Influence of Chinese culture on the rest of the world books and resources

[kuronoharu]

Hello everyone,

 

I have to make a presentation on "The reasons behind Chinas cultural success" in terms of globalisation topic, and I'm experiencing problems finding any kinds of resources related. The only ones I was able to find were : "Handbook of popular Chinese culture" and couple of books about China's soft power.

 

Does anyone of you have more resources on the topic, it could be anything that can be seen abroad, like: cuisine, martial arts, medicine, movies, confucious institutes and so on.

 

Thank you.

[tooironic]

To be honest, I'm not so sure your research question is 100% appropriate since it assumes that China has achieved cultural success on a global level. But is this really the case? In my opinion, China has done a pretty poor job in exporting its culture to the West, which is not that surprising of course given they only officially opened up to the rest of the world in the 1980s. Japan has done a far better job; there is a reason why, for example, Japanese is studied by many more people in Australia as a foreign language than Chinese, and it has nothing to do with practicality or ease of learning.

 

Sorry, I know that didn't really answer your question. Just my 50c, and some food for thought.

[Simon_CH]

Interesting topic, but I agree with tooironic that Chinese culture has left very few traces outside its immediate borders for such a vast and long-lasting civilisation. No Chinese religion, no philosophy, no literature or music has ever spread across the world.

 

The same goes for things stereotypically Chinese like food and martial arts. Both had to significantly change in order to enjoy success abroad to the point where people in China would hardly recognize it as such.

 

A research title shouldn't presuppose the result, but if that does not matter perhaps "the reasons behind the lack of cultural success" in the context of globalisation would be more appropriate.

 

I think you should be far more succesful in your research if you don't search for success cases to prove a point but study the history of globalisation in China and the way China at times embraced and absorbed foreign influences to make it their own.

[li3wei1]

In some areas they've been successful. I have no evidence, but my guess is it's easier almost anywhere to find a Chinese restaurant than a Japanese one. Yes, the food may not be 'authentic', but it probably isn't in the Japanese restaurant either. Martial arts are popular, and while these are mostly Japanese, martial arts movies are predominantly Chinese. Then there is traditional Chinese medicine, and feng shui (which, by the time it gets out of the country, is almost completely transformed)..

 

Sadly, I have to agree that in many other areas, such as literature, music, and the fine arts, the rest of the world is not paying a lot of attention to China.

[Simon_CH]

Chinese restaurants had a first mover advantage in my opinion, they were the first large group of Asian emmigrants to Europe and the United States, and for a long time embodied "Asian food". Now that other cuisines have entered the culinary landscape Chinese restaurants are on the decline. Many have started rebranding themselves as Thai, Vietnamese and Korean restaurants to ride on these currently more popular food waves. So while I'm a great fan of Chinese food it isn't all that popular abroad anymore I think, it's just ubiquitous.

 

As you mention, all the succesful Asian martial arts are either Japanese or Korean, whereas Kung Fu / Wushu in the widest sense is arguably dying both in China and abroad, it's just not popular anymore. The short-lived craze of Kung Fu in the 80s and 90s through Hong Kong has died off too. People yawn when they hear Jackie Chan, and nobody is following in his footsteps either. Interesting podcast on the topic on Sinica by the way.

 

And people have tired of watching Hidden Dragon Crouching Tiger's n'th reincarnation, what was imaginative and novel a few years ago just doesn't impress anymore, at least not in Europe. I think even cinephiles in Europe will struggle to think of a recent Chinese movie they've watched. And most Chinese co-productions like Transformers are depressingly bad.

 

Virtually all TCM medicine (not herbs) sold internationally is Japanese, and as for Feng Shui... well, unlikely to spread beyond the diaspora either.

 

It's a somewhat depressing picture, but I honestly struggle to find a single cultural export of China that has truly caught on anywhere in the world. But I sure hope to be wrong, perhaps you guys know more or there is something I have missed.

[anonymoose]

What about gunpowder, compasses, paper and printing?

[Simon_CH]

Good points, but again a bit more complex I think.

 

Of the compass wikipedia says: "current textual evidence only supports the fact that Chinese use of the navigational compass preceded that of Europe and the Middle East." even though the invention may have predated the European one by 150 years. There earliest mentions in the Muslim world of the compass is some 200 years older later than in Europe, which is taken as evidence that the compass was indeed invented separetely (with different basic designs  as well, even in the earliest European compasses) and not diffused through China's trade network. The only thing we know for sure is that the modern European dry compass was introduced to China much later and replaced the then common wet compass design in China.

 

Gunpowder was most likely indeed invented in China, and then spread through India, the Middle East to Europe. But again Europeans quickly improved the designs and formulas so much that it was reintroduced to China as something new much later.

 

But paper and printing are great examples of Chinese cultural artefacts in the widest sense, though not sure how relevant that is today as I think it's widely accepted even outside academia that China was a very advanced civilisation at the time.

[Kobo-Daishi]

Tea and silk.

 

I remember seeing stamps from countries where they honor guys who smuggled silkworms out of China. Before that they didn't know where silk came from.

