Running head: DISCOVERING CHINESE CULTURE Discovering Chinese Culture Emily Hozza University of KentuckyDISCOVERING CHINESE CULTURE 2 Abstract ‘The Chinese culture has many distinct beliefs and traditions that it prides itself on. 1 explored Chinese beliefs, particularly the emphasis that this culture places upon competition and education. | also looked at some of the culture's social norms, such as what the typical parent-to-child relationship is like. American society has placed stereotypes upon the Chinese culture where they perceive them as being very intelligent, but being constantly pushed by their parents to be that way. I interviewed Chen Gu, who works at the Confucius Institute at the University, and Ying Liu, who is a Chinese American graduate student studying at the University. ‘They gave direct insight into the culture and helped to give accounts to challenge the stereotypes Americans place upon members of their culture. Through doing this research, | have learned much about the Chinese culture and my personal view of the Chinese people has completely changed.DISCOVERING CHINESE CULTURE 3 Discovering Chinese Culture How would you feel if you were unfairly expected to be the smartest person in the room? What about if your parents were never fully satisfied with how well you did in school even if you were getting 100%s? Could you handle it if they never told you they were proud of you? This is what Americans believe life is like for Chinese American students today. The Chinese culture believes in the importance of competition in all aspects of life, especially with education. This has influenced some ofthe culture's social norms like its typical parent-to-child relationship. Americans have developed stereotypes for the Chinese culture such as expecting them to be smart, thinking their parents must be hard on them, and figuring they participate in ‘some boring activities that they excel in as well. | was given the opportunity to interview Chen Gu, who works at the Confucius Institute at the University, and Ying Liu, who is a Chinese American graduate student stud} \g at the University. They help to give direct insight into the culture and helped to give accounts to challenge the stereotypes Americans place upon members of their culture. ‘The Chinese culture believes in the importance of competition. During a very early period, there were many people in China, but there were not enough resources to go around. Chen Gu touched upon this topic in her interview and explained that they needed to compete for the available resources, basically “fighting for their lives". This belief has carried on over the centuries and has influenced other beliefs and social norms in China. The importance of competition remains an important aspect of Chinese culture today.DISCOVERING CHINESE CULTURE The Chinese culture's emphasis on competition carries over into their feelings about education. Derald Wing Sue, a professor of counseling psychology at Columbia University, discussed the idea of education in Chinese culture stating, “In ‘ancient China, the only way for people to move into a higher class and have a better life was success in education, Education, therefore, is viewed as an essential tool for oe social mobility and is emphasized by many Chinese parents. Education is not for the eet, individual but for the enhancement of the family as a whole. foes 200 = a Pram Chinas there is a massive population; so many people are fighting for the same jobs. He Pater It is important to not just be good at what you do, but to be the best. After all, the best person is the one who gets the job. Today, Chinese parents still have high expectations for their children, and are conscious of competition. They are not just satisfied when their child receives a good mark on an assignment; it means nothing to them if the other children are also doing well. They want their children to be better than their fellow classmates, For example, if their child got a 99% on the assignment, but half of the class received 100%s, they would see their child as a loser. Chen Gu summed up this belief saying that Chinese parents often believe, “If you can't be the best, you are nothing.” ‘These beliefs about competition and education have created a unique social at soeet norm when it comes to the parent-to-child relationship. For centuries, Chinese Yu KS ne “e" parents have had a rather formal relationship with their children. They place high B expectations upon their children. Parents traditionally act this way because they feel that they are sacrificing so much for their kids, so their children should do well for them and make them proud in return. They do not compliment their children, oyDISCOVERING CHINESE CULTURE 5 because they fear that they will become conceited, Vincent, a Chinese American student, expressed the struggles he faces with his strict parents saying, “I'm trying to live up to their standards. But sometimes it gets tiresome having them reiterate everything.” (Qin, 2012, p. 44) Like him, my parents have certain standards they expect me to live up too, but they are much less demanding than those of Chinese parents. Chinese parents expect their children to go above and beyond. I can only imagine the toll that can take on a young, developing child, ‘The Chinese education is demanding, so when parents come to the US. they often have certain expectations of their Chinese American