From Cultural Revolution to Culture Exports
By Antoaneta Bezlova
Inter Press Service July 28, 2006
By Antoaneta Bezlova
Inter Press Service July 28, 2006
While the world is getting used to China's ballooning global trade surplus, Chinese mandarins fret over the one area that the country has been posting a continuous deficit in -- culture.
China may be now the world's fourth largest economy, wielding increasing influence in everything from global trade talks to currency rates but it lacks the success stories of "Harry Potter" and "The Da Vinci Code", which would transform it into a cultural heavyweight producing works of universal appeal.
As far as culture is concerned, "we still have very bad deficit to resolve," Zhao Qizheng, former minister of the state council information office said in May this year. "It runs counter to China's fast growing economy which has been expanding by an average of 10 percent since 1979."
Redressing the country's cultural deficit is not a problem that the Chinese government officials are intent on leaving on the backburner while labouring to appease global fears of China's increasing trade might. On the contrary, the rise of what are domestically described as "cultural industries" is seen by Beijing as the next step along a path marking the country's transformation from developing nation to world power.
With Beijing due to play host to the 2008 Olympic Games, the next few years are being perceived as an opportunity for the country to show that it is more than just the world's largest manufacturing workshop. "It is high time to make ourselves better understood by the world's people," says Du Ruiqing, a scholar from Xian International Studies University.
Attempts to use cultural pursuits in boosting China's image overseas are part of Beijing's overall diplomatic strategy to portray itself as a "soft power", as opposed to the United States' profile of a harsh-talking and domineering power, which also does not seek to impose its development values or interfere in other countries' internal affairs.
In diplomatic corridors from Africa to Latin America and Asia, Chinese politicians have tried to advance the image of a harmonious and peace loving country, guided ethically by its Confucian values of universal acceptance and peaceful co-existence. Culture has come to play an important part in the persuasion process.
"To go global, China must perfect its cultural policy and rebuild the image of Chinese culture," noted an editorial in the People's Daily, the Communist Party's flagship, in the fall last year. It went on to call for the creation of "China-made" cultural products. "While China continues to welcome foreign cultural products, a 'China wind' has still not stirred up much dust," it lamented.
Foreigners in China are frequently reminded that as a civilisation with more than 4,000 years of history, the country boasts a long and impressive cultural heritage. But Chinese people and cultural officials in particular, also complain that observers overseas get a very slanted view of China from existing art, culture and news reporting.
Now, Chinese cultural gurus are keen to reverse that. In order to help a worldwide spread of Chinese culture they have embarked on a massive drive to popularise the Chinese language. Beijing has announced plans to set up 100 Confucius institutes around the world to help foreigners learn China's official language, the Mandarin.
The ministry of education says some 40 million people are learning Chinese the world over but predicts the figure will hit 100 million by 2010. In China alone, the number of foreigners studying Mandarin has grown from 36,000 some ten years ago to 110,000 this year.
As the language is popularised, books and publishing are also being made a focus of China's cultural offensive. Officials are looking for a success story that would firmly reestablish China on the literary map of the world and make foreign publishers engage in bidding wars for the translation rights.
Last year gave a glimpse of what future could have in store for one of the world's fastest growing book markets. Penguin Books set a Chinese record when it purchased for 100,000 US dollars the worldwide English rights for the literary bestseller of Jiang Rong, ?The Wolf Totem'.
"The new cultural drive is not unlike the 'Think UK' campaign the British government embarked on a couple of years ago to persuade the Chinese people that we (British) are not just fog-bound Dickensians," says Jo Lusby who represents Penguin Books in China. "The difference here, though, is that they are viewing this as being in response to perceived 'cultural deficit', as though these things can be quantitatively measured".
Beijing however, knows that cultural expressions such as films, music and art can be lucrative export items just like any other product and wants to see China rivalling Japan and South Korea as pop-culture trend-setters and major cultural players in Asia.
Currently, Japan and South Korea's cultural industries account for 13 percent of the international culture market while China and all the other countries in Asia make up some six percent, figures of ministry of culture show. "China is unable to bring out cultural products that can compete or compare with the Korean drama series 'Dae Jang-geum', or the Japanese cartoon 'Chibi Maruko Chan' or any of Disney's animation efforts," the People's Daily editorial expounded.
Still, cultural officials here hope that following a worldwide scramble to invest in China's manufacturing industry, the country's cultural market is the next golden opportunity for foreign investors.
The cultural industry's total added value in 2004 was 42 billion US dollars, accounting for two percent of China's GDP. In a remarkable contrast with the years before the 1979 economic reforms when cultural undertakings were neither considered nor operated as a business, now some 10 million people work in the domestic cultural industries.
During the long years of political campaigns of Mao Zedong's reign (1949-1976) Chinese Communist Party rallied people to destroy the "four olds" -- everything from old customs and festivals to old beliefs and traditions. But nowadays the market potential of Chinese culture and its appeal to the millions of tourists visiting the country has led to an officially sanctioned cultural renaissance at home as well.
