Abhi Shome CAPs #1

Abhi Shome CAPs #1

The text defines identity as being the concept of who we are (Martin & Nakamura 2013).  Some people consider themselves to be multi-cultural, having been born to parents of different races, while others define themselves by their gender or sexual orientation. Personally, I believe that one’s identity is greatly influenced by where they live. The people around you as well as the culture around you, often determine how (and who) you grow up (to be).

One of the cultural events that’s taking place right now is the loss of cultural identity in China as more and more of the country is being urbanized. In a recent article in the New York Times, the journalist Ian Johnson (NYT, 2014) reports on the loss of several cultural traditions as China is being urbanized. “Chinese culture has traditionally been rurally based,” he says, and points out that this has been happening at a rapid rate, with an average loss of about 300 villages a day in the past 10 years (NYT, Johnson 2014). Because of this, many traditions like art, theatre and music are being lost as the performers leave their villages for city life. Another effect the loss of villages is having is that the performers no longer have anywhere to practice and some have taken to meeting under bridges, making it even more difficult to teach the newer generation to learn. This issue certainly represents the dynamic nature of cultural identity (Martin & Nakayama 2013) when one takes a look at changes in Chinese culture. When the villages first began being urbanized, it was a common insult in China to call someone a farmer – implying that the person was backward. However, it’s only in recent years that “Chinese scholars have begun to recognize the countryside’s vast cultural heritage.” (Johnson 2014) They have began to rethink their national identity and have began programs to save these traditions, some of which are over 800 years old. In the recent past, during China’s cultural revolution, it was considered to be very backward to like things such as Chinese opera. The Chinese Communist Party, in order to create a new cultural identity, tore down many opera houses and declared many forms of traditions Chinese culture as being bad or too orthodox. This change was recreated by the famous movie Farewell My Concubine, in 1993.

http://www.imdb.com/video/screenplay/vi4177110553/

However, as seen by this article, this view on their traditions has clearly begun to change. Over 900 different art forms have been declared, “protected” by the government (Johnson 2014) as China attempts to review its cultural heritage.

So where do we go from here? Sadly, a lot of China’s cultural heritage was lost during the revolution, however, that seems to be changing as the government has begun to understand the importance of such traditions. Art, music and theatre are things that transcend regional and international borders. As Mr. Johnson proves for us in this article, one doesn’t have to be from China, to appreciate their traditional music. Thus, it is important to preserve it as China currently stands to lose a great deal of it’s heritage with the loss of such traditions. China is of course, just an example as such traditions are being lost all around the world. It is important to remember that art has often been used to communicate messages and lessons of history on to the next generation. As such not only does the world stand to lost out on forms of art, but it also stands to lost a valuable method of communication that speaks to people from different places. So using what’s happening in China as an example, the rest of the world must realize the importance of the preservation of art and the combined cultural heritage of the people living in it.

Works Cited

Johnson, I. (2014, February 1). The New York Times: In China, ‘Once the Villages Are Gone, the Culture Is Gone’. Retrieved February 2, 2014, from http://www.nytimes.com/2014/02/02/world/asia/once-the-villages-are-gone-the-culture-is-gone.html?src=me&_r=0

Martin, J. N., & Nakayama, T. K. (2013). Intercultural Communication in Contexts (6th ed.). New York: McGraw-Hill.