Writing the Self in China - Essay Example

Writing the Self in China Lisa Rofel (2007) and Judith Farquhar (2007) are among some of the scholars who have researched this issue of “Writing the Self”. When I went visiting China, I experienced this phenomenon of writing the self. Particularly in my year abroad in Guangzhou, my Chinese girlfriend and I were passing through a very traumatic period in our relationship. My girlfriend and I were arguing the majority of the time. Thus my girlfriend was taking advice on our relationship from the blog readers. This was only because she could not cope with the relationship by herself and she needed support from people that shared experiences similar to what she was having. My girlfriend is a very sensitive person. In her receiving advice from others on how to overcome problems having to do with our relationship, this gave her a sense of security which she did not previously have. The expression through the blog spot gave her the awareness of an active voice. This awareness of an active voice gave her the sensations which are similar to having an audience in front of her. This allowed my girlfriend to express all of the feelings which she had not previously expressed. As I was spending the year in Guangzhou, I had the experience of writing about the self as the self relates to emotion and individuality. It was a relief to be able to write freely about emotion and individuality in a China which evolved from the 1989 social movement of post socialist China (Wang 2006 p 5). When we visited a tea house in Guangzhou, my girlfriend told me that she was creating a web blog. This was in order to seek advice from strangers about how to overcome the problems that we had been having in our relationship. As a result of our discussion, I browsed the internet and discovered that aside from my girlfriend's blog about her personal life, many Chinese people were also engaging in the same activities. These activities consisted of posting messages on blogs with regards to various issues that they were experiencing in their relationships with their partners. These Chinese people were seeking advice on relationship issues from others who they were not well acquainted with. My girlfriend's web blog demonstrated the complexity of interpersonal relationships of post- socialist China. Freedom of speech and freedom of the press were now commonplace, part of a new Chinese neo-liberalism (Wang 2006 p 103). Neoliberalism cannot be viewed as an ideology. It can be expressed as an established set of behaviors which motivate individualism, autonomy and self expression (Hoffman 2006 p 555). Human resources in contemporary China are now subjected to neo liberal techniques of administration. These neo liberal techniques include the optimal placement of human resources, allowing the individual to express their personal preferences. Freedom of expression and individualism promote an entrepreneurial ethic. The blog which was created my girlfriend is demonstrating the initiative which comes with autonomy and freedom of expression. It is not inconceivable that collateral effects could occur from my girlfriend's web blog. Neo liberalism promotes self improvement (Hoffman 2006 p 552). Neoliberalism intersects various aspects of life in China. These are aspects which are intersected include social and cultural contexts (Hoffman 2006 p 556). I perceive that my girlfriend in her web blog is exercising the elements of neoliberalism. These elements include the desire to obtain a good experience. These expressions represent the perception of the self of the new generation in contemporary China (Hoffman 2006 p 556). The word quality has become extremely popular in the context of post- socialist China. The concept of lacking quality is applied toward those who are perceived as transients, social misfits and those who attire themselves inadequately. In Chinese society, the members endeavor tremendously in order to acquire the status of higher quality (Kipnis 2006 p 308). One method is to analyze nurturing and parenting techniques as mentioned in the best seller titled: Harvard Girl (Kipnis 2006 p 308). My girlfriend in her web blog which discusses our relationship may have discovered an alternate means of attaining quality and social cultivation in her web blog. In writing about the self in China, there are the elements of introspection and circumspection. In the analysis of writing about the self in China, this introspection and circumspection is performed in order to increase the quality and depth of understanding. Perhaps my girlfriend's establishing a web blog which discloses the details of