Are all Chinese people good at math?
所有的中國人都擅長數學嗎?
重點摘要：
The traditional nature of family throughout much of Asia, whereby children (or in this case, the child) care for their parents in old age, means that parents have a strong self-interest in ensuring that their child does well in school – so that he can later earn enough to support them.
亞洲大部分地區傳統的家庭，是孩子照顧他們年老的父母，這意味著父母在確保他們的孩子在學校表現良好方面有著強烈的自我利益，這樣孩子以後就能掙到足夠的錢來養活他們。
Kevin D. Aslan, Entrepreneur, Author, Podcaster
企業家，作家，播客
No, but they have a small advantage that can turn into a big one: their language.
不，但他們有一個小優勢，可以變成一個大優勢:他們的語言。
In Malcolm Gladwell's Outliers, the Story of Success, he discusses how a small advantage at the start can lead to a huge one down the line. The kid born right after the hockey cut-off date will be a little bit older, and therefore bigger, than a lot of his peers. Eventually, that small advantage means that he makes the team more often, gets selected into higher and higher leagues and teams, until you end up with a majority of Canadian hockey players born in the first few months of the year.
在馬爾科姆•格拉德威爾(Malcolm Gladwell)的《成功的故事》(the Story of Success)一書中，他探討了如何從一開始的小優勢，發展成日後的巨大優勢。在曲棍球比賽截止日期之後出生的孩子會比他的同齡人大一點，因此也會比他們的同齡人大一些。最終，這個小小的優勢意味著他能更頻繁地加入球隊，被選入越來越高的聯賽和球隊，直到大多數加拿大麴棍球運動員都出生在一年的頭幾個月。
A small advantage at the start can compound, until it becomes a crushing one.
一開始的小優勢可以疊加，直到變成毀滅性的優勢。
Now when it comes to math, the Chinese language is RIDICULOUSLY logical. And I'm comparing to the other end of the spectrum, France, where the word for 97 is "four-twenty-seventeen". For China, 97 is 九十七 － literally nine, ten, seven - nine tens and a seven. 583 is five, hundred, eight, ten, three. Five hundreds, eight tens, and three. And so on and so forth (until you get to 100,000 where it gets slightly more complicated)
現在說到數學，中文的邏輯就荒謬了。我在和另一端的法國做比較，法國97的單詞是"4-twenty - 17,97"。對於中國來說,97年是九十七,九,十,7 - 9和7。583是5百8十3。500, 8個10，和3。以此類推(直到達到100,000時，情況變得稍微複雜一些)
You only need to know 13 characters to count up to 99,999! And people say Chinese is hard ^^
你只需要知道13個字符就可以數到99,999!人們說中文很難學
Understanding how the numbers work suddenly becomes a lot easier - it's IN THE LANGUAGE. Chinese provides the explanation.
突然間，理解這些數字是如何工作的就變得容易多了——這就是語言。中文給出瞭解釋。
And this is even more apparent when it comes to fractions. Five seventeenths? Eight twelfths? How many kids have started to cry because they didn't understand fractions?
當涉及到分數時，這一點更加明顯。5/17嗎?8/12嗎?有多少孩子因為不懂分數而開始哭泣?
Meanwhile, in Chinese 8/12ths would be 十二分之八 － from 12 pieces, take eight. Again, the language itself makes it easier to understand a complex mathematical concept.
與此同時,在中國8/12ths十二分之八——從12件,8。同樣，語言本身使理解複雜的數學概念變得更容易。
Now I'm not saying that all Chinese people are great at math. But I am saying that, perhaps, the logical nature of their language allows them to have a small step up at the start.
我並不是說所有的中國人都擅長數學。但我想說的是，也許他們語言的邏輯性讓他們在一開始就邁出了一小步。
And that can compound into incredible results.
這就會產生令人難以置信的結果。
Edit: OK, after fifty million comments of: "but I'm Chinese and I'm not good at math" or "But [insert nationality] is great at math" let me attempt to clarify this post.
再次編輯：好的，在5000萬條評論之後:"但是我是中國人，我不擅長數學"或"但是(插入國籍)數學很棒"，讓我試著澄清這篇文章。
This does not mean EVERY SINGLE CHINESE automatically becomes great at math. Or the best at math. All it does is give a small helping factor at the start. On the scale of an average population, I would say this would translate into a slight boost in the AVERAGE level. Again, not talking about extremes here.
這並不意味著每個中國人都會自然而然地在數學上變得偉大。或者數學最好的。它所做的只是在開始時提供一個小的幫助因素。就平均人口規模而言，我認為這將轉化為平均水平的小幅提升。再說一次，這裡不討論極端情況。
Obviously, this is only one of many factors at play. The fact that SE Asian immigrants tend to adopt cultural codes of success and pass them on to their children (think the piano and the violin) definitely plays a role. Cultural choices also play - the French EXCEL at fundamental math, because math is seen as the royal choice when it comes to school, and compared to Anglo-Saxons, we put a higher value on fundamental, but not immediately applicable, research. The average level of the math population is not necessarily higher though - but there's a very high variance.
顯然，這只是眾多因素中的一個。事實上，東南亞移民傾向於採用成功的文化準則，並將其傳遞給他們的孩子(想想鋼琴和小提琴)，這一點無疑發揮了作用。文化選擇也很重要——法國人擅長基礎數學，因為數學在學校裡被視為王室的選擇，與盎格魯-撒克遜人相比，我們更重視基礎研究，但不是立即適用的研究。數學群體的平均水平並不一定高，但是有一個非常高的方差。
Finally - the number of characters is for oral, not written. In English we have eleven, twelve, thirteen, …, nineteen, twenty, thirty, … ninety - that are additional levels of complexity and completely non-intuitive (compared to Chinese).
