Do the Chinese Need Western Festivals - Research Paper Example

? Do the Chinese Need Western Festivals? School The rapid social and economic development of China has paved the way for exchange and fusion of the Chinese and Western festivals in China. Gradually, Western values are integrating into the indigenous culture of China as Chinese people have started to participate in the Western festivals more fully and seriously. On the one hand, this trend is good in the perspective of a progressive and modern China, but on the other hand, this trend has posed threats to the indigenous culture of China since the indigenous Chinese culture and the Western culture have many contrasting features. The big question here is: Do the Chinese need the Western culture? Assimilation of good Western values in China would facilitate China’s development and progress, but the strong values of the indigenous culture of China should not be compromised. Legislative agencies, academia and industry should focus their attention on the preservation of the indigenous culture of China and nurturing positive Western values in the Chinese people simultaneously. Do the Chinese Need Western Festivals? China has been flooded with the Western culture ever since its opening up to the globe primarily in the late 1970s. Indeed, China’s endorsement of westernization can be traced back in time. “Historically, experimentation with political and social reform has in fact occurred in China, to the extreme that some Chinese thinkers advocated complete westernization, despite the fact that they had for decades adopted Marxist communism – ironically, a Western ideology – as a guiding doctrine” (Ng, 2007, p. 4). Working on the same philosophy, over the past few decades, China has accommodated a range of foreign festivals and gained a lot of popularity among the foreigners for that. An in-depth analysis suggests a decline in certain traditional Chinese festivals such as the Double Seventh Festival, the Dragon Boat Festival, and the Qingming Festival at the same time. One theory for the decline of native Chinese festivals is that foreign festivals in general and the Western festivals in particular have overshadowed China. An example of this is the overshadowing of the Double Seventh Festival of China by Valentine’s Day. Another example is how the Christmas Day has overshadowed the Spring Festival of China. Whether this phenomenon can be referred to as the Western cultural invasion or just assimilation is a big question today. Such a noticeable integration of the Western culture into the indigenous Chinese culture has its implications, some being positive and negative. This paper explores whether China is in need of the Western culture, the factors responsible for such an easy fusion of two different cultures in China, and the positive and negative implications of the same. The idea of adopting a distinctive set of values for economic success is not limited to China but is believed in and practiced in many other countries because it has yielded positive results for them. The Chinese political leaders have gained influence from similar claims made by Mahathir of Malaysia and Lee Kuan-Yew of Singapore who have attributed the economic success of their respective countries to a distinctive set of Asian values. Similarly, the state elites of China suggested “Chinese alternative” or “Chinese modernity in the 1990s in an attempt to liberate the “Chinese” definition in the Western-centric epistemology (Chang, 2007, p. 17). To a large extent, the fusion of the Western and indigenous Chinese culture can be explained by a change of philosophy or the thought process among the people of China. Traditionally, the indigenous Chinese festivals have been derived from the civilization of agriculture and are deeply ingrained in worship of the gods and ancestors, and exorcism. They are in an obvious contrast to the traditional Western festivals that, in comparison to the Chinese festivals, are occasions of enjoyment, freedom, and relaxation. For example, in Sungai Petani, the “Palace to Goddess Dou Mu” members have lately organized some very exciting activities for welcoming their nine gods. For this purpose, they invited the Mickey Mouse to grab people’s attention (People’s Daily Online, 2012). Chinese people have responded very positively to such a culture that gives them a more free and enjoyable environment. “Chinese people are probably more enthusiastic about Valentine's Day than western people are and it has been a popular celebration in China for more than 20 years, suggesting that Chinese citizens are romantic by nature” (Cai, 2013). Chinese people themselves have been awaiting such an opportunity, and the Western culture has provided them with that. A major pro of the growth and acceptability of the Western festivals in China is manifested in China’s vision of growth and becoming a global superpower. “What people in general call western culture in fact is contemporary or modern culture. That which makes so-called western culture superior is not because it is western, but because it is contemporary or modern” (Youlan as cited in Lai, 2009, p. 