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Home › Forums › Short Online Seminars › Contemporary China, Spring 2020 › Session #3 - February 18
Kelly McKee.
cgaoREQUIRED
Readings
Video
3a. Expanding Choices
This video lecture focuses on the greater freedom Chinese began to enjoy after 1978 to make decisions for themselves. Jobs continued to be assigned when you graduated from high school and college until the early 1990s, but you could opt out and open a business of your own. You could begin to move and to live whereever you could find work. If you could afford it, you could buy your own apartment. Before the 1990s, urbanites had to get housing from their work units (their danwei 单位, their employer). You also had greater choice in health care, though as with other choices, the market began to determine access. If you couldn't afford the care you needed, you couldn't get it.
3b. Individual Choices Today
OPTIONAL
Diana CoreyI recently came across this article and the video of the troupe practicing under the bridge as I was looking for resources for my students to learn about different ethnic minority cultures in China. Reading this again, I am reminded of a conversation I recently had with a friend who finds himself frustrated every year during Black History Month that Black History Month is a thing that has to exist. He was talking about this ideal future world when all ethnic groups have bred together and the world is one giant homogenous group of mixed-race people. While I think it would be lovely if all of the people of the world were in a place to be able to relate to one another and be on equal footing, I really think my friend is missing something. He is part of the majority culture here, and it is difficult for him to understand or value the preservation of culture, traditions, or customs of groups to whom he cannot relate. He believes that a world in which everyone is equal and we don't have to highlight different minority groups because they are no longer oppressed is ideal, but without appreciating where different people of different backgrounds have come from, he is missing something. A lot of somethings. For too many of us, I think, these ancient customs are interesting things that deserved to be preserved and written about, displayed in museums, shown in documentaries, and otherwise put on display for us to see how things were for people long ago. It is difficult for us to relate to how these traditions may be important in the modern, changing, growing, technological, global world. In the article, Lei is quoted, "I think it's pointless because you have to be from our village to understand how important this is."
Chinese civilization is so much older than American civilization, and the indigenous peoples of this area had much of their customs and land eradicated long before I existed here. In China, there are still pockets of people practicing traditions that have been passed from generation to generation since many millennia before this country was established, desperately clinging to their cultures as they see them being wiped away. I see these kinds of stories time and time again, and it feels like such a losing battle. I hope that it is not. I hope that the modern world can figure out how to appreciate and preserve culture.
The final jab in this article was hearing that the whole point of relocating this entire village was to build a golf course that never got built. The village lays in ruins unnecessarily, and the villagers are just hanging out, trying their best, but accepting their fate.
Amir OsterweilLink to short video on Christianity in China. I once heard on NPR that Christian missionaries are outlawed in China, is this true?
Aleida Rojas1. One of the most interesting points in the first lecture /video is the transittion from the "work point system" to the Household Responsability System Contract. As we disscussed last week, the new system allowed families to meet their quotas and sell their surplus. This created new jobs, new opportunities to earn additional income, and it also allowed pople to have second jobs in the city.
2. It made me really sad to learn that China also has a long history of mistreating its migrant population. Migrant workers in China have been used as scapegoats and are often blamed for the increase of crime rates in the cities.Some migrant individuals have been beaten to death. China also has detention centers that can house up to 3 million detainees and these centers are also known as repatriation centers.
3. For a nation that takes pride in its communists ideals, it is also sad to learn that China has lost its family/communtiy values. These breakdown of community values is maily due to income inequality, caused mainly by the Hokou system. And because of this, there are 61 million children who are basically abandoned by their parents as they seek a better job in the city. This is a major crisis in China, I cannot believe that they have allowed this to happen, especially as they face a labor shortage in the near future.
4. One surprising factor was the increasing number of Chinese people turning into christianity. 100 million christians compared to roughly 86 million communist party members has started to make Chinese Government officials nervous. the fact that government officials have two branches of Chritianity as government acknowledged religions was very surprising to me becuase I always heard christians in the U.S. saying that their religion was banned in China.
5.But after I read the article from the Financial Times, I understood why the Chinese government "allows" christianity in their country. They think that they can control Christians by putting cameras inside churches. But they also use religion as a form to control people and a way to prevent the spread of dangerous cults. The unexpected rise of christianity in China comes from well educated individuals, influential, and demanding middle class individuals who supported the communist party during the reform of the 1970's.
