GHS208-01 Spring 2020 China and the Islamic Middle East

It is common knowledge that there are differences across cultures. We do not eat the same foods, speak the same language, worship the same God, among many other different values, attitudes, behaviors, and more. However, when reading Ha Jin’s stories, I began to question the impact that American culture has had on other cultures. For better or for worse, American culture has found its way in influencing other countries and those cultures.

“After Cowboy Chicken Came to Town” is a humorous example of this influence. The fast food restaurant is a commonplace for Americans, but Cowboy Chicken modified the cultural landscape in China. Wedding parties wanted their wedding dinners at the restaurant and patrons wanted to learn more about the American way of running restaurants. A real-life example of this is how McDonald’s has become part of the cultural landscape far beyond the borders of the United States.

When reading “A Tiger Fighter is Hard to Find,” I questioned what impact the Hollywood movie scene had on the production of the film in the story. If there was pressure to produce an “Americanized movie,” this could have influenced the negative treatment of the actors and animals on set.

I am reading a book called “The Travels of a T-Shirt in the Global Economy” by Pietra Rivoli. This book examines that life of cotton from an economist’s perspective. America is the number one producer of cotton on the globe, but China is the number one producer of cotton textiles on the globe. America’s supply of cotton and demand for cheap cotton textiles has changed the labor environment in China.

The labor environment in China could be several blog posts on its own but examining these stories by Ha Jin and the trade patterns that exist do make me question if the America’s cultural influence on other countries has been too strong. Every culture is unique and should be appreciated for its differences. Do you think America has had too much of an influence on other country’s cultures, including China?

The yin-yang symbol holds its roots in Daoism/Taoism, which is a Chinese religion/philosophy. In the short clip attached, John Bellaimey explains why we all contain the spirit of yin and yang and what each side of the symbol represents. The dark side is associated with femininity and shadows. The yang is the lighter side that represents brightness, passion, and growth. John Bellaimey breaks down the yin-yang symbol and its meaning into simple metaphorical examples and clarifies the meaning and history behind the symbol, which is commonly misunderstood by those not educated in the Chinese culture.

https://ed.ted.com/lessons/the-hidden-meanings-of-yin-and-yang-john-bellaimey

While the yin-yang symbol emphasizes balance and the importance of having both sides of what the symbol represents, American culture is far from embracing the symbolic representation or any deeper meaning that the yin-yang symbol represents. During class discussion, several American culture values were brainstormed by the group. One of these values, success, stood out to me greatly. Americans are focused on being incredibly busy with achieving, regardless of the form of that achievement. There were several lines from “Tao Te Ching” that emphasize the importance of balance even with a value like success:

11: “Clay is fired to make a pot. The pot’s use comes from emptiness….Having leads to profit, Not having leads to use.”

24: “According to Tao, Excessive food, Extraneous Activity Inspire Disgust.”

With the importance of success in the American culture today, it is difficult to find usefulness in emptiness and avoid extraneous activity. However, the teachings of Taoism emphasize the importance of balance and not focusing too heavily on one thing. The opposite of success is failure, but Americans do not value failure nearly as much as its opposite. Taoism emphasizes the beauty in this balance of accepting both as the way of life.

Something I found particularly interesting about Daodejing was how similar its teachings were to other religions practiced throughout the world. Most of the ideas match other religions such as living for others and correcting faults within ourselves. These notions were even more interesting when looking at some of the passages that mirrored Christianity even though they were created hundreds of years before Christ. Something that was also interesting about these teachings was the idea of being peaceful and passive. This contradicts the Western ideas that one should act and “work hard” to attain their goals. This could contribute to the different philosophies when it comes to living and working in the east versus the west.
Another aspect I thought was particularly interesting was the view of women within the texts. The idea of “mother” is used several times. I was surprised to find this language based on how Christianity tends to use father. Especially for a text written thousands of years ago, I did not expect such high esteem to be placed on female characteristics. Although later the Daodejing refers to women as passive and men as active, I was shocked that women would be so included in the teachings.

The introduction to the Tao Te Ching was very informative background information before getting started reading the first 40 “philosophies”. I was able to better understand Taoism with it being compared to other schools of philosophy such as the Legalist school and Confucianism. It was fairly easy to pick up on some major themes throughout the text such as humility, selflessness, and balance. As apart of class preparation for today we were also supposed to look into the Yin Yang symbol. After an exploration of Yin and Yang, text 28 seemed to be a direct reference to Yin and Yang. The Yin part of the symbol is associated with the female, black, and the spirit aspect of things while the Yang is associated with the male, white, and the “form” of things, which makes sense that text 28 says, “know the male, maintain the female” and “know the white, sustain the black”. Since the symbol is all about balance, it comes as no surprise that the text says ,“return to simplicity” because simplicity breed balance. 

