Cultural differences between China and America as elaborated by Hessler and Hsu
River Town: Two Years on the Yangtze is a book published in 2001 by Harper and written by an American journalist and writer, Peter Hessler to describe his adventures in Fuling, China. The author wrote the book to describe the changes the river town, Fuling was undergoing (Yang and Geoff 57). Fuling located in Sichuan is one of the towns making Chongqing municipality. According to Yang and Geoff, the author first went to the place as a teacher during the Peace Corps to China in 1996. Fuling, a small city neighbouring Yangtze River is acknowledged for its rural form of life. The book by Hessler explains the tension between the past of the town and the changes that they were about to face in the future (Morris and Kaiping 994). The author’s arrival in the town was the first time the city received an American visitor in years. The author found out that his ways of leaving were different from those of Fuling’s people though they welcomed him warmly. The author reveals that China has one child policy and those who go against it can pay fines or their houses can be burned. In the book, Hessler outlines that the youth in China do not program their future, instead they wait for jobs from the government.
The author reveals that most of the youth in the town do not think for themselves, rather they follow the Communists doctrine. Hessler notes that he felt so bad observing young Chinese girls undergo unsafe and illegal abortion because the law forbids them from conceiving more than one child and sometimes these girls commit suicide. Hessler also highlights that he witnessed Cultural Revolution in the town as the city lost some of its history in the process of transformation. For example, the residents lost craved fish as a result of the floods caused by the Three Gorges Dam. However, as years go by the government of China developed plans to restore the fish. The author notes that people should change but respect their past history (Hessler 167). In his journey, Hessler notes that, the Chinese do not welcome foreigners easily. However, he tried to mingle with them and learn much more about them than any other foreigner could study. Hessler explains that he did more than enough to learn the Fuling people. He did not stay at school every time, rather he use to connect with them in the hotels and other gatherings. Hessler believed that his teachings could help the Fuling youths shape their city and country.
Comparison between the Educational Practice of China and America
Hessler’s main reason was to go and contribute to the development of China through Peace Corp. As an American, Hessler found the education system in Fuling different to that of the American people. According to Hsu, the Chinese children at the age of schooling are more realistic in terms of world view more that the American children of the same age (124). The Chinese traditional schools never underwent any changes for more than 2000 years while the American schools have been changing as the world transform (Hsu). The Chinese schools taught children and youth to wait for the government to decide for them while in the American schools, the children were taught to track their dreams. Hessler highlighted in his book that the Chinese youths could not decide for themselves and look for employment. Instead, they waited for the assignments from the communist regime.
The Chinese schools taught the children to improve their sportsmanship, cooperate, and to respect elders. However, the teachers there never encourage the students to be more creative and autonomous. According to Yang and Geoff, Hsu mentioned that the Chinese stared by teaching students new content 20th century (58). The American education encourages and teaches the students to be skilled in self-expression and reliance while the Chinese form of education is silent about the issue (Morris and Kaiping). Public performance was never practiced in the old Chinese form of education. The teachings never encouraged the children and youngsters to be self-sustainable and reliable. The Chinese schools did not emphasis on the need to be self-sustainable. The young were unable to sustain themselves economically hence, the government decided the works for them (Hsu et al. 237).
Is Hessler Ethnocentric?
According to Morris and Kaiping, Hessler was so ethnocentric in that he was judging the Chinese way of live by comparing it to the Americans living styles. The author explains that Hessler saw himself as superior to the Chinese because he volunteered to go and improve their lives through teaching English language and American literature. At the end of the book, Hessler feels that his teachings will shape and help the Fuling youth to improve the state of China. This shows that he felt that China was not that developed and that is a form of ethnocentrism. According to Yang and Geoff, Hessler felt that Fuling’s culture of forcing girls to abort after conceiving one child as immature and inferior compared to the rights the American girls have (62). Hessler went to help the people of Fuling embrace development, it means he already saw his culture as superior.
Other Differences
Apart from the education practice, there are other areas where the Chinese differ with the USA. The society of China is group based where all the successes are celebrated in a group setting for example, family, community or a team (Yang and Geoff 64). On the other hand, the society of Americans is individual centered where success and failures are celebrated on a personal level. The Chinese youth respect elders more than the young American people (Hsu et al. 231). In USA, the language between the young and the old is same while the Chinese cannot speak to their elders the way the USA youth does.
Similarities
The key similarity between Chinese and Americans is on punctuality and decision making process. Both China and American people value punctuality (Yang and Geoff 66). According to Morris and Kaiping in China being punctual shows respect and honor between the people meeting. According to the authors, the Americans do not like to waste time especially in business and that why they also value punctuality. In both cultures, decision is made in a group setting. The Chinese make decision as a society because success because they do not recognize individualism. The Americans also make decisions as a group to ensure that every person is on the same page.
In conclusion
Hessler’s book has highlighted some of the cultural differences between the Chinese and the Americans though he was not an anthropologist. Looking at Hessler’s work, the class notes and Hsu’s view of culture between China and America, there are a lot of cultural differences between the two nations. In Hessler’s book, educational difference has been highlighted. Hsu on the other hand has reported a lot of differences including role of women, language, and religion. However, though there are a lot of difference between China and American culture, the two nations agree in decision making and time keeping.
Works Cited
Hessler, Peter. River town: Two years on the Yangtze. Hachette UK, 2013.
Hsu, Cathy HC, and Songshan Sam Huang. "Reconfiguring Chinese cultural values and their tourism implications." Tourism Management 54 (2016): 230-242.
Hsu, Francis LK. Americans and Chinese: Passages to differences. University of Hawaii Press, 1981.
Morris, Michael W., and Kaiping Peng. "Culture and cause: American and Chinese attributions for social and physical events." Journal of Personality and Social psychology 67.6 (1994): 949.
Yang, Qian, and Geoff Hall. "Literature in English language learning in China in tertiary education." Literature Education in the Asia-Pacific. Routledge, 2018. 56-69.
