Peer Response Final. 2

WR 121 (Friday)

Instructor: Cullom

11/19/2013

Ethnography Final

About China

China is a country that had been mentioned more frequently than any country beside the United States. There are many things in China that make this country special, especially the culture, society, economy, government, environment, education, and religion that are attracting people around the world to discover and explore this country. When I was a child, I heard my mother and the people around me talked about China. They mentioned how Vietnam had been invaded by China over thousands of years in the history. When it comes to China, I immediately think of the Great Wall, the population, the cheap products that it produces each year, and about its history, which still pass on to recent generations. However, working on the ethnography project about China had inspired me to discover this country through my own perspective and experiences.

When I first started this project, I knew that China is one of the largest countries in the world and it is located in Southeast Asia. This country has thousands of years in the world’s history. China is surrounded by the Pacific Ocean on the East and land bordered it in the North, West, and South. From watching Chinese movies and news, I figured that the weather is really cool in the winter. In addition, China owns a large portion of land and the Pacific Ocean providing a convenient transportation for both road and waterway for business exchange. There are many different languages in China, but Mandarin and Cantonese are the two main languages. Mandarin is the mandatory language in the North and most of the regions, while Cantonese is still use in the South. However, most Chinese know how to speak both languages.

Back in January 2011, it was the coldest day of the winter. However, my soul was filled with love and warmth when I first met Jinghui through my husband. She is my husband’s supervisor and best friend. She is about 5’3” tall with her truly dark black hair and brown eyes. Her dark and black straight hair matches with her skinny body while her almond-colored skin makes her look younger than her age. She is a typical Chinese woman and by looking at her, I can easily recognize that she came from China. Her voice was very soft and she was very friendly. Throughout our conversation, she had on a big smile on her face. Our friendship started from that moment.

Even though there was a big gap between our ages, she was in her late thirties and I was in my early twenties, we had many similarities in our lifestyles and standards. Therefore, our friendship was very strong, and we shared a lot of activities in our daily lives. We both enjoyed shopping, eating, visiting each other homes, and cooking in our spare time.

Last week, I visited Jinghui at her office and I talked with her about the ethnography project that I was currently working on for the Writing 121 course. I asked Jinghui if I could interview her. She looked at me with a smile on her face, and said with her soft and friendly voice, “Sure! What did you plan for this coming Saturday? Why don’t you and your husband meet at my new studio at 5:30pm this Saturday and we can have dinner together at my new place, and you guys also can take a quick tour.”

At 4:30pm on Saturday, my husband and I intended to go there a little bit early because we wanted to stop first at Safeway to buy a bottle of red wine for our dinner. Also, I wanted to help her prepare dinner. On the way to her new place, we were so excited because we were curious what her new place will look like. Finally, we arrived and parked inside the parking lot that was reserved for the visitors at her studio. I got out of the car and looked up at one of the studio’s windows on the third floor. I saw a big symbol representing happiness and it was written in Chinese. I knew that it was her studio because it reflected her Chinese tradition.

Jinghui opened the door; and she looked shocked while checking her watch. “You guys came forty-five minutes early,” she said while smiling and blinking her eyes. She looked like a typical Chinese woman because she wore her Chinese traditional dress cheongsam qipao. In contrast, I was wearing jeans and a T-shirt covered with a blazer jacket. She welcomed us with a big hug and invited us directly to her small living room, which smelled like fresh roses. I heard a soft Chinese melody playing that made the place so relaxed and comfortable. There were some Chinese pictures and symbols hanging on the wall that made her place so Chinese. I sat on the couch next to her. She offered me a hot tea that she had bought back from her home town. “Luckily, I finished preparing the food for our dinner. We can take a tour of my room and kitchen, and then we start our dinner early, so that we can have more time to talk about the interview,” she said.

