China's Magical Oil
At the mention of mysterious ancient Egypt, many Chinese people immediately spouted a series of sensational rumors, such as the curse of the pyramid, endless treasure, the resurrected mummy.
Similarly, when many Westerners mentioned China, they had many unrealistic fantasies. For example, the Chinese were all martial arts masters or table tennis masters with tied braids behind their heads, and other stereotypes.
Modern Egyptians were kind of considered Westerners, but Egypt's economic level and urban style were basically equivalent to that of China in the 1990s or so. Few Chinese tourists went to Egypt, so their impression of ancient China was more exaggerated than what Chinese people thought of ancient Egypt.
In other countries, Richard's trick may not have deceived people, but because of the magical impression of the cooling ointment and the fantasies of ancient China, the Egyptians really bought it!
