Lunch with James (Part 3)

Today James and I enjoyed lunch outside.  The weather was perfect and it took us an especially long time to get past the small talk.  I think we were both tired following round one of tests this semester, with both of us having several tests recently.  Regardless of our slow conversational start, we eventually moved past how pretty it was outside to deeper thoughts.

            James explained a lot about Chinese philosophy and how it compared to his equally unique views about, basically, religion, government, and the power of our minds.  It was a very interesting conversation; he said a lot about things I’d never considered before.  One thing we spent a fair amount of time discussing was Chinese government and society and how a lot of Chinese people think in terms of spirituality and philosophy.  James observed that the Chinese government tends to only accept religions into its society that do not involve a supreme higher power, God.  He explained that the reason behind this was so the government could maintain further control over the citizens as the upmost authority.  He also taught me about a common Chinese religion, Taoism.

            It’s ironic that we discussed Taoism because Tao is James’ Chinese first name, and we had just chatted about what his name meant.  In Chinese society, names seem to be given a much greater importance than in our society.  The meaning of names is seen as influential in the future of the person. James is skeptical of this viewpoint, but it ironically seems to fit with his own name.  Tao means businessman, ironically James’s intended major when he becomes a freshman.

            I learned a lot about James’ perceptions of how country.  It was interesting to hear how differently his society approaches topics like the future and how he differs from typical Chinese beliefs.  I’m looking forward to hearing more about his intriguing thoughts and observations when we meet next week!