Another text that spoke deeply to me was text 33. I really liked how this what was all about having a relationship with yourself. I feel like this text is trying to tell people that, “Knowing others is intelligent. Knowing yourself is enlightened” because if you know yourself then you can better interact with others which helps them. In the last lines a part of me also thinks that the text is telling people to enjoy selfless lives because if you do then your “life will endure” even after death. This then constitutes a selfless act, which is what Taoism seems to be centered around.

https://www.ancient.eu/Yin_and_Yang/

Wow this is exciting, first blog! Welcome everyone. As I was reading A Tiger-Fighter is Hard to Find by Ha Jin I was taken aback by how little consideration people in positions of power had for the workers on set of the film. It was distressing to find out that the director wanted to continue to film the scene with Huping fighting Little Dou who was in the tiger costume, despite the fact that Little Dou was screaming for Huping to stop beating him to death. The physical health of Little Dou and the mental health of Huping were completely disregarded by those in charge of the film. This section sparked an interest in the treatment of workers in China.

Being a political science and history major, many aspects of this class interest me. I have some background knowledge of the treatment of laborers in China after taking Chinese Politics and US and Asia Pacific relations. After a quick refresher and online survey, I found that the treatment of workers at some corporations in China is not very promising. I was not surprised to find out that an American Corporation, Apple, was exploiting some of its factory workers in China. Workers have complained of “exposure to toxic chemicals, verbal abuse and forced labor”. It seems to be the same story that Ha Jin tells just different characters, and unfortunately they are real people serving the injustices.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2019/09/09/apple-accused-worker-violations-chinese-factories-by-labor-rights-group/

This story is about a man not being satisfied with his chicken order as there is more skin than the meat. However, he is very rude to the lady at the counter. However, Mr. Shapiro believes that the customer is always right, and you need to satisfy the customer as that is the American way. As this is a more western restaurant, it is more expensive than other places in China. Bosses in both the United States and China can be very strict to their employees. It obviously depends on the establishment, but in western restaurants in China, they were always strict to their employees. Many of the employees don’t appreciate him or respect him very much as he did little work, and only left it to the Chinese employees. It also displays how the manager went to the University of Iowa to learn business, but he received more than education there where he developed a more confident and energetic approach. He then decided to take that back to China and thrive in its economy. It has been known that in most foreign countries, America is not one of the favorites. However, this story goes beyond just a restaurant. It is a clashing of cultures about how distinct cultures interact with one another when exposed to ones environment. Some of the differentiating ways is about when you go out on dinner dates, but the American way is to pay for the girl if you ask her on the date, but Mr. Shapiro never did that which was peculiar. There was an interesting quote when the Chinese citizens said that “this Cowboy thing isn’y for a Chinese stomach”. This shows how cuisine is so much different around the world. Many Chinese restaurants today take a page out of America’s book, especially with buffets and deals to raise consumer satisfaction. When I was in China, most western restaurants took advantage of the currency conversion with the the yuan and dollar. They were way more expensive than other local authentic restaurants, but they knew the quality they were selling.

While reading “After Cowboy Chicken Came to Town”, a short story published within Ha Jin’s book The Bridegroom, I was challenged to think about what differences between American and Chinese business etiquette might this fictional story be alluding to. Since the storyline consists of an American business man in charge of a fried chicken restaurant in China, it can be assumed that the mix of cultures may result in a business atmosphere that leans on the side of caution to both parties’ customs. However, there are still many differences that should be taken into account.

Within the Chinese business culture, acknowledgment of superiority is highly regarded. Although this is usually assumed within American business culture as well, it appears as if it isn’t stressed to the same extent. Within American culture, many times a boss will make their best effort to make their employees feel as if they are of equal importance or value to the company, however still making an effort to best establish their authority. Within Chinese culture, the establishment of authority and power is made very clear. In the setting of a corporate meeting, it is understood that business men and women should walk in in order of their superiority. Similarly, a comparable custom is established within the story “After Cowboy Chicken Came to Town.” The narrator clearly establishes early on that the boss, Mr. Shapiro, doesn’t have to do much of anything. His position of power gives him the authority to delegate all of his work. It is therefore determined that the manager, Peter, practically is in control of all other aspects of the business (Ha Jin, 187). The idea of superiority is also seen within the narrators explanation of salary differences among the different levels (Ha Jin, 211).

Another important aspect within Chinese business practices is the companies reputation, known as Mianzi. Therefore, business men and women would go to great measures to ensure that their Mianzi is not damaged. This idea is brought to attention from the very beginning of Ha Jin’s short story. As an angry customer proclaims “I want my money back!”, an argument between the customer and employee breaks out (Ha Jin, 184). However, both the boss and manager very quickly work to hush the argument in order to stop any more negative attention from entering into the conversation. It appears as if they are willing to think about ultimately loosing money from a customer in order to keep their Mianzi. Although this is a custom also shared within American business practices, businesses can be quick to bring in the help of lawyers when needed. This is an idea not highly sought after within China.

Ultimately, their are many differences found within the practices of American and Chinese businesses that have not yet been touched on here. There are even more inferences that can be made through connections within Ha Jin’s short story “After Cowboy Chicken Came to Town” as well. If you have any international business trips in the near future, or if you simply have a desire to learn more, it would be of your best interest to look into more of these differences. For more information, visit the link below!

