《中国人的性格》是美国传教士阿瑟·史密斯（明恩溥）基于1872年赴华传教期间的社会观察撰写的著作，首版英文名《Chinese Characteristics》于19世纪末问世，。作者在华生活逾五十年，书中融合人类学视角与传教士立场，记录了晚清民众的性格特征与文化形态。
全书以27个主题章节剖析中国人行为模式，包含“保全面子”“省吃俭用”等生活哲学，以及“漠视精确”“因循守旧”等社会现象。通过对比西方工业文明，着重探讨东方特有的生存韧性，如环境适应力与疼痛耐受性。书中案例多源自山东乡村生活经历，涉及衣食住行、孝悌观念等主题，部分结论因宗教立场存在视角争议。该著作开创西方研究中国国民性先河，被译成多国文字，成为近代中西文化互鉴的重要文本。
第九章 灵活的顽固
我们关于中国人的最初知识是来自我们的仆人。尽管他们浑然不觉，他们是我们了解中国人性格的第一任老师。我们对他们也总是不满意，然而，他们给我们上的课却令我们难以忘怀。随着我们与中国人的接触日益广泛与深入，我们发现，尽管仆人们是中国人中很小的一部分，但我们与仆人圈子相处不知不觉中逐渐形成的判断结论，明显地得到更加广泛的确证。因为从某种意义上说，每个中国人都是整个民族的一个缩影。本章用这个看似自相矛盾的标题来表述我们所探讨的中国人的性格，虽然不能令人满意，但这个题目看起来却是最为合适，只要略加描述，就会很容易使人明白。
一个居住在中国的外国家庭可能会雇佣很多用人。在所雇的仆人中，没有第二个人能够像厨师那样完全左右着全家的安宁。女主人雇佣一个新厨子时会对他说，事情应当怎么做，不应当怎么做时，这位新厨子就像是服从的化身。对这家人家里已有的规矩，他都真诚地表示赞同，其诚恳即使还没有赢得信任，也能给人以好感。女主人特意举例告诫他说，前任厨师有一个不能容忍的习惯，面包坯还没有完全发好，就放进烤箱。就因为女主人感到需要坚持诸如此类的细节问题，还有其他很多事都不能与女主人所想的一致，于是两人吵翻。
对于这一点，候选的厨师的反应令人愉快，他表示，他或许有这样或者那样的什么缺点，但这些缺点中不可能有固执。女主人还告诉他，在厨房里，狗、二流子和抽烟都是不能容忍的。他回答说，他讨厌狗，也不抽烟，是一个外地人，城里只有几个朋友，都不是二流子。在提了这么多要求之后，他开始履行职责。
但没过上几天，就发现这个厨师在烤面包方面是前任厨师的“亲兄弟”，也是把没发好的面包坯放进烤箱。而且还有数不清的人在厨房里进进出出，许多人还带着狗。厨房里永远弥漫着一种沉重的香烟味，如同永久不变的宝物。厨师自己坦然承认，面包做得不是最好，但肯定不是由于揉得不够。在揉面方面，他是很讲究的。在厨房里看到的那些陌生人是他的“哥们儿”，但他们都不曾养过狗，而且他们现在肯定都走了，不再来了——尽管第二天，这些人又在厨房出现了。没有一个仆人会抽烟，烟味肯定是隔壁传过来的，那一家的仆人都是烟鬼。这个厨师是个通情达理的人，但是，既然这里没有什么需要改变，他也就不知道如何去改变。
同样一个情况，还发生在一个苦力的身上。他被派去割草，给他一把雪亮、锋利的外国镰刀，他满脸微笑地接过镰刀表示欣赏。但后来到了干活的那天，他用的却是一把中国镰刀，由大约四英寸的旧铁片加上一个短柄做成的。他似乎在说：“还是旧的更好用一些。”你给洗衣工一台外国的洗衣机，洗起衣服来既节省时间，又省肥皂，省力气，最为主要的是洗得还特别干净，还给他加上一台他专享的甩干机，使用起来既不费力又不损坏衣服的纤维。但是到最后，洗衣机和甩干机都被丢在一边，成了“有用的废品”，洗衣工仍然像往常一样搓洗和绞拧衣服，衣物都弄出破洞来，弄成了碎片。要想去改变这种情况，就只得以不间断的告诫为代价。
一个园丁被派去用手头的砖坯修理一下破损的围墙。可是，他认为在墙头上插上一尺深的树枝会更好一些，并且他就这样做了。如果你问他这样做的原因，他会说出这样做的优越性。雇佣一个邮差把一包重要的邮件送到很远的地方去，光在路上就要走好几天的路程。头天傍晚，把邮包交给他，本来，次日一大清早就可以出发。可是第二天下午，还看到他在附近的胡同里晃悠。派人把他叫了回来，问他是怎么回事。他告诉我们说，他不得不休息一天，以来清洗他的袜子！你按天雇佣的一个车夫也是这样的感受。告诉他走某条路，照理其他人也会这么走，他也答应了。然而，他却带你走另一条完全不同的路，因为他曾听一个陌生的过路人说，那条路不好走。厨师、苦力、园丁、车夫——他们全都不相信我们的判断，而只相信他们自己。
在一处外国人开的诊所和医院里，都经常可以看到这类现象，以佐证我的这个话题。医生仔细地给病人做了检查，开了药。为了避免出错，病人拿到药后，医生反复叮嘱什么时间吃药，吃多少，千万别搞错。病人生怕忘了这些详细的规定，来回一两次，反复加以确认。可是一到家，他就一口把两天的药都吃了下去，因为他认为，疗效的好坏肯定与药量的多少成正比。医生反复告诫患者不要动外敷的药膏，可这些告诫一点都不管用，还是不能阻止他随时揭掉膏药。因为病人不希望变成一只“乌龟”，让一层硬壳长在皮肤上。