 

Supposedly, tea is the most drunken beverage in the world besides water.

 

Kobo.

[Simon_CH]

 

Tea and silk

 

True and true. But again, how does that shape outside perspectives of Chinese culture? It's only the product, not the culture surrounding it that gained traction abroad, perhaps again with the exception of Japanese and Korean tea culture and other countries I'm not aware of.

[Kobo-Daishi]

The umbrella.

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Umbrella

 

 

 

The general use of the umbrella in France and England was adopted, probably from China,^[20] about the middle of the seventeenth century.^[20] At that period, pictorial representations of it are frequently found, some of which exhibit the peculiar broad and deep canopy belonging to the large parasol of the Chinese Government officials, borne by native attendants.^[20]

 

The kite.

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kite

 

 

Kites were invented in China,^[13] where materials ideal for kite building were readily available: silk fabric for sail material; fine, high-tensile-strength silk for flying line; and resilient bamboo for a strong, lightweight framework.

 

Porcelain.

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Porcelain

 

 

Porcelain (also known as china or fine china) is a ceramic material made by heating materials, generally including clay in the form of kaolin, in a kiln to temperatures between 1,200 and 1,400 °C (2,200 and 2,600 °F). The toughness, strength, and translucence of porcelain arises mainly from the formation of glass and the mineral mullite within the fired body at these high temperatures.

Porcelain derives its present name from the old Italian porcellana (cowrie shell) because of its resemblance to the translucent surface of the shell.^[1] Porcelain can informally be referred to as "china" or "fine china" in some English-speaking countries, as China was the birthplace of porcelain making.^[2]

 

Umbrellas and chinaware are ubiquitous even today.
 

Kobo.

[Simon_CH]

All true but irrelevant as all products are used outsided its cultural context. Nobody thinks about China when using an umbrella, and for most a kite is just a toy for kids. None of these inventions advance Chinese culture abroad because context and usage is everything.

 

Chewing gum is American until Chinese grannies discover it as a good way to improve their gum health, and give the gum either fish or tobacco flavours. And suddenly you have an American invention that's stripped off its cultural context and becomes Chinese, just like tea became English.

[Kobo-Daishi]

In some areas they've been successful. I have no evidence, but my guess is it's easier almost anywhere to find a Chinese restaurant than a Japanese one. Yes, the food may not be 'authentic', but it probably isn't in the Japanese restaurant either.

 

I remember reading somewhere that there are more Chinese restaurants in America than MacDonald's.

 

I tried to find the article and found this web page.

 

http://www.omgfacts.com/lists/6704/There-are-more-Chinese-restaurants-in-the-United-States-than-the-number-of-McDonald-s-Burger-Kings-Wendy-s-Domino-s-and-Pizza-Huts-combined

 

There are more Chinese restaurants in the United States than the number of McDonald's, Burger Kings, Wendy's, Domino's, and Pizza Huts combined!

 

Now, that's huge!

 

America is defined by McDonald's. Whenever foreign countries get mad with the US and protest American policy they always pick on McDonald's. McDonald's symbolizes America. When there were sanctions placed on Russia by the US, they went and closed McDonald's.

 

Kobo.

[Kobo-Daishi]

Karate is considered a non-classical (indigenous Japanese) bugei form originally from China. The Japanese don't consider it native. And Tae Kwon Do is derived from Tang Soo Do from China's Tang dynasty. Though they try to obscure the fact.

 

Many of the Thai restaurants were really started by Thai Chinese. Even Tommy Tang who helped introduce Thai cuisine to America by way of southern California is ethnic Chinese. He even named his daughter China. Many of the dishes they serve in Thai restaurants are Teochew Chinese creations Thai-ized.

 

Korean mandu is Chinese bao or mantou. When they showed Anthony Bordain's Parts Unknown visit to Los Angeles' Koreatown. The best dumplings were ones made by an ethnic Korean couple from China's Korean autonomous prefecture.

 

Many Korean restaurants in Los Angeles Koreatown are owned by ethnic Chinese from Korea. JaJiang Mian is a Chinese dish popularized by ethnic Chinese living in Korea.

 

Japanese Ramen is Chinese. In the Japanese movie Tampopo they search for the best way of making by going to a lot of Chinese restaurants to learn their secrets. The instant variety was invented by an ethnic Chinese from Taiwan during the Japanese occupation.

 

Kobo.

[Simon_CH]

But that's exactly what I'm saying Kobo: many Chinese inventions are not considered Chinese anymore, and have therefore lost their value as a cultural export for China.

 

To tell an Englishman that his tea is Chinese or lecture an Italian that they didn't invent Pasta is not going to lead anywhere.

It's the equivalent of telling a Sichuanese person that their Chili peppers are from the Americas. True but irrelevant.

What good is the fact that half of today's vegetables were cultivated in the Americas? Nobody knows and those that do don't really care. China has to recognise that lesson and stop claiming all sorts of things other people consider their own, it just doesn't advance their cause at all.

 

To reiterate: A cultural export is only valuable if it is identified, recognised as such and associated with a country's culture.

