The Cultural Values of China

student navigating the dangerous shoals of conversational English

OK...that title may or may not have grabbed your attention; it seems a tad bland and academic, but the topic did comprise a decent portion of my day. I will get to that in a second. In the picture to the right you see my senior one students working diligently on creating a "natural" conversation about two friends deciding which movie they would like to see. As you can see, such a conversation takes one's full concentration. But back to the title of my entry, my afternoon was spent discussing the differences in cultural values between the United States and China with the English teachers at #6 (for those of you who have missed previous posts, I spend an hour and a half a day discussing such topics in my clear, fluid English as embodied language practice and acting cultural ambassador) As a curious student of such cultural issues, I found the conversation quite intriguing. I outlined the familiar United States values of "freedom, self-reliance, hard-work..." , but then I was then able to sit and listen to my Chinese peers outline and explain what they saw as the dominant Chinese values. They were, in no particular order:

1. obligation/responsibility to one's family, community, country, and even ancestors
2. modesty in one's bearing or humility in one's being; the importance of recognizing one's need to learn from others, the important of "reflection" (yeah...very Ignatian) so as to not become to proud
3. respect for elders
4. education as more important than outward success (several agreed that educational success and advancement is far more important than one's economic or social status...then again, these are teachers)
5. the importance of one's spirit and sense of harmony over the need to be consumed by the desire for things

All good, interesting stuff. In fact, I could talk could go into depth on each of the above points as described by the teachers later for those of you who are interested. The thing that struck me most as an educator was listening to folks describe how a child's education is for many the "nucleus of the family" (their quote), and that a child's academic success is not a mere reflection of the student but rather the entire family. I, also as teacher, love the value of education, but I can't quite imagine the amount of stress that some of these students are under to succeed academically. The cultural primacy of education certainly must be a double-edged sword. (more below)

"One Country, Two Systems..."

Taiwanese Islands off the Eastern coast of Xiamen

For those of you who stay abreast of the news, I was sorely tempted to ask my compatriots opinions of the events yesterday and today in Western China (demonstrations by and lethal crackdowns on the Uigyar minority)...but I chose to restrain myself. I'm still trying to get my bearings when it comes to what level of controversy is openly discussed. But along that line, the pictures above are quite interesting. As some of you geography nuts may know, Xiamen is city located adjacent to Taiwan; in fact, on the Eastern shore of Xiamen, you can see some of the westernmost islands of Taiwan. One of the pictures is of a giant sign that directly faces these Taiwanese islands. The sign was created to be visible from these Taiwanese islands (assuming the viewer has the aid of strong binoculars). Now some of you who know your Chinese characters may give a better take on what the sign says, but it was translated for me as "one country, two systems, China together/united". This is obviously a direct challenge to the latent but ever-present, simmering inclination on the part of the Taiwanese to publicly state their independence from China. I won't go into all of the politics here (though it is fascinating), but the stated looming political message to all clear-eyed Taiwanese is quite stark. Just to punctuate the point, there is a small, manned lookout just to the right of the sign, where the Chinese military maintains a lookout--apparently to serve as an advanced warning in case Taiwan decides to invade...hmmm. Apparently, though I could not verify this with my own eyes, the Taiwanese islet also has a similar sign that expresses clearly something to the effect of "China and Taiwan, two countries". Fascinating politics.

Well, I am off to find some scour the internet for Walt Whitman poems to present during tomorrow's English teachers class. I hope things are well with you and your kin back in land of amber fields of grain.

written by

mflamoe on July 6, 2009 from Xiamen, China

from the travel blog: Xiamen

Send a Compliment

Hi Mark: Glad to hear that you made it safe 'n sound. Paul just recently forwarded this site to all of us (you know, one of those famous All Users), so it will be fun to keep up with your news. Love the pics and love reading your entries - you are such a great writer! Has anyone ever told you that?! :>) Truly, you're going to be even more famous someday. Your digs look fabulous (you really should be brave a take a spin in the Porsche! ha). Seriously, what a great experience!! And you're a wonderful ambassador! Peggy

written by Peggy Lucas on July 6, 2009

Hi Mark--Wow! What an experience you're having. Your writing is very compelling and it's fascinating to hear what you're seeing/ learning/observing.... And I've got to say, it's been a long time since I've had me some good boiled pig stomach. You are a lucky man! I realize China's a vast country and I seem to remember you are in the south? So when I heard news of clashes in the west I was pretty sure you were far away and only worried for a little minute.

You are missed here of course, but what a cool life experience you're having. We've been enjoying hanging out with your lovely family. They're a fun bunch, but I bet you knew that already.
Look forward to more entries soon! Take care Ambassador.

written by

lisacord30 on July 6, 2009

Hi Mr. Flamoe!! I'm really glad someone from Jesuit is in Xiamen this summer... still a bummer that none of us students could make it... But reading your blog is really interesting!! Just a comment about how they view a child's academic success as a reflection of the entire family... I know a lot of students at Jesuit whose families hold that same belief and are under that kind of pressure as well. Anyways Mr. Hogan sent an email about this to everyone who hosted last summer so we all can read about your adventures in China... Have a great time on the rest of your trip!!
-Mackenzie

written by Mackenzie Clark on July 6, 2009

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