Jinghui was born in LiaoNing Province, Yingkou City. It is located in northeast of China, and 400 miles northeast of China's capital, Beijing. Yingkou is a city with a regional population of approximately 2.2 million people. She has two brothers and one sister. I asked her “Why did you come to the United States?” She answered, “I moved to this country for school and my career. I moved to the United States fourteen years ago for school. First, I settled in California and attended California State University, Monterey Bay. A year later, I moved to Portland, Oregon to take classes at Portland State University. I finished my Bachelor of Science degree in Management and Accounting in 2006, and I just completed my Master of Science in Financial Analysis in September, 2013.” I knew that Jinghui was really serious about her education and career. She had studied and worked very hard to accomplish her goals. She is currently working at Enrollment Management and Student Affairs for Portland State University. Relating to her school and education, I continued to ask her, “What level of education do most people have in China? Are boys and girls equally educated? Is the population literate?” Following my questions, she responded with a serious attitude, “Most Chinese people finished high school, and boys and girls are equally educated in the cities, but not in countryside. Majority of Chinese population is literate.” Compared to Jinghui’s education path, when I first started this project, I thought the education plays an important role in each Chinese’s family because it involves the status and family’s face in the society. However, I didn’t think that boys and girls or men and women are equally educated in China. I thought this is similar to Vietnam. In the Chinese culture, a man is considered as the head of the family and he makes all the decisions. Men perform all the hard work to earn money supporting the family, while women stay home to take care of the children and do housework. However, according to Jinghui’s story, it is totally different of what I had assumed about education in China between girls and boys.

In addition, I thought that in the Chinese culture, the family and relatives are really important bringing the whole family together. Like the Vietnamese culture, the Chinese children live with their parents until they get married. If he or she is the only child in the family then he or she has to live with his or her parents until they passed away. The parents value their sons more than daughters because they believe that their sons are the one who will continue to carry their root and blood into the next generation. Meanwhile, daughters are not highly value in the Chinese families. The parents just want their daughters to get married so that they can release their burden.

According to the traditional beliefs of the Chinese families, they have always placed men above women in the social context motivating the parents to pick sons over daughters. The men usually make all the major decisions in the family, have the higher status, and add values to the family. More importantly in the Chinese culture, “the bloodline passes through the man side mean while woman is marry out, joining her husband’s families and looking after their in-laws, not their own parents.” (Branigan) In many typical Chinese families, the daughters are only temporary members in the family. I was told by a Chinese’s friend that there is an expression that goes, “Daughters are like water that splashes out of the family and cannot be taken back after marriage.” In contrast, boys can look after property, care for their parents when the parents are old, and can perform important ceremonial duties when the parents die. According to the article “Gender Selection in China,” it states that “The most embarrassing moments were during Chinese New Year and worships in the ancestral hall when a male child is born by one of the other kinsmen in the village.”(Chan, Yip, Ng, Ho, Chan, and Au) It easily describes the reason Chinese families prefer sons over daughters. When I watched Chinese drama movie, I can see that parents only celebrate when they have boys, and they often look disappointed when they have girls. All the good stuffs in the family are reserved for the boys.

With the traditional beliefs from thousands of years ago had always placed men above women in the social hierarchy of China; therefore, most Chinese families preferred sons over daughters. Because of the social hierarchy and families expectations, the gender selection is a major issue in China. When I was a child, I knew that China is a country that has the highest population around the world. It has over 1.3 billion people. That was one of the reasons why the government established a new law that said a Chinese family can only have one child. According to this policy, urban areas are usually allowed to have one child. Meanwhile in the rural areas, couples who have their first child that is a girl may choose to have a second child, but only for a specific time period varying from one location to another. Couples from the ethnic minority groups in the border areas may have two or three children. This policy pushes the Chinese people into being selective of the gender of their children. According to The Epoch Times, “Under the one child policy, many women in late term pregnancy are still forced to abort their children. The one child policy causes more violence toward women and girls than any other policy on the face of the earth.” (Jiang) This policy was created to control the growth of China’s population; however, it turned into a nightmare for those women who had to abort their children.

