Globalization Causing Damage to Chinese Culture - Essay Example

English Is globalization causing damage to Chinese culture? The political, socio-cultural and economic ideologies have changed over the past decade with an increased emphasis on integration, unity, trade, equality and commerce. These aspects of life has threatened the way of life of many cultures and among them the Chinese culture. The Chinese are known to have a rich culture in medicine, trade and religion, and all this is threatened by introduction of the Western way of life by Western tourist and business men and women. Chinese have remained static for a longer period compared to other countries. This has enabled the country to withstand negative influences of the Western culture and protect it people against the danger of same-sex marriages, abortion, and drug abuse. Chinese is a religious nation and values their culture and their way of life which has enabled the country to increase its economic, social and political stability (Overview of Chinese Culture). The Chinese government monitors and censure internet access to protect against infiltration of global influence to its citizens. However, despite all the measure to protect it culture, Chinese people have abandoned some of their culture and embraced the trend in trade, commerce and economic integration among nations. Therefore, globalization has taken root and the country is now open to trade with any nation in the world. Globalization has not only increased the economic growth of China, but also paved way for market expansion. Globalization will lead to China becoming a vibrant and multicultural country, which is crucial for in the globalization era. In one way, globalization leads to the introduction of new cultures that may not be healthy to the original culture. It is clear that when cultures are super imposed, the two cultures are diluted and this lead to the formation of mixed cultures. Qin (2), a New York Times writer, raises the question “why Chinese has to be mixed up with so much English” to illustrate the results of superimposition of languages. The author supports the idea that globalization has led to the loss of the Chinese culture, which is a risk for the conservation of the original behaviour. Next, globalisation results that there is high chances for the introduction of ill behaviour when cultures interact. The implication of this is that when cultures interact, they tend to borrow from each other behavioural patterns. In China, the ideologies of same-sex marriage after the boom of tourism. While it is clear that the instances of same-sex marriage are rare in China, it cannot be compared to the period when the Chinese people had not shared in the global traditions. The proliferation of the online social media is another aspect of globalisation that has seen China’s culture become diluted. The fact that Chinese people can share with other cultures on the online platform, they have a chance to break out of their cultures and adopt new cultures unacceptable in their local culture. On this note, resisting globalisation would help to resist the introduction of unethical behaviours in China. However, it is indisputable that globalisation has numerous benefits to the cultural, political and economic values of a country. One of advantage of globalisation is that it allows for the cultural development, which would rather remain static. Nye (206), a professor from Harvard University states that “Vibrant cultures are constantly changing and borrowing from other cultures.” The implication of this scholar is that borrowing from positive cultural behaviour has value for the culture of a given country. In China, the country has achieved gender equality through borrowing from the western cultures, where female freedom was granted before. On this note, it is clear that globalization has led to female liberation in China, where females have suffered from ages out male chauvinistic attitudes. Qin (16) illustrates that the Chinese borrowing of English words has helped to enrich the Chinese vocabulary with terms that did not exist in their native language. While globalisation may dilute the culture of a community, it may help to eliminate retrogressive cultural patterns that are obsolete. Secondly, globalisation paves way for economic development within a country, through expansion of market. In the 21st century, businesses in the local markets have become saturated, reducing the economic benefit within the country. As a result, market pressures have forced the investors to shift their focus to the global scope to ensure that they have new target markets where they can sell their products to. While it may be argued that dominant nations exploit weak nations, it is clear that weak nations learn from strong nations which help them to close the economic gap. Nye (206) argues that “poor countries develop a skilled work force, learn new technologies…and capture more benefits” due to globalization. This means that globalisation leads to economic sharing, which is crucial if the weak nations have to bridge the economic gap that exists between them and the rich nations. China is one of the countries that has benefited economically by acquiring technology from the western countries. In the past ten years, China has become a global figure due it interaction with the international market (Sciolino 141-142). Technological development is one of the aspects of globalisation that have improved the state of economy in China. On this note, globalisation has done more good to the economy of China than it has hurt it. Those who argue against globalisation provide that globalisation is the reason for the great conflict between cultures, economies and politics. Since there cannot be intercultural mixing without conflicts, it is clear that globalisation will lead to a big conflict among many nations. Huntington (258), a leading authority in international affairs, states that “relations between states and groups from different civilizations…will often be antagonistic”. The statement implies globalisation will lead to a cultural, economic and political collision between different nations. For instance, the western universalism is one of the concepts that have evolved in the internationalisation of business. As the westerners move to other nations, there is a premonition that it’s an agenda of neo-colonialism and the society is not yet ready to appreciate these changes (Sciolino 141-142). In China, collision has been witnessed in the intermarriage of the English language and Chinese. The government of China have asserted on the need to shun the language borrowing in the fear that China may lose its cultural flavour. On this note, it has become a tag of war for many nations as they adapt to globalisation. However, Sen (12), an economist at the Oxford University has challenged this idea arguing that globalisation is a phenomenon whose time has arrived. Since, conflict is inevitable in globalisation; countries must find ways to avoid it. Allowing the transition to economic, cultural and political integration will help nations to benefit from internationalisation. On this ground, it is clear that globalisation has more advantages than disadvantages for the people of China. In conclusion, globalisation is crucial for the economic, cultural and political development of China and hence there is nothing to fear in adopting this new culture. Although globalisation may result to dilution of culture through introduction of unacceptable behaviours and loss cultural values, it has many benefits for a nation. In China, global trends have led to cultural awareness, which has focussed on empowering women who have suffered due to conservatism of the Chinese people. Economically, the people of China have benefitted by acquiring new technologies, a skilled workforce and new business cultures from the developed nations. Resultantly, China has been able to close the big gap that has existed between the country and other developed nations. Although the roadmap for globalisation is rough, it has many benefits that a country cannot ignore. It is recommendable that China takes advantage of the positive benefits of globalisation to improve its economic and cultural status. Works Cited Qin, Amy. An Alarm Over the Incursion of Foreign Words. The New York Times. 2014. Sciolino, Elaine. "The French, the Veil and the Look." The New York Times, 2011. Read More