Competing Constructions of Chinese Identity at the Turn of the 21st Century

Wenshan Jia, Ph. D., Chair, Associate Professor Department of Communication Studies Chapman University California, U.S.A

Introduction

•What self-image should China present herself on the stage of the 29th Olympic Games?

•What kind of identity should China remake in the deepening phase of globalization using the 29th Olympic Games as the major instrument?

Historical Background

•Canton and Minority Groups•Opium War= Sinocentrism was shattered.•Redefinition

▫Westernization▫Cultural Nationalism▫Self-Strengthening Movement/

Empowerment

Historical Background II

•1950s to 1960s: Socialism•1970s: Change of Direction•1980s: Socialism vs. Political/Economic

Liberation•1992: Deng Xiaoping =Embrace

Economic Liberation•1990s: Genuine Capitalist-Globalist•21st Century: Sino-Centric Globalization

Theoretical Framework

•Framework Based on Mary Jane Collier’s identity negotiation theory (2006) and Young Yun Kim’s intercultural personhood theory (2006).

•Ethnographic Research for the Past Two Decades▫China’s Preparation to Bid for the Right to

Host the 19th Olympic Games.▫China’s Preparation for the 19th Olympic

Games.▫ Fieldwork and Observations:

Eve of Opening Games, Opening Ceremony, Rehearsal of the Games, News and Blogs for the past 20 years, CCTV, people’s Daily, Xinhua Sohu, Beijing Olympic Games Committee Official Website, DuoWei News, Omnitalk, New York Times, News Week, Los Angeles Times, Traveling to China for four summers consecutively, Bohai Sea Circle, Yangtze River Delta, Pearl River Delta

Methods

Three Streams of the Beijing Olympic Games Discourses•The Construction and Reconstruction of

the Chinese Identity ▫Into three shapes by three different groups

using the 19th Olympic Games.▫ What a Chinese Is and Should Be:

Globalist Discourse Localist Discourse Glocalist/ Intercultural Discourse

Globalist Discourse

•Produced by emerging entrepreneurs, West-trained Chinese professional elites, white-collar workers and liberal sector of the Third Generation of CCP Leadership

•“Yu Guoji Jiegui,” Getting connected with the international track. ▫ Effort to adopt the globally received rules.

•Jiang Zeming’s “three represents” theory▫ Having CCP represent the most advanced

culture.

Globalist Discourse Cont.• Jiang Zeming’s effort to westernize and speak

English• Shanghai’s imitation of Times Square in NYC• Hangzhou’s replica of the White House• Jiang’s love for Italian Opera created inventive

to build the Grand Theatre near Tiananmen Square

• Western Avant Garde Architects built the Bird Nest, Water Tube, new CCTV Tower, New Beijing International Airport

• Liberalism becoming mainstream

Localist Discourse•Reverse Globalization•Tu Weiming’s concept of “cultural China” •Establishment of 250 Confucian academies

around the world• Information sovereignty and Cultural security•Hu Jintao and Wen Jiabao Administration

stopped using Jiang’s “three represent” theory▫Reverting to native Chinese concepts

- Hu’s “Yi Ren Wei Ben,” dating back 2000 years.

Localist Discourse Cont.•Societal Level: campaign to boycott

English-only conferences•Move to remove Starbucks from the

Forbidden City•Movement to request Chinese athletes to

wear Han Dynasty styles of clothing•Opening Ceremony’s ethnocentricity•Wen Jiabao’s affirmation of the universal

human values were attacked by some nationalistic scholars.

Glocalist/Intercultural DiscourseMost Sparse • Leading Spokesman: Wu Jianmin, former

Ambassador to France▫ Intercultural Communication between countries

• Jia Yuxin and Hu Wenzhong created China Association for Intercultural Communication some ten years ago

• Intercultural Communication Research Centers created at Peking University, Shanghai International Studies University and others.

• Inclusive and Integrative Discourse • Closest to reality

Comparative Analysis•Globalist Dicourse: “Look, I am trying to

become you and even more than who you are.”

•Localist Discourse: “Come on! Let’s recover the glory of who we have been in history!” “Don’t try to be who you are not and who you have not been.”

•Glocalist/ Intercultural Discourse: “Let’s try to stay both who we have been and become who you have been.” “ This way can both become much more.”

Discussion/Conclusion

•Globalist and Localist Discourses result of dichotomous world views rooted in analytical philosophy in modern West.

•More inclusive and dialectic view rooted in Glocalist/Intercultural Discourse would benefit China in the Long run.

•Interculturalor Hybridized Cultural Identitiy for All

END

•References:▫Chen, B. (2003)▫Collier, M. J. (2006)▫Kim, Y.Y. (2006)▫SCOL (2006, 12).▫Tu, W. (2005)