David Ownby, Université de Montréal

Chinese Culture and the Chinese Diaspora: The Challenge of the West

Presentation at the CÉRIUM’s Summer School

China RisenHow it changes and changes us

Chinese Culture and the Chinese Diaspora: The Challenge of the West

David OwnbyCERIUM Summer SchoolJuly 4, 2006

Chinese Identity in the Twenty-First Century

What cultural identity will an « awakened China » have? Will China « awake » to a Western form of modernity? Or will we see a renaissance of « traditional » Chinese culture?

Points to ponder

The challenge of the West is not new, but has been a part of China’s experience for 150 years now. The communist revolution, inspired by Marxism, was a response to the West, inspired by the West……

Traditional Chinese culture has been under attack, within China, at the hands of Chinese, since the beginning of the twentieth century. It is not easy to act as if nothing has happened and promote a « return to tradition »……

China’s current involvement in the world is real and varied; we must examine economics, diplomacy, and human capital, hence the importance accorded to the Chinese diaspora…

The People’s Republic of China and…Confucius (??!!)

The « sale » of Confucius and Confucianism in today’s China Beijing Forum

..\Beijing Forum Page.htm ..\PKU NEWS Compilation and Study of The

Complete Literature on Confucianism.htm« Asian Values »Popular reaction to top-down Confucianism

Chinese Diasporas

The first Chinese communities in North America, 1860-1960Gold mines, railroads, launderies,

restaurantsDiscrimination and exclusion

The opening of China, Tian’anmen Square, and the arrival of a second wave of immigrants

The Second Wave of Chinese Immigration

In the 1960s, Canadian and American laws which had severely limited Chinese immigration were repealed, thus permitting renewed Chinese immigration (in fact, Asian immigration) to North America. However, these changes hardly affected mainland Chinese, since it was in 1966 that Mao Zedong launched the Cultural Revolution and largely cut off ties with the rest of the world. It was in the early 1980s, under the new regime of Deng Xiaoping, that the possibility of immigration became a reality for part of the Chinese population of the PRC. The suppression of the student demonstrations in Tian’anmen in 1989 was an important moment in this history.

Chinese-American Population, 1850-2000

Chinese Immigration to the United States

1951-60 9,657 1961-70 34,764 1971-80 124,326 1981-90 346,747 1991-2000 419,799

1998 41,034 1999 29,579 2000 41,801 2001 50,821 2002 55,974

Total Chinese-American population in 2000: 2,879,000 = 1.02% of the US population

Chinese Immigration to Canada

1971 47 1972 25 1973 60 1974 379 1975 903 1976 833 1977 798 1978 644 1979 2058 1980 4936 1981 6551 1982 6295 1983 2217 1984 2214 1985 1883 1986 1902 1987 2625 1988 2778

1989 4,430 1990 7,989 1991 13,915 1992 10,429 1993 9,466 1994 12,486 1995 13,291 1996 17,516 1997 18,520 1998 19,764 1999 29,095 2000 36,716 2001 40,315 2002 33,231

Total Chinese-Canadian population in 2001, 1,029,000 =3.4% of the Canadian population

Percentage of Candians born abroad, 1901-2001

Percentage of Canadian Immigrants Born in Europe and in Asia, by Period of Immigration

Visable Minorities in Canada, 1991 and 2001

Illegal Immigration, Topic for Another Day…

Characteristics of the New (Legal) Chinese Immigrants

Well-educatedMastery of English, and/or FrenchWell-integrated into the 21st century

economy (computers, accounting, business, science)

Remain linked to China, through new communication technologies

Return to China often

A Sub-Group of Immigrants: Chinese Students

According to the Chinese Ministry of Education, more than 700,000 Chinese students studied abroad between 1978 and 2003, of which 173,000 (25%) returned to China, while the rest (527,000) chose to immigrate. The competition between the US, Great Britain, Canada and Australia to attract these Chinese students is intense, particularly as Japan, Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand have also entered the race. In 2003, Japan was the most popular destination, attracting some 70,814 Chinese students. The US was the 2nd most popular, having drawn 64,757.