最後，字符的數量是口頭的，而不是書面的。在英語中，我們有11、12、13、……、19、20、30、……相對於中文，複雜而不直觀。
Kim Iskyan, Co-Founder & Publisher, Stansberry Churchouse Research
Stansberry Churchouse Research聯合創始人兼出版商
There's an old cliché of a "hard-working Asian student."
有句老話叫"勤奮的亞洲學生"。
This reputation for hard work is the culmination of China's long tradition of scholarship, along with intense competition and an overwhelming demand for academic excellence.
這種努力學習的聲譽是中國悠久的學術傳統的頂峰，伴隨著激烈的競爭和對卓越學術的強烈要求。
Just take a look at how intense China's National College Entrance Examination is…
看看中國的高考有多激烈吧……
Students entering test examination buildings must use fingerprint and iris-matching equipment to verify their identities under the watchful eyes of security guards. Meanwhile, drones hover above and scans for radio signals sent in or out.
進入考場的考生必須在保安人員的嚴密監視下，使用指紋和虹膜匹配設備進行身份驗證。與此同時，無人機盤旋在上空，掃描進出的無線電信號。
The "National Examination" was central to China's feudal history prior to the nationalist revolution. Traditionally, to succeed in China, a man (women were not allowed) must score highly in the national exam. The best performers would be trained to become local officials working for the government.
古時候，要想在中國取得成功，一個男人(女人是不允許的)必須在全國考試中取得高分。最優秀的員工將接受培訓，成為政府的地方官員。
The concept of "Sheng Guan Fock Choi" is deeply-rooted in China's DNA. It means "to be promoted in the ranks of the government and become wealthy", and it has influenced Chinese culture for millennia. Academic achievement is viewed as an ingredient of a successful and complete life.
它的意思是"升官發財"，它已經影響了中國幾千年的文化。學術成就被認為是成功和完整人生的組成部分。
Getting into the best universities is competitive in any country. But it reaches a different dimension in China. The country's one-child policy (which was only abandoned in January 2016) means that parents are even more intensely focused on ensuring that their only child excels and is part of China's growing middle class. Education is critical to that objective.
但它在中國達到了一個不同的層面。中國的獨生子女政策(2016年1月才被廢除)意味著，父母們更加專注於確保獨生子女出類拔萃，成為中國不斷壯大的中產階級的一部分。教育是實現這一目標的關鍵。
The traditional nature of family throughout much of Asia, whereby children (or in this case, the child) care for their parents in old age, means that parents have a strong self-interest in ensuring that their child does well in school – so that he can later earn enough to support them. Additionally, more so than in many other countries, the college a Chinese student attends has an immediate impact on career and even marriage prospects.
亞洲大部分地區傳統的家庭，是孩子照顧他們年老的父母，這意味著父母在確保他們的孩子在學校表現良好方面有著強烈的自我利益，這樣孩子以後就能掙到足夠的錢來養活他們。此外，與其他許多國家相比，中國學生就讀的大學對他們的職業生涯甚至婚姻前景有著直接的影響。
And China's macroeconomic backdrop is slowly becoming less supportive for young people. The gradual slowing of the Chinese economy has made the job market more challenging. Additionally, the slow but steady shift of the focus of the economy away from manufacturing and towards services means that the definition of a well-paying job is rapidly changing. Moving up the socioeconomic ladder is increasingly challenging in China.
中國的宏觀經濟背景對年輕人的支持也在慢慢減弱。中國經濟的逐漸放緩使就業市場更具挑戰性。此外，經濟重心從製造業向服務業緩慢而穩定地轉移，意味著高薪工作的定義正在迅速改變。在中國，提升社會經濟地位的難度越來越大。
As a result, Chinese families will go to great lengths – and spend much of their wealth – to improve their child's educational preparation, and thus his chances of a successful (and well-paying) life. Also, people already in the workforce or close to joining it are under heightened pressure to have practical and applicable skills.
因此，中國家庭將竭盡全力——並花費大量財富——改善孩子的教育準備，從而提高他過上成功(和高薪)生活的機會。此外，已經進入職場或即將加入職場的人面臨著更大的壓力，要求他們具備實用的技能。
The pressure starts in kindergarten. Parents scramble to enrol their children in the best pre-schools, which in turn lead to the best middle and high schools. This has created an educational arms race as parents spend their income on private education to give their children a better shot at the top universities. For example, there are now more private than public kindergartens in China, according to consultants McKinsey & Company.
壓力始於幼兒園。家長們爭先恐後地讓他們的孩子進入最好的幼兒園，這反過來又導致了最好的初中和高中。這就造成了一場教育軍備競賽，家長們把他們的收入花在私立教育上，以便讓孩子更好地進入頂尖大學。例如，諮詢公司麥肯錫(McKinsey & Company)的數據顯示，目前中國私立幼兒園的數量超過了公立幼兒園。
So Asian societies are notoriously competitive, and China is no different. Parents in Singapore, Japan, South Korea, Hong Kong and China send their children for extra tuition after school. The "fear of falling behind" goes hand-in-hand with the pride of "getting ahead". The two work together to create a sense that life is a competition.
因此，亞洲社會的競爭是出了名的激烈，中國也不例外。新加坡、日本、韓國、香港和中國內地的家長放學後送孩子去補習。"害怕落後"與"領先"的自豪是並駕齊驅的。這兩個人一起努力創造出一種生活就是一場競爭的感覺。
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