child, Mrs. Zhao, a Chinese American parent, commented about what schooling was like in China saying, “In China there is a lot of homework. Teachers will punish the students for not handing in their homework on time. The punishment includes copying essays for a number of times, Parents approved this kind of teaching method.” (Qin, 2014, p. 18). This gave me insight as to how harsh the Chinese education system can be. | personally attended a Catholic school here in the U.S., which is known for being strict, but they sound nowhere near as demanding as the Chinese schools. ‘Americans associate the Chinese culture with certain extracurricular activities, such as playing the violin. Chinese parents encourage their children to participate in any type of activity that either has practical use or can get them a prize. They do not care if their child does not enjoy it. They believe that if their child can collect an impressive collection of awards from competitions and contests, they will have a better chance of getting into a famous university, With a prestigiousDISCOVERING CHINESE CULTURE 6 education, they havea better chance of getting a good job. As stated earlier, the Chinese place great concern upon getting a good job. ‘Americans have developed several stereotypes about the Chinese, but some are particularly prevalent. We have developed this generalization that all Chinese people are intelligent, so much so that we have gotten to the point where we expect them to be geniuses. We also assume that their parents must be hard on them and harshly punish them if they do not get good grades. Some of us even believe that Chinese children are only allowed to parti pate in boring activities, and we again expect them to excel at them, ‘These stereotypes of being smart, having strict parents, and only being allowed to participate in certain activities are all portrayed on an episode of the hit television series Glee titled ‘Asian F’. On the episode, a Chinese student receives an A- on his chemistry exam and his father is not pleased. His father is afraid of the danger this grade poses to his son's chance of getting into Harvard University. Consequently, he tells his son to give up glee club to focus on his studies. This episode on a popular American television show is a prime example of the wrong stereotypes we place upon the Chinese culture, Ying Liu shared a personal example s that challenges one of these stereotypes. She said that while Chinese parents do encourage their children to do activities for the sake of getting some type of reward, her parents did not pressure her to. They let her participate in the activities she was interested in, and do other things, such as reading books, from which she would get no physical award.DISCOVERING CHINESE CULTURE 7 This is a prime example of how stereotypes are generalizations that do not apply to every member of a group. Chen Gu also wanted to shut down these stereotypes. She has heard about the "Tiger Mom” type of parenting but disagrees with these techniques, As a mother herself, she encourages her daughter to “develop her own potential, follow her heart, and fulfill her own dream”. When Chinese children are 3 or 4 years old, they usually enter some type of preschool. However, she noticed that even at that age, children had already begun competing at school. Consequently, she chose to wait to send her child to school to prevent her from being exposed to that competitive environment too early on. She wants her child to be an individual with a free mind, but still enforces some rules. Her friends back in China utilize this positive parenting style with their own children as well. ‘Through interviewing Chen Gu and Ying Liu, | was able to change my own personal thoughts about this culture. In the past, whenever there was a Chinese student in my class, I just assumed they would be the smartest one in the room and expected them to excel above and beyond my classmates and I. I figured they were just living up to their parents’ expectations, and would be in big trouble if they failed to do so. It would not have surprised me if they played the violin or participated in the science fair. Chen Gu and Ying Liu helped to completely erase these stereotypes. AS a ‘mother, Ms. Gu explained her parenting style and how she wants her daughter to just do what she loves instead of seeing life as one big competition. | was even more surprised to hear that some of her friends back in China share in this belief. ThisDISCOVERING CHINESE CULTURE 8 proved to me that this stereotype is not representative of every member of the Chinese culture. Ying Liu offered her own story about how her parents did not pressure her into activities she did not want to participate in. While these are just two instances, they prove that stereotypes do not define a society. ‘The Chinese culture has its own set of beliefs and social norms. The idea of ‘competition is a big part of this group that has been instilled in them since the beginning of time. It has shaped other parts of their culture such as their belief in the importance of education and the expected parent-to-child mentality. Americans have developed a series of stereotypes about the Chinese culture, but both Chen Gu and Ying Liu have proved these stereotypes wrong. The Chinese culture may have had the same basic beliefs for centuries, but it is transforming society that cannot be defined by dated stereotypes.