I must be tone-deaf, because I picked up none of the sinister overtones that other commenters on this thread are detecting. The text I read was amusing and delightful, and I associate it with a genre of writing that takes a bit of common wisdom (studying abroad is good for you) and inverts it. It reminded me of Erasmus's In Praise of Folly. I am sadly ignorant of Chinese literature, but I think the theme is universal. Looking at the world when you are standing on your head is simultaneously amusing and insightful.