our relationship is not only seeking quality (suzhi), but social cultivation (suyang). Perhaps my girlfriend's contributing relationship advice to the web blog readers is seeking to demonstrate an aptitude for social cultivation. Part of what may be a factor in my girlfriend's search for quality may be the fact that as children, my girlfriend's generation in contemporary China was inculcated with the concept of quality . In the year 2000, A book titled: Harvard Girl: Liu Yiting was a tremendous success in China. This book was a narrative of endeavors to nurture a Chinese girl's educational quality. The girl's mother documents the nursing algorithm from birth to the daughter's academic career at Harvard University. The dietary and discipline which was applied to Liu Yiting is documenmted. The goal of nurture in Chinese society is social cultivation. Many Chinese intellectuals have debated that the word quality has several components. These components are bodily quality, cognitive quality, moral quality and educational quality (Kipnis 2006 p 304). A number of individuals in China have discussed the phenomenon of writing about oneself publicly. This has been demonstrated by a Chinese blog in which the author speaks about this phenomenon (ido.3mt.com.cn). In this web blog titled: “A girl's true love story...”, the author writes and expresses emotions which are very intense. These emotions include insecurity and jealousy over one's relationship partner (ido.3mt.com.cn). This compares with the positive emotional assertions discussed in the web blog titled: “Do I have to give up this love story...”(ido.3mt.com.cn). Chinese scholars have delved into issues of individuality and emotion in post socialist China. Traditionally in the context of socialist Maoist China, the institutions have always caused Chinese citizenry to demonstrate greater reverence for the institution than the individual (Zhang & Ong 2008 p 205) Emotions and individuality are nowadays being discussed as an important aspect of everyday life within Chinese society. Chang I-p'ing, a prominent Chinese author stated: “I believe that love is better than life...Love is the greatest thing on earth” (Fan 1973 p 265). These perceptions of self have helped to frame the individual in a variety of contexts. These contexts are composed of cultural, national and global elements. The issue of individuality and emotion touches on crucial debates about the meaning of Chinese citizenship and culture. These debates also extend to the possibility of humanism in contemporary Chinese society. Research has demonstrated that gender, sexuality and public culture are elements which have dramatically renovated Chinese society. Findings have demonstrated that an increased number of Chinese people have begun to put forward their opinions about the importance of individuality and personal desire. The conveyance of these opinions has been done through various forms of media, including television shows and on the internet. Traditionally, in socialist Maoist China, the elements of desire were repressed as these elements were perceived as evolutions of impurity (Fan 1973 p 259). Writing about the self is important in contemporary Chinese society. This is true especially for the younger generation. The younger generation's pursuit of sexual freedom may be one of the most critical elements in their claim to be an authentic part of contemporary China. The age of individuality was introduced by the economic and social reforms of Deng Xiaoping (Landsberger 2003 p 314). The post socialist Chinese society would have to preserve the memory of difficulties faced in the past. This is done in order to justify the importance of individuality for contemporary Chinese society. An example of one of these difficulties is the communication of the passing of Hu Yaobang on 15 April 1989. This communication preceded mass manifestations and civil disobedience in Tiananmen Square (Landsberger, 2003 p 314). There is a need for careful examination in the role that those emotions play in those practices by which Chinese people aim to transform themselves. The role that these emotions play must also be analyzed in everyday Chinese living (Wang & Fivush 2005 p 474). Such conceptualizations of the self are connected with certain objectivity on the self not already objectified. This may be perceived as an indeterminate desire to connect to the world or to become properly oriented (Wang & Fivush 2005 p 474). Writing about the self is important in contemporary Chinese society because it is also connected to the way in which Chinese conceptualize and discuss their interpersonal relationships