The beginning of this section in the book made me question a lot of things about our current news and news from China as we talked about early on in this class is how much stuff can we believe and why might some people from different regions here news while others may not. This came up at the beginning of the chapter when they were talking about if the Tiger looked real enough in the gimmick or if they actually needed to get a real Tiger, which they did. This is sadly the same things we deal with today being unsure if we are getting the truth or even a partial bit of truth.
“A Tiger-fighter is hard to Find”
After reading “A Tiger-fighter is Hard to Find” I began to wonder about whether or not the story of Wu Song Beats the Tiger was an actual story within Chinese culture, or if the author had created a second story, within “A Tiger -fighter”. I found that the Shen Yu performing arts performs this story and describes the story itself. The version that the Shen Yu performing arts uses, seems similar to the story that we read. I also found that it was interesting that Wang Huping was diagnosed with schizophrenia. The director and others working on the TV series did not seem concerned with the Huping receiving treatment or staying in treatment, they only seemed concerned with finishing their TV series. This made me wonder about how common schizophrenia is in China and how that compares to the United States. I found out that about 40% of the 2.6 million people diagnosed in the United States go untreated, as of 2014, while in China, “an estimated 70% of the 4.8 million with schizophrenia do not receive regular treatment”. While this may seem that more people in China have schizophrenia, we have to keep in mind that as of 2010, China’s population was 1.34 billion compared to the United States’ population of 311.1 million people. I have only really ever thought of mental disorders and mental health here in the United States, and it was interesting to look into mental health and disorders never really thought of mental health in other countries.
“After Cowboy Chicken Came to Town”
I found the short story ”After Cowboy Chicken Came to Town” to be an interesting story. It got me thinking about the different types of American food and how there are many different types of Chinese food as well. I began to wonder what Chinese people think of American food today. Do they have occasional nights where they want American food, similar to how many people order Chinese food from their local restaurants here in the United State? I found a blog that interviewed Howie Southworth, one of the chiefs on Sauced in Translation, a web series where a pair of chiefs traveled to China to try different food. They then challenged themselves to create an “American” dish for the locals using only local ingredients. Southworth talks about how many people in China think of food as very binary. They primarily think of having Chinese food or “other” food. These are broad categories, but I think that it is interesting that they do not necessarily think of some fast food chains such as KFC and McDonalad’s as specifically American food. These fast food chains also do not serve the exact same food here in the United States as they do in China to cater to the different preferences people may have. Howie Southworth also mentioned that one of the goals of the show was to “serve what locals love, surprisingly reshaped into an American dish”. This made me think about the similarities and differences between American dishes and Chinese dishes.
Hong Kong Protests
Hi guys!
I have been keeping up with all of the things going on in Hong Kong since last year, because in my last GHS class I did my final presentation on the Umbrella Revolution! Before doing all of the research for the presentation I had no idea what was going on in Hong Kong, it is crazy to read about the things people are fighting for, things that we can take for granted here! I just thought that this article was interesting and just incase someone else wanted to read some more about what is going on in that part of the world. 🙂
https://www.npr.org/2019/08/29/755304783/amid-backdrop-of-hong-kong-protests-china-conducts-routine-changing-of-the-guard
Tiger Fighter (Sept. 5 Class)
The short story “Tiger-Fighter” provided an interesting look into what the film business looks like in China. While I am no expert on film here in America, I do know the general basics as to how it works and what the business is like for the most part, based on what I see in the news, on social media, or hear from celebrities or actors that I follow online. One thing I found interesting was that after seeing the fighting scene, it was decided that the tiger needed to look more realistic in order to have a better impact on the audience, which led the directors and crew to use a real tiger for the fight scene, thus endangering just about everyone involved. In America, a suggestion like that might be made along the lines of trying to make something more realistic, but thankfully here there are laws and regulations in place to prevent something that dangerous from being brought on set without proper training or education about whatever dangerous thing they are dealing with.
Another topic that is definitely interesting is the fact that it seemed as if the show would not be aired until the fight scene looked more realistic, although I could have totally misunderstood that part. If what I think is the case is actually true, it is basically the government censoring the show until it is exactly how they want and it is as successful as can be. I have seen many a movie or TV show made in America that, to me, seemed to be a total flop, but it seemed as if this story was implying that this would never happen in China because everything was reviewed so extensively and only allowed to be aired if it was absolutely perfect. For some more interesting facts about the Chinese film industry, check out this article. It has different things to know about the industry, and it is easy to see the similarities and differences when it comes to film in America.
Hong Kong + China
Today during lunch, the topic of the recent protests in Hong Kong came up. Those of us were in the room were asked about our thoughts and I was forced to admit that I did not know too much about what was going on in Hong Kong. I blame a portion of this on the news cycle here in the States and how it is very American-centric, but also I know that much of the blame rests on my shoulders and comes down to my own inattention. Today in talking to those who came from Hong Kong here, it was fascinating to hear their thoughts on what was happening with the extradition bill, but also to hear about the history of Hong Kong and the process for handing it off to China. It brought up several questions for me about how the hand-off process will happen when it is due. With the amount of protests over this one bill, I cannot imagine it will go well. I would be very much interested to learn more about the ways that Hong Kong and China are similar, and the ways that they differ. I feel like I know the basics, but I don’t know much beyond that and I think it would be very interesting to look at the cultures and find the point at which they diverged, in what ways they diverged, and if there will ever be a possibility of them coming back together to help the hand-off process go more smoothly.
