 Townsend had asserted in chapter one that the cause of China 's present misery lies in the fundamental defects that exist in the ethnic characteristics of the Chinese people and in chapters three and four he explains what he believes these defects are . Townsend states that dishonesty is " the most prominent characteristic in the Chinese mentality as opposed to our own " . Townsend gives many examples of him being lied to by Chinese employees , coolies , shopkeepers , and government officials , and notes that many other consuls were driven out of the service by this relentless and " aimless lying , with each lie merely a pretext for another " . The other highly salient trait of the Chinese is their " indifference to fellow suffering " . Through a large number of personal and second @-@ hand anecdotes , Townsend argues that the Chinese may be the only people in the world who are completely unable to comprehend the basic human impulses of sympathy or gratitude toward other people . Because the Chinese feel no empathy toward others , they behave in an unbelievably sadistic and cruel fashion toward one another , and they view altruistic foreigners as targets to be mercilessly taken advantage of . Other traits Townsend identifies as being typically Chinese are cowardice , lust for money , lack of a sense of personal hygiene , lack of critical thinking skills , insincerity , and obsession with hollow rites . Townsend believes that these traits are as notable among China 's leaders and educated strata as much as they are in the poor masses , and his analysis of historical documents leads him to believe that they are not a recent product of the present chaos , but rather are deeply ingrained traits of China 's national character . He concludes that the " outstanding characteristics " of the Chinese people " neither enable other peoples to deal satisfactorily with them , nor enable the Chinese to deal satisfactorily with themselves . " 
