For me the litmus test is this.

If anyone you don’t know tells you 哎呀！你说汉语说得这么好啊！太棒了你！or words to that effect, your Chinese is an amusing interruption to the mundanity of their daily lives. https://twitter.com/weiweiwrites/status/1343746947526627328

It appears @THoC_Podcast and @adjwilson remain unconvinced.

It seems appropriate to share an insightful anecdote attributed to Prof: David Porter of the University of Michigan which more effectively illustrate the pitfalls of such alleged “complements” on linguistic ability....

I don’t think Professor Porter, a scholar of Comparative Literature, is on Twitter - so will provide an account of his troubling hutong encounter in a faithfully veracious manner.

Many moons ago, on an extended academic sojourn in Beijing, Professor Porter became habitually addicted to the breakfast delicacies purveyed by the entrepreneurial itinerants operating in the immediate vicinity of his hutong abode - delectable baozi, youtiao and soy milk

One particular morning, he approached an elderly woman - not seen before, but who was peddling the most tantalising culinary delights and which Prof. Porter wished to sample.

Professor Porter, in flawless Mandarin, requested the items he desired.....

The old woman’s surprise at Professor Porter’s command of spoken Mandarin was clearly visible: smiles and laughter, wide-eyed amazement, the waving of hands in disbelief.

“哎呀！这个外国人会说汉语啊！” she beamed enthusiastically.

(“Wow! The foreigner speaks Chinese”)

Professor Porter felt pleasantly embarrassed, but also reassured that his engagement with those Boya books was paying off. The flash cards, the conversation drills, the hours online waiting for Chinese Pod to buffer on the old dial-up connection. Had it all been worth it?

But enough. Professor Porter returned his attention to his daily mission to acquire the delightful sustenance being hawked by this amiable old lady.

Now, this was in the days before WeChat wallet, before Alipay - why, before Smartphones!

The old woman composed herself and handed Professor Porter three thin plastic bags containing his treasured hutong breakfast fayre and with hand gestures indicated that 12RMB was the only monetary demand for this veritable feast. A bargain.

Professor Porter rummaged in his pocket. .

He presented a dishevelled ¥10 note and then proceeded to add several coins of sub-kuai denomination, counting as he went: ”五毛，一毛，一毛.....一共十二块，对不对？”

The old woman’s expression transformed once again. Yet this time with an even more profound sense of astonishment.

“我的上帝呀！这个外国人会数数！”

“OMG! The foreigner can count!”

So you see, chaps. It’s entirely possible that the amazement is positively correlated with the holding of a belief that we are all, every last one of us, knuckle-dragging barbarians.