这个现象不会让人感到舒服，但根据观察，这一现象却是被证明充分存在的：在一个诊所里，主治医生具有非常丰富的临床经验，也拥有各种医学头衔，且经验非常丰富，而助手却是一字不识，也不知药的名称和病的症状。但对于一般病人来说，一个无知的助手的看法（并当然地）似乎与主治医生的看法同样重要。甚至看门人或苦力的一句话也足以使病人完全不顾医生的嘱咐，而去采纳某种肯定是愚蠢的、且完全可能致命的做法。
至此，我们所谈到的中国人灵活的顽固的例子，都是与外国人有关的。因为这些事能够最快引起我们的注意，并影响到我们的最实际的利益。但是，我们越是深入到反映中国人真实气质的人际关系中，就越会看到“口是心非”的状况到处都是一样的，并非一个特例。中国的仆人对待中国的主人，与对待外国的雇主是一样的，谦虚、顺从，但他们没有意识到仆人是不能自行其是的，同样，他们的主人也并没有意识到要求仆人唯命是从。一个外国雇主要求雇员切实地按照吩咐地那样去做，如果仆人不这样做，雇主就会在他们之间渐渐地产生敌意。
笔者的一位朋友有一大帮仆人，就属于这个数目庞大的仆从阶级，他们将极端忠诚与极端的固执融为一体，这使他们成为既难得又讨厌的人物。我的这位朋友每每谈起这些怪“家伙”，就表现出这类仆人的主人所常有的两难；他经常处于举棋不定的状态，不知该杀了那些自以为是的仆人，还是给他们加薪！中国的雇主完全清楚，他的指令会被撂在一边，但他事先会有所准备，就像预留一笔钱以防备坏账，或者像在机械设计中所说的，留些空隙以减少摩擦。
这种无视命令的现状，也不同程度体现在中国的各级官员中直至到最高层。导致违反上级命令的动机会有许多种，比如个人的惰性和为了朋友情面，最重要的动机还是金钱的魔力。有一位地方官，由于其居住地的水质过硬，有咸味，就命令他的仆人用水车到几里以外的河里去运水。仆人并不是照章办理，而只是到附近有甜水的村子去取水。他知道水应该是甜的，所取来的水与官员要求的一样多，而且又少走了三分之二的路程，让各方皆大欢喜。即使这位官员确切知道他的仆人没有依照他的命令去做，那么只要有好水喝，他也许就不会过问这件事了。
在中国，“不论白猫黑猫，能抓到老鼠就是好猫”，成功就是一切，一事成功，事事成功。中国人天生怕得罪人，生怕出乱子，不愿惹祸上身。因此，出现了违反命令的不端行为，就算有五百个人知道实情，也不会有人去报告。典型的例子，有一个中国仆人，主人要求他把蓄水池里的水用容器装起来，以备后用。结果却发现，他把水统统倒进了井里。就这样，他表面上一副顺从的样子，而实际上却是完全相反。雷尼博士说到一件事：厦门的一位官员把一份皇上的公文分成两部分，把后半部分放到前面，前后倒置，为的就是让别人难以读懂。在与外国人打交道的事务中，这种花招是很常见的，中国的官员们很少愿意让外国人称心满意的。
我们经常可以看到，即使在执法过程中也有违法行为，而与司法仲裁的规范相冲突。一个地方官判处一名罪犯戴两个月的沉重木枷，只有到了晚上才能卸下来。但是，只要在“最关键的地方”打点上几个小钱，使些银子，那么命令也就可以大打折扣，改头换面执行了。那位犯人只需在地方官进出衙门时戴上木枷，装装样子，而在其余的时间内，犯人尽可以把可恶的重负丢在一边。这位地方官是否从不怀疑，贿赂会战胜他的判决。他会不会偷偷从后面溜出去，当场抓住违背命令的证据？但他没有这样做。这个地方官自己也是中国人，他知道，判决书一下达，它就不被当做一回事了。考虑到这一点，他在量刑时就已经把服刑期延长一倍。
这只是各部门官员之间错综复杂关系的一个实例。外国人长期不间断的观察也证实了这一点。上一级官员命令下一级官员，应当去核实某一步骤的执行情况。下级毕恭毕敬地报告说，这件事已经做了，事实上，这期间根本什么都没做。在许多情况下，事情就到此结束了。但是，如果某一个部门不断给予施加压力，而且命令非常急迫，下一级就会把这种压力转嫁给更下一级的官员，并把上一级的指责也转嫁到他们头上，直到这种压力的“风头”消失殆尽。然后，一切又照常如初。这就是所谓的“改革图新”。这种“改革图新”在很大程度上类似于禁止鸦片销售和罂粟的种植，忽冷忽热，其结果也是众所周知的。
毫无疑问，肯定会有人认为中国人是最“固执”的民族。对于这些人来说，我们用“灵活”这个形容词去描述中国人“顽固”的特性，似乎显得异常的不恰当。尽管如此，我们必须重申这样一个观点，中国人远非是一个最固执的民族。他们远不如盎格鲁撒克逊人来得固执。我们说他们“顽固”，这是因为在他们像骡子一样的“顽固”中，也含有一种服从的特质，而这往往是盎格鲁撒克逊人所缺乏的。
有一个说明中国人这种“灵活”天赋的最好例子是，中国人能够不失风度地接受他人的指责。在盎格鲁撒克逊人中，这是一门被遗忘的艺术，甚至可以说，这种艺术连见也没见过。但是，中国人却能够耐心地、专心地、诚心地听你指出他的缺点，并乐于接受，还说：“是我错，是我错。”也许，他会因为你善待他这样一个微不足道的小人物而感谢你，并保证，他会将你所指出的缺点立刻彻底地改正，并永不再犯。你也很清楚，这些信誓旦旦的承诺不过是“镜中之花、水中之月”。但是，就算他们的天性是不着边际的，这些话还是很受听的，也有可能使事情就此结束。而且，你如果对此加以注意，就会发现，他们希望得到的目的也就是这样子。
