Scrapbook of a Restless Soul

For my China culture/business class, we were assigned several readings. One of them, entitled, ‘China’s Many Faces’ was very fascinating. As with many things that are foreign to us, we in the West* definitely have a homogeneous picture of China – its people, culture and history. I bet when the average American thinks of China, or even of the Far East in general, they just think of Samurais and kung fu. For those who keep up on world affairs, all we really hear about is the burgeoning Chinese economy and the communist government’s suppression of human rights. As the article states, our limited understanding of China, which is close to being the world’s economic power, is a result of the Western media’s depiction of China, although this in itself is not unique. What is different about the case of China is that it is likely to be the oldest remaining nation on Earth, and only because of its recent economic successes do we begin to take it seriously. A testament to Western arrogance.

According the article, China is in fact extremely diverse. We always describe (and take pride in) the US being a ‘melting pot’, when in fact China has been so for centuries.

As the article states, only 8 percent of China’s population is considered minority; however, this equates to 96 million people and 55 distinct ethnic groups (although this number is disputed – it could possibly be more like 400-500). Most of the minority ethnic groups reside near the borders of China, and are made up of many different religions, such as Buddhist and Islam, and claim Iranian, Turkish and Mongolian ancestries (and many more). This reality paints a much different picture of China than I was ever exposed to. Because of this great diversity, there have historically been many independence movements within China, which is still a great concern of the Chinese Government, the most famous example being Tibet. Reading this made me reflect upon the notion of nation building.

I recently returned from Cuba where I learned about its history. Cuban nationalists struggled to promote national unity throughout its history in order to gain independence from imperialism/colonialism. This inevitably equated to diminishing the importance of distinct racial and/or cultural attachments, to strengthen national Cuban identity. This was understandably necessary to fight external control of the island, but unfortunately at times, it meant the island’s great complexities were downplayed; although nowadays, this diversity is something in which Cubans take great pride. Similarly, in China, the national government has tried to promote national unity in order to build a strong nation, and this has equated, at times, to suppression of ethnic minority groups’ right to be different from what is supposed to be the ‘normal’ Chinese culture.

It is an interesting dilemma. I have not studied nearly enough about Chinese history to have an opinion, but the fact that the government has been able to maintain its nationhood in the face of domestic turmoil is part of the reason that it has become an economic powerhouse growing at a fantastic pace. The irony about its economy, which I have many questions about, is that in a country with one of the only remaining communist political systems (whatever that means…), is also home to what might be the most capitalist system in the world. If not more so than the US, it may be on its way to being so.

Being here now, I am constantly reminded of this fact. Simply by existing in the US, it is nearly impossible for one not to support the corporate power structure unless they do not buy anything, or do not at all engage in entertainment/informational media. So far, at least in Beijing (and I would assume in all of China’s big cities) I don’t think China is very different. For example, communication technology has taken over our lives in the US – cell phones, text messaging, IMs, etc. Walking around my college campus in the US, I constantly see people using their cell phones. Similarly, my Chinese roommate is always sending and receiving text messages just like many other Chinese people I have seen walking around – especially students. In the US, we also are constantly bombarded by corporate advertisements – billboards, commercials, etc. In China, it is no different, and maybe even worse –there are even TVs airing ads for Chinese products in the grocery stores here. Bottled water, which may be the biggest hustle I have ever heard of (3/4 of the Earth’s surface is water…why do we need to buy it in bottles?) is a Western phenomenon which is prospering in China! Tap water is not potable in China (it is full of chemicals that kill the bacteria), so either one must boil it or buy it in bottles. I recently read an article about how bad this mass plastic bottle production is for the environment, and how it is causing the mass privatization of water in the US and Europe, and I am sure that this trend is taking place in China as well.