的，因此他们对新加坡几乎没有什么看法。

Then I will speak from the perspective of a Chinese Mainland person who has studied in Singapore for two years. My answer is that most young people are not Chinese culturally, but some adults or elderly people may be Chinese.

然后，我将以一位在新加坡学习了两年的中国大陆人的角度发言。我的回答是：大多数年轻人在文化上不是中国人，但一些成年人或老年人可能是中国人。

Some people believe that the Chinese people do not have a monopoly to define Chinese culture.

有人认为，中国人并没有垄断定义什么是中国文化。

Being a cultural Chinese means that one should be able to speak his mother tongue fluently. A person can choose to speak his own dialect, which does not matter, because they are considered Chinese. However, I'm sorry to say that, but young Singaporeans really can't speak Chinese well.

身为文化上的中国人意味着一个人应该能够流利地说出母语。一个人可以选择说自己的方言，这没关系，因为他们都被认为是中国人。然而，我很抱歉这么说，但年轻的新加坡人真的讲不好汉语。

Whether the use of words different from other Chinese means that they do not belong to Chinese culture is debatable. However, mixing English and Chinese (and it is difficult to express complex ideas in Chinese) when speaking, and being unable to read Chinese text fluently (no matter what accent or dialect you like) will definitely make a person lose the qualification to become a Chinese culture.

使用不同于其他汉语的单词是否意味着不属于中国文化，这是值得商榷的，但在说话时混合英语和汉语（并且很难用汉语表达复杂的思想），并且不能流利地阅读中文文本（无论你喜欢哪种口音或方言），这肯定会使一个人失去成为中国文化的资格。

However, on the other hand, there are also Chinese people, usually the elderly, who speak Chinese very well and have a deep understanding of Chinese literature and classical literature. I am sorry to see that their cultural heritage has not been passed down.

但是，另一方面，也有中国人，通常是老年人，他们的汉语说得很好，对中国文学和古典文学有很深的了解。我很难过地看到他们的文化遗产没有被传承下来。

Then I talked about the knowledge of Chinese history and literature. To be sure, not all Chinese people know their history very well. Therefore, we can only compare the two peoples collectively in this regard. We find that almost all mainland high school graduates can read Chinese classical literature well (written a thousand years ago), but it is clear that young Singaporeans cannot. For history, this is the same, although the difference may not be so obvious.

然后我谈到了关于中国历史和文学的知识。诚然，并非所有中国人都很了解他们的历史，因此在这一点上，我们只能将两国人民进行集体比较，我们发现，几乎所有大陆高中毕业生都能很好地阅读中国古典文学（一千年前写的），但很明显，年轻的新加坡人不能。对于历史来说，这是一样的，尽管差异可能不那么明显。

It is true that culture is a developing thing, and Chinese culture is indeed changing. China has experienced iteration, and its culture will be different from that before. However, even if more traditional standards, such as history and classics, are used, mainland Chinese are still more "Chinese" than Singaporeans.

诚然，文化是一个不断发展的事物，中国文化确实在变化。中国经历着迭代，中国的文化将与以前不同，但即使使用更传统的标准，如历史和经典，大陆人仍然比新加坡人更“中国人”。

Finally, let me explain why I think Singapore should not hold the Chinese definition. Because Singapore is more multi-ethnic and westernized than China, Singapore's Chinese culture is not "pure" Chinese culture, so it does not have a very objective standard to become a Chinese.

最后，让我说明为什么我认为新加坡不应该持有中国人的定义。因为新加坡比中国更多元种族，更西化，因此新加坡的中国文化不是“纯粹”的中国文化，因此不具备成为中国人的非常客观的标准。

Singaporeans have created what they call Singaporean culture. I do not oppose it, but I hope to see Singaporean Chinese become more "culturally Chinese", at least not too westernized.

新加坡人创造了他们所称的新加坡文化，我并不反对，但我希望看到新加坡华人更加“文化上的中国化”，至少不要太西化。