有人把中国人比做竹子，很少有比这个更为精确的比拟了。竹子很高雅，用途很广泛。它很柔韧，中间是空的。东风吹来，它朝西弯，西风吹来，它朝东弯。没风的时候，它一点也不弯，挺直躯干。竹子的幼苗是一种草本植物。然而，草易于打结，而幼竹尽管柔顺，但很难打结。
世界上没有什么比人的头发更柔软的东西了，它可以被拉得很长很长，但是，拉力一旦没了，它就立刻缩回去。凭借自身的重量，头发可以倒向任何的方向。许多人脑袋的头发长成怎么样，就是怎么样，一般是不能改变它的方向。俗话说，有一种头发是“牛舔过的”，也就是说，由于一绺翘着不易梳理的头发，而其他头发，不管有多少，都必须顺着这一方向梳理。如果把我们居住的星球看成是一个头，各个民族看做是头发，那么，中华民族就是一绺被牛舔过的头发。它可以被梳理，可以被修剪，也可以被剃去，但是重新长出来的头发，一定依然与以前一样，其生长的总方向也是难以改变的。
英文原版：
THE first knowledge which we acquire of the Chinese isderived from cur servants. Unconsciously to themselves,and not always to our satisfaction, they are our earliest teachers in the native character, and the lessons thus learned weoften find it hard to forget. But in proportion as our experience of the Chinese becomes broad, we discover that the conclusions to which we had been insensibly impelled by ourdealings with a very narrow circle of servants are strikinglyconfirmed by our wider knowledge, for there is a sense inwhich every Chinese may be said to be an epitome of thewhole race. The particular characteristic with which we havenow to deal, although not satisfactorily described by the paradoxical title which seems to come nearest to an adequateexpression, can easily be made intelligible by a very slightdescription.
Of all the servants employed in a foreign establishment inChina, there is no one who so entirely holds the peace of thehousehold in the hollow of his hands, as the cook. His aspectis the personification of deference as he is told by his newmistress what are the methods which she wishes him to employ, and what methods she most emphatically does not wishemployed. To all that is laid down as the rule of the establishment he assents with a cordiality which is prepossessing,not to say winning. He is, for example, expressly warnedthat the late cook had a disagreeable habit of putting the bread into the oven before it was suitably raised, and that asthis is one of the details on which a mistress feels bound toinsist, he and his mistress parted. To this the candidate responds cheerfully, showing that whatever his other faults maybe, obstinacy does not seem to be one of them. He is