This year the State Council, or China's cabinet, established a new Cultural Heritage Day, devoted to promoting and preserving China's intangible cultural heritage. A list of "endangered" cultural traditions, including old craftsmanship and festival rituals, to be protected has been drawn up as well as a new law on the preservation of China's cultural heritage. A series of new museums and cultural venues are being planned for unveiling in Beijing before the Olympic Games arrive in 2008.
But as the government has fervently embraced the hot cultural industries some intellectuals have sounded caution. "I'm all for China-made cultural products," says writer Hong Ying. "However, I don't want to see them being manipulated in some new political campaign. If Chinese leaders are really intent on promoting culture they should abolish censorship so that free ideas can flourish and hundred thoughts contend."
url: http://www.globalpolicy.org/globaliz/cultural/2006/0728china.htm
date retrieved: 12th May, 2007
My comment
The passage points out that China is seeking to develop its culture industries to transform it into a cultural heavyweight producing works of universal appeal. 2008 Olympic Games has become an opportunity for the country to showcase China’s wonderful and diverse culture. And Beijing intents to use cultural pursuits in boosting China’s image overseas. In this manner, culture account an important part in advancing the image of a harmonious and peace loving country. However, to go global, China must perfect its cultural policy and rebuild the image of Chinese culture. To help a worldwide spread of Chinese culture, China has embarked on a massive drive to popularize the Chinese language. Books and publishing are also being made a focus of China’s cultural offensive. Cultural expressions such as films, music and art have been seen as lucrative culture export items as well. China hopes that the country’s cultural market will be the next golden opportunity for foreign investors after the manufacturing industry.
As a common fact, Japanese culture and South Korean culture which partly originated from ancient Chinese culture have become the two most influential cultures in Asia. This is because they always understand the importance of culture, and are effective in preserving, enriching, advertising and publicizing their cultures. China, though rich in its culture due to a long history of more than 5000 years, is weak in preserving the Chinese culture, both material and non-material cultural heritages.
Somehow it seems that China is dependent on its history, on its ancient culture. It lives on its own fat. It is unarguable that China is rich in its culture. Chinese culture is rich in its contents and its diversity. However, many of these precious culture heritages are at stake. Moreover, it is also indubitable that there is a break in Chinese culture. Chinese live on the culture that passes down along the time; however, culture needs new blood to move, to develop. Culture needs creativity. New aspects are needed to be added to culture. What a pity, Chinese culture is lack of creativity, lack of new blood. Or at least, now it seems like this.
I say there is a break in Chinese culture, is because that there seems to be a jump in generation in inheriting Chinese culture. The old generation, particularly those suffered in the Culture Revolution treasure the Chinese culture, and are pained to see the extinction of the Chinese culture. Then comes a generation that adores money, looks down on traditions and literatus. The new generation, though a large group of them adore Japanese culture and South Korean culture, some of them, particularly some teenagers, university students, and some in there 20s, 30s, have begun to aware of the traditional culture. The new generation, though have the passion about Chinese culture, have a long road to go to learn more about the Chinese culture. Only when they are somewhat familiar with Chinese culture, they may be able to be creative and enrich and develop Chinese culture. And it is a pity that in the Chinese literatus, it is hard to find a young person that can be called a real writer. Nowadays, the popular books in China have become those meaningless romantic fictions.
In my opinion, the Japanese and Koreans live in their culture, aware of their culture and develop their culture during their daily lives contribute greatly to the success of Japanese and South Korean culture. Culture and daily living can not be separated as culture is originated from our daily lives and develops with the development of our daily lives. China should learn from Japan and South Korean. In fact, culture is all around us, we all are affected by it. China should make an effort to increase the awareness of its people, let them be able to identify different aspects of culture and discover the innovation in the culture in daily lives.
As a common fact, Japanese culture and South Korean culture which partly originated from ancient Chinese culture have become the two most influential cultures in Asia. This is because they always understand the importance of culture, and are effective in preserving, enriching, advertising and publicizing their cultures. China, though rich in its culture due to a long history of more than 5000 years, is weak in preserving the Chinese culture, both material and non-material cultural heritages.
Somehow it seems that China is dependent on its history, on its ancient culture. It lives on its own fat. It is unarguable that China is rich in its culture. Chinese culture is rich in its contents and its diversity. However, many of these precious culture heritages are at stake. Moreover, it is also indubitable that there is a break in Chinese culture. Chinese live on the culture that passes down along the time; however, culture needs new blood to move, to develop. Culture needs creativity. New aspects are needed to be added to culture. What a pity, Chinese culture is lack of creativity, lack of new blood. Or at least, now it seems like this.
