Monday, May 10, 2010

Chinese Culture

What do you find interesting, compelling, or repelling about Chinese culture? This could be something you learned via the story, research, or personal knowledge.

23 comments:

Anonymous said...

Something that I found interesting about Chinese culture that I learned from the internet but is also incorporated into the story is that the people in China eat special herbs because they believe that it will give them a longer and healthier life. This was seen in An-Mei Hsu's story when she saw her mother making her grandmother a soup and saw that her mother poured herbs into the pot. This was to try to cure her grandmother from her illness and keep her alive. Another fact that I found on the internet but also is connected to the story is that Chinese families use nicknames such as Gau(bear), Tho(rabbit), and Bo(cow) to keep evil spirits away from their children. This was similar to An-Mei Hsu's story of when Popo used to say nasty things about her and her brother so that the "ghosts" would not steal them away. The last thing that I found interesting about Chinese culture came from the last story, "The Red Candle". Lindo Jong had an arranged marriage, and this is very common in Chinese culture. I researched this and found that sometimes arranged marriages were made before the children were even born. Also, it was common for the two spouses not to have even met before the wedding day.

MMiller said...

There are both compelling and repelling things that I noticed from the book about Chinese culture. The compelling thing would be how honest the Chinese are. They always do what they are suppost to do and honor their families. They would never dishonor their families and always do what they are suppost to do. In the red candle, she starts off the story with how people today lie all the time and do not honor their families and have respect for them. She tells how she has respect for her family and risked her life to keep that honor that her family had. I like how the Chinese really respect their family. One thing that was repelling about the Chinese culture was the arranged marrages as eelphick also mentioned. It is terrible that people cannot pick who they want to spend the rest of their life with. They had no choice and give up their love to someone who they do not know at all. Another terrible thing is that this is still going on today.

Emily said...

I find several things interesting and different about Chinese culture. First off, I did not know that they married at such a young age. I could never imagine getting matched up with a stranger at the age of two and being forced to marry them later in life. In the United States, we think of marriage as more of a choice. There is no "correct" way of marriage, but in my opinion, I don't think forcing marriage is a correct way of making two people fall in love, if that is even the goal of it.
Another characteristic of the Chinese culture is the way women and girls are treated. There is very little respect for the female gender in Chinese societies and I don't think that's right. Women and men are both equal, and laws in the United States prove my statement correct. Even in Chinese society today, women are treated as slaves and lower class just because of their gender. Men should not be the ruling class because without women, they would not even be here today.
Lastly, the Chinese have very false and crazy beliefs. They have several and multiple types of beliefs that they believe in and they believe in karma. These beliefs are ones that if you do not do something correct, a bad event will happen or the other way around. Overall, Chinese culture is much more different and interesting than American culture.

cswift said...

The most interesting part of Chinese culture for me is their rituals. The Chinese are very superstitious and do anything they can to control what is uncontrollable. Before we knew what the weather was going to be, the Chinese use to dance and do other things in order for the weather to turn out the way they wanted it to. Also, they would sacrifice things that had meaning to them, thinking it would give them what they wanted.

Also, I think that the clothing that the chinese wear is very interesting. It is also very different from any clothing anyone else wears. They're three main types of traditional Chinese clothing. Also, darker colors were preferred for ceremonies. Lighter clothing was worn for everyday matters, such as being around the house.

In addition, their education is even different. Typically, their classrooms are filled with 50 students. Schools here are very competitive. Moreover, they must attend school for at least 9 years. The Chinese have big expectations with education.

SBedrosian said...

Something I find interesting and that I like about Chinese culture is the respect and honor one has for their family, familly's ancestors, and for their elders. This is something that is more rare in America. Our respect levels and Chinese respect levels are very different. We see honor and respect for our elders as no big deal. In Chinese culture, this means everything. You must honor your family, honor your elders, and always have respect. Although we too respect our ancestors, it is not nearly to the degree that the Chinese do.

Celia said...

The most interesting part of the Chinese culture I have learned is honoring you family. The Chinese put their families above their own happiness, so they will not disrespect them. In the story "The Red Candle" Lindo has to go live with her husband's family at a young age. While she is living with them, she is unhappy and wants to leave. Lindo could have easily ran away, but if she did she would embarrass her family and dishonor them. To honor her family and be true to her self, Lindo comes up with an idea to help her escape. Another important part of the Chinese culture is the arranged marriages. In the "Red Candle", Lindo had her husband picked when she was only two years old which was a normal thing in China. The arranged marriages only work due to the children honoring their families and sticking out the agreement they did not even make.

NJacobson said...

To most people, learning about a culture that is different than your own is very fascinating. This applies for me too. There are many things that are different than the American culture in the Chinese culture. One thing I find very interesting is the easy-going attitude they have with their children. For example when Ying-Ying St. Claire's nanny put her outside away from everyone on the boat, she did not care what she did out there. Therefore Ying-Ying fell into the river and nearly drowned. It was not until a while later when they noticed and they started looking for her that they worried. Another thing is the strict ways. For example the arranged marriage customs they have. We would never do that in America. Also when the marry it is just a way of two families uniting together in more of a friendship way. This is very surprising because sometimes in relationships in America, the in-laws do not even get along. Also a lot of Chinese people are very taken in to themselves. They are not ones to flaunt themsleves in any way. You can tell this by when Lena St. Claire's mom does not even want Lena to look at the men who might "use" her.

icalo said...

