Paper: Cultural Exchange

Resilience

China’s history, unfortunately, has been one of many downfalls. However, the Chinese people have persevered despite hardships and natural disasters to survive, progress, and eventually emerge as one of the current world powers. Through a cultural exchange with Huang Xuanhong, or Maggie, an 18 year old girl from Beijing, it has become clear to me that the Chinese people were able to persevere and exceed in history because they are very hard-working people. Maggie’s proverb, “Do nothing by halves”, and her symbol, the Great Wall of China, show how the Chinese people are constantly reminded in their daily lives to push through the hard times, in hopes of a greater future.

China, in her 4-millenia history, has suffered some of the most tragic events in history. One of the first humiliating losses in China’s modern history was being defeated in the Opium Wars (1839-1841 and 1856-1860), and consequently having to sign the Unequal Treaties in which China had to open additional ports to foreign trade, agree to fixed tariffs, and hand over Hong Kong for annexation by Britain, among other things. Then came the devastating loss in the First Sino-Japanese War, which concluded by the Treaty of Shimonoseki, signed in April 1895. By agreeing to this treaty, China had to recognize Korea’s total independence, cede Taiwan and the Penghu Islands to Japan, and pay a large reparation sum. Yet another traumatic event of China’s past is the Nanking Massacre, or the Rape of Nanking (1937-1938), when the Japanese military committed a genocidal war crime that caused the death of between 200,000 and 300,000 Chinese civilians. While every country has experienced its share of disasters and catastrophes, China’s history has an exceptionally devastating past.

Where did the Chinese people gather the strength to persevere and overcome when they were surrounded by nothing but devastation and despair? Maggie’s proverb, “Do nothing by halves”, or don’t do anything halfway, gave me a clue. According to Maggie and most other Chinese people, the continued existence of China, despite her devastating past, is due to the fact that the people of China never quit “by halves”, in contrast to other ancient civilizations, such as ancient India and ancient Egypt. Maggie’s translation holds some ambiguity. Does she mean that Chinese people never quit halfway on their effort to re-build and re-strengthen their country? Or does Maggie mean that the Chinese people don’t cop out by only exerting half of their full-force on their road to success? The interesting part of the mistranslation is that perhaps both of these interpretations work, and at the very least, they are both beautiful ideas.

To me, Maggie’s proverb shows that the Chinese people are always strong in spirit, even when the circumstances they face are very bleak and miserable. As Americans, sometimes we may suffer in performance due to lack of self-confidence. For example, when the economy crashed recently, in September of 2008, the American people lost faith in their own economy and contributed to the problem by spending as little money as possible and stifling the economy even further. Once we, the American people realized that we had lost control of the world’s economy, we automatically lost confidence in ourselves, and many Americans remain anxious about whether or not we will ever be able to pull ourselves out of this financial crisis. However, if a similar event occurred in China, I believe that the Chinese people would have responded very differently. Just as they persevered after natural disaster and enemy attack, they would probably continue to try to boost the economy the very next day after it crashed. When shocking misfortunes occur to the Chinese, they never sit back and allow the shock to sink in. Instead, they appear to recover instinctively, and immediately put forth efforts to counterbalance and overcome the misfortunes that have come their way.

The proverb demonstrates a fierce determination in the Chinese people to be the best in everything and anything that they do. Some people may find this characteristic as very obnoxious and pretentious. However, I believe that the Chinese people try to do their best not for boasting rights or to be better than the rest of the world. Instead, I view the Chinese people as a culture of people who respect themselves very much and wouldn’t settle for anything less than the best.

Another essential aspect of success of the Chinese people is their optimism and their trust in fate. My Chinese teacher, Mrs. Feng Ye, once told me that the Chinese character for ‘tomorrow’ is composed of the Sun and the Moon. “This,” she explained, “is because even though times are hard for the Chinese people, they always think that tomorrow is going to be so bright, like the Sun and the Moon came together, and then they are not so sad.” Once I learned that Chinese people are so optimistic about their future, it became easy for me to see why Chinese people dedicated all of their efforts into making the most of their future.

Maggie’s symbol, the Great Wall of China, is a very accurate representation of the unrelenting spirit of the Chinese people and their long history of overcoming. For one thing, the Great Wall took almost1000 years to complete! That is the ultimate proof of one country’s unity in will, power, and dedication. The Great Wall is also significant because it is so dynamic – over 6000 km! – that it is the only manmade object to be visible from outer space. I imagine that when the Chinese nation finally completed this wall, there was a great sense of satisfaction in completing the ‘ultimate project’ that connects the people of modern China to their ancestors way back in the Han dynasty. Originally, the wall was built to defend the agricultural civilization from the nomadic peoples outside of the wall. Ironically, by the Qing Dynasty, the Great Wall had actually brought the different cultures to come together to form a new, convergent culture. Now, just as the Great Wall stands strongly and proudly across 6,700 kilometers of China, the 56 different ethnic groups that comprise the massive population of China stand together in strong unity to face the world. Maggie wrote to me, “The Great Wall is encouraging the Chinese nation to march on forever.” Upon reading these words, I began to respect the Great Wall of China in a whole new way. For to Chinese people, the Great Wall undoubtedly serves as a physical reminder of all of the blood, sweat, and tears that the their ancestors shed in completing this wall. But the symbolism of the Great Wall extends further to represent all the wars, economic strife, and political turmoil that China has overcome to face the world so proudly, confidently, and fiercely in the 21^st century. The up-and-down and side-to-side curves of the Great Wall further emphasize the dramatic highs-and-lows of China’s long, eventful history.

My partner, Maggie, has put China’s history and fighting spirit into a whole new perspective for me. One day, I hope to stand upon the Great Wall of China and to absorb the enormity of the realization that millions of Chinese laborers diligently crafted the bridge stone by stone, all the while telling themselves to never do anything by halves. After putting all that China has overcome in her long history into perspective, and after learning just how resilient the Chinese people are, I am confident that the Chinese people will accomplish many great things in the near future.