toldthat dogs, loafers, and smoking will not be tolerated in thekitchen ;to which he replies that he hates dogs, has neverlearned to smoke, and being a comparative stranger, has butfew friends in the city, and none of them are loafers. Afterthese preliminaries his duties begin, and it is but a few daysbefore it is discovered that this cook is a species of " bloodbrother " of the last one in the item of imperfectly risen bread,that there is an unaccountable number of persons coming toand departing from the kitchen, many of them accompaniedby dogs, and that a not very faint odour of stale tobacco isone of the permanent assets of the establishment. The cookcordially admits that the bread is not quite equal to his best,but is sure that it is not due to imperfect kneading. He isparticular on that point. The strangers seen in the kitchenare certain " yard brothers " of the coolie, but none of themhad dogs, and they are all gone now and will not return—though they are seen again next day. Not one of the servantsever smokes, and the odour must have come over the wallfrom the establishment of a man whose servants are dreadfulsmokers. The cook is the personification of reasonableness,but as there is nothing to change he does not know how tochange it.
The same state of things holds with the coolie who is set tocut the grass with a foreign sickle, bright and sharp. He receives it with a smile of approval, and is seen later in the daydoing the work with a Chinese reaping-machine, which is ahandle. *'bit of old iron about four inches in length, fitted to a shortThe old," he seems to say, " is better." The washerman is provided with a foreign washing-machine, which economises time, soap, labour, and, most of all, the clothingto be washed. He is furnished with a patent wringer whichrequires no strength, and does not damage the fabrics. Thewashing-machine and the wringer are alike suffered to relapseinto " innocuous desuetude," and the washerman continues toscrub and wrench the garments into holes and shreds as informer days. Eternal vigilance iS the price at which innovations of this nature are to be defended.