208). In order to become more and more popular across the globe, China needs to understand the values, norms, and beliefs of the West. If China strictly follows only its indigenous culture and gets repulsive toward the Western culture, the path toward progress would be tremendously complicated because of the huge differences between the two cultures. An example of this is the incompatibility between the agricultural calendar from the indigenous Chinese culture and the Gregorian calendar that the West follows as an example (Ferroa & Chan, 2002, p. 109). Chinese people need to know Western culture to make themselves better understood in the West. Western festivals in China are not just cultural events – they are occasions that inculcate a greater understanding of the Western culture in the Chinese people. “Any businessman wanting to be successful in a specific country, requires to be strongly integrated into the local society first. Such integration is being critically helped by the musical idiom, as we can feel that there is natural interest by the Chinese society, especially within the middle class, to learn more about Western classical music” (Buchmann as cited in Jia, 2012). These cultural events are helping China modify as per the demand of the modern age. When Chinese people can live with the Western cultural traditions in their homeland and appreciate many facets of the Western culture, their tendency to survive the culture shock when they immigrate to the West for education, work, or improvement of lifestyle in general is improved and they can easily adapt to the new environment. A con of the rapid integration of the Western culture in China is the increased tendency of the Chinese people in general and particularly the youth to adopt bad features of the Western culture. Every culture has its good and bad aspects, and Western culture is no exception. Some of the features of the Western culture that are inconsistent with the indigenous culture of China are boyfriend-girlfriend culture, gay culture, vulgarity, portrayal of women as sexual objects, and glamorization of sexuality. There are certain Western festivals at which these features are more prominent compared to others, depending upon the theme or the basic ideology of the festival. From this perspective, Chinese youth may be particularly attracted toward these facets of the Western culture on Valentine’s Day in comparison to the occasion of Christmas. Western culture is changing the idea of entertainment, fashion, and the lifestyle of the Chinese people as a whole. In many major cities of China, local brands have been outnumbered by foreign brands. The young generation is drawn more toward foreign brands compared to the local brands because of the global recognition of quality and popularity of the foreign brands. The expensive brands are perceived as a status symbol, and as the Chinese society has become increasingly status conscious because of the Western influence over the years, foreign brands are preferred over the local Chinese brands (Salahuddin, 2009). This can be harmful for the sustainability of economic growth in China since small and medium enterprises and informal businesses contribute significantly to China’s economy. Another con of the endorsement of Western values by the Chinese youth is their vulnerability to manipulation by the Western media. “…there's no reason to believe Chinese culture is under threat from the West. Of greater worry, however, is the disturbing enthusiasm among young Chinese to embrace ethnic stereotypes from the West” (Krasnopolsky, 2013). The quota of foreign films that can be shown in China per year is limited to 20, but an analysis till the mid of December in 2011 revealed that such franchises of Western films as Harry Potter and Transformers assumed a huge tendency to gain the top four spots of the box office as per the findings of the state media (CNN, 2012). The West uses media and cultural events such as festivals to promote its thinking and philosophy in other cultures around the world. Media have played a very important role in the growth of gay culture in the past few decades all over the world. This has happened because Western culture is idealized and is thought of as the embodiment of modernity. So far as the West promotes gay culture, it will grow and spread in the cultures that want to be like the West. The authorities in China have started to clamp down on what is shown on the television as well as the Internet in China. A lot of material is being restricted and censured so that Chinese culture can be restored in its true spirit and the influence of Western culture on it can be reduced. Hu Jintao, the Chinese president, has asked the communist leadership to maintain a firm grip on the cultural scene of China. “We must clearly see that the international hostile forces are stepping up strategic attempts to westernize China, and ideological and cultural fields are a focus for long-term infiltration” (Hu as cited in CNN, 2012). Hu said this in a speech that he delivered to the party leaders in a meeting whose agenda was to strengthen Chinese culture’s role against