Good News: Seven months after the publication of my German-language China book („Verliebt in China“), the English translation is finally on the market. That’s why this blog is only in English this time. The US-English book is a response to the great demand from various parts of the world, especially the USA and China. Many thanks to all the loyal followers of my blog who have encouraged me to do this. Many thanks also to all the German readers of my book, whose email feedback ([email protected]) has been inspiring me for months.
China is better than its reputation
In times characterized by war, terror and isolation, China opened its doors in December 2023 and made visa-free entry possible. Regardless of the economic interests involved, it is still a giant gesture in terms of international understanding. I would like to make a contribution to this with my book. And I want to dispel prejudices, because China is far better than its reputation. What you hear about the Chinese in Western media is mostly colored by power politics and often even fictitious. The feedback from travelers to China who have my book in their luggage proves me right. „China is very different from what I expected.“ I constantly hear that. And it was no different for me. But when I got to know this foreign culture better, it changed my life. China got right under my fingernails.
Keynote Speech at China Club
I was able to share my experiences as a keynote speaker at the China Club Berlin on the day of the book launch. The China Club above the rooftops of the Adlon Hotel is the most prestigious private club in Germany. It was a great honor to speak there, all the more so as my audience from the worlds of business, politics, science and culture all had in-depth knowledge of China. The host, china-bruecke e.V., has been striving to engage constructively with China since 2019. Our consensus: China is not our enemy, but our partner. We therefore need to engage more intensively with the country and increase our knowledge of China.
I have adapted the title of my book for the international market. „My China Story“ is available worldwide via Amazon. Amazon deniers can order the book directly from me. My Chinese friends too, of course. Please send a message to: [email protected]
MY CHINA STORY – How I became famous behind the Great Wall
ISBN 978-3-9826480-0-2
Copyright © Armin Lissfeld
Paperback (245 pages, 117 color photos) $ 20, Kindle $ 9.99, Kindle Unlimited free
Book chapter
„Pianos made in Leipzig“
„Can you play the piano?“ I had answered the request from Katmodels Shanghai in the negative. A week later, I was booked anyway. For a piano business, as they said. I was supposed to at least pretend I could play the piano as part of a video shoot or photo shoot, I guess. No problem.
„Just pretend what needs to be pretended.“ The maxim of young Western models in China when it comes to queries from potential clients is actually safe to follow. Once you’re on set and the clock is ticking — in China, modeling is done by stopwatch — it doesn’t matter if you can really play the piano or just like listening to piano concerts. Then time flies, and since time costs money, they make the best of it, no matter what. The main thing is that they have a Westerner who looks like what the local piano buyers imagine a Western pianist to look like.
Bridal wear or sportswear – who cares?
And I had already received more information than with many other jobs. Two days earlier, I had only known that I would have a job. The call time of seven o’clock in the morning, I was told only at 10 p.m. the night before via WeChat. When I asked what the job was about, I was only told that the shooting location was a fitness center and that I should perhaps take some sports clothes with me. At said address there was indeed a gym on the first floor. However, my client was sitting on the second floor selling bridal fashions. They had booked me to play a bridal designer in a video. Since my jogging suit wasn’t very suitable for that, they had promptly given me a white smock to put on. Therefore, who knows what playing the piano meant in Chinese. Could be anything, even dog food advertising.
Piano-Store or Piano-Factory – who cares?
„Pls bring black suite + black business shoes.“ The WeChat message at six in the morning could only bring me a weary smile. I had explained to the agents several times that I was a model, not a banker, and that I had no luggage except for a few summer clothes. But they were happy to ignore that. If the customer expresses a wish, they pass it on like that. Of course our model comes as you wish, dear customer. Therefore, I pack black Nikes and a light blue summer suit, that will surely be enough. When I arrive at the customer’s place, far outside Shanghai, after a two-hour journey, I am amazed. It was not a small piano store that had booked me, but a piano factory. „Bruno & Sons – Technology from Leipzig Germany“ was written in bold letters at the entrance.