Somethings that I find interesting about Chinese culture is the amount of respect that is shown towards elders and family. Respecting an elder is so important because they can decide how your life turns out. I think it is very good how parents teach their children to respect family and elders. In our society there are many kids who have no respect for their parents and let alone their elders. They learn how to be polite. Something that i find repelling is the amount of respect that is shown to women. In a marriage a woman is expected to do everything that husband says and can't disobey or they will dishonor their family. In the book Lindo had to put up with her husbands demands even before they were married. The wife has to know how to cook, clean, and sew. It was a hard life for women in China that's why the mother left to try to give their daughters a better life.

jjahnecke said...

Something I believe is very interesting about Chinese culture is its concept of filial piety. Filial Piety is the responsibility of each person to respect their parents, obey them, take care of them as they age, advise parents, and to love them. This concept is very essential to Chinese culture and is still practiced today. Filial piety is also very relevant to the Joy Luck club because in each story the children of each mother are expected to respect their mothers and honor them. This shows a big cultural different between ours and the Chinese, because in the western world children don’t respect their elders as much as they should. By learning more about Chinese cultures one can see how important certain values should be.

ctino said...

A fact i found interesting about Chinese culture is that the majority of the values are based off of Confucianism and Taoism. Moreover, both are philosophies verses religions. Both Confucianism emphasize important morals and values in the Chinese culture. Many of the morals are still stressed today and throughout the Joy Luck Club. An example of these values is found through honor of the ancestors. In Chinese culture, respect towards elders and veneration for one's ancestors is key. In An- Mei's story the "Red Scar" her mother went against her elder's orders and became a concubine. Therefore, she was kicked out of the family and shunned for showing no respect. The Chinese society, in this light, is portrayed as much stricter and different than American society.

ecrespo said...

Something I found interesting in the book was that the marriage was resembled by a candle. The entire reason the marriage was broken in "The Red Candle" was that they finally figured out the candle had been blown out. Also I found the Moon Lady story interesting. The boats were more intersting, than the festival itself, though. The peasant workers in he back and the style of catching fish was unique and very clever. This shows how the CHinese have different cultures than us, but still get the same results just by different techniques.

ablanc said...

I found that in Chinese culture, family is the most important thing, very interesting. This is not because of the tradition itself, but because of the way it is carried out. Whereas normally, in America, if someone were to dishonor their family, the family might get mad but essentially forgive them because they only get one family in life. In these stories, though, especially Scar, if you dishonor your family it is the worst of all crimes, and you become a "ghost". I found this interesting because it is as if in Chinese culture, if you do something bad then your family will want nothing to do with you, whereas most caring families in America would want to help you get through your problems.

mparker said...

From this book, and each story that the mothers have told you learn a lot about China's history and culture. The way women are treated compared the the way women in America are treated today are very different. In the parable, it says that the mother does not want the daughter to be measured by the "loudness of her husbands belch". Also you learn from the stories about arranged marriages and how important promises to your family are. You also learn about what happens if you betray you family, where you will become a "ghost"

I think China's culture and the way they treat and reflect on women is horrible and understand why each mother chose to move to America.

mrusso said...

From the Joy Luck Club, I learned that respect for your elders is eternal. By that, I mean that no matter what, you have to be there for your parents. We see this in the story "Scar" where An-mei Hsu's grandmother gets very sick. An-mei's mother comes back to the house to care for her mother even though she was forgotten by the family. She cut a chuck of her arm out and put it into a soup as a last effort because the respect is bone deep.

EYanowitz said...

By reading the Joy Luck Club I have learned a lot about Chinese culture. Based on what Amy Tan has said, there are a lot of interesting oddities in every day Chinese life. One of the things I found most interesting was the various implied gestures. For example, when the mother from "scar" cut off a junk of her arm and put it in her dying mother's soup. I thought it was interesting how that was supposed to prolong life. Then in "the red candle" the daughter is taught how to cook with all of the herbs that prolong life for mothers. I liked how there were special herbs in Chinese culture dedicated to prolonging the life of mothers.

Another interesting aspect of Chinese life that I have learned from reading the Joy Luck Club is the importance of family. For example, when the mother from "scar" became a concubine, she was labeled a ghost. If someone is a ghost you are supposed to pretend that they don't exist. I found it very interesting how just by becoming a concubine her family abandoned her. I also was intrigued by the commitment of the daughter in "the red candle". She was a good wife to a bad husband, a good daughter to her bad mother-in-law, and she did all of this just to honor her real family, which signed her up for a bad marriage and left her behind at 12.

ajustl said...

