Running head: DISCOVERING CHINESE CULTURE

Discovering Chinese Culture

Emily Hozza
University of Kentucky

DISCOVERING CHINESE CULTURE

Abstract

The Chinese culture has many distinct beliefs and traditions that it prides itself on. I
explored Chinese beliefs, particularly the emphasis that this culture places upon
competition and education. I also looked at some of the cultures social norms, such
as what the typical parent-to-child relationship is like. American society has placed
stereotypes upon the Chinese culture where they perceive them as being very
intelligent, but being constantly pushed by their parents to be that way. I
interviewed Chen Gu, who works at the Confucius Institute at the University, and
Ying Liu, who is a Chinese-American graduate student studying at the University.
They gave direct insight into the culture and helped to give accounts to challenge the
stereotypes Americans place upon members of their culture. Through doing this
research, I have learned much about the Chinese culture and my personal view of
the Chinese people has completely changed. I have realized that I have much more
in common with this culture than I originally thought and I can relate to them in all
of the areas of their culture that I explored.

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Discovering Chinese Culture

How would you feel if you were unfairly expected to be the smartest person
in the room? What about if your parents were never fully satisfied with how well
you did in school even if you were getting 100%s? Could you handle it if they never
told you they were proud of you? This is what a vast majority of Americans,
including myself, believe life is like for Chinese-American students today. The
Chinese culture believes in the importance of competition in all aspects of life,
especially with education. This has influenced some of the cultures social norms
like its typical parent-to-child relationship. Americans have developed stereotypes
for the Chinese culture such as expecting them to be smart, thinking their parents
must be hard on them, and figuring they participate in some boring activities that
they excel in as well. I was given the opportunity to interview Chen Gu, who works
at the Confucius Institute at the university, and Ying Liu, who is a Chinese-American
graduate student studying at the university. They helped to give direct insight into
the culture and helped to give accounts to challenge the stereotypes Americans,
including myself, place upon members of their culture. Through this process, I was
able to not only discover more about the Chinese culture, but also see how this
unfamiliar culture and their ideas about competition, education, and parent-to-child
relationships relate to my own.
Through researching this culture and getting to speak to some of its
members, my perception of the Chinese culture has completely changed. I even
share some of the same experiences with members of this culture. Throughout my
years of schooling and participating in extra curricular activities, I have been

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surrounded by competition. My parents also utilize the same parenting methods as

Ms. Gu, and want me to follow my dreams, but offer advice to lead me in the right
direction. I was surprised to see that I have some things in common with the people
of the Chinese culture, and shouldnt have been so quick to judge them. I realized
that I have a close-minded view of the world around me and need to take the time
getting to know and understanding other cultures before I jump to conclusions
about them.
The Chinese culture believes in the importance of competition, which Ms. Gu
touched upon in her interview. During a very early period, there were many people
in China, but there were not enough resources to go around. Ms. Gu explained that
they needed to compete for the available resources, basically fighting for their
lives. This belief has carried on over the centuries and has influenced other beliefs
and social norms in China. The importance of competition remains an important
part of Chinese culture today. Competition also plays a part in American culture. For
me, I have always been surrounded by it whether its competing at home with my
sister or with my classmates at school. Both Chinese and American cultures place a
big emphasis on competition in many aspects of life.
The Chinese cultures emphasis on competition carries over into their
feelings about education. Derald Wing Sue, a professor of counseling psychology at
Columbia University, discussed the idea of education in Chinese culture stating,
In ancient China, the only way for people to move into a higher class and
have a better life was success in education. Education, therefore, is viewed as
an essential tool for social mobility and is emphasized by many Chinese

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parents. Education is not for the individual but for the enhancement of the
family as a whole. (Webb, p. 244)
In China, there is a massive population, and many people are fighting for the same
jobs. It is important to not just be good at what you do, but to be the best. After all,
the best person is the one who gets the job. In American culture, it used to be that if
you had a college degree you were almost guaranteed a job. Today, college
graduates are much more common, so you must truly excel at what you do in order
to set yourself apart and get the job.
Today, Chinese parents still have high expectations for their children, and are
conscious of competition. They are not just satisfied when their child receives a
good mark on an assignment; it means nothing to them if the other children are also
doing well. They want their children to be better than their fellow classmates. For
example, if their child got a 99% on the assignment, but half of the class received
100%s, they would see their child as a loser. Ms. Gu summed up this belief saying
that Chinese parents often believe, If you cant be the best, you are nothing.
These beliefs about competition and education have created a unique social
norm when it comes to the parent-to-child relationship. For centuries, Chinese
parents have had a rather formal relationship with their children. They place high
expectations upon their children. Parents traditionally act this way because they feel
that they are sacrificing so much for their kids, so their children should do well for
them and make them proud in return. They do not compliment their children,
because they fear that they will become conceited. Vincent, a Chinese-American
student, expressed the struggles he faces with his strict parents saying, Im trying

