Power Distance
Power distance is a culture orientation that describes the degree to which social inequality is accepted in a culture, especially if those in the lower status groups accept that inequality as just and natural. Through these artifact examples you will see many different examples of power distance between chinatown and U.S. culture. Below will a be examples of power distance in Chinatowns and the United States.
Artifact 1- A tour guide in San Francisco Chinatown went on a racist rant about Chinatowns and the residents of Chinatown respond. She rants about what she does not like in Chinatown such as hanging their laundry outside, their salons, their food, their language, etc. She even says they need to assimilate into the US. This is a good example of power distance showing how an american woman may view Chinese culture, but with a lot of hate.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o3_fXxVtWD
Artifact 2– An article talks about how Chinatowns can be the source of residents of them not getting jobs in the cities. A quote from the article “But scholars have long debated the role of traditional ethnic enclaves. Some see the neighborhoods as evidence that immigrants have failed to integrate into the larger society. And some research has shown that immigrants who cluster in these neighborhoods are less likely to learn English, adapt to the customs of their new country, or climb the economic ladder.” This example shows how power distance can be perceived by others. Some see Chinatowns as keeping Chinese immigrants from getting jobs outside of their Chinatowns. A very broad and stereotypical response, but it is very interesting to see that as a perception.
https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/should-chinatowns-stay-chinese_us_59a56958e4b03c5da162af73
Artifact 3- the video below is about an 8 minute video talking about the history of Chinatown oppression in San Francisco and overall history. A lot of good examples of power distance. One key thing discussed is the impact that Chinese food had on US culture. It really shows a shrink in the gap of power distance as many of Americans began to embrace and accept Chinese culture with their various food ideas brought from their home culture.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o3_fXxVtWDg
Artifact 4- There was a song released by The Band a rock band that gained notoriety in the 60’s and 70’s. They were a southern rock band with a style relative to bands such as Lynyrd Skynyrd and Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young. Their songs would consist of the country life and ballads of the wild west. One particularly song they released in 1971 was called Shootout in Chinatown. The song has a lot of Chinese stereotypes in the song such as mentioning mention laundry back rooms, Shanghai, Confucius, Buddha, The Waterfront, Frisco in its heyday imported from Hong Kong, fire dragons. It references brothels as well kind of depicting the Chinatown as a dangerous lowly place. There is article that dissects the song and finding its meaning. Many bands at this time were writing songs with a lot controversial lyrics and this was no different. It is just interesting to see how music was projecting societal views in their lyrics. Below is a link to the article about the song and a link to the song itself.
http://theband.hiof.no/articles/shoot_out_in_chinatown_viney.html
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wLRTcoJMKBE
Artifact 5- There was a song released by The Band a rock band that gained notoriety in the 60’s and 70’s. They were a southern rock band with a style relative to bands such as Lynyrd Skynyrd and Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young. Their songs would consist of the country life and ballads of the wild west. One particularly song they released in 1971 was called Shootout in Chinatown. The song has a lot of Chinese stereotypes in the song such as mentioning mention laundry back rooms, Shanghai, Confucius, Buddha, The Waterfront, Frisco in its heyday imported from Hong Kong, fire dragons. It references brothels as well kind of depicting the Chinatown as a dangerous lowly place. There is article that dissects the song and finding its meaning. Many bands at this time were writing songs with a lot controversial lyrics and this was no different. It is just interesting to see how music was projecting societal views in their lyrics. Below is a link to the article about the song and a link to the song itself.
http://theband.hiof.no/articles/shoot_out_in_chinatown_viney.html
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wLRTcoJMKBE
Artifact 6– China has a very high power distance. This means in a business setting, for example; there is a significant gap in power between superiors and subordinates. This is very normative and accepted in China.