and practices (Wang & Fivush 2005 p 474). This becomes a condition of Chinese nurturing; Chinese mothers instill moral assessments with respect to the child's individuality and emotions (Wang & Fivush 2005 p. 474). Thus, by observing and discussing the ongoing negotiation of values and how emotions are expressed, it will be possible to trace the emergence of the new interpretations of emotions and thus affect how contemporary Chinese people understand the self, this calls for reflection and self awareness in the linking of perceptual processes with cultural meanings. I perceive that the idea my girlfriend was attempting to convey in the tea house in Guangzhou could be best understood by this statement: “What I want is love!” (Fan 1973 p 264). Similarly to Wang 2006 p 76, Judith Farquhar scrutinized the Cultural Revolution in China as a landmark in modern Chinese history. Writing about the self serves to make a theme of some aspects of life in contemporary Chinese society. Since socially and culturally accepted practices and perceptions are necessary to the self, then the focal point of the self can be viewed similar to the locus of perception and practice. This perspective enabled me to understand my girlfriends need to dialogue the difficulties which we are experiencing in our relationship in the form of a web blog. Farquhar also analyzes modern Chinese reflections on embodied existence to show how contemporary appetites are grounded in history. For example, the need for expression which has been demonstrated by the Chinese people in their emotional and individual expression founded in history. The self awareness displayed by my girlfriend as we enjoyed tea in Guangzhou can be best described as an awareness of her sexuality and role in Chinese society (Yang 1999 p 204). According to Farquhar, embodiment in all forms must be kept alive in public reflections about personal and national life. This includes modernity's private sexual passions. This is a form of public communication which is able to enhance the self awareness (Yang 1999 p 2). This is what my girlfriend was seeking in her expression of her emotions on the web blog. The way that the scholars deal with issues of writing about the self, emotions and individuality demonstrates that writing about the self is important to the study of contemporary China. There is a degree of complexity involved in romantic practices in contemporary China and the arguments that surround these romantic practices. Notwithstanding, the self can be pictured in a psychological manner. This perception is probably a more accurate manner of understanding individuality than other previously held notions of the self. Traditionally, the concept of individualism in China was based on the comprehension of the self in relation to others and the environment (Brindley 2010 p 129). The rate of development in contemporary China has successfully sought and gained the attention of the world. Some scholars have argued that after the Chinese economic revolution in the 1990s, neoliberalism has been steadily injected into the Chinese society. As I sat with my girlfriend and pondered on our relationship, I was thankful that she was able to freely express herself. Deng Xiaoping stated that if socially, upwardly mobile individuals did not have fluidity in their expression that this would affect the emotive state of the Chinese society as a whole (Hoffman 2006 p 551) This release allowed for the participation of the generation which includes my girlfriend to express themselves freely with other Chinese citizens with regards to our relationship. Deng Xiaoping had initiated and introduced a new intellectual Spring and Autumn to a new social class (Brindley 2010 p xxii). As I reflect on the relationship with my girlfriend, I am highly appreciative of these facts. The story of my girlfriend's web blog, my girlfriend and I can be equated to the theatrical play directed by Meng Jinghui and written by his wife Liao Yimei titled: Rhinoceros in Love (2005). The protagonist Ma Lu is a young Chinese citizen who resides in one of China's metropolitan areas. The play demonstrates a three way love relationship. Ma Lu, who is a zoo attendant is romantically obsessed with a young girl named Mingming. Mingming feels abandoned and turns to Ma Lu in a temporary romantic affair. Ma Lu becomes so obsessed with passion for Mingming that he murders the male rhinoceros named Tula who is entrusted to his care (Hsiung 2009 p 250). Liao Yimei is well respected for her writing ability. Perhaps my girlfriend in her blog is seeking to emulate Liao Yimei. Liao Yimei is adept at portraying the