the Western culture in China. The government of China is well aware of the power of the Western media and its massive tendency to influence the people of China. That is the reason why, “Now the government is pushing back. President Hu Jintao says China's culture is being infiltrated by hostile Western forces. And the government has set new limits on Chinese mass media. First, they issued edicts that killed some racy and wildly popular TV shows and pushed others out of prime time” (McLaughlin as cited in PBS NewsHour, 2012). While China needs to promote the understanding of Western culture by its people, it is equally important for it not to compromise its fundamental values and exotic culture that lend a unique and strong identity to the Chinese people wherever they go. There are some very important characteristic features of the indigenous Chinese culture that are known in and are popular all over the world. These cultural facets include but are not limited to the exotic Chinese cuisine, Chinese dresses, and the brotherhood Chinese people show toward one another. Today, one of the main reasons for the growth and success of informal entrepreneurship and small businesses in China is believed to be guanxi. In the wake of the greater integration of Western values in Chinese culture as a result of Western cultural events in China, the need to revive and thoroughly inculcate the native Chinese culture in the young generation has become stronger than ever before. Schools and parents have a special role to play in the sustenance of the native Chinese culture since Chinese society places a great emphasis on education and family life. Chinese children have a very strong bond with their teachers and parents and see them as role models for themselves. Concluding, Western culture and festivals have gained a lot of popularity in China in the past few decades. This has occurred because of various factors embedded in the dream of a greater China that cannot come true if China remains isolated from the world and repels the influence of other cultures on it. Western culture is another name for modernity. Whether or not China needs Western culture, it sure needs to modernize in order to understand the world better and be understood in the world better. Assimilation of Western culture in China is good as long as its features that are in clash with the features of the indigenous culture of China are not welcomed. Christmas, Valentine’s Day, or Halloween in China is not a threat to the fundamental values of Chinese culture and helps promote a greater understanding of the modern culture in the Chinese youth, but Western values, thoughts, and policies injected into the minds of the young generation of China through media and Western festivals in China are a threat to the culture of China. Although the Chinese government is aware of the threat posed by the spread of Western culture to the indigenous culture of China, it is difficult to control the Western influence on the young Chinese generation because Chinese people personally have a liking for Western culture in their hearts. In light of these facts, it is the responsibility of the law making bodies, educational institutions as well as parents to keep the young Chinese generation protected from the bad influences of Western culture on the one hand, and to make a united effort to revive the indigenous Chinese culture and keep fostering and nurturing it in the young generation so that the unique identity of China is not lost in the path toward progress, on the other hand. References Cai, Z. (2013, Jan. 16). Western festivals gain popularity in China. gb times. Retrieved from http://gbtimes.com/past-present/modern-china/western-festivals-gain-popularity-china. Chang, P. (2007). Seeking a dialogue in cross-cultural communication between China and the West: An examination of Chinese alternative. UMI Microform. CNN. (2012, Jan. 5). China sees culture as a crucial battleground. Retrieved from http://edition.cnn.com/2012/01/05/world/asia/china-western-culture. Ferroa, P. G., & Chan, E. (2002). China. Marshall Cavendish. Jia, C. (2012, Oct. 27). Festival builds bridge between East, West. China Daily. Retrieved from http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/business/2012-10/27/content_15851391.htm. Krasnopolsky, P. (2013, Feb. 19). West exporting vile stereotypes to China. Global Times. Retrieved from http://www.globaltimes.cn/content/762686.shtml. Lai, C. (2009). Tradition and modernity: A humanist view (E. Ryden, Trans.). Leiden, Boston: Brill. Ng, Tai. (2007). Chinese culture, Western culture. USA: iuniverse books. PBS NewsHour. (2012, Feb. 13). Why China's youth find Western culture attractive. Retrieved from http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/world/jan-june12/china_02-13.html. People’s Daily Online. (2012, Oct. 23). Chinese, Western festivals increasingly fused together. Retrieved from http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/90782/7987783.html. Salahuddin, K. M. R. (2009, Dec. 24). Intrusion of western culture. Retrieved from http://www.china.org.cn/opinion/2009-12/24/content_19126697.htm. Read More