Abstract:
Chinese--Canada; Immigrant children--Canada--Social conditions
Subjects:
Chinese--Canada; Immigrant children--Canada--Social conditions
Subjects Facet:
Chinese--Canada; Immigrant children--Canada--Social conditions
Creator:
何元; He, Yuan
Date:
1996-01-22
Date searchable:
1996-01-22
Date searchable:
1996-01-22
Genre:
articles
Genre Facet:
articles
Format:
image/tiff
Language:
Chinese
Language Facet:
Chinese
Relation:
Article from: World Journal（世界日報）
Rights:
Contact UVic Archives for access to the original resource and for reproduction requests (fee for reproductions).This material is made available on this site for research and private study only.
Title-Alternative:
The Stories of Young Immigrants 《Article 11 of a series of reports》(Part Two)
Description-Abstract:
Keywords: Xuan, Shaogan
Location(s):
British Columbia--Vancouver
Location(s) Facet:
British Columbia--Vancouver
Transcript:
小移民成長故事
《系列報導之十一》(下)
宣紹淦 從東西文化中汲優汰弊
宣紹淦說，近年來許多亞裔移民一到此地便開名車、買華宅，他的一些朋友原先都據此對
新移民產生亂花錢、愛炫耀的錯誤印象。但這群朋友前兩年到東南亞旅遊一趟後，再也不
提這種說法，因爲他們發現，港台等地上班族收入高，但由於當地房地產價格高昂，常是
三代同堂擠在一間小公寓中，到了此地，旣然以同樣的價格可以買到獨立華屋，當然是愈
大愈好，這不僅是人的自然心理，也是基於實際的需要。
就讀卑詩大學時主修心理學的宣紹淦表示，一般人對於自己不熟悉的事物，常會找一些「屬性」加以分類、理解，而「膚色族裔」往往正是一個最簡易顯著、卻也是最模糊的「屬
性」，許多人基於心理上的惰性，一旦與不同族裔人士產生衝突，或甚至只是誤解，就拿
「膚色族裔」爲攻擊武器，或自認遭到歧視，其實都不是健康的做法。他表示，不可諱言
本地社會中確實存在少數的種族偏見，華人移民如能多與外界接觸、參與活動，與其他族
裔加強溝通，當有助於破除這些不當偏見，並減少因隔閡而產生的誤解。
在東、西兩種文化的交替洗禮下，宣紹淦說，其實到現在，在一些待人處世的行爲準則上
，自己都還時時感覺到東、西兩套標準的內在衝突，但他認爲這種不斷省視自我價値觀的
過程，對於個人心性的提升有利無弊，在兩種文化扞格難入時，學習從中汲優汰弊、取得
平衡，更有助於塑造個人風格。
由於工作關係，宣紹淦近年來也常接觸到一些奔波於太平洋兩岸的「太空人」，他發現
其中許多人常會抱怨子女英文沒學好，或不知珍惜父母的辛勞與用心。每次遇上這種情形
，他就慶幸自己在成長過程中，幸而有外婆等親人如父母般的提攜照應，並時時引領指導
，讓他養成勇往直前，不輕言放棄的習性。他也建議移民子女應多體惜父母在異地重新扎
根的辛勞。
從初到溫市迷失街頭的茫然無依，到優遊於東、西兩種文化之間，以積極自信建立自我風
格，宣紹淦回首十餘年來在此地走過的成長之路時，以堅定的語氣表示，溫哥華已是他的
「家」。
(本報記者 何元)
【圖片】： 宣沼淦認爲，從東、西文化中汲優汰弊，更有助於塑造個人獨有風格。 (何元
/攝)
English translation: The Stories of Young Immigrants
《Article 11 of a series of reports》(Part Two)
Xuan Shaogan: Assimilating the Good Properties of Western and Chinese Cultures
Xuan Shaogan says that recently when new Asian immigrants arrive, they start buying limousines and expensive homes. This gave some of his friends the misconception that the new immigrants wasted their money and enjoyed showing off. However, after these friends visited Southeast Asia and places like Hong Kong and Taiwan, they found that even though the local’s incomes are high, the price of housing is also very high. After discovering that three generations of a family were squeezed into a small apartment, they no longer thought the way they did about immigrants. After all, if you could buy a separate house in Canada for the price of their run-down apartment in Asia, it was necessary and only natural for them to buy large houses.
Xuan Shaogan, a psychology major at UBC, says that when a normal person is thrust into an unknown environment, they will often sort things into categories to understand them better. Skin tone and ethnicity are a common example of a category, though it is also the vaguest one. When people of different ethnicities conflict or even have a tiny misunderstanding, people will use each other’s ethnicity and skin tone to attack and discriminate against one another, both are things we should avoid. Xuan Shaogan also says that he acknowledges that small amounts of racial discrimination still exist in Vancouver. If Chinese immigrants were to reach out, participate in events outside of the Chinese community and communicate with other ethnicities then many of the discrimination and misconceptions caused by isolation could be resolved.
Under the influence of western and Chinese cultures, Xuan Shaogan says that even now he can feel the inner conflict of western and Chinese standards when communicating with others on a daily basis. But when he continuously re-evaluates his judgements and when these two cultures contradict one another, he can enhance his integrity and take the better of both cultures and create a balance, creating his own personal style.
Due to his work, Xuan Shaogan meets “tai kong ren” [Parents who work abroad and away from their families and often travel across the Pacific]. These parents often complain about their children not getting good enough of an education in Canada or that they don’t appreciate their hard work. Whenever he hears this, he feels fortunate to have had a grandmother and parental figures who helped to guide him and raise him to be steadfast and not give up easily. He also advises the children of these immigrants to appreciate the hard work their parents put in to start their lives in a new country.
From getting lost on a street in Vancouver to using both cultures and his gained confidence to create his personal style, Xuan Shaogan thinks back on his growth over his ten or more years in Vancouver. He can now confidently say that Vancouver has become his “home”.
By He Yuan, journalist of World Journal Vancouver
[Photo]： Xuan Shaogan believes in assimilating the good properties of western and Chinese culture to create one’s own personal style. (Photographer: He Yuan)