I say there is a break in Chinese culture, is because that there seems to be a jump in generation in inheriting Chinese culture. The old generation, particularly those suffered in the Culture Revolution treasure the Chinese culture, and are pained to see the extinction of the Chinese culture. Then comes a generation that adores money, looks down on traditions and literatus. The new generation, though a large group of them adore Japanese culture and South Korean culture, some of them, particularly some teenagers, university students, and some in there 20s, 30s, have begun to aware of the traditional culture. The new generation, though have the passion about Chinese culture, have a long road to go to learn more about the Chinese culture. Only when they are somewhat familiar with Chinese culture, they may be able to be creative and enrich and develop Chinese culture. And it is a pity that in the Chinese literatus, it is hard to find a young person that can be called a real writer. Nowadays, the popular books in China have become those meaningless romantic fictions.
In my opinion, the Japanese and Koreans live in their culture, aware of their culture and develop their culture during their daily lives contribute greatly to the success of Japanese and South Korean culture. Culture and daily living can not be separated as culture is originated from our daily lives and develops with the development of our daily lives. China should learn from Japan and South Korean. In fact, culture is all around us, we all are affected by it. China should make an effort to increase the awareness of its people, let them be able to identify different aspects of culture and discover the innovation in the culture in daily lives.
The article has also pointed out that “cultural expressions such as films, music and art can be lucrative export items just like any other product and wants to see China rivalling Japan and South Korea as pop-culture trend-setters and major cultural players in Asia.” I think China still has a long way down the road. China has produced many wonderful films. However, what a pity, those movies that are well known such as “Curse of the Golden Flower”, “the Promise” are the most rubbish films China has spent a lot of money to film. Those which really show Chinese culture and the situations of china are those only spent several million RMB to film and can not afford those wonderful advertising those commercial films have gone through. In my opinion, most people are watching those rubbish movies because of their idols and the vast advertisements. Most of those movies are meaningless. For “Curse of the Golden Flower”, I believe many people watched because they are the fans of Jay Chou. And the strange kind of clothing in the movie gives a wrong impression of ancient Chinese costumes. It is so funny when Yimou Zhang revealed that he initiated this clothing because in many French movies, the maids of honor wear some sexy clothing sort like this. I feel so confused that why he had filmed so many good movies such as The Story of Qiu Ju, and now, he cannot produce any meaningful stories anymore and depends on these non-Chinese costumes to catch the audience eyes. I prefer those which uses less money but worth to watch such as Yun Shui Yao.
Globalization has an indispensable impact on the Chinese. The influence of Japanese and South Korean culture is an effective example. Many Chinese, especially the teenagers, are crazy about the Japan or South Korean Wind. They dress according to Japanese or South Korean fashion, they wear Korean accessories all over their body, and their hair cut is Japanese style or Korean style. Teenagers love Japanese cartoons, girls love Korean love dramas.
The drawing styles of some Chinese cartoonists are affected by Japanese cartoons as well. This is usually showed in the big eyes and hair of the characters. One famous example is the new cartoon for “a dream of red mansions”. A dream of red mansions is a famous classic novel written in Qing Dynasty by Cao Xue Qin. As cartoons are favored by the teenagers, the cartoon for “a dream of red mansions” is published. The aim of this cartoon is said to resuscitate traditional Chinese culture and classical literature among the teenagers and hope to bring along the rise of Chinese cartoons. However, a series of queries have risen up after publishing of the cartoon.
The characters in the cartoon look nearly the same with the same kind of big eyes which are often seen in Japanese cartoons. Moreover, the characters seem very modern, the famous character Lin Daiyun who has been sickly and prone to illness since childhood with telling eyes is drawn with dyed hair. Qin Keqing is drawn with sun-top. Some people criticized that these is not “红楼” this is “青楼”which means bawdyhouse. Jia Xichun is also drawn with the “in” Korean hair cut.
The drawing styles of some Chinese cartoonists are affected by Japanese cartoons as well. This is usually showed in the big eyes and hair of the characters. One famous example is the new cartoon for “a dream of red mansions”. A dream of red mansions is a famous classic novel written in Qing Dynasty by Cao Xue Qin. As cartoons are favored by the teenagers, the cartoon for “a dream of red mansions” is published. The aim of this cartoon is said to resuscitate traditional Chinese culture and classical literature among the teenagers and hope to bring along the rise of Chinese cartoons. However, a series of queries have risen up after publishing of the cartoon.
The characters in the cartoon look nearly the same with the same kind of big eyes which are often seen in Japanese cartoons. Moreover, the characters seem very modern, the famous character Lin Daiyun who has been sickly and prone to illness since childhood with telling eyes is drawn with dyed hair. Qin Keqing is drawn with sun-top. Some people criticized that these is not “红楼” this is “青楼”which means bawdyhouse. Jia Xichun is also drawn with the “in” Korean hair cut.
compared to Hikaru Genji monogatari , "a dream of red mansions" in Japanese, Chinese cartoon has a long road to go.
pictures from www.sina.com.cn
done by: Cultural Expert: Lai Yunru :)
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