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to live up to their standards. But sometimes it gets tiresome having them reiterate
everything. (Qin, 2012, p. 44). Like him, my parents have certain standards they
expect me to live up too, but they are much less demanding than those of Chinese
parents. Chinese parents expect their children to go above and beyond. I can only
imagine the toll that can take on a young, developing child. If I were in this situation,
it would not take long for me to reach my breaking point.
The Chinese education system is demanding, so when parents come to the
U.S. they often have certain expectations of their Chinese-American child. Mrs. Zhao,
a Chinese-American parent, commented about what schooling was like in China
saying, In China there is a lot of homework. Teachers will punish the students for
not handing in their homework on time. The punishment includes copying essays
for a number of times. Parents approved this kind of teaching method. (Qin, 2014,
p. 18). This gave me insight as to how harsh the Chinese education system can be
and how it relates to the schooling I have had. I attended a Catholic school here in
the U.S., which is known for being strict and practices some of these same
punishment techniques as mentioned above. I may have thought something like
writing a sentence over and over again was cruel and unusual at the time, but
looking back I was never expected to do something I could not handle. This type of
schooling was ultimately beneficial and has made me into a stronger student today.
My parents were willing to make the sacrifice and pay extra, so I could receive this
type of schooling. Like Chinese parents, they just want what is best for their child.
Americans associate the Chinese culture with certain extracurricular
activities that many may consider uninteresting, such as playing the violin or

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participating in the science fair. Chinese parents encourage their children to

participate in any type of activity that either has practical use or can get them a
prize. They do not care if their child does not enjoy it. They believe that if their child
can collect an impressive collection of awards from competitions and contests, they
will have a better chance of getting into a famous university. With a prestigious
education, they have a better chance of getting a good job. As stated earlier, the
Chinese place great concern upon getting a good job. This relates to how Americans,
including myself, feel about participating in activities in high school. They are no
longer centered on having fun. We strive to be involved in as many activities as
possible so we can rack up a list of them to put down on our college applications. We
even take private lessons, so we can excel above our peers. Our parents pressure us
to do all of this, so we can get into a better college. Like the Chinese, they believe
that a better college means a better future.
Americans, including myself, have developed several stereotypes about the
Chinese, but some are particularly prevalent. We have developed this generalization
that all Chinese people are intelligent, so much so that we have gotten to the point
where we expect them to be geniuses. We also assume that their parents must be
hard on them and harshly punish them if they do not get good grades. Some of us
even believe that Chinese children are only allowed to participate in boring
activities, and we again expect them to excel at them. These are not necessarily bad
stereotypes; it is just unfair to have the same expectations for every member of a
culture.

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These stereotypes of being smart, having strict parents, and only being
allowed to participate in certain activities are all portrayed on an episode of the hit
television series Glee titled Asian F. On the episode, a Chinese student receives an
A- on his chemistry exam and his father is not pleased. His father is afraid of the
danger this grade poses to his sons chance of getting into Harvard University.
Consequently, he tells his son to give up glee club to focus on his studies. This
episode on a popular American television show is a prime example of the
stereotypes we place upon the Chinese culture. It did not surprise me that they gave
this character a parent who pressures him. If popular shows continue to create their
characters based on stereotypes, it is only going to brainwash viewers even more
and cause them to believe these stereotypes.
Ying Liu shared a personal example that challenges one of these stereotypes.
She said that while Chinese parents do encourage their children to do activities for
the sake of getting some type of reward, her parents did not pressure her to. They
let her participate in the activities she was interested in, and do other things, such as
reading books, from which she would get no physical award. This is a prime
example of how stereotypes are generalizations that do not apply to every member
of a group.
Chen Gu also wanted to shut down these stereotypes. She talked about the
strict parenting style where Chinese immigrant mothers expect their child to be
academically superior and the best overall known as the Tiger Mom type of
parenting, but she disagrees with these techniques. As a mother herself, she
encourages her daughter to develop her own potential, follow her heart, and fulfill