Chinese Students in Canada

Chinese Students in Canada

Chinese Students in the US

More than 60,000 in 2003-0420,000 each year11% of the total number of foreign

students

Case Study #1

The Falun Gong

(Liangshou Jieyin) faire le noeud du Mudra avec les deux mains. Levez les deux mains et tournez les paumes vers le ciel. Les pouces joints légèrement et les quatre autres doigts liés ensemble et les mains posées l'une sur l'autre, la main gauche est posée dessus pour l'homme, la main droite est posée dessus pour la femme, les mains prennent une forme ovale et se posent à la hauteur du bas-ventre. Les deux hauts du bras et les deux coudes un peu avancés pour vider les aisselles.(Fig. 1-1)

Case Study #1: The Falun Gong

Without the new Chinese diaspora, there would have been no « Falun Gong affair »

History of the emergence of the Falun Gong The invention and development of qigong

(« discipline of the breath ») The « qigong boom » in post-Mao China Li Hongzhi and the creation of the Falun Gong

Case Study #1: The Falun Gong

The beginning of the end: Li Hongzhi leaves China for the US in 1995

Implications of Li’s departure for the Falun Gong in China

The Falun Gong in the Chinese diasporaThe Falun Gong demonstration of April

29, 1999 the suppression of the movement by Chinese authorities

Case Study #1: The Falun Gong

The role of diaspora practitioners in the reaction to the campaign of suppression Political activities—lobbying Western governments Surveying and correcting media reports Direct actions: returning to China to demonstrate « Cyber »-activities « Guérilla » activities

Case Study #1: The Falun Gong

The importance of the diaspora Had China not been open and had the diaspora not

existed, the suppression campaign would have succeeded without difficulty

The US served as a safe haven where Li Hongzhi could take refuge

New Chinese immigrants became Falun Gong practitioners in regions where the Chinese state did not have the right to intervene

Ideas drawn for Enlightenment discourse were added to the religious base of Falun Gong doctrine

Case Study #2: « Visualizing Cultures » at MIT

A story of surprising chauvinism among China’s best and brightest

The origins of the story s t u MMTi e d « V su ni a izi g Mutur se

 »

The « offensive image »

« Illustration of the decapitation of violent Chinese soldiers »

The author’s description/interpretation of the image

Dower’s text describes one such print, entitled “Illustration of the Decapitation of Violent Chinese Soldiers,” which depicted Japanese soldiers executing helpless Chinese prisoners of war, as “an unusually frightful scene.” He continues, “Even today, over a century later, this contempt remains shocking. Simply as racial stereotyping alone, it was as disdainful of the Chinese as anything that can be found in anti-“Oriental” racism in the United States and Europe at the time – as if the process of “Westernization” had entailed, for Japanese, adopting the white man’s imagery while excluding themselves from it. This poisonous seed, already planted in violence in 1894-95, would burst into full atrocious flower four decades later, when the emperor’s soldiers and sailors once again launched war against China.”

Demands of Chinese students at MIT

Nonetheless, certain Chinese students saw the web site and the images as an affirmation or even a celebration—by the authors of the web site—of Japanese racism and imperialism. These students sent the image—without the author`s description—to 100s if not 1000s of apparently like-minded Chinese, directly accusing the professors and the university of insensitivity and racism.

Demands of Chinese students at MIT

The Japanese professor received more than 2000 abusive messages (« hatemail »), including death threats. The police were asked to intervene.

Demands of Chinese students at MIT

On April 26, 2006, discussions took place between the university administration, the professors and the students (75 or so). The students demanded: that the site be shut down, that apologies be made to the students, and that workshops connected to the site be cancelled. Why? A supposed lack of sensitivity, on the part of the professors, to Chinese suffering at the hands of the Japanese. The Chinese students refused to acknowledge the importance of intellectual/academic freedom.

Demands of Chinese students at MIT

“Though we are the Chinese Student and Scholar Association (CSSA), we come from an assortment of backgrounds and cultures. We value the diversity within our own group, and we are most grateful for the support and benefits the culturally-diverse MIT microcosm has afforded us and our members. However, the "Throwing off Asia" exhibit recently spotlighted on MIT's homepage has shaken our confidence in the cultural sensitivity we have come to associate with this accepting environment. The exhibit has left us disappointed at the nonchalance with which this emotionally provocative and demeaning material was presented, as we struggle to understand how such negligence could have been overlooked at the institute.”

Demands of Chinese students at MIT

“In particular, the vivid images of the wartime atrocities inflicted on the Chinese conjured up haunting emotions of loss and rage, not unlike those emotions people around the world feel toward the much better-known and more talked-about events of the Holocaust. Already, the outcry from MIT's Chinese community has been thunderous, and the distress levels severe. We do understand the historical significance of these wood prints, and respect the authors' academic freedom to pursue this study. However, we are appalled at the lack of accessible explanations and the proper historical context that ought to accompany these images.”