The only aspect of the chinese culture I find repelling is their supressive government that practices censorship upon T.V. and internet. Becuase of this, the culture has been isolated from certain western ideas that would make me like the culture better. There are some interesting things in their culture. From the book, I have concluded they are a very supersticious people. They believe in herbal healing, or healing through special herbs sold from herb shops like the one near the girls house in the last story we read. Also I find it interesting how highly prized family is in their society.

galfieri said...

One thing I found interesting about Chinese culture is that people were not supposed to share or talk about their desires. In the story "The Moon Lady" told by Ying-Ying St. Clair she is told that if she asks for things then it is a selfish desire. She was only allowed to ask for something she wanted when the Moon Lady arrived.In history this year we talked about Chinese ethics such as Taoism and Confucianism. One of the aspects was being desireless and not wanting anything in order to focus on duty and respect in the important relationships of life such as child to parent, spouse to spouse, teacher to student, etc. Everyone has desires and I think that in today's American society it would be incredibly hard not to share our desires with anyone. Sometimes our desires and the things we want are what push us in life. In contrast, for the Chinese this is considered selfish. Ying-Ying was told as a young child that she was not supposed to ask for things she wanted. I don't think this is right. Part of being a kid and also an adult is wanting things but also learning that you don't always get the things that you want.

Kmichaluk said...

I always knew that there were differences between Chinese culture and American culture, but reading "Joy Luck Club" has made me realize how major the differences between them really are. I think it's very interesting that arranged marriages were so tolerable, even between two people that maybe didn't even like each other at all. The marriages were strictly political and that's a weird concept because in modern America marriages are based on the feelings one has for their partner. In one of the stories in the novel that an arranged marriage in China was involved, the reason that the girl stayed in the marriage as long as she did was because of her honor for her family's name. When it comes to divorce these days in America, for the most part the man or woman's reasoning for the divorce is strictly because of their individual feelings and for their well being. Things are a lot more self-centered here than they were in China.

Emma said...

I agree with many of the comments posted before me. The most compelling points are the long-withstood traditions in China as well as the beauty of their upkeep. the culture seems so beautiful and refined when looking at it with an outsider's eyes, but the inside has its repelling qualities. Women have no right to speak their minds, and are brought up to be just like their mothers, no matter how disagreeable. The weak are thwarted and the strong-minded are beaten down or ostracized.
The Ying-Yang idea to me is the most interesting among their beliefs. To think that women are the dark side shows just how unequal they believe males and females to be. Even though the sign in of balance and equality, the culture interprets it as balance of power and that mean, as light, should have complete control the dark as a husband.

Rachel P. said...

I agree with many of my classmates. I find that the old traditions are fascinating, mostly because I grew up in America so I find it strange. For example, family honor is the most important thing to the Chinese. While family is important in America, our parents don't force us to marry a wealthy and powerful person just because it makes the family look better. Another fact that I already knew is that they used to "break" the girls' feet in order to make them smaller. Tiny feet were considered beautiful in China, so young girls feet were made smaller in a excruciatingly painful process where their feet were broken and bended basically. Some even died from it. While America DOES focus too much on outward appearances, families never force their kids to shrink their feet just so they can wear 8 inch shoes.

shuber said...

An interesting facts about the Chinese culture I learned while reading "The Joy Luck Club" is how they vale the amount of respect you have for your parents and elders. In America it is clear that respect to your parents is appreciated and necessary but in the Chinese culture, they all value the respect that one shows for their elders because if you do not respect your family then it shows them that you are not a good person and they will not respect you back.

Another interesting fact is, like Evan said, how marriage is represented by a red candle. When both ends of the the candle is lit and stays lit through the first night of marriage, it means the marriage lasts forever. However in the American culture, once people get married, they usually just wait and see what happens to their marriage, while in China, it's almost like the red candle decides weather you will have a successful marriage or not.

ablanc said...

Something interesting I found about Chinese culture through the Joy Luck Club is the differences between American family traditions and Chinese family traditions. For example, in Scar, the mother cuts a piece of flesh and puts it into her dying mother's soup. This was said to be a tradition that showed a great deal of respect for the mother, however, I am sure that this would be considered very disgusting and disrespectful in the American culture. Another example would be in Rules of the Game. Waverly's mother believes in the Chinese ways that what one person in the family has, everyone in the family has. This would explain her great pride in Waverly's chess skills, even though it embarasses Waverly, because her more American upbringing.

CConklin said...

Something I find fascinating about Chinese culture is how supersticious they are. They strongly believe in having new beginnings once the new year comes. References about death or dying are completely forbidden and negative terms and ghost stories are not to be uttered. Also, all houses must have good Feng Shui.This includes: the number of steps in a staircase must be even-numbered; don't build your house facing north; the master's bedroom should not be directly above the garage; the dinig area should not be under a second-floor toilet. However, there are some things that I do not like about the Chinese culture. One thing that I find very bizarre is foot binding. Foot binding is done by Chinese women to stop the growth of their feet. The purpose of this process was so that women of a higher class wouldn't have to walk around or do anything laborous. With that being said, there are many things that I find interesting in the Chinese culture.