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her own dream. When Chinese children are 3 or 4 years old, they usually enter
some type of preschool. However, she noticed that even at that age, children had
already begun competing at school. Consequently, she chose to wait to send her
child to school to prevent her from being exposed to that competitive environment
too early on. She wants her child to be an individual with a free mind, but still
enforces some rules. Her friends back in China utilize this positive parenting style
with their own children as well. When talking about the importance of family for a
young Chinese child, Vivian B. Shapiro, a Professor Emerita in the School of Social
Work at the University of Michigan, said, The child also integrates and incorporates
a sense of cultural values and a beginning sense of personal and social identity.
(Silbergeld, p. 51). I can see where these parents are coming from and that they
dont want these ideas to be instilled into the minds of their young, developing
children.
Through interviewing Chen Gu and Ying Liu, I was able to change my own
personal thoughts about this culture. In the past, whenever there was a Chinese
student in my class, I just assumed they would be the smartest one in the room and
expected them to excel above and beyond my classmates and I. I figured they were
just living up to their parents expectations, and would be in big trouble if they failed
to do so. Frankly, it would not have surprised me if they played the violin or
participated in the science fair.
Chen Gu and Ying Liu helped to completely erase these stereotypes. As a
mother, Ms. Gu explained her parenting style and how she wants her daughter to
just do what she loves instead of seeing life as one big competition. I was even more

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10

surprised to hear that some of her friends back in China share in this belief. This
proved to me that this stereotype is not representative of every member of the
Chinese culture. Ying Liu offered her own story about how her parents did not
pressure her into activities she did not want to participate in. While these are just
two instances, they prove that stereotypes do not define a society.
Through this process of researching and self-exploration, I have discovered
that I have much more in common with the Chinese culture than I originally
believed. I understand the importance of competition in their culture. American
culture is also consumed by it. From wanting to be the first to learn the alphabet in
preschool to fighting for the best grade in my college classes now, I have been
instilled with that desire to get ahead ever since I was young. The Chinese cultures
emphasis on competition also carries over into their feeling about education. They
believe that it is important to be the best at what you do in order to secure a better
job and a better future. I understand this view and work to be the best student I can
be in hopes of scoring that big internship on the way to my dream career. I explored
the harsh parent-to-child relationship in this culture and tried to put myself in a
Chinese childs shoes. I would not be able to survive if I was faced with endless
pressure from my parents like they are. The harsh teaching methods used in the
Chinese education system are similar to those I experienced in Catholic school. In
both cases, the parents realize that this type of schooling will only benefit their
children. I also understand the students struggle when it comes to trying to be
involved in every activity possible. By relating myself to the Chinese culture and

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11

speaking with Chen Gu and Ying Lu, I realized how wrong I was about the Chinese
culture.
The Chinese culture has its own set of beliefs and social norms. The idea of
competition is a big part of this group that has been instilled in them since the
beginning of time. It has shaped other parts of their culture such as their belief in
the importance of education and the expected parent-to-child mentality. Americans
have developed a series of stereotypes about the Chinese culture, but both Chen Gu
and Ying Liu have proved these stereotypes wrong. I am ashamed to say that I saw
the Chinese culture according to these stereotypes. However, I have realized that in
reality the Chinese culture is composed of a variety of people. The Chinese culture
may have had the same core beliefs for centuries, but it is an evolving society that
cannot be defined by dated stereotypes.

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DISCOVERING CHINESE CULTURE

References
Qin, D. B., Chang, T. F., Han, E. J., & Chee, G. (2012). Conflicts and communication
between high-achieving Chinese American adolescents and their parents.
New Directions for Child & Adolescent Development. 135, 35-57.

Qin, D. B. & Han, E. J. (2014) Tiger parents or sheep parents? Struggles of parental
involvement in working-class Chinese immigrant families. Teachers College
Record. 116, 1-32.

Silbergeld, J. & Ching, D. C. Y. (2013). The family model in Chinese art and culture.
Princeton: P. Y. and Kinmay W. Tang Center for East Asian Art.

Webb, N. B. (2001). Culturally diverse parent-child and family relationships: A guide

for social workers and other practitioners. New York: Columbia University
Press.