It's the commercialism, stupid
Down with Christmas!
One of Chris's posts was about this article reporting a call by PhD students at several top universities calling on young people to be less excited about Christmas.
Is it really a cultural invasion? Yeah, lots of Western businesses want a piece of the action in China, and the Chinese themselves aren't averse to embracing them or things Wetsern. The statement also implies that foreigners are waging some sort of deliberate campaign to turn China into a Western society. I might be some dumb foreign boy, but this seems to assume that modernisation = Westernisation, and that it comes from without. Modernisation doesn't imply Westernisation for one thing; modernisation has deliberately come from within; it follows cultural trends within society.
It's like clothing. The Chinese can put on all the Western clothes they like, but they're still Chinese underneath. They're in no danger of losing their identity.
I wonder what comments Chinese Cyberians have been making about the authors of the petition. I wouldn't be surprised if phrases such as "out-of-touch, elitist academics" were flying around. No, I think the genie is way out of the bottle on this one. Retailers aren't about to miss out on the opportunity to make money, which is, after all, the Chinese way.
The article ends with this paragraph:
I'd agree. I was asking some of my pupils about Christmas yesterday. As far as they were concerned, it was all about presents; they weren't really interested in knowing about the festival itself.
I do have to wonder about the quality of PhD students at China's top universities if they can be intellectually so deficient. The word "hypocrites" is also bouncing around inside my head. On the basis of this petition, would their own lives stand up to scrutiny? I don't know whether this statement
is part of the petition, but is this whole thing because the poor wee things couldn't get a seat in a restaurant?
One of Chris's posts was about this article reporting a call by PhD students at several top universities calling on young people to be less excited about Christmas.
PhD students from the most authoritative universities including Peking, Tsinghua and Renmin University hope to "wake up the Chinese people to resist the western cultural invasion".
Is it really a cultural invasion? Yeah, lots of Western businesses want a piece of the action in China, and the Chinese themselves aren't averse to embracing them or things Wetsern. The statement also implies that foreigners are waging some sort of deliberate campaign to turn China into a Western society. I might be some dumb foreign boy, but this seems to assume that modernisation = Westernisation, and that it comes from without. Modernisation doesn't imply Westernisation for one thing; modernisation has deliberately come from within; it follows cultural trends within society.
It's like clothing. The Chinese can put on all the Western clothes they like, but they're still Chinese underneath. They're in no danger of losing their identity.
I wonder what comments Chinese Cyberians have been making about the authors of the petition. I wouldn't be surprised if phrases such as "out-of-touch, elitist academics" were flying around. No, I think the genie is way out of the bottle on this one. Retailers aren't about to miss out on the opportunity to make money, which is, after all, the Chinese way.
The article ends with this paragraph:
Just like Christmas western cultures and festivals have entered people's daily lives but a large number of Chinese still need to learn more about their background and the deeper meanings behind the social events so they don't blindly copy something they don't understand.
I'd agree. I was asking some of my pupils about Christmas yesterday. As far as they were concerned, it was all about presents; they weren't really interested in knowing about the festival itself.
I do have to wonder about the quality of PhD students at China's top universities if they can be intellectually so deficient. The word "hypocrites" is also bouncing around inside my head. On the basis of this petition, would their own lives stand up to scrutiny? I don't know whether this statement
On Christmas Eve people must wait for seats at nearly every restaurant in Beijing and other cities in China.
is part of the petition, but is this whole thing because the poor wee things couldn't get a seat in a restaurant?
Comments