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Home › Forums › Short Online Seminars › Contemporary China, Fall 2018 › session #4 -- october 30
Nira Sun.
Natali RamonMarcos,
As a Latina, I also had the same feelings about left over park. In Latino culture, single people are often bombarded with the marriage question, (and then the children question) but I also thought Chinese parents were far more strategic and organized than our Mexican aunts and mothers. When I saw this video, I was also reminded that the idea of romantic love is fairly recent since not too long ago, people married on the basis of economic and political alliances. I wonder of leftover park is a continuation of old traditions in which family members arranged marriage based on economic, social and political prospects. I also have a lot of questions about how online dating factors into finding a partner in China. At least in the US, online dating has basically become the norm, and as Professor Dube has cited, two thirds of marriage start online here in the United States. I am curious to know how young people in China are using online sites to find a partner.
Natali RamonNira,
The idea of “face” that you write about exists in Latino culture as well. By and large, Mexican families are very concerned about appearances or what we call in Spanish “el que dirán” (what will they say). This concern for what image we project is a huge driving force that influences the way families operate. When a daughter is unmarried, families are very concerned about when she will find a partner and that her time is running out. An additional source of pressure is depriving parents from experiencing being a grandparent. I am curious to know if this is also another source of pressure that is used on unmarried people in China.
Christine XuAir pollution creates pressure from the public on the government because it is visible every day, but underground water pollution is not visible in the cities, causing it to virtually be forgotten.
Half of China’s population cannot access water that is safe for human consumption and two-thirds of China’s rural population relies on tainted water. Water pollution in China is such a problem that there could be “catastrophic consequences for future generations,” according to the World Bank.
China’s water supply has been contaminated by the dumping of toxic human and industrial waste. Pollution-induced algae blooms cause the surface of China’s lakes to turn a bright green, but greater problems may lurk beneath the surface; groundwater in 90 percent of China’s cities is contaminated.China’s coastal manufacturing belt faces the most pollution. Despite the closure of thousands of pollutant sources, a third of the waterway remains well below the government’s modest standards for water quality. Most of China’s rural areas lack a system to treat wastewater.Water pollution in China has doubled from what the government originally predicted because the impact of agricultural waste was ignored. Farm fertilizer has largely contributed to water contamination. China’s water sources contain toxic of levels of arsenic, fluorine and sulfates, and pollution has been linked to China’s high rates of liver, stomach and esophageal cancer. Factories are able to freely discharge their wastewater into lakes and rivers due to poor environmental regulations, weak enforcement and local corruption. Rural villages located near factory complexes rely on the contaminated water for drinking, washing and cooking. These villages have become known as “cancer villages” because of their high rates of cancer and death.
What can the Chinese government and the people do to combat water pollution would be a good topic in my classroom.
Sources: borgenproject
Christine XuMore than 85% of young Chinese have been pushed by older family member to get married, but they are not rushing into marriage. China’s young adults are moving to the cities and making more money. They're pickier about their marriage prospects. Some of the Chinese parents said that young people these days don't pay very much attention to Chinese traditional values. Their views about marriage are becoming more Western.
Growing up with more diverse values than previous generations, Chinese young people born in the 1980s and 1990s see options beyond the linear life path leading up to the baby carriage. Many priorities work over partnership either willingly or with reluctance. Also, many marrying age people need to work more than 44 hours a week, which leaves them little time and energy to build relationships. Others are simply exploring alternative lifestyles – with or without a romantic partner. Cohabitation is increasingly commonplace. And thanks to affordable technology, casual sex is also easier to access than ever.
Although Chinese government launched the new child policy in 2015 allowing all couples to have a second child, the state didn’t take account of the change in welfare policies for families or employers. So the majority of career women said no to the offer out of fear of being further devalued on the job market.
I believe that a better way to enhance the lure of marriage could start with the underprivileged in Chinese society. That means giving the decision to marry or not back to young people; promoting family-friendly workplace policies; and finally, securing women’s rights.
Sources: bbc
Christine XuFundamentally guanxi is about building a network of mutually beneficial relationships which can be used for personal and business purposes. In this sense, guanxi is not so much different than the importance of having a strong network when doing business in any country. However, in China, guanxi plays a far more important role than it does in the West. While in the other parts of the world, you may be able broker a deal just through formal business meetings; in China it is necessary to spend time getting to know your Chinese counterparts outside the boardroom during tea sessions and dinner banquets. In addition to the time commitment, the depth of relationships developed through guanxi can be much deeper than business relationships in the west.
While guanxi is an important part of doing business in China it is not the be-all and end-all of it. Having strong relationships alone will not ensure that you will be able to achieve your business goals in China. Your company will still need to have a strong overall business operation in order to be successful. You should also treat with skepticism those who claim that guanxi alone can enable your company to succeed in China. While these connections can help you open doors and find new opportunities, your company will still need all of the other components of your business to be strong if you want to grow in China.
