There is no doubt today that the nature of Chinese society is distinctly similar to the society under the Mao era and even under the Deng Xiaoping era. Many attribute this change to the reform and opening that had occurred in China under Deng Xiaoping. The emergence of the internet coupled with sociological shifts has created a China that is closely relatable to the U.S society. This paper will discuss how society has changed through various topics such as, migration, dating, media, youth and religion. In addition, what factors elicited these changes and why?
China’s Migration
As a result of economic development, China’s third wave migration of rich families migrating to the U.S and other western countries has increased. It seemed as if China’s most wealth were giving a vote of no confidence to China. The new rich’s departure to the west suggested that the social environment had worsened. Red capitalism refers to an individual who is not from a communist party-state official’s family, that individual must forge a special relationship with powerful officeholder in order to make his business operation viable. This chapter in Perry Link’s, “Restless China,” discusses the hotel business case and states that for a commercial value to have potential it has to be controlled by the public official. This would allow the public official to collude with the manager to abuse the public property, including the financial returns in order to maximize their own personal gain. Hotel industry is not as lucrative, however, coal mining is. China has the largest coal mining industry in the world, a significant portion of the richest people in China are owners or managers of coal mines. Law enforcement personnel’s involvement in unlawful moneymaking...
... middle of paper ...
...internet and other technologies, along with urbanization and the abandonment of the Danwei system have led to a youth culture that is more independent. These factors are also in conjunction with the reform and opening to western influences. Without these influences and innovations, it would be difficult for Chinese today to voice their grievances over environmental policy, corruption in the education system and other social issues such as the one-child policy. It remains to be seen in the future how the communist party will adhere to communist ideals, while at the same time allowing capitalism and democratic values to take over its society.
Works Cited
Lijun Yang & Yongnian Zheng (2012): Fen Qings (Angry Youth) in Contemporary
China, Journal of Contemporary China, 21:76, 637-653
Link, E. Perry. Restless China. Lanham: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc., 2013.
Schoenhals, Michael. China's Cultural Revolution, 1966-1969: Not a Dinner Party. Armonk, NY: M.E. Sharpe, 1996. Print.
The Sun of the Revolution by Liang Heng, is intriguing and vivid, and gives us a complex and compelling perspective on Chines culture during a confusing time period. We get the opportunity to learn the story of a young man with a promising future, but an unpleasant childhood. Liang Heng was exposed to every aspect of the Cultural Revolution in China, and shares his experiences with us, since the book is written from Liang perspective, we do not have a biased opinion from an elite member in the Chinese society nor the poor we get an honest opinion from the People’s Republic of China. Liang only had the fortunate opportunity of expressing these events due his relationship with his wife, An American woman whom helps him write the book. When Liang Heng and Judy Shapiro fell in love in China during 1979, they weren’t just a rarity they were both pioneers at a time when the idea of marriages between foreigners and Chinese were still unacceptable in society.
It is clear that China’s one child policy has affected Chinese society in multiple ways. The policy has resulted in corruption in the Chinese government, an abuse of women’s rights, female feticide, and an imbalance in the gender ratio, and potential problems with China’s elderly and younger populations. The Chinese government decided to implement a one child policy in order to counter the effects of rapid population growth. The question to ask is if the benefits of population control really do outweigh the problems the policy has created in Chinese society. It will be interesting to see if the policy continues to affect Chinese culture in the future, and how the changes that have been recently made play out.
China has gone through many changes in its history. Changes include economic, political, and social. In the early 1500 and throughout history, mostly all social classes followed Confucianism. Confucianism is a type of religion based on an ideal society (Chang 2012, 22). China was molded though Confucianism but that slowly deteriorated as years went on. One main group that has been a main part in these changes is the Chinese literati. The Chinese literati include the higher-class people such as officials and scholars. The Chinese literati were the dominant social class during the 1500’s but their power slowly decreased throughout history. Throughout my paper, I will explain the Chinese literati involvement as centuries passed.
By 1980, although the birthrate in China has fallen to below 3 children per family, it was believed by a new regime of Chinese leaders which included Deng Xiao Ping, that forced and restricted population growth would lead to greater economic prosperity. This coercive policy influenced the family of the Chinese citize...