[MPhillips]

Chinese pop culture has very little currency abroad, whilst Japanese & US pop cultural products are everywhere. Of course when the vast majority think of American movies, they're thinking of Batman & Star Wars, not Citizen Kane, Dr. Strangelove or Full Metal Jacket; just as infinitely more non-Japanese people have read Naruto than have read The Tale of Genji. To the extent he or she feels free to do so (given the premise that he or she was handed), maybe the OP could look into what makes a given cultural product easy to export in the first place & why China doesn't seem to be producing many such products.

[Kobo-Daishi]

How does one define culture?

 

And there's got to be something wrong with Simon_ch's reasoning.

 

By his reasoning no country has produced any culture of global import other than America and possibly Britain.

 

No Mexican religion, no philosophy, no literature or music has ever spread across the world.

No Australian religion, no philosophy, no literature or music has ever spread across the world.

No French religion, no philosophy, no literature or music has ever spread across the world.

No Canadian religion, no philosophy, no literature or music has ever spread across the world.

No Indian religion, no philosophy, no literature or music has ever spread across the world.

No German religion, no philosophy, no literature or music has ever spread across the world.

No Russian religion, no philosophy, no literature or music has ever spread across the world.

No Polish religion, no philosophy, no literature or music has ever spread across the world.

 

Off the top of your head, name a Mexican movie, a Mexican song, Mexican book, etc. The taco. Nope Americanized and when I go to Jack-in-the-Box, I don't think Mexican.

 

An Indian movie, song, or book. No, the Bhagavad Gita or Kama Sutra don't count. Just as the Art of War (even though the US military supposedly studies it at their war college) and the I Ching don't count even though they mention them all the time on TV and in print.

 

Name the last Australian movie that took the world by storm. Name an Austalian food that's spread around the world? A book. Crocodile Dundee? Doesn't count. As old as Jackie Chan and so yesterday.  

 

The original poster isn't even trying to say Chinese culture is the dominant influence on the world. Just its influence?

 

But no influence?

 

Acupuncture clinics all over the place. Don't count. They've been Americanized because on American soil or are really fronts for Japanese shiatsu parlours. 

 

Kobo.

[Kobo-Daishi]

Japan has done a far better job; there is a reason why, for example, Japanese is studied by many more people in Australia as a foreign language than Chinese, and it has nothing to do with practicality or ease of learning.

 

Why is that so?

 

Because of the 80s when Japan was riding high economically? Or is it because of the popularity of manga and anime?

 

Kobo.

[li3wei1]

okay, the OP's 'cultural success' has drifted into 'export of cultural products', which at least is measurable. Far enough. What's a cultural product?

 

Obviously, movies, music, books, artwork, are cultural products, things created by 'cultural workers'.

 

But we're also talking about food and clothing, which may be produced in a foreign country using foreign ingredients, by foreign people. A kimono is a Japanese cultural product regardless of where it is made. So in a sense it is something created according to a 'recipe' that comes from the orignal country, and is associated with the original country. Bluejeans, for instance, would be an American cultural product, even if they are made by a French company out of Egyptian cotton and sold in Russia.

 

With food, there's a bit of a spectrum. I think of Coca-cola, for instance, as an industrially produced beverage that is no more American than Evian is French. You can buy it and drink it as you would any other drink. While McDonalds, on the other hand, is more than the food - it's the setting, the ethos, the hygiene, the training of staff. Would wine, or at least certain kinds of wine (Champagne, cognac), be considered a French cultural export?

 

Where things were invented, or where the inventors were born, or who makes them now, are immaterial. Bicycles are not a Taiwanese cultural export, even though most of them are made there.

 

Would certain makes of car, such as the Volkswagen, the Cadillac, or the Mercedes Benz, count as cultural exports?

[MPhillips]

Just as I'm not particularly proud (to say the least) of "Batman, the Dark Knight Rises" (actually the '60's TV program "Batman" is watchable since it's entirely tongue-in-cheek) or McDonald's (try to convince other people that traditional American food is actually half-way decent), I don't see why Chinese people should be all that embarrassed they haven't come up with equally popular exports.

[Kobo-Daishi]

Bicycles are not a Taiwanese cultural export, even though most of them are made there.

 

Most of the world's bikes are made in China.

 

https://www.thefinancialist.com/taiwan-the-bicycle-kingdom/

 

 

 

China, the world’s largest producer of bicycles, stands to benefit from the increased demand. But it won’t be the only one. Although the country produces 67 percent of the world’s bicycles, most of them are low-end units that sell for less than $100 apiece. The real winner is actually Taiwan. Better known for making semiconductors than bicycles, Taiwan’s history with bicycles nevertheless goes back to the early 1970s, when the island earned the nickname the “Bicycle Kingdom” after its exports increased sharply thanks to original equipment manufacturer deals with companies such as Schwinn. The label held true in the 1980s when Taiwanese production overtook Japan’s, although production flagged in the 90s amid a strengthening of the New Taiwanese Dollar and the onset of competition from mainland China.

 

Interesting article.

 

Bikes are everywhere. They've repainted all the streets in Los Angeles to make bike paths. Taking up whole streets in some areas.

 

Kobo.