Link: https://alexnstone.wordpress.com/2012/01/14/hofstedes-5-cultural-dimensions-for-china/
High vs Low context Culture
As we live in the United States we are accustomed to our way of living inside the low context culture. What that means is we are used to communication to be explicit and stated. We strive to listen to the words of what others are saying instead of the meaning. China on the contrary is a high context culture. They are used to communicating with an underlying context. For example: say you are the head chairman of an organization and you invite a customer to your house to have dinner and talk business, once dinner is over and you say; “Ok, now lets talk business.” There is a message in the wording that allows all others that are not apart of the ‘business’ to get up and leave the room. It is not noticeable by the words that are said but it is clear by the message which is inside the context of the sentence. With Chinatowns being implanted inside of major US cities it is easily noticeable when there is a clash of misunderstanding from one nationality to another. This can be seen in all the Chinatowns in the US and may possibly be the case for other Chinatowns around the world if there are any.
http://daily.unitedlanguagegroup.com/stories/editorials/communicating-context-culture
Artifact 1 -Chinese calligraphy is a form of aesthetically pleasing writing (calligraphy), or, the artistic expression of human language in a tangible form. (high context culture)
http://www.sanfranciscochinatown.com/culture/index.html
Artifact 2– In early 2012 there was an article that talks about how there was development of trying to put a Walmart in the Los Angeles Chinatown. The debates was how it would cause a lot of loss of business for the small restaurants and many complained how it wasn’t culturally relevant to Chinatown. This really shows an example of High Context culture, because it Walmart represents the low-context culture examples of the US as they probably didn’t see much of a problem with there being hundreds of Walmarts around the country they probably did not think about. The High context culture of Chinatown really shows with how they did not feel that kind of culture needed to be in their residency.
http://articles.latimes.com/2012/aug/13/opinion/la-oe-newton-column-chinatown-walmart-20120813
Artifact 3- As much as Chinese prize strong personal connections, Americans should keep in mind they equally prize tact and etiquette. The direct and blunt communication that is the norm in American offices makes many Chinese very uncomfortable, particularly if it’s critical. To Americans, a person who is not straightforward is often perceived as insincere or evasive. As such, American bosses may have no reservations about being harsh with their employees, especially when it means boosting the bottom line.
In China, however, this mindset can be counterproductive. For Chinese, such directness can be humiliating. It causes them to lose face, while the other person comes across as rude. Consequently, Chinese appreciate subtle, indirect ways of communicating.
Artifact 4– Chinese are known to have a long memory for both favors and humiliations. They take things personally and they hate losing face. They have a strong awareness that they should never be seen as a fool and lack self-control. This is the reason that Chinese don’t always express how they feel and they keep their opinions to themselves. Americans can express their thoughts more freely. They don’t mind making mistakes as much and actually believe that making mistakes is a part of the learning process.
https://goldstarteachers.com/7-differences-between-chinese-and-american-culture/
Individualism vs collectivism
Artifact 1 – It may seem pretty obvious what Individualist and collectivist cultures mean, but Individualistic cultures look to emphasize personal achievement regardless of group goals. You are for yourself and about yourself. Collectivist cultures are the opposite, they emphasize their family and group goals before they consider their individual needs. As the US is very individualistic and China is very collectivist there comes a point where beliefs and values can be misinterpreted or worse others can be put down very easily. Since the Chinese culture had been implanted inside the cities of the US there has been a clash of how things may get done for others and for personal gain. Governed rules have had to come to a compromise. Here you will see many different examples from US and Chinatown culture.
Artifact 2– This US Army Pos1er can really represent Individualism in the US. Notice how the YOU is bolded out to show distinct focus on the YOU part of the Army. This really shows a great example of individualism. This in not negative it just helps represent how the United States wants individuals to contribute to their cause and duty.