individuals emotive states in a literary manner. In the beginning of the play, Elvis Presley's Love me tender, Love me true is introduced by a beautiful young maiden in a long white gown. She sings the song in a saddened tone and mood. This theatrical interpretation demonstrates the desire for multi cultural perspectives which is inherent in post socialist contemporary China. In the play Rhinoceros in Love, the element of time is distorted. In my girlfriend's web blog, the element of time is distorted. Perhaps my girlfriend is frustrated that things do not always go as she wishes. In both analysis, the distortion of time is a synonym for life in a cosmopolitan city. Ma Lu in a desperate attempt to win Mingming's affections tries desperately to improve himself in a number of ways. Ma Lu is selected a a sweepstakes winner. Even with all of these self improvements that Ma Lu performs, Mingming does accept his advances. Ma Lu becomes desperate and abducts Mingming. Ma Lu finally becomes obsessed with love and passion that he kills a defenseless rhinoceros which caused him no harm. The rhinoceros may be perceived as a metaphor, the rhinoceros is a large animal with thick impenetrable skin which walks alone. This could be perceived as a metaphor for my girlfriend, her web blog and and I (Hsiung 2009 p 253). The generation to which Meng Jinghui, Liao Yimei and my girlfriend pertain to are much less affected than those who were born a decade or two earlier by the Cultural Revolution which occurred in China. They are a product of the Chinese intellectual summer. They are a measurement of the flourishing which has occurred in contemporary China. The new generation which my girlfriend, Meng Jinghui and Liao Yimei are more youthful, more erudite and more open to Occidental concepts. This reality may be one of the influencing factors in my girlfriends blog (Hsiung 2009 p 251). Chicken Poets (2002) is another work which was accomplished by director Meng Jinghui and Liao Yimei. This theatrical interpretation adapted to the cinema Tells the story of Yuan Fei who arrives at a small village on the outskirts of Beijing. Yuan Fei has arrived to see a friend who is a poet, Chen Xiaoping. Chen Xiaoping has come to conceive a black chicken farm. Chen Xiaoping's ambition is to replace all of the white chicken eggs with black chicken eggs. Yuan Fei encounters a girl who is colorblind named Fangfang. Fangfang becomes enamored with Yuan Fei. Yuan Fei is unimpressed with Fangfang's influence on his poetry. This is similar to the relationship that exists between my girlfriend, myself and her web blog. Yuan Fei discovers a magical pirated CD which inspires him to become a famous poet. The black chicken farm which was Chen Xiaoping's ambition became stricken with a mysterious plague. Yuan Fei becomes disenchanted with his poetry and leaves the magical CD in a pile of chicken dung. He returns to the black chicken farm to reside. The pile of chicken dung in which he left the magical CD grows into a sprawling tree in the middle of a rice field. The sprawling tree produces magical fruit. Yuan Fei and Fangfang live happily ever after while reaping from the poetic fruit of this magical tree(University of Iowa Cultural Center n.d.). This can be perceived also as a metaphor for my girlfriend's web blog and our relationship. I hope that my girlfriend's web blog yields wonderful fruit that we may reap and that we may live together happily ever after. Works Cited Asian Film Foundation 'Feature Film Notes by University of Iowa Cultural Center Brindley, EF Individualism in Early China: Human Agency and the Self in Thought and Politics University of Hawaii Press, 2010. Fan, Leo Lee Ou, The Romantic Generation of Modern Chinese Writers Cambridge: Harvard University Press 1973 Hoffman, L, ‘Autonomous choices and patriotic professionalism: On govern mentality in Socialist China’ Economy and Society, Vol. 35(4) : 550- 570 November 2006, Hsiung, Y, 'Emotion, Materiality & Subjectivity Meng Jinghui's Rhinoceros in Love' Asian Theatre Journal, Vol. 26(2) Fall 2009 University of Hawai'i Press 2009 IDO Community, 'A girl's true love story.... ' 'Do I have to give this love story…’ Ido.3mt.com.cn Accessed Jan 2012 Kipnis, A, ‘Suzhi: A Key Word Approach’ The China Quarterly, 2006 Landsberger, S, Chinese Propaganda Posters: From Revolution to Modernization Armonk NY: ME Sharpe 1995 Ong, A, Zhang, L, Privatizing China: socialism from afar Cornell University Press, 2008 Wang, H, China's New Order Cambridge: Harvard University Press Yang, MH, Spaces of their own: Women's public sphere in transnational China University of Minnesota, 1999 Read More