Journal

International Conference on History and Cultures Along the Southwestern Silk Road: Texts and Images 文本与图像:西南丝绸之路历史与文化国际学术研讨会. Dali University. Dali, China. Jul 3–5, 2025.

Learning how to ask 學習提問

In my experience, Asian students are not used to asking questions. This is likely because many are never encouraged or even allowed to ask questions in a variety of settings, including classrooms. On the other hand, Western students likely ask more questions. But honestly, not all questions are helpful. Perhaps this book sheds some light on how to ask good questions, or what good questions are.

A curious note is that the word for question 問題 also means problem in modern Chinese. So a “person with questions” also means a “person with problems.” To a lesser extent, such usage is also found in English, e.g., a “questionable person.” But conflating questions with problems may be one of the reasons why Asians do not like to openly ask questions, which are perceived to be problematic and confrontational.

This conflation did not seem to exist in classical Chinese. I wonder if it is a transfer from the Sino-Japanese “mondai” 問題 in the early 20th century.

https://book.douban.com/subject/37154260/

International Conference on Kedah Tua (ICKT) 2025. Universiti Sains Malaysia. Penang, Malaysia. 18–20 May 2025.