Artifact 3– Night art is big thing in major cities. Much of the art can differ from city to city and even from a Chinatown. In U.S. cities such as San Francisco, the night art is usually a lot of lights on buildings and geometric shapes. Some have writing, but a lot is very geometric with no real meaning and is just for show. Then you have chinese night art in New York for example and much of the night art has calligraphy and words that promote unity. This shows Chinatown night art as very collectivistic as it shows that they are all together. Here are 2 links showing US and San Francisco night art. Below the links here you will see 2 examples of both Chinatown night art and US night art specifically in San Francisco.
http://www.chinatownartbrigade.org/photos/
http://www.illuminatesf.com/installation-gallery
Artifact 4- The International Hotel of San Francisco was a occupancy building that housed many Asian Americans and their families. Though a good majority were Filippino there were also many Chinese families that lived in this building. One room for example could house 10-15 family members. Rooms were about 50 dollars a month during the 60’s . Throughout the 70s the city of San Francisco was wanting to demolish the building for new developments in the city. This outraged many Asian Americans as this was their homes and was the most affordable for their families. Protests began to stop the demolition so they could keep their homes In August of 1977 a massive protest of over 300o people took place. This is a great example as it was combination of both American and Asian-Americans banding together to fight for a cause. It also representing the collectivistic culture of Asian and how much it meant to them and how they banded together to protect their families homes. Below are a few photos of the protest in 1977 and a link to an article talking about the protests over the International Hotel.
http://www.foundsf.org/index.php?title=The_Battle_for_the_International_Hotel
Artifact 5 – Language in mainland china
Cantonese vs. Mandarin – China’s official language is Modern Standard Mandarin The official languages of Hong Kong are Chinese and English. In practice, “Chinese” means “Cantonese”, Traditional vs. Simplified Chinese – In terms of written Chinese, simplified characters are used in mainland China, whereas Hong Kong relies on traditional characters., Prevalence of English – It’s extremely easy for English speakers to get around in Hong Kong. All street signs, official documents and government services, as well as most restaurant menus and websites, are bilingual., Two very different 20th centuries – Hong Kong and China experienced two very different 20th centuries, which goes toward explaining a lot of their differences, Social media and the Internet – The microblogging site Weibo and the social media app WeChat are the bread and butter of social media in mainland China, Hongkongers rarely use Chinese social media apps and sites unless they need to conduct business or talk to friends in mainland China., Cultural superstitions – Hong Kong is seen as more “Westernized” than China in the eyes of many, but believe it not, Hongkongers tend to be more superstitious than mainland Chinese.
Myths/Heros
Artifacts 1-3 – Houston’s humidity keeps the residents there looking young and youthful.
– Because of its diverse economy and business, it is claimed that you can eat anything you want from any region in the world.
- It is rumored that Houston has no zoning laws. (Example: there is a sex shop located randomly right in the middle of The Galleria).
Artifacts 4-6 China
-Chinese food in America, at times; is not authentic chinese food. It is more Americanized.
- The dragon in chinese culture is a popular symbol. It represents power, good luck, and fortune. It is said the Legendary Yellow Emperor turned into a dragon and flew to heaven when he passed away.
- According to Chinese mythology, the big bang happened when the god Pangu cracked the egg that he was sleeping in. This egg contained Yin and Yang, which then separated. The lighter Yang rose to create the sky, Yin formed earth and Pangu made sure both were held in place with his hands and feet.
Links for Myths: - http://www.chron.com/news/houston-texas/houston/article/A-collection-of-myths-and-urban-legends-about-11133712.php#photo-12802668
- https://www.theguardian.com/childrens-books-site/2016/feb/08/top-10-chinese-myths
- https://blogs.furman.edu/chinamyths/2015/04/14/americanized-chinese-food-invades-china/#more-1599
Hero/Myth- Bruce Lee Artifact 7- Bruce Lee was one of the greatest martial artists ever to live. He was an actor and really paved the way for Asian actors. The portrayals of Asians in film were forever changed. An interesting fact he was born in San Francisco Chinatown but for his early childhood was raised in Hong Kong. His impact on Chinatowns is evident as he has a statue in Chinatown Los Angeles. A myth that was actually not a myth was that producers sped up his movements. The truth was that his hits were so fast they had to slow their cameras down. Very amazing. Here is a article that discuss the film process of the movements and the science of how they had to slow it down
Clash of Cultures Project 