6. finally, my heart ached for all the villages that have dissapeared to make room for urban development. 300 villages per day is the fact that impacted me the most. With the loss of all these villages, China is also losing its culture and its traditons. The good news is that Chinese officials are trying to support the indivisuals who still carry with them all these beautiful traditions. I hope that they realize how important it is to conserve all this cultural heritage. I also hope that they change their awful view of farmers and the rural chinese regions, especially when 80% of their heritage comes from rural traditions.
Lynne SzczepanekIt seems like Xi Jinping is taking steps to slow the rise of Christianity, but it really seems like he is trying to rid the country of Christianity. Even though the constitution allows it under strict government supervision, it seems that he is going above and beyond to rid the country by destroying recently built churches.
Here is an article about the Pope reaching out to try and come to an agreement with the Chinese government: https://cnsnews.com/article/international/michael-w-chapman/cardinal-zen-we-are-witnessing-murder-church-china-those
It does seem that the Catholic faith would have a difficult time putting its roots down since they are not allowed to recognize the Pope as the leader of the Church. I have seen articles where photos of Jingping are being hung where a cruifix would be hung. Also there have been news reports about Catholic priest being killed in China.
https://bitterwinter.org/xi-jinping-portraits-replace-catholic-symbols/
Billie JohnsonAfter watching the videos, reading, and skimming the two longer articles that was question is what kept jumping out at me. I look at my students every day and see the impact that technology, most notably social media, is having on them. Watching the videos and reading the articles made me reflective. In a previous post I mentioned how I was excited to see where modernization took China and now I am not so sure. It appears as if 'progress' can slowly be tearing families apart and disrupting cultural norms. In the article 'In China, 'Once the Villages Are Gone, the Culture Is Gone' by Ian Johnson, I was struck by his remarks about urbanization. Johnson stated that "Rapid urbanization means village life, the bedrock of Chinese culture, is rapidly disappearing, and with it, traditions and history", which is incredibly sad to me and makes complete sense at the same time. I wonder if this race to modernize is clouding the judgement of so many in government. Look at the US for example...I only need to use my own family and my students to see the impacts of the rat race. It is hard to build community when everyone is so busy and so much is lost without time to bond. The children who are left behind for work in the city and their loss of relationship building with their parents and the learning that takes place between a parent and their child is another thing that stood out to me. The internet cafes or wangbas were another thing that has its bright and dark spots. Parents are concerned by the amount of time spent online and even with Jingjing/Chacha in force it is hard to regulate the amount of traffic online. I have heard about the concerns about internet addiction in China and was pleased to read that the wangba is on the decline, but am curious if the addiction is continuing at home. This addiction has to be a concern for the government because how are many of these people going to contribute to society without being useful. The question that looms heavily over me is, is this really progress? What is more important, culture or commerce?
So much of the information about Christianity was new to me. I found it interesting how the government subsidises bibles as a method to control the formation of cults. Also, linking back to what I wrote above the thought that Christianity is on the rise because 'materialism and lack of idealism or ethics in modern Chinese society' stands in stark contrast to what is being driven by the government. I can see why the government would be concerned because it appears that many people are missing a slower pace of life.
The article about dancing is one that I am going to look into more and hope to hear about during our discussion. I think it is really need that people are finding ways to stay connected in person and WeChat. There were so many different testimonies about the health and social-emotional benefits of social dancing which did not necessarily align with the quality of life that other people have for themselves.
Diana CoreyA couple of interesting (I think) anecdotes on Chinese students going abroad for school (and going back home). I had a roommate in Beijing who had not scored well enough on his gaokao to get into any decent universities in China, so his parents (who are quite wealthy) sent him to England instead. He studied marketing there. When he graduated and came home, he was highly marketable as companies valued his experience abroad, which he was only prompted to get because he had not done well enough in school to attend college in China.
About 7 years ago or so the school where I teach began partnering with an organization that sends students from China to the US not just for a year or semester of exchange, but for their full high school careers, and the intention is that these students will then go on to college in the US before returning home. I have not heard of other organizations like this, nor have I heard of this phenomenon coming from any other parts of the world, though I know it has happened from time to time that an exchange student applies to stay for a second year or spend a second year in a different high school. It is interesting to me because that dip in the graph at the end of the second lecture lines right up with the beginning of my relationship with this organization.
