In the world of American drag racing, Kang Yinan, hailed from Northeast China, has become a sort of celebrity in some circles of social media. He was a national champion of American pro-am drag racing and was featured in a documentary. This man, while looks down-to-earth and speaks his Mandarin with a Northeastern accent, has a monthly income worth a Porsche. He is a success in the U.S.
Generally, there are three types of Chinese people in the United States. The first type is the learned, cultured, scholarly type, and they are often being highly respected in their community. With such respect being given, they have become aloof and often discriminate against others. Another type of Chinese people there is engaged in low-level services in restaurants and laundromats. There was a huge number of such a group in the past, and they formed the common impression of the Chinese in American society. Such people also have a low self-definition. The third kind of Chinese is a unique group, and they are master artisans. This group is actually a kind of marginal existence in the two cultures of China and the United States. In Chinese culture, they are devalued as mere craftspeople. It is under such a backdrop that Kang humbly calls himself a “car repairer.” Yet, iin the Western culture, he has long been a recognized master in the field.
Among these three groups of Chinese people in the U.S., the third group like Kang, is the least known.
He has his family to thank for his skills. Kang’s father was an excellent auto mechanic. He repaired military vehicles for the garrison in Northeast China and developed a mastery of that. Under the influence of his father, Kang became very interested in all things mechanical when he was small. Mechanical operation is a kind of logic, and good mechanics are like philosophers. This is not necessarily something that can be taught in universities. Later, with the reform of the Chinese army, Kang’s father lost his auto repair business and decided to migrate to the U.S. with him as a skilled worker and opened an auto repair shop.
The American car repair technology and the Chinese one are not at the same level. Americans change what is broken, while the Chinese repair it. Therefore, the Chinese car repair skills are much higher than the average American level. Kang later became a master in this industry because of his family background, to the point where he designed the grease nipple for the cars produced by General Motors. In addition, he also joined car racing and becomes well known in this circle in the United States.
With Kang becoming more famous, he was advised to return to China for further development. Asking his father’s opinion on this, his father’s answer was that he had to consider the situation of his staff. In a meeting with his staff later, many had been working with him for years, some told him they just bought a house and some were just married. Therefore, if they were to leave there, they would need to start from scratch which could greatly affect their income. Hearing this, Kang abandoned his plan to return to China, and such is his bond with those he considers to be his “brothers”.
With the enrichment and accumulation of experience, Kang's business developed into engine modification, until he can produce different engine control programs according to needs, and improve the efficiency of the engine. Because of his impressive engine modification, he participated in the race on the 1320 channel. It was rare to see an Asian in such a place, and to the astonishment of many, he did not lose a single race. This makes him a sort of celebrity in the U.S., and so a “car repairer” to those in China has become a master artisan in the U.S.
Kang belongs to the type of person who sees “brotherhood” as an important part of his life. He is willing to learn and can build his career with his own efforts. While he is not a professor nor a pundit because he is not in academia, his brilliance makes him a master in his own field.
Similar examples can be found in Japan as well. With the advancement of technics, the price of Chinese knives has increased from a few dollars in the past to hundreds or thousands of dollars today. However, compared with Chinese knives, Japanese knives have reached the level of millions of dollars. In the U.S., there is also a Japanese master who regards making sushi as an artistic creation, and a meal of sushi made by him costs thousands of dollars. When I wrote an article in the past to advocate "fine manufacturing", I cited an example of a Japanese lathe master. The Japanese high-speed rail system needs a part that he hand-made, to the point where he could not retire even at the age of 80. These people are indeed the great masters of their own fields of specialty.
The same is true for the West. Rolls-Royce produces jet engines for wide-body aircraft, and all jet engine blade welding is unusual, but the blade welding of these high-tech aero-engines is produced by one “Wilson” alone manually. It is only with him that the Rolls-Royce jet engine could come into existence. Wilson is now training his son for the same skills. This tradition of passing down the skill in the family continues to exist in the West.
Frankly, compares with the cultured personalities, I hope to see more skilled artisans among the Chinese. The ideal of the cultured scholars belonged to the past, while these skilled artisans are closely related to today’s industrial culture. When there are more people like them, the more promising China's industry and fine manufacturing will be.
Final analysis conclusion:
With their emphasis on brotherhood value and learning, some skillful artisans from China have become successful in other countries and are respected as great masters. Yet, in China itself, while being the “world’s factory”, less and less attention is paid to them. These skilled artisans are closely related to today’s industrial culture. Only when there are more people like them, can China's industry and fine manufacturing see the light of hope.
