A simple flower made headlines in the British press last week. How could that be?
British Prime Minister David Cameron and his ministers were attending a reception hosted by Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao in the Great Hall of the People in Beijing. They insisted on wearing poppies(罂粟花) in their buttonholes.
What’s wrong with that?
According to the Global Times, Chinese officials apparently had asked the UK delegation not to wear poppies. The British said that poppies meant a great deal to them on that day and they would wear them all the same.
So what’s the significance of the poppy? It’s a flower which has different cultural and symbolic meanings for British and Chinese people.
From the Chinese point of view, the poppy is a symbol of China’s humiliation at the hands of European powers in the Opium Wars of the 19th century. Britain forced China to open the borders to trade —including in the opium —which was made from poppies grown in India.
Yet from the British viewpoint the poppy is a reminder of the killing during Word War I. Red poppies grew on the battlefields of Flanders in Belgium where many thousands of British soldiers died or were buried. Since then, Poppy Day (November 11) has become a time in the UK to wear poppies and remember the sacrifices of British soldiers and civilians in times of war.
So you can see that the poppy sets off strong feelings in the hearts of Chinese and British people for different reasons. And it makes sense for us to try to understand each other’s standpoint.
Of course cultural differences can also be interesting and funny. And what one nation thinks is an acceptable gift may be viewed differently by their guest from overseas. US President Barack Obama gave a gift of an iPod to Britain’s Queen —a dull person with no interest in music. Obama also presented Gordon Brown with a fine selection of American movies. But they were in US format and impossible to play on British DVD players.
Many countries have diplomats stationed overseas. Diplomats provide information and advice to their governments back home. However, sometimes it would seem that even diplomats can overlook the cultural significance of a small flower.
( ) 小题1:. British Prime Minister David Cameron probably attended a reception in Beijing on .
A．October 1
B．November 11
C．December 31
D．January 1( ) 小题2:. The poppy reminds the Chinese of .
A．the shame caused by European countries in the 19th century
B．the British soldiers who were killed and buried during World War I
C．the Chinese soldiers killed during World War II
D．the suffering caused by Britain during World War I( ) 小题3:. The diplomatic problem in Beijing is mainly caused by .
A．the translation mistake
B．the language difference
C．the cultural difference
D．the different lifestyle( ) 小题4:. We can infer that .
A．Britain’s Queen is not interested in art
B．Gordon Brown was fond of American movies US President Barack Obama sent him
C．US President Barack Obama received a gift for music
D．Britain’s Queen may not like the iPod US President Barack Obama presented her( ) 小题5:. What is the main idea of the 9th paragraph?
A．Cultural difference can also be interesting and funny.
B．Cultural differences can cause a big problem.
C．US President Barack Obama likes to present gifts to other leaders.
D．US leaders and British leaders get along well with each other.