Because of the limited to have no more than one child from the government and gender bias in the Chinese families, the Chinese people look forward to discovering more and more methods to make sure that their children are boys. Ultrasound scanner is one of the most popular methods to help the parents know the sex of their kids. A research showed that millions of Chinese women aborted their children after the ultrasound test indicated that they were carrying females. According to the Forced Abortion Statistics provide in “All Girls Allowed website”, it shows that 13 million abortions are performed each year, for an average rate of 35,000 abortions per day. In addition, about 55% of all women in China have had an abortion and 27.3% of women in their 20’s. The abortion rate among women in China is 29.3%, which far exceeds the average level of other developed nations. In the population of 20-29 year-old young women, the abortion rate is 62%. In the article “Data reveal scale of China abortions” written by Simon Rabinovitch, “Chinese doctors have performed more than 330 million abortions since the government implemented a controversial family planning policy 40 years ago, according to official data from the health ministry.” What a massive and unbelievable number of abortion cases in a country where humanity existed. The number of children killed by abortion in China in the past forty years is almost equivalent to the America current population. This high rate of abortion in China is not practical practice for every country.

Sex selective in China affected the Sex Ratio of Birth (RSB) for the country, which is a really dangerous issue for the society. According to the “China’s rising sex ratio at birth” article, the author stated that “the SRB climbed from 107.4 in 1980 to 116.9 by 2000 and has been around 120 since 2004. If a SRB of 107 is taken as the baseline, China’s high SRB from 1982 to 2010 has resulted in nearly 20 million ‘additional’ males.”(Zhao, ANU, and Chen) China has a decrease in the number of female from time to time. “According to China’s 2000 census, the SRB in cities was 114.2, while it was 119.9 in towns and 121.7 in the countryside.” (Yaqiang and William) Meanwhile, Chan and Blyth stated that “The SRB in China in 2000 was 116.9 boys to 100 girls” (610). From the report of the China’s sex ration of birth in 2000, the unbalance between boys and girls is the most concern issue in China at this moment. This inequality resulted in many problems in China and will cause more troubles in the future including “The unbalanced sex ratio continuing into adulthood is predicted to result in a ‘marriage squeeze’ with too few women for the number of men wanting wives. Drawing on statistics of births between 1985 and 1995, Hudson and Den Boer estimate that there will be 29–33 million ‘surplus’ males aged 15–34 by 2020 who will be unable to find a wife. The shortage of girls and potential wives are especially acute in rural areas because of the migration of teenage girls to urban areas for work” according to Chan and Blyth (612).

When I pictured China, I thought that in the Chinese parents’ eyes, women are born to bear children and stay home to take care of the family. Parents play a major role and they affect their children during childhood, adulthood, and marriage. The parents even decide and plan everything for their children including education and career. Moreover, in the Chinese families, wealth and rich families are defined by status. It is really difficult for a poor family to join into a richer group. The way the people dress will distinguish between the rich (high class) and poor people (low class). It is defined as a social norm.

Family is so important to the Chinese people; I knew that Jinghui lives in Portland by herself while her parents and siblings are still living in China. I asked her, “What do you miss most about your country?” She replied, “I really miss my family and food. My parents are getting old, and I want to be with them. I missed the family dinner and tradition during the holidays.” Suddenly, her voice tone was down and her face looked sad. Due to her emotional and physical reaction when she mentioned about her parents, I knew that she missed her parents a lot. The atmosphere of the living room had changed. I led her to talk about the advantages she had in the U.S. by asking her, “Do you regret leaving your family to come to the United States fourteen years ago?” She quickly responded, “No, I had gained a lot when I left my hometown fourteen years ago.” She listed, “I have a Bachelor and Master Degree in school of business. I have a good job at Portland State University. I enjoyed living in Portland. I have money to provide a comfortable home and facilities for my parents in China. I have a permanent green card to live in the United States, and many more. Everything paid off.” I was really glad to bring her happy mood back.

While working on this project, I thought about the Chinese special days, such as Lunar New Year occurring in the first and mid of every month in the lunar calendar. People would come to temples for religious practice and worship. The Chinese people also believe in geomancy (Feng Shui). Geomancers are used when they build new houses, open new businesses, or even travelling. In addition, psychic or fortune tellers are very popular in China.