Ok, so that’s what this was all about. A German company needed a German advertising face. Perhaps I would end up as an ad in the Leipzig Rundschau. Funny. There is simply nothing that does not exist. As I walk around the large factory site, I discover a festively decorated stage with a red carpet and audience seating in front of it. In the background are German and Chinese flags, including lettering honoring German Chinese cooperation. BRUNO PIANO FACTORY – BRINGING INTERNATIONAL HIGH-QUALITY PIANOS TO CHINA. It looked like they were expecting important guests from abroad. Probably some cooperation agreements would be sealed. Important import-export deals. No matter what, it looked like some big event was going to take place here
A German – that’s the Jackpot
An hour later, Bruno finally arrives. Bruno is not from Leipzig. Bruno is Chinese. And Bruno is not expecting any guests from Leipzig, as he explains to me through an interpreter. The only German guest to whom the whole production was directed was me. The piano manufacturer was very happy that he had found a German actor for his advertising video. That was more than he had dared to hope for. He would have booked me even if I had been Italian. No matter, the main thing was someone white, able to pretend to be a German. A real German, that would be a special stroke of luck. He beamed very smugly. He had done everything right. For Bruno, today was Christmas.
Not paid to think, but to be a German
He had countless questions about Germany. What the weather was like there, what we ate and drank, whether everyone there was as tall and handsome as I was, and so on. Bruno had obviously never been to Germany. His Leipzig partners had probably never been to China either. Perhaps he had simply acquired a German patent for his pianos. He had taken the name of a disused Leipzig factory. Or maybe „Bruno & Söhne“ had never existed in Leipzig. Anyway, I’m not paid to think, but to be German.
How to Europeanize Chinese production facilities
I was supposed to play the Leipzig piano manufacturer to whom Bruno owes his pianos. A video was shot in which I had to solemnly sign a German-Chinese cooperation agreement, which we then sealed with a big handshake gesture, with broad grins on our faces. That’s how easy it is to Europeanize production facilities in this country. Afterwards, there was another video showing the factory owner visiting the production facilities with his German guest of honor and showing him how expertly the German patents are implemented in the Chinese branch. Afterwards, another handshake and group photo with factory workers.
Closing time. Finally. The sun was beating down, there was no air conditioning in the factory, my business suit, which wasn’t actually a business suit, which no one had bothered about, was drenched in sweat. I thought about rushing home to the ice-cold downtown pad. But, no, no, he was far from finished with me. There was still a lot to do, Bruno had explained. My agency had told me in advance that they didn’t know exactly how long the job would take, just that I would probably be done by noon. But they had also said that I should play piano in some piano store. Once again, they didn’t have a clue.
„Like this you do.“
Therefore, change of scene. Next video. Now I had to design pianos on the drawing board looking like a designer, without a suit, thank God. I had large technical drawings in front of me and, armed with pencil and ruler, I had to pretend that I was designing a new German mega piano. No problem. After an hour, when that was done, the scene changed again. Fourth video. Now I was the technician who was supposed to screw together a piano in a leather apron. For this I was shown a video in advance, in which a white piano maker was shown at work. A professional and high-quality video, in which all work processes were documented in detail — at least a dozen work steps, each with different settings. It had easily taken two days to shoot. „Like this you do.“ That’s exactly what they wanted, I was told. It was the promotional video for a local competitor, as I found out later. He’d had success with it, had sold many pianos, so they wanted to do the same, copy it. The normal Chinese way: Copy & paste.
Blind copying – no matter what
Why come up with something new when you can copy proven concepts? I experienced this all the time. Almost always, there were videos or photo templates on the set that were used as a guide. But Bruno’s concept was particularly brazen because the video was not a style template for him, no, he wanted every shot copied one-to-one. Okay, whatever the client wanted.
The director and I dutifully followed the guidelines until the foreman, who had been assigned to me to show me the technical moves, thought he had spotted a mistake in the template video. He drew the director’s attention to a wrong move and criticized the fact that this movement should never be executed from left to right, but always from right to left, otherwise it would make no sense. This made sense to the director. But not to the customer. Bruno didn’t care, he insisted that we copy the mistake. The technical finesse hadn’t hurt his competitor, it wouldn’t hurt him either. Blind copying until we dropped.
