Mensa members gather at a café in Beijing on October 23, 2011. Photo: Courtesy of Mensa China
Tan Bochao has a knack for picking the brains of members in the online Mensa China chat group with his statements that are often thought-provoking and intellectually stimulating.
"Most of us have a background in science and are fascinated with technology. We chat and share our views online," Tan told the Global Times, adding it felt "great to be surrounded by people with high IQs."
Many people might identify members of Mensa, a high IQ society, with those of the ilk of Dr Sheldon Cooper, a pretentious physicist from American TV sitcom The Big Bang Theory.
Tan, who works in a bank and is aged in his late 20s, dispelled the stereotype though, saying members of Mensa are simply ordinary folks with an extraordinary ability to memorize facts.
Within the exclusive high IQ club are many female beauties who embrace the latest fashion and wear makeup, Yang Bingyang, an author listed among China's top 10 beauties on online forum tianya.cn, joined Mensa in 2007 hoping it would help her find love with a man of like-minded intelligence.
She found success when she was introduced to Wang Peng, who holds a world record for solving a set of test problems and has the highest IQ among Mensa China members. The couple's love blossomed online over chat sessions, and the two are now married. Yang is also the chairwoman of Mensa China.
Mensa, which in Latin means "table," was founded in England in 1946 under the aim of uniting people of high intelligence, regardless of their social differences.
While members of the club might be in the same intellectual league as physicists Albert Einstein and Stephen Hawking, Mensa's profile in China remains relatively obscure compared to the prestige and fame it has in the US and Europe.
Secretive society in China
Peng Chengwen, an IT journalist in Beijing, said although he had taken an IQ test in high school, he did not know about Mensa until he saw it featured on a TV show in 2007.
"I was recruited in 2007 by Mensa International and found the club quite interesting. At that time, there was no Mensa China. I contacted the organization's UK headquarters to request a test," Peng, 36, told the Global Times. "My non-Mensa friends have little knowledge about the society, so they treat me the same."
Mensa International currently has more than 100,000 members in over 100 countries around the world.
The Hong Kong arm of Mensa was founded in 1987 by expats and Chinese members. Mensa China started last year after Xu Xiwen, a member from the group's US society, found it odd Mensa did not exist in a country as big as China.
"Whenever we are reported in the media, requests for membership soar. We arrange monthly tests in Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou, hoping more people can be recruited," Yang told the Global Times, adding that most of Mensa China's 150 members come from the three first-tier cities.
The fee for taking a Mensa test is 260 yuan ($41). Individuals are only permitted a maximum of two tests, with the price of the second test halved. Members need to pay a 265-yuan annual membership fee, Yang added.
She said that Mensa China is barely financially viable, with all members on committees working part-time voluntarily for the society. Members invest most of their money into improving the society's website so that members across the country can become better acquainted with one another.
The Mensa club is still at an early age in China considering the number of its members, while in the Silicon Valley in the US, there are tens of thousands of members who hold activities almost daily, with topics ranging from family issues to IT trends, according to China Newsweek magazine.
Cultural differences
Most Chinese members were born in the 1980s and work in the IT or banking industry. Some are self-employed, while more college students and others aged in their early 20s are joining the society.
"We are not as prestigious as some people imagine. Mensa in the US and Europe has janitors and security guards among their members. We just want to find more friends who can understand each other easily," Peng said.
Proclaiming oneself as "smart" is still culturally taboo in China, where greater respect is afforded to intellectuals who are modest. Many people prefer to keep a distance from others who declare themselves smart.
Xu Qi, a member of Mensa China who appeared on a TV quiz show in Jiangsu Province in March, drew criticism online after viewers accused her of flaunting her high IQ and French-language skills to a national audience.
Few employers in China are aware of Mensa or if any of their employees are members of the society. Attitudes are different compared to the US, where job applicants are less likely to hide that they are among the intellectual elite.
"I'm surrounded by very smart people. Being in Mensa is just like being a graduate at a top university, but it wouldn't have helped me get my job at the bank," Tan said.
Pu Nan, who took the membership test on May 12, said he is not motivated to join the society to find more friends or help him in his career. He just wants to prove that he is smart enough to be included.
However, Li Angda, a Mensa member in Beijing, has a more philosophical view, saying that being a part of Mensa "shouldn't be the only tag" to be proud of in life, according to China Newsweek.