First, Shandong people have a particularly strong sense of fellow villagers. There is a saying in Shandong: When a fellow villager meets a fellow villager, tears well up in his eyes. Two people who meet by chance will immediately lose their guard and talk about anything as soon as they say they are fellow villagers. I went to Guangzhou in November last year. On the way back, I chatted with a beautiful woman who works in cosmetics in Jinan just because of her local accent. After I came back, she made an appointment to treat me to a meal (only during the meal did I find out that she was originally from Jinan). Chairman of Huichuntang). Therefore, when dealing with Shandong people, trying to establish relationships with fellow villagers, or through introductions from fellow villagers, will often receive very special effects;

Second, no matter how big the official is, no matter how rich he is, at the end of each year, Shandong people who are away from home will try their best to rush back to their hometown, as if not going home to celebrate the New Year is a huge regret. This is especially true for people in the Jiaodong Peninsula;

Thirdly, Shandong dialect is divided into two branches: Jinan dialect and Jiaodong dialect. There are 17 prefectures and cities in Shandong, each of which has its own dialect, which is derived from two major branches. Moreover, the dialects in each prefecture, city, county, and even different towns in each county have obvious differences. Shandong dialect is very unsophisticated. Jiaodong dialect is more crude than Jinan dialect. This also shows that Shandong people are loyal. It is difficult for most Shandong people to change their dialect. This fascination with dialect reflects the strong local sentiment of Shandong people. For many Shandong people, speaking Mandarin is both awkward and ridiculous. Therefore, unless it is a professional requirement, it is difficult for ordinary Shandong people to give up their hometown dialect.

Another obvious characteristic of Shandong people is their high level of loyalty. Although Shandong has the natural barrier of the Yellow River in the north, the natural barrier of Mount Tai in the south, and is close to the Central Plains, with thousands of miles of fertile fields and a large population, guarding the key points between the north and the south has been a battleground for military strategists since ancient times. However, looking at history, we can find that none of the ancient emperors were from Shandong. Even Song Jiang, a grassroots bandit who lives in Liangshan, can only say that he is doing justice for heaven. What he dreams about day and night is to kill people and set fires to attract the attention of the court and then be recruited. This idea of ??loyalty to the emperor is deeply rooted and penetrates into the bones and blood of Shandong people. Learning martial arts and selling them to the emperor's family is the constant pursuit of generations of Shandong people. A long time ago, I read a book about Shandong people written by a German. His comment on Shandong people was: Shandong produces good officials. The so-called good here probably means relatively high loyalty. There is a saying in Chinese political circles that Shandong people protect the frontier. You can take a look. The top leaders in China’s border provinces, including the Secretary of the Party Committee of the Xinjiang Autonomous Region, the Secretary of the Party Committee of the Ningxia Autonomous Region, the Secretary of the Party Committee of the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, the Secretary of the Party Committee of the Tibet Autonomous Region, the Secretary of the Shaanxi Provincial Party Committee, and the Secretary of the Heilongjiang Provincial Party Committee, are all from Shandong.

Shandong people’s idea of ??loyalty to their emperor extends to ordinary people, that is, they are loyal to their superiors. A further extension is loyalty to friends. Therefore, it is very rare for Shandong people to betray their friends. Once discovered, they will be looked down upon.

Another characteristic of Shandong people is that they value fame over profit. At this point, it is probably in sharp contrast to Shanghainese. For Shandong people, interests cannot be ignored, but the issue of face is the most important. If there is a conflict between face and interests, I believe that most Shandong people will bear the pain of relics and seek face. What needs to be explained here is that the face mentioned here is not the usual vanity and ostentation, but a mixture of spiritual or personality things. For example, if you do something for others, it is reasonable for others to give you a certain reward. However, the vast majority of Shandong people will refuse in every possible way because they are worried about being notorious for being greedy for profit. For another example, no matter what the reason is for a small gathering among friends, Shandong people will often compete to pay the bill in the end. It’s not that Shandong people don’t love money, it’s that Shandong people love face more than anything else. Although I will scold me after I suffer a loss, I will do it the same next time. What Shandong people are most proud of is not how big an official they are or how much money they earn, but that their character is not criticized by others. This is probably the result of the influence of Confucian culture.

This cultural tradition of valuing fame over profit has created the bold and uninhibited character of Shandong people. You can take a look at the Shandong product advertisements that are flooded on CCTV, and you can basically understand the character of Shandong people who value fame over profit and spend a lot of money. I remember back then, after Tan Xisong from his hometown in Shandong took over as the director of CCTV's advertising department, he made a special trip to Shandong. After receiving the support of several Shandong company CEOs, he planned a cruel battle for the top bid that shocked the whole country.

Kongfujia, Kongfuyan, Qiminsi, and Qinchi all left a deep impression on people with their generous efforts, especially Qinchi, a small winery in a poor county in Shandong Province that dared to sell two wineries at sky-high prices of 66 million and 320 million respectively. Winning the bid for the first time created a myth in the history of Chinese advertising. I believe that whether it is 66 million or 320 million, it does not come from precise calculations, but purely based on a feeling. Regardless of whether this approach is good or bad, it is probably only people from Shandong who are willing to do it.

Let’s talk about the relationship between Shandong people and wine.