During the interview, I looked up at the picture of Confucius and the lunar calendar which hung on the wall and I asked her, “What makes you feel most proud of your country or culture?” Immediately, she said, “Strong family relationship and family values.” She pointed her finger at her family big picture which hung on the wall in the living room and said, “My parents taught us about respect, care, sacrifice, humility, and love in the family. I will never forget the things that my family had done for me, and I wanted to pass those practices to my children.” Looking at her face, I could tell that she was really proud of her family. She was so excited to talk about her time when she was with her family. In addition to the culture topic, I asked her, “What are your favorite cultural traditions?” She said, “I really enjoyed Chinese holidays especially Lunar New Year and Mid-Autumn Festival. It makes me feel homesick every time people mention Lunar New Year.” She liked New Year the most because it was the time that families would gather together to celebrate the New Year. A cool thing about New Year is that people can get time off from work and school. During that time, children would receive lucky money from their parents and relatives. Everyone wears new clothes on the New Year days. The females would wear cheongsam qipao, which are the traditional clothes for women, and males would wear traditional silk jackets. On Mid-Autumn Festival, people would gather outside of the street to see the dragon dance and lion dance. The moon cake is a symbol of the Mid-Autumn Festival and it also called the family’s festival because people who live away usually come home for this holiday.

As time passed by, Jinghui started comparing similarities and differences between China and the United States. She said, “First, similar to America, everyone in China has cellphone and every family owns a television. Secondly, China develops very fast on manufacturing, railway, and spaceships. In addition, China produces a large amount of agricultural products and military weapons. Thirdly, the weather in China is about the same in the United States. Cold and snowy days are in the winter, while hot and rainy days are in the summer. In contrast, the United States is democratic while China is a localized communist country. There is a big different between the two government systems. Many corruption cases had been discovered recently in the Chinese government. Another different is religions. In China, the dominant religion is Buddhism, but in U.S. it is Christian.” After hearing her comparison between the two countries, I asked. “Do you plan to go home permanently?” Without a pause, she answered. “No, I like to live here.”

I thought that under the communist government system, the Chinese economy is controlled by the government. The majority of the people are working in the agricultural field. Majority of the population are farmers and are cheaply-paid laborers rather than business owners. That is one of the reasons why there are many products in the world that are made in China. Many foreign companies are outsourcing their business to China because of the lower labor cost. Therefore, many manufacturing factories and industries locating in the big cities are providing jobs for most of the people who live in the city. On the other hand, the people who live in the countryside are working on farmland growing wheat, vegetables, and livestock. They worked very hard to earn money and food to support their daily lives. There is big gap between the rich and poor in China. Wealthy families mostly live in luxury houses in the big cities. They enjoy the life with high-end stuff, high quality of technology, and services. Their children study in better quality schools and colleges. In addition, their children can also study abroad. In contrast, the poor families live in the simpler and lower quality houses. Their children do not have an opportunity for new technology at school.

There is many more information about China that I don’t know. Regardless, the information that I have learned and heard from the people around me, the television, and the internet about China had given me a broader experience and knowledge about this country. It was really helpful and valuable for me to know both intangible and tangible assets of China. I believe that the more I know about China, I will have more success in the future when I am working and communicating with the Chinese people.

Work Cited

"China's Rising Sex Ratio at Birth | East Asia Forum." East Asia Forum. N.p., n.d. Web. 06 Nov. 2013.

"Data Reveal Scale of China Abortions." Financial Times. N.p., n.d. Web. 06 Nov. 2013.

"Forced Abortion Statistics | All Girls Allowed." Forced Abortion Statistics | All Girls Allowed. N.p., n.d. Web. 06 Nov. 2013.

"Of the 13 Million Abortions in China, Most Are Forced." The Epoch Times » The Epoch Times Is an Independent Voice in Print and on the Web. We Report News Responsibly and Truthfully so That Readers Can Improve Their Own Lives and Increase Their Understanding and Respect for Their Neighbors next Door and around the Globe. N.p., n.d. Web. 06 Nov. 2013.

"Sex Selection Creates Widening Gender Imbalance." Sex Selection Creates Widening Gender Imbalance. N.p., n.d. Web. 06 Nov. 2013.

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