When Cowboy Chicken Came To Town
Today during the lunch, one of the gentlemen who came and supplied the food was speaking about his journey to and in America. He was talking about how he came to America for a college education from Hong Kong. He spoke about how his family was not wealthy, so one of the only ways that he could possibly be able to come to the United States for education is if he got a scholarship. He talked about how he was rewarded a full scholarship, including tuition and room and board to go to the University of Long Island. He then spoke about how he went to pharmacy school, and then onto working at Harvard University doing research. His story reminded me of what the “American Dream” is. His story was both inspiring and intriguing to listen to. His story reminded me of Peter from the story “When Cowboy Chicken Came to Town.” Peter had grown up in China but then moved to the United States to get an education and to start his career, eventually returning to China to help run Cowboy Chicken. Although the gentleman at lunch did not return to Hong Kong, their stories are quite similar. After reading/listening to these two stories, it brings a couple of questions to mind, like; how popular is it for students to come to America for education? Do people usually go back to their home countries after they get an education, or do they stay in the United States? And lastly, do the people’s expectations of life in America and an American education live up to their expectations?
Being an International Studies/ Political Science major, I often find that almost all of my classes in a semester overlap in material or add upon each other. I am currently enrolled in an International Studies course that focuses on Global issues, today in this course we spent a significant amount of time talking about the trade war and how the problems of the trade war between China and the United States affect the entire international community. Though I will admit I do not have a ton of knowledge on the issues of the trade war, I have begun trying to research the issue more as well as staying more up to date with the issues. I found an article by CNBC about what some Chinese Citizens think about the trade war and Trump. Some citizens find the trade war to be “exhausting,” and they try to “tune out the day-to-day comments” made by Trump. The article gave off the overall tone that Chinese Citizens have found the trade war with the United States to be almost pointless and that they are tired of all of Trump’s daily attacks. https://www.cnbc.com/2019/09/03/china-finds-trump-perplexing-on-trade-war-china-tv-host-liu-xin.html
The attitude that this article portrayed the citizens of having is similar to some of the opinions in the short story “After Cowboy Chicken Came To Town.” In the short story, the citizens of China had a somewhat negative outlook on western culture. Although some of the characters were intrigued by the western culture, many characters found the culture to be almost rude, wasteful in ways and used ‘westerner’ as an insult. Although these cases are different, it gives off the same type of attitude of the United States, and it falls into the stereotype that Americans are sometimes given. I wonder if people from other parts of the globe genuinely see the United States in these ways and if the portrayal in the news and the book are accurate to life.
Tiger-Fighter
The short story, “A Tiger-Fighter Is Hard to Find,” is a very interesting read and has a hidden connection between Chinese culture and American culture when it comes to film production. The plot for the short story is how Director Yu is filming a series on how a hero fights a tiger to death in hopes the series will be sent to Beijing, but the director was struck with a letter that stated how the tiger looked fake. The series has to match te story, Wu Song Beat the Tiger, but the governor worried that the series was not identical to the story and issued for the Director to reshoot the scene, however, with a real tiger. Director Yu agreed to reshoot and had Wang Huping, a young handsome man be the main role to fight the tiger. The first shoot was really successful, but the tiger was tranquillized heavily and was defeated to soon by Huping. After the first try, Huping went crazy and was diagnosed with mild schizophrenia, which later causes major issues down the road. Director Yu wanted to reshoot the same scene again since the tiger did not last as long as it did in the story they are trying to perceive. After another failed attempt, they decided to kill the tiger with authorization and have a real man wear the tiger skin and have Huping ‘kill’ this ‘tiger’ instead. This takes a terrible turn and Huping brutally injures the man wearing the tiger coat. The message I drew from this story is the length many people go for perfect, they risk their own lives just for a simple pat on the back. This story connects to how Hollywood in American treats their actors/actresses as shown in this article, producers push actors to their breaking point all for the fame and glory. This is a known sigma that celebrities will do anything for the attention and to be awarded at some ceremony, but the director gets all the glory. As stated in the short story above, Director Yu later stated how the scene with the fake-tiger was a big hit and how it soon will be shown in Beijing, but doesn’t ever praise them. Moreover, after this news has been shared, the man who was wearing the suit was still recovering and he would not be mentioned or have any fame towards his way since the series stated it was a real tiger. Later down the road the series would not be broadcasting anymore and people wouldn’t be talking about the film. By the time the man who was injured recovers, talks about the film would be no more. Little Dou, not known as the man in the fake-tiger will carry on the physical scars and mental pain of being almost beaten to death, all for nothing. Furthermore, in China another director pushed an actress to death, as stated in this article , it is concluded we still see around the world people push for real-perfection all for fame in the film industry.
When Cowboy Chicken Came To Town
In the short story, “When Cowboy Chicken Came To Town,” the plot is about how an old American man named Mr. Shapiro, pushes for an American style ‘Chinese’ restaurant located in Muji City, in contemporary China. Mr. Shapiro hired a man named, Peter (Peihai), to be the manager of his restaurant because he fulfilled an education degree in business in the United States. The story also shows a deeper connection between Peter and Mr. Shapiro, Peter persuades Mr. Shapiro in making more American changes to a Chinese restaurant. Such examples, American restaurants have buffets that allow you to eat as much as you want but only paying a small price. Mr. Shapiro takes to the persuasion and admires the journey of incorporating the American ways in his restaurant in hopes for a better restaurant than surrounding restaurants. This competitive drive relates to the issues in the US on how businesses such as Walmart, drive out local businesses as shown in this article. The short story states, “We got so much business that cooked-meat stands on the streets had to move farther and farther away from our restaurant.” This is an ignored issue seen in America since local business owners make a living from their sales, and when a big industry builds a store right in the middle of that area, it takes away their local profits. Moreover, today in China we still see American style ‘Chinese’ restaurants driving away the local authentic food stands. As stated in this article, “Those inside China would probably argue that none of those dishes resemble anything from a traditional Chinese menu.” In contrast, some may favor the American-Chinese food style but what matters is that the culture and history around Chinese food is not fully lost to American ways.