In the eyes of many outsiders, Shandong people are a group of alcoholics. There is a book on people from Shandong, and there is a chapter in it called: Shandong people soaked in wine vats. Therefore, once outsiders meet Shandong people, their first reaction is that they like to drink. When I went to Hainan last year, my friends from Hainan found it difficult to understand when they saw that I don't drink much, but the friends around me from Henan, Hebei, Zhejiang and Beijing are very good drinkers. I told them: Shandong people are not addicted to alcohol, but they are afraid that others will not be able to drink enough. Therefore, when friends come, Shandong people will desperately persuade others to drink, with the spirit of never giving up until they get drunk, as if all their friendships and all their feelings for their friends are condensed in this drink. But at home, or when I go to other people's places, I basically don't drink or drink as little as possible. In the eyes of Shandong people, wine is just a tool to enhance the atmosphere of communication and express their feelings. This may explain why, in a province like Shandong that consumes a lot of alcohol, there are not many high-quality wines except Tsingtao Beer. I think this is probably what is commonly known as the drunkard’s intention to stay out of the bar? Because it is just a tool for communication, so as long as you can drink it to make your face flush and your ears are hot, it is enough to drink it with your friends. Where can you have time to taste the advantages and disadvantages of wine? I remember that when I was very young, my father would dip his chopsticks in wine to help me get used to the taste. Now, even though I have been drinking wine for more than 30 years, I still can’t tell the difference between a bottle of Wuliangye and a bottle of Sorghum Daqu. Essential difference. As long as it can make people intoxicated, what is it but wine?

Let’s talk about the conservativeness of Shandong people.

Shandong people are probably famous throughout the country for their conservatism. But in my opinion, this so-called conservatism actually comes from two ends: first, it comes from respect for rules, systems, and regulations, and second, it is unwilling to take risks with reputation for temporary gain. I don't think this is entirely a bad thing. Although speculation can be a temporary success, the consequences are endless. As for taking chances for temporary gain, I don't think it's worth it. Most Shandong people abide by the principle of not asking for others, not competing with others, but competing with their own potential. Acting according to this principle may be slower, but after all, they feel secure and comfortable. Last year I was chatting with a friend from Shanxi and mentioned this matter. A friend from Shanxi made an analogy: the Cantonese is like a car, very light and easy to start, but with a small load capacity. Shandong people are more like a big truck. They start very slowly and are not light and agile, but once they start, they have great stamina. As a Shandong native, I am very happy to accept this Shanxi friend’s point of view

Let’s talk about men and women in Shandong.

When mentioning Shandong people, many people will think of words such as tall people and big horses, and Shandong big men. In fact, this is completely a misunderstanding. I am 1.78 meters tall, which is basically considered relatively tall in Shandong. Therefore, I think that the saying that heroes come out of Shandong mostly comes from the "poison" in Water Margin. The good thing about Shandong men is not more about their appearance, but the boldness and righteousness in their hearts. In the eyes of people in some places, Shandong men are reckless, like to go straight when doing things, don't like roundabout ways, and have relatively low IQs. In fact, this is also the valuable thing about Shandong men. Deeply influenced by Confucius and Mencius, Shandong men have a strong sense of right and wrong, hate evil as much as hatred, and believe that others have the same standards of judgment of right and wrong as themselves. Therefore, once you are sure that what you are doing is in line with justice, you will have no scruples. As for Shandong men's emphasis on fame over profit and loyalty over money, it is not because they have lower IQs and do not know that they are suffering a loss, but because they believe that a good reputation is not only the foundation of life in the world, but also the real source of wealth. When it comes to choosing between immediate interests and long-term interests, they would rather sacrifice the near for the far. I think this may be regarded as a kind of "Lu wisdom" permeated with Confucianism.

When talking about Shandong men, we can’t help but talk about Northeastern men. Anyone who knows history knows that Shandong people account for a large proportion of the Northeastern people. Especially in Heilongjiang Province, Shandong people account for more than 55%.

These Shandong people who left their homeland and crossed the sea into the legendary mountains and forests to make a living, not only inherited the loyalty of Shandong people, but also amplified the unruly and unrestrained nature of Shandong people to the extreme. Therefore, by observing Northeastern men, we can have a deeper understanding of the nature of Shandong men.

I have never had the opportunity to go to Chengdu to see it with my own eyes, so I cannot compare women in Shandong with women in Sichuan. But I have always scoffed at the idea that there are no beauties in Shandong. When I was young, I heard that there were so many beauties in Suzhou and Hangzhou, and I always yearned for them. Since the first time I went to Suzhou in 1985, I have been to Suzhou five times, but I have never seen the Jiangnan beauties I imagined. Since 1985, I have been to Shanghai countless times, but maybe I haven’t had the chance to see them all, and I haven’t seen many women who can be called beautiful. Therefore, I once studied this issue with a friend, and finally came to the conclusion that Shanghai’s production of beautiful women has been declining over the years, probably due to inbreeding and human race degeneration. But looking at all parts of Shandong, not to mention Qingdao, Yantai, Weihai and other coastal cities, even some small counties, beautiful women can be seen everywhere. Gong Li from Jinan, Brigitte Lin and Ni Ping from Qingdao, and Fan Bingbing from Yantai are their representatives. Maybe it's because you're used to it?

I heard people say that if the Northeast is very cold, it is difficult to support a man but not a woman; in the south it is hot, so a woman is not able to support a man. Shandong is located on the north-south boundary and is a peninsula. It has a suitable climate and four distinct seasons. Therefore, raising boys also raises girls. Shandong women are mostly of medium stature, with dignified appearance. Although not coquettish, they have a gentle temperament. Although they have the strength of northern women, they are still rough. Most of them are virtuous in temperament and have less romantic, fancy and unrealistic ideas. Once they identify a certain person, If a man is a man, he will live a peaceful life with him and place all his hopes on his husband's success. If her husband has no hope of becoming a dragon, he will continue to place his hope on his son or daughter becoming a phoenix. Isn’t such a woman beautiful both inside and outside?