The gardener is told to repair a decayed wall by using someadobe bricks which are already on hand, but he thinks itbetter to use the branches of trees buried a foot deep in thetop of the wall, and accordingly does so, explaining, if he isquestioned, the superiority of his method. The messengerwho is employed to take an important mail to a place severaldays' journey distant, receives his packages late in the evening,that he may start the next morning by daylight. The nextafternoon he is seen in a neighbouring alley, and on beingsent for and asked what he means, he informs us that he wasobHged to take a day and wash his stockings! It is the sameexperience with the carter whom you have hired by the day.He is told to go a particular route, to which, hke all others inthe cases supposed, he assents, and takes you by an entirelydifferent one, because he has heard from some passing strangerthat the other was not so good. Cooks, coolies, gardeners,carters—all agree in distrusting otir judgment, and in placingsupreme reliance upon their own.
Phenomena illustrating our subject are constantly observedwherever there is a foreign dispensary and hospital. Thepatient is examined carefully and prescribed for, receives hismedicine in a specified number of doses, with directions thricerepeated to avoid mistakes, as to the manner in which andtimes at which it is to be taken. Lest he should forget thedetails, he returns once or twice to make stu"e, goes home andswallows the doses for two days at a gulp, because the excellence of the cure must be in the direct ratio of the dose. Themost mwiute and emphatic cautions against disturbing a plaster jacket are not sufficient to prevent its summary removal,because the patient does not wish to become a " turtle," andhave a hard shell grow to his skin.
It is not a very comforting reflection, but it is one whichseems to be abundantly justified by observation, that theopinion of the most ignorant eissistant in a dispensary seems(and therefore is) to the average patient as valuable as that ofthe physician in charge, though the former may not be ableto read a character, does not know the name of a drug orthe symptoms of any disease, and though the latter may havebeen decorated with all the letters in the alphabet of medicaltitles, and have had a generation of experience. Yet a hintfrom the gatekeeper or the coolie may be sufficient to securethe complete disregard of the directions of the physician, andthe adoption of something certainly foolish, and possibly fatal.
Thus far, we have spoken of instances of inflexibility in whichforeigners are concerned, for those are the ones to which ourattention is soonest drawn, and which possess for us the mostpractical interest. But the more our observation is directed tothe relations of the Chinese to one another, through which ifanywhere their true dispositions are to be manifested, themore we perceive that the state of things indicated by the expressive Chinese phrase " Outwardly is, inwardly is not," isnot exceptional. Chinese servants are yielding and complaisant to Chinese masters, as Chinese servants are to foreignmasters, but they have no idea of not doing things in theirown way, and it is not unhkely that their masters never for amoment suppose that their orders will be literally obeyed. Aforeign employer requires his employes to do exactly as theyare told, and because they do not do so he is in a state ofchronic hostility to some of them. A friend of the writerwho had one of that numerous class of servants who combine extreme faithfulness with extreme mulishness—thus makingthemselves an indispensably necessary nuisance—happily expressed a dilemma into which the masters of such servants areoften brought, when he remarked that as regarded that particular "Boy," he was in a condition of chronic indecision,whether to kill him or to raise his wages! The Chinese masterknows perfectly well that his commands will be ignored invarious ways, but he anticipates this inevitable result as onemight set aside a reserve for bad debts, or allow a margin forfriction in mechanics.
The same greater or less disregard of orders appears to prevail through all the various ranks of Chinese officials in theirrelations to one another, up to the very topmost round. Thereare several motives any one of which may lead to the contravening of instructions, such as personal indolence, a wish tooblige friends, or, most potent of all, the magnetic influenceof cash. A district magistrate who lived in a place where thewater is brackish, ordered his servant to take a water-cart anddraw water from a river several miles distant. The servantdid nothing of the kind, but merely went to a village where heknew the water to be sweet, and provided the magistrate withas much as he wanted of this fluid, to the saving of two thirdsthe distance and to the entire satisfaction of all parties. If themagistrate had known to a certainty that he was disobeyed, itis not probable that he would have uttered a whisper on thesubject so long as the water was good. In China " the catthat catches the rat is the good cat." Nothing succeeds likesuccess. The dread of giving offence and the innate Chineseinstinct of avoiding a disturbance would prevent misdemeanours of disobedience from being reported, though five hundredpeople might be in the secret. That was a typical Chineseservant who, having been told to empty the water from acistern into something which would save it for future use,was found to have poured it all into a well! Thus he contrived to preserve the shell of conformity, with the most absolute negation of any practical result. Dr. Rennie mentionsthe case of an official at Amoy, who cut in two an Imperialproclamation, posting the last part first, so that it could noteasily be read. Such devices are common in matters concerning foreigners, whom mandarins seldom wish to please.
