Why Do Chinese Students Go Abroad to Study?

Going abroad means gaining more insights and options, perhaps that's the essence itself.

01

As the study abroad market becomes commercialized and materialized, coupled with the trend of younger and wealthier students from China, the term "study abroad," which should conjure images of academia, prestigious schools, freedom, and distant lands, has been demystified and brought down to earth.

Some still firmly believe that studying abroad is a way to broaden horizons, enhance academic prowess, and elevate social status; others joke that it’s just a game of getting a diploma and burning money.

Many students are asked what exactly they have learned from their years abroad—English? A diploma?

Studying abroad teaches you two main things:

1. The ability to survive anywhere, even in a place where no one knows you;
2. A mindset unshaken by luxury cars and mansions, willing to take the bus every day in pursuit of simple dreams. These two things can benefit a person for a lifetime.

Having studied abroad, the one earns the right to say "that's all there is." But things that some people never will. You've seen things that many will never see in their lifetime.

• Is it not necessary to learn how to rent an apartment, assemble furniture, cook, manage utility and bank bills, learn to drive, get married, have children, and travel and take photos with friends in China?
• Can't you learn and become diligent without going abroad? What can only be done abroad?
• Students studying abroad cross rivers and mountains, spend holidays away from family, self-exile themselves thousands of miles away, and spend a lot of money, all for what?

As Gandalf says to Bilbo Baggins in "The Hobbit": "The world is not in your maps and books… When you come back, you will not be the same."

The world is not in your maps and books… when you return, you are forever changed.

This is a learning experience that, when recalled, always brings a smile to your face.

02

The most attractive aspect of studying abroad is the limitless possibilities. You don't know where you will be in a few days or years, and you will understand what true strength and calmness are.

Why do we still choose to leave despite having the two people who love us most in the world with us? "Parents at home, no distant travel."

Of course, we don't want the terrible time difference to make them sit in front of the computer for hours waiting for us to come online to talk.

We don’t want to be startled each time we see them to find more white hair and deeper wrinkles, to discover that the warm old house that always protected us has become empty.

All those who wander do so in hopes that one day they will no longer need to wander, that they can take care of their families.

Only through such trials, which may seem futile, can one understand what the starting point really is.

Life is short; you cannot experience all its wonders. Learning and experiencing are themselves ways to sort through the wonders you have never encountered.

A classmate once said: Studying abroad is like coming out; it’s suffocating if you don’t, but you might regret it if you do. But without leaving home, you don’t realize the benefits of home.

Recall that old saying that resonates strongly: "Read thousands of books, travel thousands of miles."

Studying abroad isn't just about attending classes.

For those unacquainted with it, foreign education can greatly broaden one's horizons, teaching one to brainstorm at any moment and to make constructive criticisms.

Now, universities in China also encourage questioning, but many students question for the sake of questioning, doubting even the questions they raise. This is just another form of compliance, "complying with the demand to question."

But at the same time, it is important to refuse moral and value coercion, to respect facts and scientific research.

To always be aware that you might be wrong, never considering yourself "absolutely right."

This is the result of academic training in foreign universities, and also of experience.

Be a little less reckless, make things beautiful, trust in professionalism. Outsiders rarely succeed; avoid rash judgments and reckless actions.

You will never know the law better than a lawyer, nor how to catch criminals better than a police officer.

Respect thinkers, artists, entrepreneurs, people in various positions, and their efforts, regardless of success or failure.

There has never been a statue erected in honor of a full-time critic.

03

The educational principles of the West include academic independence, personal respect, and understanding tolerance.

Chinese culture emphasizes that everyone is a member of society, deeply connected with others. Everyone is judged by others, and everyone judges others.

But in Western society, a person is a functional member of society; a person's work and private life can be completely separate.

Westerners emphasize individual independence within the group, while Chinese emphasize personal connections within the group.

As cultural liberals, Westerners generally "do not easily judge" others. People who do not respect others are very unpopular in Western culture.

Respecting others includes: not complaining, not affecting others, not troubling others, not forcing others to accept one’s views, not easily judging others, etc.

Also, do not plagiarize others, because that marks the beginning of your failure.

In China, most parents hope their children will study hard, have a career, a family, a car, a house—this kind of life is seen as a successful life, and there is a lack of tolerance for other kinds of lives, always trying to influence their children’s lives with their own values.

