Phil Nadolny

4-30-15
Asian Studies 220
Professors Wong and Bridges

The Cultural and Societal Basis of the American Stereotype of Mathematical

Excellence and Technological Sophistication in Japanese and Chinese Students
Traveling is arguably one of the best ways to become acquainted with other countries
cultural and social nuances. Of course, the process inevitably happens through ones own unique
lens, a lens forged in ones own culture. If an individual has any preconceived notions about the
culture in question, then these notions will very likely influence ones judgement process. Some
would argue that these preconceived notions are inevitable in human culture (Chow 48).
Unfortunately, these ideas are quite prevalent in the world. In the United States, for example,
one quickly gets the sense that there is the stereotype that people of Asian descent are
particularly gifted in math and science. I became acutely aware of this at a rather young age. I
had a personal experience as a youth at a coffee shop in my hometown. A new employee, an
Asian fellow, miscounted my change. His supervisor, a young American woman, came over to
see what had happened. She apologized for the mixup and passed a remark about his being
Asian. Her comment was based on the assumption that this clearly should not have happened
since as an Asian person, he should have higher than average math proficiency. This exemplifies
the extent to which this stereotype permeates American culture, and was as much a shock to me
then as it is now.
After this point I realized that this stereotype was applied to Asian people in a more
general sense. Asian people were perceived to be more technologically innovative, as well as

mathematically gifted. This perception manifests itself in multiple forms in American society
and its formation has cultural basis. In the case of Japan, the origin of the stereotype is the drive
to create innovative, novel products and technological advances whereas in China, the social
pressure that Chinese people experience in their formative years results in the same judgement.
One of the most memorable experiences I had during interim was going to Odaiba. It
was here that I experienced firsthand what strikes me now as one of the origins of the stereotype
of mathematical and technological excellence in American culture. Much of Odaibas
architecture is unconventional and futuristic. The Fuji TV headquarters, for example, is a very
noticeable structure. Its spherical observation deck is quite prominent and unlike anything I had
seen before. From the outside alone, one could imagine spectators developing the opinion of
such a structure only being attainable by a sophisticated society.
Additionally, the Fuji TV headquarters serves as a tourist destination. There is a futuristic
plexiglass-enclosed escalator that carries visitors to the museum portion of the building. Some
of the studios where popular shows are filmed are visible from the museum area. Visitors can
also tour the spherical observation deck, one of the most recognizable features of the Fuji TV
headquarters. Because of these futuristic qualities in addition to the tourist-oriented nature of the
Fuji TV headquarters, one can easily imagine how this structure would leave an impression of
technological and mathematical excellence on visitors.
After visiting the Fuji TV headquarters, I went to the other side of Odaiba to the
Panasonic Showroom. Once again, I was immediately struck by the advanced technology on
display. I quickly realized how new the displayed items were when I saw the signs posted which
prohibited photographing them. I was approached by a lady who was running a survey on an

automated vacuum cleaner. She informed me that it was meant to be an improvement on a

similar design by the Dyson company. After hearing several other facts about this product and
reading the information panels regarding several other products, I began to understand what
impact this might have on American culture. The Panasonic showroom exemplifies the type of
contact that many Americans have with Asian culture. Americans tend to see the most futuristic
innovations produced by these countries and this limited contact has a profound impact on how
perceptions are formed.
Perhaps the biggest technological hub in Tokyo is Akihabara. As a major consumer
district, there are a great deal of shops in Akihabara, many of which are oriented toward
technology. Because of the metropolitan nature of this area, as well as the rest of Tokyo, for that
matter, these shops have multiple floors. When going through these stores, it is easy to get the
impression that the technology never ends. Another side of Akihabara exists as well a more
niche side. A market-like area exists where circuit components, specialty computer cables, and
similar items can be purchased. Both sides of Akihabara would leave the same impression that
Japanese people are very technologically sophisticated.
The American stereotype of technological and mathematical excellence does not
differentiate between Chinese or Japanese people, but it applies to Asian cultures in general.
While the stereotype may not be different in its application to Chinese culture, its origin is
different. The importance of education is ingrained quite deeply in Chinese society and comes
partially from Confucianism. According to Wu, Throughout its history, China has been deeply
influenced by Confucian philosophy and practices, not the least in its theories of learning and
achieving (102). In the Analects of Confucius, for example, one can see the extent to which

education is valued. Confucius said, Having studied, to then repeatedly apply what you have
learned is this not a source of pleasure? (Confucius 71). Confucius is favoring a societal
paradigm in which learning and knowledge are highly regarded. As popular as Confuciuss ideas
became throughout Chinese history, this idea would have spread and taken hold at a very deep
level. Such a passion for knowledge and learning could easily be stereotyped as an obsession by
outsiders when this culture spread through the world.
This perceived obsession alone only accounts for an educational stereotype. It does not
account for the specific stereotype of mathematical and technological excellence in Asian
societies. To see the origin of this particular side of the stereotype, other cultural factors must be
considered. In China, a big contributor is the test-taking culture. Arguably the biggest exam in a
students life, the Gaokao is the college entrance exam taken by Chinese students at the end of
their senior year of high school. This exam favors certain subjects over others. One subject in
particular is mathematics (Education). This naturally leads to Chinese students being especially
concerned with their understanding of mathematics.
Depending on the province where a student lives, the disproportionate academic
emphasis can be carried to other subjects as well. In Anhui province, for example, students must
study three elective subjects in addition to the three standard requirements of Chinese, English,
and math. In Shanghai, on the other hand, students need only choose one elective subject to
study in conjunction with the three required subjects (Education 3). This way in which the
provincial governments can place extra demands on some students can lead to stereotypes in the
American eye in that students will be disproportionately concerned with more than just math.