Nothing works without caffeine
And all in one afternoon, instead of the two days a similar production in Europe would have taken, and on a set where it was already over forty degrees, even without a spotlight. I had to pop several of my 200 mg caffeine vials, which I never went to work without in China. Since they don’t have much in the way of coffee there, let alone espresso, you’re well advised to bring your own dope. Without coffee, nothing works in the industry. It’s hard enough to stay focused all day under normal working conditions, but what’s sometimes demanded of you in China is really tough. No wonder the guys all take a nap at lunchtime.
Xiū xi – „The working people have the right to rest“
The midday nap, the xiū xi, is enshrined in law in the Chinese Constitution: „The working people have the right to rest.“ The only constitutional article that probably all Chinese know because China is full of sleeping people. Whether on park benches, in rickshaws, at bank counters, at construction sites, or simply on the side of the road, everywhere you look you see them lounging around at midday. And it’s not light dozing or power napping, no, they’re sound asleep no matter what’s going on around them.
The hard-working German
When Bruno offers to let me lie down somewhere for a short while during my lunch break, I have to pass. Too many caffeine bombs in me. Let’s get on with it, I urge. He laughs and is pleased to see so much verve. It is precisely because of this attitude that he finds our people so admirable —we are such hard workers. That’s exactly what he wishes for China, that they would someday be as good as we are. The first step in this direction would be to buy a good espresso machine, I explain to him. „Ah, you need coffee? Sorry we didn’t think of that.“ He immediately sends an employee to get coffee at the nearest store.
„How can a Vegetarian satisfy women?“
Yes, as hosts, they do everything they can to make you feel comfortable. He even sent for a vegetarian lunch. Although he found that very strange. How can one live without meat, he wants to know. Meat is important energy, without which you can’t perform at all. Whether I can make women happy at all, he asks with a laugh. I explain to him that my vegetables have made me two heads taller than he is and that other parts of me are probably bigger than he is. He laughs. Everybody laughs. They are happy that the German seems to have the same sense of humor. I am one of them. Or at least I could become one of them.
Udo Kier: 80 und kein bisschen leise
Zum Geburtstag von Deutschlands schrägstem Hollywood-Export.
Sterben in Shanghai muss man sich leisten können
Nicht nur das Leben ist teuer in Shanghai.
Brad Pitt: Mit vollem Mund spielt sich besser
Wie man aus Stars Superstars macht. Ein Hollywood-Coach klärt auf.
„Quäl dich, du Sau!“
Der Olympia-Marathon 2024 findet ohne den Autoren statt. Sein Herz blutet.
China Travel Guide
Was man wissen sollte, wenn man nach China reist.
Gratulation zur englischen Version deines Buches.
Viel Erfolg beim Verkauf.
Danke Dir, Wolfgang.
Das ist ein super Erfolg mit dem englischen Buch, Achim! Ich dachte mir schon beim Erscheinen der deutschen Ausgabe, dass du da nachlegen solltest. Du hast recht, die meisten Leute haben eine total falsche Einstellung gegenüber China.
Am 16. August könnte ich meine 5-Jahres-China-Return-Karte abholen, mit der ich nur mit Fingerabdruck-Scan und Gesichtserkennung für 90 Tage nach China einreisen kann. Das kann man allerdings nur, wenn man die Hongkonger permanente ID-Karte hat, die man nach 7 Jahren bekommt.
Im August feiere ich mein dreißigstes Hongkong-Jubiläum und meinen 60. Geburtstag. Damit kann ich nun in Hongkong für nur 2 HK$ (0,24 Euro) pro Fahrt alle öffentlichen Verkehrsmittel in der Stadt benutzen. In China darf man sogar ab 60 kostenlos in der Stadt reisen.
Ich bin ab dem 12. August für 3 Wochen in München und am Bodensee bei meiner Mama. Bist du zufällig in der Gegend?