Here is another passage from River Town (p.282) that illustrates collectivism in China.

Quote Originally Posted by Peter Hessler
Everything was further complicated by the influence of traditional collective thinking. The longer I lived in Fuling, the more I was struck by the view of the individual - in my opinion, this was the biggest difference between what I had known in the West and what I saw in Sichuan. For people in Fuling, the sense of self seemed largely external; you were identified by the way that others viewed you. That had always been the goal of Confucianism, which defined the individual's place strictly in relation to the people around her: she was somebody's daughter, somebody else's wife, somebody else's mother; and its role had its specific obligations. This was an excellent way to preserve social harmony, but once that harmony was broken, the lack of self-identity made it difficult to put things back together again.