damron research

Kailyn McBride
World History
Mr. Reilly
June 7, 2013

The Impact of Western Economy on Chinese Culture

The world has been changing due to the growing influence of western cultures and globalization. As a result of this, many people from many different nations came in contact with new ways of life. Western culture and civilization have extended a lot of influence on the Chinese societies, which are reflected in their contemporary culture. Western influence and westernization have led to the extinction of indigenous languages and cultures of many societies in the world. The Chinese have been a culturally sensitive culture. Westernization could also be referred to as part of globalization. Many countries believed that globalization depicts western culture because it naturally originates from them. Many western technologies, cultures, and customs like dress codes, hairstyles, vehicles, buildings, music language, fashion, and materialism are introduced to different parts of the world. In the 21st century, there had been so many changes. Such as the Chinese traditional culture and one good thing about these changes is that the Chinese people allowed their culture to exist along side with western cultures. Areas such as: Chinese buildings, weddings, language, western hairstyles, western dress code, and technology. China is the most populated nation in the world. Understanding and embracing Chinese culture is essential as China’s population and industry continues to expand. The social interactions in Chinese society are more hierarchical-based than their western counter parts. The Chinese revere their leaders and learn to adapt to a social role within the social hierarchy. Culture is a set of altitudes, values, and beliefs adapted by a group of people. Culture is generated by a people’s geography, history, and the need to solve life’s problems and challenges. And is adopted as a way for people to live successfully together. Culture attributes drive democracy, individualism, and freedom. Which are needed by the group of people. The Chinese equate democracy with the western world, specifically the United States, an related western economy with democracy, but they also connect democracy and western economy with western culture, and the altitudes, beliefs, and values associated with western culture in1989. Many Chinese students craved democracy but had no real grasp of the system itself. They saw the result of the western economy and the role democracy had on the people’s freedom to implement the western economy within its boundaries or custom law, the government officials felt threatened with democracy and western principles of economic reform. Despite the fears and hopes associated with accepting western economic practices, china saw the relationship among democracy, economy, and practical power. That global, power, a growing economy, and democracy interrelate could not help but be recognized. They saw that the rise of western society connects to the development of science and technology. Which seemed to drive a growing economy. During the next ten years, between 1966 and 1976, Deng Xiaoping fell from power but gradually rose in power after Mao’s death in September of 1976. Two years later, Deng Xiaoping launched a system of economic reforms in industry, agriculture, science, and defense called “four modernizations” he attempted a consistent rise in living standards by placing more goods on the store shelves. He also introduced measures to ensure the betterment of intellectual’s prestige and material conditions. The government was also beginning to moderate the individual’s freedoms of students, artists, and other intellectual freedoms. The animosity of conservative party leaders toward western culture and general intellectual freedom was abundantly clear. From their recent denunciations of Chinese avant-garde culture. However, the westernization began in the 19th century with the arrival of European Jesuits and the spread of Christianity into china. Western inventions and technology also spread into china through the European Jesuits. They brought back to china western ideals, science, technology, and reform. The large transformation was carried out in the 20th century. Chinese men no longer had Manchu quei (pigtails) and instead, adopted western hairstyle and dressing, western style. Materialism and capitalism entered China, also, American movies, pop culture, and western modes of transportation started to influence the Chinese. American style skyscrapers and western style modern architecture dominated city skyline of many Chinese cities. Today most Chinese go to hospitals, which practice western medicine instead of Chinese medicine. Today even the west influence the Chinese by trying to spread western political ideals such as democracy and human rights to China. In recent decades, Chinese culture has seen an influx of western influence. But China also had an impact on western culture, such as: The Chinese brought rice and Indian cotton to America, and took corn from American to China. It was said that China also enlightened the renaissance, between the 14th and 17th centuries of certain classical ideas and knowledge that had seemingly been lost in Europe. They also brought with them a massive injection of intellectual ideas, maps, new machines, and mathematical calculations.