MIT’s Response

MIT responded by shutting down—if briefly—the web site. Peter Perdue, a well-known historian of China in the history department at MIT, subsequently drafted an open letter to the Chinese students, which he circulated via the web:

Perdue’s letter

“I am writing to you collectively in response to these activities. I address my remarks primarily to the graduate students from the People's Republic of China who have initiated these protests. I hasten to add that I am sure that not all the Chinese students at MIT approve of these activities, but I hope you will pay close attention to their implications. You are some of the best and brightest young people of China, who have come to MIT in order to pursue education mainly in scientific and technological subjects with the leading researchers in the world. Many of you, I am sure, plan to return to China to use the skills you learn here to help China become a truly modern country. I respect your dedication to your studies and your deep concern for the honor of your country.

Perdue’s letter

Contrary to the accusations of the protesters, the materials on "Visualizing Cultures" do not glorify Japanese imperialism. The visual images and the textual explanation describe and analyze the power of Japanese propaganda about the war. But to describe is not to condone. The text by John Dower makes it very clear that these images are shocking, racist, and sadistic. They did, however, have a powerful impact on the Japanese public at the time. We cannot ignore their power, but we must explain it. Suppression will not help us to understand them.

Perdue’s letter

The American university is based on the fundamental principle of academic freedom. Scholars must be allowed to engage in whatever research activities they find most challenging in their professional fields. Their work is subject to the judgment of their peers in their discipline, and they must respond to careful, reasoned criticism from professional colleagues. Scholars also engage in open dialogue with students and the general public in order to promote public awareness of their research. But ultimately, no one can tell them what to study, or demand that their work be suppressed.

Perdue’s letter

You have a great responsibility as leading participants in China's future. China faces huge challenges in its effort to become a wealthy, strong, democratic, and open nation. You should study not only technical subjects but also the crucial questions of social and historical change that will determine China's future. There are many outstanding faculty at MIT and other universities who will gladly support your goals. Please open your minds to critical awareness of these most difficult questions in a spirit of reasoned, open intellectual discourse, not one of narrow, self-centered indignation.

Chinese Reaction to Perdue’s Letter

« The hostile e-mail campaign shifted its target from Shigeru Miyagawa to me, sparing him some further harassment. The messages, all of them passionate, varied in coherence and length. Some preferred lengthy tirades, while another epitomized his opinion with the pithy phrase, “fuk yu (sic).” They claimed that the letter insulted all Chinese students, that it failed to recognize the tremendous suffering of the Chinese people, that foreigners had no right to claim superior authority over the interpretation of Chinese history, and that MIT had no business exposing the painful side of Asian history before the world. Others demanded disciplinary action or worse against Profs. Dower and Miyagawa. »

Reactions in China

Blog of a Chinese student who was present at the April 26 meeting

Story in Nanfang zhoumou.

How Should We Understand the Students’ Reactions?

Was their English too poor? failure to understand the text which accompanied the images?

Or was it rather a lack of understanding, by students in the hard sciences, of the kind of research done in history, in the humanities?

Or perhaps a cultural explanation? In Chinese tradition, the « winners » write history…

Chinese intellectuals’ embrace of post-modernism

Conclusions

The Chinese of the North American diaspora seem to have rapidly learned certain democratic values of their host countries. Both Falun Gong practitioners and the Chinese students of MIT illustrate an ability to organize and to express themselves publicly in opposition to actions taken by authorities—be it a government or a university. It is interesting to note that the Falun Gong seems more democratic than the MIT students, since the students seem to have taken their « right » to contest more seriously than the professors’ rights to disseminate the results of their research.

Conclusions

The example of Taiwan can serve as proof that their is no necessary contradition between Chinese culture and democracy. Taiwan is just as « Chinese » as China, and just as democratic as we are (even if their democracy is younger).

Conclusions

But a popular embrace of democracy and contestation is not enough; the state has to agree as well.

Note the efforts of the Chinese authorities outside of China to stop the activities of Falun Gong practitions

What might have been the attitude of Chinese authorities to the MIT affair?

Conclusions

China has the heft to make itself respected. MIT authorities surely responded as they did because it was China, and not because the students claims were valid.

Globally speaking, the geopolitical situation may not necessarily lead to China’s democratisation. Most countries pursue China for her market, for her

dollar reserves, for her support for various international initiatives

Certain democratic freedoms are under attack in the West the war against terrorism

Conclusions

Chinese authorities may well decide that it is not worth the risk, that democracy will not bring « stability » and thus has little value. Such a decision might not be due to ignorance of Western values, neither to cultural stubborness, but would instead be a calculated, strategic decision.