It is easy to see how such a poKcy of evasion may comeinto colUsion with the demands of justice. The magistratesentences a criminal to wear a heavy wooden collar for aperiod of two months, except at night, when it is to be removed. By the judicious expenditure of cash " where it willdo the most good," this order is only so far carried out thatthe criminal is decorated with the cangue at such times as themagistrate is making his entrance to and his exit from theyamen. At all other times the criminal is quite free from theobnoxious burden. Does the magistrate not suspect that hissentence will be defeated by bribery, and will he sUp out theback way in order to come upon the explicit proof of disobedience? By no means. The magistrate is himself a Chinese,and he knew when the sentence was fixed that it would notbe regarded, and with this in mind he made the term twice aslong as it might otherwise have been. This seems to be asample of the intricacies of official intercourse in all departments, as exemplified by what forefgners continually observe.The higher officer orders the lower to see that a certain step istaken. The lower official reports respectfully that it has beendone. Meanwhile nothing has been done at all. In manycases this is the end of the matter. But if there is a continuedpressure from some quarter, and the orders are urgent, thelower magistrate transmits the pressure to those still lower,and throws the blame upon them, until the momentum of thepressure is exhausted, and then things go on just as they werebefore. This is called " reform," and is often seen on a greatscale, as in the spasmodic suppression of the sale of opium, or of the cultivat'on of the poppy, with results which are knownto all.
There are doubtless those to whom the Chinese seem themost " obstinate " of peoples, and to such the adjective " flexible," which we have employed to characterise the " inflexibility" of the Chinese, will appear singularly inappropriate.Nevertheless, we must repeat the conviction that the Chineseare far from being the most obstinate of peoples, and that theyare in fact far less obstinate than the Anglo-Saxons, We callthem " flexible " because, with a " firmness " like that of mules,they unite a capacity of bending of which the Anglo-Saxon isfrequently destitute.
No better illustration of this talent of the Chinese for " flexibility " can be cited, than their ability to receive gracefullya reproof. Among the Anglo-Saxon race it is a lost art, orrather it is an art that was never discovered. But the Chinese listens patiently, attentively, even cordially, while youare exposing to him his own shortcomings, assents cheerfully,and adds, " I am in fault, I am in fault." Perhaps he eventhanks you for your kindness to his unworthy self, and promises that the particulars which you have specified shall beimmediately, thoroughly, permanently reformed. These fairpromises you well know to be " flowers in the mirror, and thebright moon in the water," but despite their unsubstantialnature, it is impossible not to be mollified therewith, and this,be it noted, is the object for which they were designed.
Few comparisons of the sort hit the mark more exactlythan that which likens the Chinese to the bamboo. It isgraceful, it is everywhere useful, it is supple, and it is hollow.When the east wind blows it bends to the west. When thewest wind blows it bends to the east. When no wind blowsit does not bend at all. The bamboo plant is a grass. It iseasy to tie knots in grasses. It is difficult, despite its suppleness, to tie knots in the bamboo plant. Nothing in nature is more flexible than a human hair. It can be drawn out a largepercentage of its own length, and when the tractile force iswithdrawn, it at once contracts. It bends in any direction byits own weight alone. There is a certain growth of hair onmany human heads which consists of definite tufts, quite persistent in the direction of their growth, and generally incapable of any modification. Such a growth is vulgarly called a" cow-lick," and as it cannot be controlled, the remaininghairs, however numerous they may be, must be arranged withreference thereto. If the planet on which we dwell be considered as a head, and the several nations as the hair, theChinese race is a venerable cow-lick, capable of being combed,clipped, and possibly shaved, but which is certain to growagain just as before, and the general direction of which is notlikely to be changed.
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