What is the difference between a Western gentleman and a Chinese squire?

When I think of the Western gentleman, I first think of the English gentleman: fluent in standard English, wearing a decent suit, and revealing an elegant demeanor.

The Western gentleman, from the 17th century in Central Europe, by the then prevalent "knight" culture derived. Generally speaking, the gentleman for a kind of social class second only to the nobility. Whether in material, or personal cultivation, gentlemen are very hard to the upper class aristocrats.

And the Chinese squire, compared with the Western gentleman, the same rich, the same upper class. But on closer comparison, they are very different.

We have the impression that most of the Chinese gentry are more interested in accumulating personal wealth than in improving their own cultivation. For example, the modern landlords, many of them to the poor masses extremely its exploitation, oppression of. Many peasants were broken and lost their land to tenant farmers because they could not afford the loan sharks. The story of the white-haired girl can be an immersive experience of the evil done by most Chinese squires.

So do Chinese squires have personal charisma? The answer, of course, is no.

Chinese squires get their money by exploiting others on one side, while on the other side they cut corners by scrimping and saving themselves.

Many squires, however, are not shy about eating and drinking. If they walk down the street, dressed no differently from ordinary people, you can't tell what they are wearing.

So, do Chinese squires pay attention to personal cultural cultivation? The answer is even more negative. They love their land so much that in their eyes, knowledge and etiquette are not important enough.

Of course, there are those who love knowledge. But this knowledge is nothing more than pedantic dregs of culture, and mastering knowledge only gives them a thick layer of armor to maintain feudal traditions.