Works Cited:
https://www.globalnegotiator.com/files/Business-Culture-In-China-10-Elements.pdf

When I was growing up, I was never really good at anything. I tried playing sports, whether it was soccer, baseball, basketball, etc. I tried being a good writer, which never resulted in anything special. I tried being a good student, but was always overshadowed by my brother. He was always better than me at everything, whether in athletics or academics. I always looked up to him, but internally thought that I was letting my parents down because I was always standing in his shadow. I felt proud of myself, but was always trying to please others by attempting to achieve something that most people didn’t. Eventually, I found acceptance that I’m my own person and didn’t have to be my brother.

The reason I’m sharing this is because this thought came back to me after reading the Tiger Killer short story and biography of Yu Jang. I felt that I wasn’t good enough for my family and thought I couldn’t be respected as my brother. But then my mother told me that I’m my own person and don’t have to worry about not everyone having a positive image of me. After reading the Tiger Killer story, Huping was bragging about killing the tiger in his first attempt. But once the film industry wants to have a re-take, Huping fails miserably to kill the tiger. He freaks out and has a mental breakdown because he failed to kill the tiger. This shows that he is worried about how people view him as a person. He believes that his image is ruined and he has no honor anymore. Even when the film industry tells Huping that he needs a re-take reflects on the idea that if they produce a movie that doesn’t show the Chinese story correctly, they will lose their honor for portraying something false. I feel like this is a stereotype of Chinese lifestyle, where if you don’t earn your parents’ respect that you are a failure. Everyone has heard the joke about how Chinese people have to grow up a be doctors in order to not fail their parents. I feel like this is important in their culture, while not in American culture. I don’t have to impress my parents, but that doesn’t mean I don’t necessarily try. Like many people in China are hard-working or smart in the common American’s perspective, while there are many lazy people in our society. Honor just doesn’t mean much in America, where it’s very important in China.

Similar in the biography of Yu Jang, there’s not many people I know that would risk their own death to avenge someone or get back their honor. I’d take a bullet for some people, but wouldn’t risk my life as a symbol of earning honor. I just thought that this person is psycho when risking his life to avenge his master’s death. Honor is just very important in China, and I respect that. But in our society, honor isn’t associated with our culture. I was just amazed and confused when hearing about why people need to impress or achieve so much when it’s not to please themselves, but have people view them as someone glorious.

One interesting idea that we brought up in class this week was the fact that people say “all music from China sounds the same”. This idea was particularly interesting for me because I’ve heard this idea be discussed about different types of music in America as well. Many people have said that Country music all sounds the same, or at least has the same topic. I feel like this idea could also translate to many other types of music here. In some cases, I feel like musicians and artists mimic each other because a certain type of music is what people want to listen to. As one musician finds something that works, it can be easy to put your own spin on the other persons take. Indeed, different Chinese music could seemingly be very similar to an American who has never been exposed to Chinese music and culture. The couple songs that were played in class definitely sounded very similar to each other when we listened the first time.

I decided to listen to some Chinese music to see if I could find some key characteristics from each song that I listened to. I found a playlist of popular music in China on Youtube and listened to it while I was studying one day at the Library. I decided that an initial exposure to the music would be best before I took a deeper dive into each song later in the day. Initially, not surprisingly, I wasn’t able to find any true differences, but I found it somewhat refreshing to listen to a different type of music while I was studying. Chinese music is so much more different than the music that I normally listen to so I found it to be a nice change of pace. As a journalism major, my ears are not trained to find distinct characteristics in music. I found this idea to be true even when I listened to the songs more closely. Other than the melody, I wasn’t truly able to find distinct characteristics, but I still feel like this was a rewarding experience.

In my past GHS course, “Women’s Rights and Resistance” my professor, Dr. Jorgensen introduced the concept of Orientalism to the class. The concept covers the fact that the Middle East has been stereotyped into one ideal or world view. When meeting someone for the first time, many have the tendency to stereotype a new face’s personal character based on their race, style, or identity. Stereotyping is the main cause for immediate negative judgement, ruining a special relationship before it has even started. I believe this same concept corresponds with Orientalism, a characterization of Asia in its entirety. Seen through multiple platforms, Orientalism has formed Asia negatively, creating a false outlook. Similarly to meeting a new person, I will remove all constructs about Middle East, before embarking on our GHS reading. Through my old GHS  course, I have been introduced to the concept of a “single story”. The concept, correlating directly to Orientalism, means stereotyping one cultural ideals into a singular representation. While reading many stories about the Middle East in my old course, my professor had advised us to remember that the one story we are reading does not define an entire region. Through the class, I have learned to stay unbiased about specific cultural regions as a “single story” must not be built about any culture. As I have started our first readings (from Ha Jin) I have stayed neutral as I have kept these concepts in mind so Orientalism ideals stayed removed.

“Chinatown” in Chicago has been a memorable destination for me as I visited multiple times throughout my childhood. Through many visits, I always believed that all of China was identical to “Chinatown”. Falling into these assumptions as a young child, I have been able to take a step back now, as I have matured and understood a broader vision of China. I am excited to continue the readings and class discussions in this course as they will allow me to have an even broader view of the region.