News of these ideas reaching the American public would then lead to formation of
stereotypes. Either the students themselves would be assigned the stereotype of academic
excellence because of their disproportionate concern with math and other subjects or this
judgement would be formed of Chinese society as a whole because of the existence of this
system. Exacerbating this obsession is the fact that the Gaokao can only be taken once per year.
If students want to retake the exam, they must wait a full year for the next round of testing
(Education 1).
Pressure to succeed is exerted not only by the government and the structure of the
Chinese system, but also by Chinese society as a whole. Arguably the first avenue from which a
student receives pressure is from his or her parents. Interestingly, there is a difference between
the way that Chinese and American parents judge the future success of their children. In China,
the effort of the student is seen as the most influential factor in whether the student will succeed
in the long-term. In America, on the other hand, innate talent is seen as far more important (Wu
101). In particular, such a focus on effort and hard work might be unique feature among
Chinese American people, as compared to general American parents who might pay more
attention to the importance of innate ability (Wu 101). The juxtaposition of these two
viewpoints in American culture could easily lead to stereotypes.
The pervasive nature of parental influence in Chinese culture should not be
underestimated. According to Chen, parents involvement in childrens lives is considered to be
an obligation in Chinese culture (81). The more individualist mentality in American culture
leaves the onus of success on the student. In China, however, the collective mentality dominates.

This mentality is encapsulated by the Chinese phrase, if a child is uneducated, his parents are to
blame (Chen 81).
While social pressure contributes to the formation of this stereotype of Chinese culture,
certain inborn facets of Chinese society also have a role. One of the most obvious differences
between China and the United states is the language. How this can play a part in mathematical
precocity is partially the subject of the book The Number Sense: How the Mind Creates
Mathematics by Stanislas Dehaene. The author describes the difference between number
memory across linguistic boundaries. In the Chinese language, numeral words are much shorter
than their English counterparts. For example, the words four and seven take on average
about one third of a second to say in English while their Chinese equivalents, si and qi
respectively, require less than one fourth of a second (Dehaene 102).
Perhaps not surprisingly, these much shorter numeral words result in native Chinese
speakers ability to more easily recall sequences of digits. English speakers, for example, can
remember seven-digit-long sequences with about 50% accuracy on average. Chinese speakers,
on the other hand, have a memory span of around nine digits. People from Hong Kong have yet
a greater advantage and can remember about ten digits because of the efficiency of numeral
words in Cantonese (Dehaene 102-103).
Dehaene states that these differences have definite impacts on students ability to perform
basic calculations. This leads to greater ease of performing simple calculations as well. Dehaene
says, several experiments have shown that Japanese and Chinese children calculate much faster
than their American peers (Dehaene 104). Seeing these faster calculation times would leave the
erroneous impression that these children are all inherent mathematical geniuses.

The grammatical system surrounding number formation of the first one hundred numbers
is also much simpler in Chinese than it is in English. In Chinese, numbers are fairly simple to
construct. One simply articulates the number of tens, followed by the number of ones. In
English, on the other hand, students must learn numbers one through ten as the foundational
numbers, the numbers eleven through nineteen, and the multiples of ten. Invalid terms such as
thirty eleven must be learned as well (Dehaene 104). These inconsistencies in English make it
much more difficult for American children to learn to count. In fact, Chinese children were able
to count to 40 by age four on average. American students took an extra year to reach this same
level (Dehaene 104). Clearly, this sets the stage for discrepancies in future academic success.
Once these discrepancies are realized in a globalized context, stereotypes will inevitably form.
From the time that I encountered the racially oriented comment at the coffee shop in my
hometown, I became aware of the prevalence of stereotypes present in American culture.
Considering their cultural origin and how American culture misrepresented them did not occur to
me until years later. After experiencing Chinese and Japanese culture firsthand with a more
critical eye, I have been able to discern that it is the social pressure in China and technological
innovation in Japan that is stereotyped in America and leads to the generalization of Asian people
as technologically sophisticated and mathematically gifted.

Works Cited
Chen, Jnnifer J. "Relation of Academic Support From Parents, Teachers, and Peers to Hong
Kong Adolescents' Academic Achievement: The Mediating Role of Academic
Engagement." Genetic, Social, and General Psychology Monographs 131.2 (2005):
77-127. ProQuest. Web. 3 May 2015.
Chow, Rey, and Paul Bowman. The Rey Chow Reader. New York: Columbia UP, 2010. Print.
Confucius, Roger T. Ames, and Henry Rosemont. The Analects of Confucius: A Philosophical
Translation. New York: Ballantine, 1999. Print.
Dehaene, Stanislas. The Number Sense: How the Mind Creates Mathematics. New York: Oxford
UP, 1997. Print.
"Education 1." Personal interview. 13 Jan. 2015.
"Education." Interview by David Mayhall. Asian Conversations 2014 Interview Database. N.p.,
n.d. Web. 5 May 2015. <https://sites.google.com/a/stolaf.edu/asian-conversations-2014interview-database/home?pli=1>.
"Education 3." Personal interview. 15 Jan. 15.
Wu, Echo H. "Parental Influence on Children's Talent Development: A Case Study With Three
Chinese American Families." Journal for the Education of the Gifted 32.1 (2008):
100-29. ProQuest. Web. 3 May 2015.