Robert ParkerThe first article caught my interest, as I had often wondered what happened to the people displaced by government projects in China ( Three Gorges Dam etc). It is not surprising that this increase in urbanization is occuring, but 300 villages a day is an amazing rate. The continued crackdown on religious groups is not surprising, as with any totalitarian state, a religious group may be a threat becuse their highest alligience may not be to the state. How will this crckdown on Christianity impact social structures when so many of the new converts are of the urban middle classes? Likewise the internet crackdown is likely to continue, mainly as a means to control political opposition. Many ofthe Chinese students at my school have mentioned the nearly complete lack of monitoring that goes on regarding the internet in the United States. One student told me of game and internet restrictions (time allowed and access to certain sites) for minors with home internet.
Robert ParkerThe theme of rapid urbanization and the resulting decline in rural population, access to education and the resulting diminished culture is clear. With all of the impressive economic growth that China has displayed over the past several decades, are these some of the "hidden costs" of that growth? As more migrant workers are in urban areas, how long before the economic and social discrepancies create cracks in th system? What of the Left Behind families? Is this a sign that the government is okay (for now) with a richer urban society and a continually poorer urban one? Are there plans for investment in the rural areas as well, and if so will this be in the form of the creation of more manufacturing centers?
Diana CoreyThere are multiple references to gun use in the articles about dancing. I thought people were not able to own guns in China. Am I wrong? In one article, a man disrupts a dance party by shooting his shotgun into the air.
Benjamin SchwartingFrom what I've read/seen, it seems to be a movement to silence more religions than just Christanity. President Xi seems to be returning to the opiate of the masses policy of the cultural revolution. Muslims, for example have been detained in re-education camps, and forced to undergo serious religious freedom violations. Here is a link to a New York Times article going into greater detail.
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/12/16/world/asia/xinjiang-china-forced-labor-camps-uighurs.html
Benjamin SchwartingI have always been fascinated by the parallels and differences between China and Japan. These two cultures have very similar religious, philosophical, and historical influences, but vastly different end results.
The difference that struck me the most today was differing perspectives on farming. One of the articles we read mentioned repeatedly that China uses the word "farmer" as a derogatory term meaning backwards or uncivilized. How did this happen? Japan, for example, upheld farming as a high and noble occupation, and this because of Confucian philosophy on contributing to society. How did China come to such a different cultural conclusion? Was it because of the limited farmable land and the country’s shift to a more industrial economy?
I am also curious to know to what extent the Cultural Revolution is still enforced in China. One common theme from these lectures and articles is that China was extremely strict during Mao’s reign, but pulled back a bit to give the country/economy some room to breathe. We’ve seen this with capitalism, globalization, religious freedom, artistic censorship, etc… However, it seems like President Xi is tightening his grip on the people once more, and pushing for a more “orthodox” flavor of Chinese communism. Is this true? If so, how will it define future development of Chinese culture?
Kelly McKee
Kevin BaileyI found the New York Times article to bring up some good points concerning modernization and culture. The move to the cities is causing the culture that remained rich in the villages to fade. Combine that with the destruction of the temples and other religous monuments during the Mao years, China is loosing a lot of its rich cultural heritage. I like to get my students to make comparisons or to contrast here at home with any country we study. With this article we can draw (albeit rather loosely) comparisons with the rise of commercializations (especially around freeways) in small towns across America. Many small towns that once thrived with local eateries, music, and customs are merged into mini-mall heavens with the same stores and resteraunts as every other town. This is partially what China is facing as they have moved into a more capitalistic soceity and especially as they have left the culturally rich, but economically poor villages. There was also some great graphs in the Asia Development Bank article to help show the level of migration.
Virgina JacksonThe rise of Popular Culture in China is fascinating. The voices of some through that specific medium is very enlightening.
Prior to that recent phenomenon, what were the key arts outlets for China? How did the government look upon the artistic aspect(s) of its country and citizens? Also, how influential was Western pop culture allowed to be in China during the 1980's and 1990's?
The government's involvement in the religious structure is also interesting. How do the various "religions" get along in China? Do American Christians go to China for any type of mission work?