Impeccably true to its definition, the Chinese characters for “revolution” literally mean “elimination of life”, proved by China’s catastrophic cultural revolution. Communist leader Mao Zedong sought to eliminate the past and push for a resurrection only to land China miserably behind. By wiping away years of scientific and literary advancements, China renounced its grandiose history and way of life.
China's capitalism and boom was born when their president, Deng Xiaoping permitted the provinces to dismantle their communes and collective farms. This led China to venture into free-market economics, although they were still under the communist political system. When President Deng announced that they needed Western money and expertise, China flung their trade doors wide open and China went on a capitalist drive without ever looking back. By mid 1960's, the Chinese Revolution settled down to the job of ruling China. Its main goal was essentially nationalist: a prosperous modern economy. While there continued to exist substantially economic inequalities, distribution of wealth was probably a bit more equal than in most Western countries.
Throughout, 1900- 1950 there were a number of changes and continuities in China. From the fall of the dynasties to the rise of the Communist Party, these changes shaped China’s government and society. Although, many political changes were made multiple continuities were held constant such as, consistent rebellions and the lack of democracy.
Furthermore, the Cultural Revolution remains one of the most censored and unclear topics in China, indicating that the movement was much more impactful on the CCP’s political strategy than perhaps they would hope to admit. Simultaneously, the Cultural Revolution may also be diminishing in resonance over time, as many young people are simply unaware of the movement occurring at all, or not fully aware of its implications in Chinese
Chinese-Americans authors Amy Tan and Gish Jen have both grappled with the idea of mixed identity in America. For them, a generational problem develops over time, and cultural displacement occurs as family lines expand. While this is not the problem in and of itself, indeed, it is natural for current culture to gain foothold over distant culture, it serves as the backdrop for the disorientation that occurs between generations. In their novels, Tan and Jen pinpoint the cause of this unbalance in the active dismissal of Chinese mothers by their Chinese-American children.
...he goal of communism to work towards the benefit of the whole, many would argue that this is not being accomplished in China today. The information that the Chinese government feed to their people is affecting their citizen’s ability to decipher from what is true and what is false. Government-controlled media compare life in China today to life before liberation, where the people lived in poverty. However, many Chinese people of the younger generation view this as the past and instead compare China to its neighboring countries, such as Japan, which has accomplished much more in the same amount of time. The next generation of the Chinese people is determined initiate a change and perhaps a revolution to bring back the true harmony in China where there is trust and a lack of oppression on civil rights, and in result fulfilling Lu Xun’s wish to, “Save the children...”
Mao’s Cultural Revolution was an attempt to create a new culture for China. Through education reforms and readjustments, Mao hoped to create a new generation of Chinese people - a generation of mindless Communists. By eliminating intellectuals via the Down to the Countryside movement, Mao hoped to eliminate elements of traditional Chinese culture and create a new form Chinese culture. He knew that dumbing down the masses would give him more power so his regime would be more stable. This dramatic reform affected youth especially as they were targeted by Mao’s propaganda and influence. Drawing from his experiences as an Educated Youth who was sent down to the countryside Down to the Countryside movement, Ah Cheng wrote The King of Children to show the effects of the Cultural Revolution on education, and how they affected the meaning people found in education. In The King of Children, it is shown that the Cultural Revolution destroyed the traditional incentives for pursuing an education, and instead people found moral and ethical meaning in pursuing an education.
The Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution, beginning as a campaign targeted at removing Chairman Mao Zedong's political opponents, was a time when practically every aspect of Chinese society was in pandemonium. From 1966 through 1969, Mao encouraged revolutionary committees, including the red guards, to take power from the Chinese Communist party authorities of the state. The Red Guards, the majority being young adults, rose up against their teachers, parents, and neighbors. Following Mao and his ideas, The Red Guard's main goal was to eliminate all remnants of the old culture in China. They were the 'frontline implementers' who produced havoc, used bloody force, punished supposed 'counter revolutionists', and overthrew government officials, all in order to support their 'beloved leader'.
Fong, V. L. (2004). Only hope: Coming of age under China’s one-child policy. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press.
Retrieved March 21, 2001, from the World Wide Web: http://english.peopledaily.com. Chinatown Online is a wonderful site with an abundance of information about China. http://www.chinatown-online.com/. Henslin, J. M. (1999). The Species of the Species. Sociology: A Down-to-Earth Approach (4th ed.).