Chinese culture continues to make a global splash.
China and the U.S. are benefiting from and straining under 35 years of normalized relations. There have been tons of exports shipped from China to our shores during this time. However, none are more important than Chinese culture.
Tom Watkins
The Chinese are exporting their history, language and culture to us and around the globe. In the coming decades, you will find all three as plentiful and ubiquitous as inexpensive Chinese made gifts under your Christmas tree are today.
As China’s economy and exchanges with the world have seen rapid growth over the last three and a half decades, there has also been a sharp increase in the world’s demand to learn more about the people, history and language spoken my one of every five people on the planet.
As a boy, my mom would implore me, “Eat your peas, children are starving in China.” Today, it seems China is eating our lunch on a number of levels. What has transpired in China over its 5,000-year history is truly mind-boggling.
Historically, China has looked inward, but as they travel the world in search of global commodities they are leaving their cultural trail in their wake.
Andrew Coe tells us about Americans infatuation about Chinese food in his book, Chop Suey: A Cultural History of Chinese Food in the United States, saying, “In 1784, passengers on the ship Empress of China became the first Americans to land in China, and the first to eat Chinese food. Today there are over 40,000 Chinese restaurants across the United States–by far the most plentiful among all our ethnic eateries.”
While there is much bellicose saber rattling in the South China Sea the Chinese leaders are also treading on the softer side of the of the waves of power. Joseph Nye of Harvard University coined the phrase “soft power” now widely used in international affairs in his 1990 book, Bound to Lead: The Changing Nature of American Power. Like many things, China latched on to this “intellectual property” and is making the concept work for them. Soft Power is a concept that describes the ability to attract and co-opt rather than coerce, use force or give money as a means of persuasion for a nation.
The Chinese understand the soft power of spreading knowledge of their history, language and culture around the globe. Since 2004, China has formalized these efforts through its “Confucius Institutes.”
The Confucius Institutes are governed by Hanban, a non-profit organization affiliated with the Ministry of Education of China, and is committed to “making the Chinese language and culture, teaching resources and services available to the world, to meeting the demands of overseas Chinese learners to the utmost, to contributing to the formation of a world of cultural diversity and harmony.”
Today, there are hundreds of such Institutes in nearly every corner of the world map. The Confucius Institutes’ have provided a focal point for people to learn about Chinese language and culture. They have become a springboard for cultural exchanges as well as a bridge reinforcing friendship and cooperation between China and the citizens of the world. In my home state of Michigan, we have four Confucius Institutes located at prestigious universities: University of Michigan, Michigan State University, Wayne State University and Western University.
The Diplomat Magazine writes, “China has adopted various measures to enhance China’s soft power, such as establishing global news services (most recently, China Daily’s Africa Weekly) and Confucius Institutes across the world.”
The Long March
Clearly the Chinese are not content to be the factory for the world. On multiple planes, the Chinese are striving and succeeding in reclaiming their status as a cultured, educated innovative nation.
Let’s not forget that China held the title of the worlds largest economy, 18 out the last twenty centuries and is likely to recapture the title within the next decade. In fact, some would argue China has already passed this milestone.
In their book, Wealth and Power: China’s Long March To The Twenty-First Century, old China hands Orville Schell and John Dulury brilliantly walk us through “how a nation, after a long and painful period of dynastic decline, intellectual upheaval, foreign occupation, civil war, and revolution, manage to burst forth onto the world stage with such an impressive run of hyper-development and wealth creation, culminating in the extraordinary dynamism of China today.” The authors weave a tale through Chinese history seeking ways to explain China’s “century of humiliation” and its quest for fuqiang, “wealth and power.”
World powers spread their wings and sprinkle their influence far and wide. Zhang Weiwei, in his book, The China Wave: Rise of a Civilization State, sums it up this way: “China’s capacity for learning, adaption and innovation, together with an unmatched scale effects–thanks to size of the population, has produced immense internal and external impacts.”
The Chinese, who recently purchased Smithfield Foods Inc., the worlds largest pork producer valued at $7.1 billion, are buying more than pork – they are buying global influence.
China Power
America has made it presence felt on the global stage by shear military force and its soft power, spreading its culture around the world. The overwhelming identifiable global brands are American. Yet, great countries must realize that force will solve everything.
Hollywood is synonymous with America. The movies made in Hollywood have shaped global attitudes for generations. The American films, to this day are entertaining, highly visible, and have broad global appeal. The spread of American and Hollywood culture took off as films gave way to technology and cheap video’s and DVD’s became ubiquitous. Now, children from around the world can quote lines from American films.
President Obama underscored the importance of Hollywood on promoting American ideas, values and ideals around the globe on a visit there late last year when he said, “You Help Shape the World’s Culture.”
However, the United States’ governmental shutdown and budget impasse last year hurt American soft power. As Joseph Nye told Reuters last year, “It’s clearly very damaging for American soft power in the sense that the reputation for effective management of government and of the world’s reserve currency are hurt.”
The China Dragon Spreads its Wings
China, as it spreads its global wings are looking not only to make money, but to increase its influence far and wide, and are going “Chinawood.”
In 2012, China’s largest entertainment enterprise, Dalian Wanda Group, owned by billionaire real-estate developer Wang Jianlin, and China’s second wealthiest individual, (behind Robin Li, founder of China’s largest Internet search engine Baidu Inc., has become the wealthiest individual in the world’s second-biggest economy) bought AMC Entertainment Holdings Inc. for $2.6 billion. This purchase expanded his reach into the U.S. to become the world’s biggest cinema owner.
Wang followed this purchase with a $20 million donation to the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences for its new film museum, slated to open in 2017. Wang plans to invest nearly $10 billion in U.S. entertainment and property deals. Undoubtedly, Wang is leaving his imprint on Hollywood and the world.
As China continues to awaken from its slumber, it will not be content to be a silent movie and Chinese culture will continue to wash up on global shores as the 21st century unfolds.
Tom Watkins has had a lifelong interest in China sparked by a great fourth grade teacher. He has worked for more than 3 decades to build economic, educational and cultural ties between the US and China. He is advisor to the University of Michigan Confucius Institute, Michigan’s Economic Development Corporation and Detroit Chinese Business Association. Follow him on Twitter @TDWatkins88 or email him at tdwatkins88@gmial.com.