Especially using a collective value system to judge others' right and wrong, this may also be a reason for a lack of imagination and innovation, seeking conformity, not diversity, as original ideas are stifled early on.

Those who want to live differently face more pressure in China than abroad; they must withstand various societal pressures. Abroad, you will find that there are so many "weird" people; everyone's life is different, everyone is a weird person, and so there are no weird people.

Studying abroad also has many choices and faces.

Some students study abroad, turning on the air conditioning, in brightly lit rooms, vigorously playing games—maybe they are aiming to become world-class professional players, they are also studying;

Some are in a materially abundant, gastronomically diverse world, their eyes shining as they scream with delight buying things for themselves, or they are out of breath busy with purchasing on behalf of others, they are also studying;

Some are busy getting to know different interesting people, participating in various themed parties and events, experiencing the excitement of a city, they are also studying;

Some are busy in libraries, looking at different materials and books, going out in daylight and returning by moonlight. They are also studying.

Life is ultimately an individual journey; you yourself do not know where the path of studying abroad will take you.

In the short decades of life, why waste it seeking the approval of unrelated people?

04

Studying abroad will also make you truly feel that you are a Chinese person.

Being abroad, you will find Chinese traditional values particularly touching, and you will cherish the human touch in Chinese culture.

You will experience the Chinese spirit of enduring hardship as if it were normal, always needing to survive, which is touching, as well as the emphasis on family and kinship.

This is a natural emotional connection, keeping you in sync with Chinese news, still feeling that the many events happening in the land of China are closely related to you.

You will still be that young Chinese person with a love of freedom but also a strong public concern, who loves eating Peking duck and fried liver.

Studying abroad will not change your lifestyle from an Eastern person to a Western person. Are you shy with money? Not fond of noise?

Or local Chinese supermarkets and Chinese restaurants, and fish and chips abroad will ultimately make you a faithful believer in the "supremacy of Chinese cuisine," making you taste Western life only superficially, then retreating.

Studying abroad also offers something called real adversity education, an optimistic spirit.

Originally, accepting setbacks is not about accepting the darkness or inequality of the world, but about learning to challenge life itself.

Most Westerners have a good mentality, full of positive energy, understanding the need to compete, but also to do so gracefully. Even though they may sometimes complain about their own rudeness, or national policies, or others.

But more often, their casual conversation is about how to enjoy life more, how to start over, how to try different new things, more positive and proactive.

Love and optimism for the world are always essential foundations for success.

This is something you cannot learn from just traveling abroad. From the domestic campus to Western society, the discomfort, interacting with classmates, discussing with professors, writing essays, doing projects—all these processes help you better understand the real taste of setbacks.

Work is not even worth mentioning; the undercurrents, comparisons, discrimination, exclusion, injustice are everywhere.

The initial contact of international students with Western society is not always filled with ease and joy. Quite the contrary, the increasingly prominent social problems in Western countries are more vividly presented to international students.

But remind yourself, in an environment where opportunities and challenges coexist, seeking your desires, dreams, endless possibilities, facing adversity is not scary at all.

Studying abroad will also make you realize that the aristocratic spirit cherished in the West is not the spirit of the nouveau riche; wealth and nobility are not the same.

It is not about living in villas, buying luxury cars, spending money like water, living a life of indulgence, where people come and go at your command.

Noble schools abroad and those in China are so different; the aristocratic spirit they cultivate does not stand in opposition to the spirit of the common people, it does not mean living a privileged, leisurely, luxurious life.

This is a pioneering spirit centered on values such as honor, duty, role modeling, courage, restraint, self-discipline, and dedication. Immaturity ends with maturity, and vanity ends with pragmatism.

• Not doing as well as classmates at home?

If you love comparisons, then don't study abroad.

Studying abroad is not an automatic ticket to "doing better than others."

If after going abroad and seeing more possibilities, you still cling to the various superficial labels of "doing well," then going abroad is truly a waste.

Studying abroad has no uniform definition; each person's study abroad experience, like their life, is unique, and it all depends on how you handle it.

No matter where you go, what you are like, that is what your society will be like. What you are like, that's what your study will be like.

Studying abroad lets you see a bigger world, those who want to stay, stay; those who want to go home, go home; those who want to move forward, move forward. Whatever you choose, you have to work hard; and even after that, you can't guarantee you'll do better than others.

Going abroad just means gaining more insights, more options, and perhaps that's the meaning itself.

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