It's bad manners to discuss toilet activities. But the topic comes up again and again when people recount their first trip to China. Confronting a squat toilet for the first time is a real shock. This fundamental encounter with the unknown...See moreIt's bad manners to discuss toilet activities. But the topic comes up again and again when people recount their first trip to China. Confronting a squat toilet for the first time is a real shock. This fundamental encounter with the unknown can tell us about big issues: relation of purity and danger, public and private space, and the proper role of the state in China's rapidly changing society. Such abstract calculations come to life on the toilet in five stage, starting with 'shock.'
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