Chapter 1: Introduction to the Chinese Cultural System

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Do curso por Rice University

America Through Foreign Eyes

103 classificações

Rice University

America Through Foreign Eyes

103 classificações

The United States has always been a source of fascination — both attraction and repulsion — for the people of France, Mexico, China, and African countries such as Nigeria, Ghana, and Sudan. "America Through Foreign Eyes" is a rich, interdisciplinary, international course that features Rice University faculty from a variety of disciplines and area studies. Focused on perceptions of America abroad, the course is a cross between World Cultures and American Studies. The course features four modules, each covering the perceptions and interactions of particular regions with America, Americans and Americanization.

Na lição

America Through Chinese Eyes

The United States has always been a source of fascination for the people of China. Chinese observers and travelers are rarely indifferent to American culture and people. This module, “America Through Chinese Eyes,” examines historical and contemporary perceptions of America, Americans, and Americanization through the lens of Chinese writers, artists, politicians, intellectuals, and public opinion. Taught by Dr. Anne Chao, a professor of History, this module will cover the four themes of the course: Democracy and Modernity; Globalization and Capitalism; Racism and Immigration; and Intellectual and Cultural Life.

Chapter 1: Introduction to the Chinese Cultural System6:41

Chapter 2: First Contact with America and the West6:46

Chapter 3: China's Entry Into the World: Opium, the Unequal Treaties and the Exclusion Act7:39

Chapter 4: From Reform to Revolution6:56

Chapter 5: The New Culture Movement7:12

Chapter 6: Madame Chiang Kaishek: A Study in Chinese and American Interactions in the Republican Era7:18

Chapter 7: America as Enemy and as Friend: The Great Proletariat Cultural Revolution and the Ping-Pong Diplomacy7:19

Chapter 8: China's Re-Entry into the World7:08

Chapter 9: Taiwan and Hong Kong8:05

Chapter 10: Voices from China and Taiwan7:38

Conheça os instrutores

Dr. Anne S. Chao
Lecturer
Rice University
Dr. Julie Fette
Associate Professor
Rice University
Dr. Jeffrey Fleisher
Associate Professor
Rice University
Dr. Moramay López-Alonso
Associate Professor
Rice University

Welcome to the module, American Through Chinese Eyes.

Throughout this module, we will look at the history

of the interactions between the American and the Chinese people.

In particular, we will focus on how America and

the Americans have been perceived by the Chinese at different points in time.

Americans first arrived in China in the 18th century and were engaged in trade and

missionary work.

The relationship between America and China has since then evolved into long and

colorful history.

One of friendship and collaboration as well as antagonism, suspicion, and

grudging respect.

It is important to remember, that the Chinese understanding of America and

its people has always been contingent upon the political, social, economic,

cultural, and intellectual climate in China at a given historical moment.

And that this understanding is also a product of available information

including both text and images.

Therefore the Chinese perception of America, and of other countries as well,

is in large part a projection of an imagined other at times demonized and

at times idealized.

The best way to make sense of how the Chinese see America

is to understand how they see themselves in the world which is an extension

of the way they relate to their society and to their government.

Two broad concepts that provided a general framework for

a Chinese world view up to the 20th century are the Confucian way of life and

a system of managing foreign relations called, the Tributary System.

Confucius, who lived from 551 to 479 BCE

was a political philosopher from the Kingdom of Lu.

He traveled widely to advise rulers in other kingdoms during

the Spring and Autumn period, circa 772 to 481 BCE.

His teachings were embodied in the four books and five classics which

became the canonical texts for Chinese civil service exams for many centuries.

According to the Confucian philosophers,

the Sage Kings in ancient times exemplified moral perfection and

transmitted their political wisdom down to their descendants.

They perceived a fundamental spiritual unity between the mind of heaven,

Tianxin, and the mind of man, Renxin.

The role of the ruler was to bring about the moral transformation of the people by

his own moral rectitude and proper ritual performance.

Ren, defined as compassion, altruism and

reciprocity is the essence of human existence.

And ritual is its physical manifestation.

Ritual also preserves political, social, and moral order.

In this orderly society, every person has a hierarchical relationship to another.

Ruler to subject, father to son, husband to wife,

elder brother to younger brother, and senior friend to junior friend.

And no one occupies a place of equality with another.

By studying rigorously the classics and practicing precisely coded rituals,

a person can become cultivated and in turn transform the world.

One of the four books, The Great Learning, explains.

When thoughts are made sincere, the mind can be rectified.

When the mind is rectified, the self can be cultivated,

when the self is cultivated, the family can be regulated.

When the family is regulated, the state can be ordered; and

when the state is ordered, all under Heaven can be at peace.

A sense of continuity with the past is essential for a harmonious society.

A filial piety and reverence for

one's ancestors are essential elements of the Confucian world order.

The metaphor of the official serving as the father and mother of the people

suggests the paternalistic character of the Chinese governance.

Because of the strong emphasis on scholarly attainment, scholars occupy

the uppermost social stratum, followed by farmers, artisans, and merchants.

In the Confucian world order, earning a living by one's labor and

one's hands, is respected above profiting from commercial activities.

Since the days of the Shang Dynasty circa 1600 to 1050 BCE,

if not earlier, China has considered its civilization superior to all others.

The Chinese, therefore, developed a complex but flexible set of foreign,

feudal style relations called the Tributary System.

According to this system, which lasted well into the 19th century,

all foreigners were considered vassals, subordinate to China as the lord.

They brought gifts from their native lands as tribute, and

the emperor observing the principle of civilizing man from afar,

Huairou yuanren, endowed them with their own territories.

Gave them official titles, bestowed expensive gifts upon them, and

promised them trading privileges and military support.

The visitors dutifully performed a katow,

prostrating themselves on the ground as a sign of submission to the emperor.

Neighboring states that paid tribute on a regular basis in the heyday of the system

were Korea, the Islands which is modern day Okinawa,

Annam, modern day Vietnam, Siam, modern day Thailand and

the southeast Asian states of Java, Malaya, etc.

The arrangement suited both parties.

The Chinese emperor received ritual affirmation of his position

as the ruler of all under heaven, tianxia, while his vassals were amply

rewarded with expensive gifts and permission to conduct trade.

To be sure the actual details of the tributary exchanges

varied according to the relative power of the respective parties.

And so some historians have questioned whether the term tributary system

is an apt description of the arrangements.

But Chinese primary sources abundantly attest to

the institutionalization of tribute giving in China for well over 2,000 years.

In this chapter,

we have reviewed two basic concepts that undergird traditional Chinese society.

The Confucian teaching that advocated ideals of compassion, filial piety,

and ritual as operating principles, and the tributary system that gave China

a sense of cultural and moral superiority in its foreign relations.

In the next chapter,

we will turn to the activities of the first Americans to reach China.

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