Guanxi's importance in China has developed as a result of the cultural implications of the rule of law and the concept of face. For millennia, China has lacked a strong rule of law. Because the law has not often been able to provide the legal protections which it does in the west, Chinese people needed to develop another means of ensuring trust amongst themselves in personal and business matters. Maintaining face, or reputation, among people within one's own network is also an important characteristic of Chinese culture. Because of the importance of maintaining face, Chinese people will usually not take advantage of a person with whom they have guanxi. This is true because if they develop guanxi with them and they were to take advantage of them, all of the people in their network would know what they had done and they would lose face with this network. By losing face they would also lose the respect of others in the group and potentially lose their connection with their network. Therefore guanxi has become a means of building trust that law cannot always provide for Chinese people in personal and business matters.
In my class students are going to do research about Chinese Guanxi. Students will talk and share ideas about Ganxi, and they will make or find some examples as well.
Sources:businessinsider
Nira SunYes, definitely. It seems that "receiving education", "finding a job", "getting married", and "having babies" are the different stages we HAVE TO experience as huamn being. This concept is indeed deep into Chinese traditiona family value system. Back in the days, not being able to have children is considered disgrace to men and women. Often, women were the ones to be blamed for. Men can choose to have another wife using the excuse of his wife unable to bear children. Nowadays, with the changes of how we precieve women and the development of fenimism, younger generation tend to not have or postpond having children as soon as they get married. People still talk (gossip), but the pressure on that has declined. Parents, of course, can still use that excuse to overworry about the marriage of their children.
Nira SunThere are so many exampls of how people get away with crimes and or minor violations due to Guanxi. The most popular saying in China now is "Do you know who I am?". It sounds very funny to me, honestly. People weight highly on others to become aware of their fames and reputations. They take advantage of the sitatuion where their fames can get them out of trouble by expecting the guanxi they have with someone up in the high of the food chain will cut them loose. Little favor becomes huge favor.
Moving froward from individual level to national level, there are guanxi among countries that can still get very complicated. The recent arrest of the Huawei CFO in Canada led to China authority to "threaten" Cananda officials to be prepared to take serious concequences if they don't release her. It is guessed that the concequences most likely will be trade related. Once again, this is all about the relationship and connection built between two countries.
Politics are all about guanxi as well. The passing of one bill may come with the sacrificing of the other. The policy makers are the ones who try to negotiate a common ground that benefits all parties while ordinary citizens are crazy about being the decision makers only to realize that they are not afterwards.
Natalie SanchezI have learned like in many other cultures, in Chinese culture, it is very important to serve and respect the elders. Fillial # 5 is an example of how a child may honor their parents. It shows that however far one may be from home that family is first. Even with the loss of ones elders, there still may be ways in which to honor them.
Natalie SanchezAgain, the filial speaks to the parent and child relationship and the sacrifices a child will go through to keep their parents happy and safe. This filial is also an example of a person’s true character showing when they act and think no one is watching. When one does a good deed out of the kindness of their heart they will surely be rewarded. I do agree this story is one of virtue and sacrifice as well as integrity.
Nira SunAll the attacks in China was pretty much described as stabbing spree rather than shooting spree. You rarely hear about any shooting in China. It simply because guns are regulated and cannot be acquire by individual citizens. Despite the weapons in the attacks, what's quite common in these stabbings and shootings was the motive behind it. Revenge is the top one. Attackers usually feel angry towards issues in the society or the impact brought to them. When the pressure is too big to hold, they took the rage out on toddlers knowing they had no ability to resist. I don't think the motive of this attack has been released yet. It's just very hard to accept the fact that a woman attacked young toddlers.
https://newrepublic.com/article/151994/china-many-school-stabbings
Nira SunHi Katrina,
I believe that there is some sort of connection between the vast economic development and the erosion of the traditional Chinese values. Back in the days, the collectivization of agriculture and products has not motived many people to make effort at work at all. You would receive the same amount of salary regardless of how much you produced. Nowadays, younger generation will have to do much more than they could offer in order to survive in this big environment of fast growing economy and technology. There isn't much time left for them to take care of family members, not along children.
Another possible cause is the change of mentality. Traditional Chinese value systems indicated lots of responsibilities that we, as human, shall burden. Chinese considers getting married and having children as one of the steps that we need to complete in our life journey. A lot of the events in one's life is arranged/planned that way. There is pretty much no indepent thoughts in that matter. However, younger generation prioritizes their feelings and needs over obligation. They do not want to start a journey that they don't get to plan.
Nira SunSpeaking of the second child policy, lots of my female friends in China definitely said NO to it. According to the research, 60% of career women says no to having second child. There are a few reasons to it: