(Essential questions) Yu Qian Ningna: How do you view the secondary culture of the Chinese community in the United States?
China News Service, Beijing, November 7th. Title: Yu Qian Ningna: How do you view the secondary culture of the Chinese community in the United States?
China News Agency reporter Li Tengfei Zhao Wengang
In the cultural exchanges between China and foreign countries, overseas Chinese have played an important role as a bridge. What kind of secondary culture do Chinese Americans who inherit Chinese cultural genes and are deeply influenced by the culture of their place of residence have? How can the Chinese maintain the heritage of Chinese culture in the fusion of the two cultures? Recently, Yu Qian Ningna, former curator of the Amherst branch of the Queens Public Library in New York City, accepted an exclusive interview with China News Service on “Questions of East and West” to provide an in-depth interpretation of the above questions.
Reporter from China News Service: The secondary cultural ecology of the Chinese American community not only has Chinese cultural genes, but also integrates with local culture. How do you feel about this?
Yu Channingna:The Chinese have been rooted in the United States for more than a century, and the secondary culture naturally emerged in response to the occasion, especially for the younger generation of Chinese descent. This secondary culture has both positives and negatives, and it has a lot to do with personal origin and family.
The family of foreign students is a positive example. After coming to the United States, Chinese students are more likely to accept Western ideology and culture, and it is easier for them to participate in mainstream American society after they finish their studies. In the workplace and socially, they behave like Americans. But at home, they still maintain some important Chinese cultural traditions as much as possible. Husbands and wives are more tolerant, and divorce is not as easy and casual as ordinary Americans. The education of the children is still the same as that of the parents, expecting children to become a dragon, strictly controlling, urging the children to study, and sending them to learn Chinese. I also respect and be filial to my parents and elders who stayed in China. I often send gifts and return to China to visit relatives or take my parents to the United States when I have the opportunity.
Children who grow up in this secondary culture of blending Chinese and Western cultures have oriental skin and appearance, but they are all American in their hearts. Their lives follow the rules, their careers and academics are successful, and although they are integrated into the mainstream American society, they always feel that there is an invisible barrier.
China News Agency reporter: What is the root of this kind of separation? What prejudices and misunderstandings still exist in American society about Chinese culture? How to eliminate these barriers, prejudices and misunderstandings, and further promote cultural exchanges and mutual learning between the East and the West?
Yu Channingna:Although American culture is more tolerant, like some other Western countries, it has always had prejudices and misunderstandings about Chinese culture.
The ancestors of mainstream American society are mostly British Anglo-Saxons, who belong to the upper class, rich and well-established. In their view, people of color are poor, backward, and inferior. From the 19th century to the early 20th century, they used the “yellow peril” and a series of Chinese exclusion laws to prevent Chinese Americans from coming to the United States. In the late 20th century, because of the civil rights movement, ethnic Chinese began to break out of the limitations of Chinatown, go to university, engage in professional work, and strive to join the mainstream society. But despite the outstanding achievements of the Chinese people in society, various forms of prejudice still exist.
For example, it is difficult for Chinese Americans to be the top leaders in American institutions, and to be promoted to supervisors at universities, and it is difficult to be promoted to superintendents or presidents. Moreover, as soon as there is social incitement, this prejudice will surface. Since the outbreak of the new crown epidemic, affected by the anti-China comments of some politicians, many Americans have seen Chinese people want to avoid them, avoid hiring Chinese, and even restrict Chinese children from entering good schools.
On the other hand, the Chinese also have misunderstandings about American culture. For example, most Chinese older generations believe that the so-called advanced individualism culture in the United States is “shallow and unfounded” and emphasizes laissez-faire, which has a negative impact on the younger generation.
It is difficult for ordinary people to eliminate deep-rooted prejudices and misunderstandings. Cultural exchange will certainly help, but it also requires cooperation and long-term efforts from all walks of life. It is necessary to actively interpret Chinese traditional culture and let the public know that Chinese people respect benevolence and faith, instead of deliberately plundering Americans’ occupations and interests, as the anti-Chinese rhetoric preaches that “the surface is weak and can be deceived, but in reality it is treacherous and insidious”. On the other hand, the Chinese must also be made aware of the new cultural advantages of the American complex.
China News Agency reporter: The secondary cultural characteristics of the Chinese community are largely determined by the American attitude towards Chinese culture. At present, what are the main focus of mainstream society’s attention on Chinese culture?
Yu Channingna:The United States‘ focus on traditional Chinese culture is mainly focused on three aspects.
The first is philosophy. For thousands of years, Chinese culture has been based on Confucianism, Taoism, and Buddhism, and has slowly developed and evolved. The concepts of benevolence, righteousness, courtesy, faith, and loyalty are the pillars of Chinese culture. To understand China’s inherent culture, one must have an understanding of Confucianism and Taoism. Nowadays, many American scholars like to study the Book of Changes. They believe that studying the Book of Changes can better understand the mystery and profoundness of Chinese academics.
The second is the way of governing the country in Chinese culture. The United States is based on democratic politics. Now domestic political parties are fighting fiercely, causing social chaos and hindering the implementation of national policies and social progress. The way to govern the country has become the most concerned issue of Americans. Therefore, scholars also want to study whether the way of governing the country in Chinese culture stems from the cultural tradition of “obedience and respect to authority and elders”, and whether this tradition is worth learning from the United States.
The third is literature, art, folklore, food, etc. From classical literature to modern martial arts novels, the United States has always been interested in Chinese literary and artistic works, and admires and admires Chinese paintings, calligraphy, and antiques. Such as paper-cutting, window grilles, lanterns, and gourmet food, the colorful folk culture and art also arouse great interest among Americans. These are still the projects that are most likely to arouse the interest of the American public and are the easiest for peaceful exchanges.
The United States has always been interested in ancient and mysterious Chinese culture. In recent centuries, the United States has paid much attention to Chinese culture by exploratory nature. The content includes history, art, literature, antiquities, folklore and other fields, but it is basically academic research.
However, in the modern era, especially in the 21st century, the United States‘ attitude towards Chinese culture has a deeper political color. In today’s world structure and economic development, China has become one of the strongest opponents of the United States. At the same time, the number of Chinese settled in the United States is also increasing. Therefore, American society recognizes that it is necessary to have a deeper understanding of China, Chinese people, and Chinese culture in order to achieve the goal of knowing oneself and the enemy, and thus increase competitiveness.
Reporter from China News Service: The formation of Chinese secondary culture is deeply influenced by Chinese traditional culture and the original ecological culture of the United States. In your opinion, what common concepts exist in Chinese and American cultures? What are the different manifestations?
Yu Channingna:There are many common concepts in the American and Chinese cultures. For example, both cultures show great emphasis on education and scientific and technological research. However, due to different values, the specific performance is also different.
Most of studying in China from elementary school to university are under the coercion of parents to develop, which is under great pressure. If you do not read well, your parents will be disappointed and angry, and the future will be bleak. American education is free choice. If children like to learn, they encourage and support them. If they don’t, their parents will not force them to develop freely.
In the field of scientific research, China’s emphasis on scientific research is mostly to enhance the overall national interests. In the United States, research and inventions are often based on everyone’s preference, free choice, and personal interests first.
These cultural characteristics with the same philosophy and different processes have pros and cons. For example, Chinese-style education often makes people feel aggrieved and depressed, which leads to psychological imbalance. The American culture is too liberal, so that the younger generation often becomes lazy and lazy, and even gets into bad habits such as drug addiction and alcoholism, and destroys themselves for their entire lives.
Therefore, in cultural exchanges between China and the United States, we can find a point of convergence from the same concept. It is best to integrate the values of both sides, gain a deep understanding of each other, learn from each other’s strengths, exchange and learn from each other, in order to realize a world of great harmony.
China News Agency reporter: In the current historical context, how can the American Chinese community prevent the excellent Chinese culture from being annihilated under the impact of mainstream culture?
Yu Channingna:After the impact of time and the continuous development of American culture, the secondary culture of Sino-US fusion will eventually disappear, and the inherent Chinese culture will become more and more distant from the new generation of Chinese Americans, and it is easy to be dispelled by the powerful Western culture.
Therefore, in order to prevent the excellent Chinese cultural characteristics from being annihilated, it is necessary to maintain the Chinese cultural traditions in cultural exchanges and pass them on from generation to generation. The Chinese society should hold more exchange activities to introduce China’s artistic achievements to the American society, so that Americans can have a deeper understanding of and adapt to Chinese living habits and customs. Hold lively neighbourhood festivals, festival celebrations and other activities, invite neighbours from all ethnic groups in the East and the West to participate, so that everyone can have fun and deepen their understanding. At the same time, Chinese Americans are also encouraged to participate in American cultural activities.
The above suggestions are not easy to implement, and you must have patience and keep trying to achieve results. (over)
About the interviewee:
Yu Qian Ningna, the daughter of the famous translator Qian Gechuan. The former curator of the Elmhurst branch of the Queens Public Library in New York has worked there for nearly forty years. He created the “Hello” project for the library and introduced Chinese books and video materials. Served as the president of the National Association of Chinese Librarians and won the Association’s Lifetime Achievement Award. She was also selected by the New York Post as the most influential and outstanding woman in the area. He is currently the Community Relations Specialist in the Office of City Councillors for the 20th District of New York.
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