I’ve only had some exposure to chinese society, but the little I do know helped flesh out the characters. Remember how Bilbo did not off his relatives tea, and it was a serious disrespect? There’s a lot of cultural norms followed or disobeyed in the book that describe the characters’ natures.
It’s a lot like golden age American SF. Fantastic concepts, cardboard characters.
I’ve only had some exposure to chinese society, but the little I do know helped flesh out the characters. Remember how Bilbo did not off his relatives tea, and it was a serious disrespect? There’s a lot of cultural norms followed or disobeyed in the book that describe the characters’ natures.