Raymond Zhou of China Daily introduced interesting points of discussion with regards to the notable (or infamous) Chinese culturalist sensitivities. He cited career moves made by actress Zhang Ziyi as examples:
In 2005, Zhang starred in another Hollywood production, Memoirs of a Geisha, in which she played a geisha who sleeps with a client, played by a Japanese actor. A lot of egos were bruised in China, which gathered enough momentum to have the movie banned in her motherland.
In a series of publicity shots a few years ago, Zhang wore a gown that revealed the upper part of her back. The photos were plastered all over Tokyo, which some netizens reckoned “debased the Chinese race”.
She also appeared in a shampoo commercial in Japan but turned down a similar product endorsement deal in China because “the money is too little”. Very “unpatriotic”, claimed some.
Zhou goes on to conclude why Zhang Ziyi is being bullied by controversies. Because she is popular internationally and most importantly, is dating a foreigner.
I sense that this “naturalistic” drive and uber-touchy sensitivity comes from the government and the people’s single-mindedness and the bitterness of foreign imperialism in China.
The political environment in PRC does not seem to support a sound opposition. Either you are with us or not. That is why there are the so-called China bashers or the 汉奸 or “traitor to China”.
Also, China has a long history with foreigners giving (or forcing) suggestions on how to make China better, etc.:
Going back to the Opium Wars and the foreign-controlled treaty ports of the 19th century, on through the Japanese invasions of the 20th century, the Nanjing massacre of 1937 and the American bombing of the Chinese embassy in Belgrade in 1999, China has plenty of legitimate grievances against foreigners, and plenty of reasons to feel suspicious and insecure.
It is China’s relationship with Japan that most often reveals these raw emotions. Anything that can be portrayed as a Japanese insult or Japanese arrogance is swiftly seized upon by the Chinese media, often provoking a national controversy.
I guess these incidents proved to be a lasting mark to the Chinese ideology. Moving on to something more current, it is observed that this growing dislike for foreigner is being felt by many tourists.
Some may argue that this is all a confirmation of China’s feeling of superiority being the center of the world, hence 中国. But I do not want to suggest that this cultural superiority represents the Chineseness of all the people.
What could be a possible solution to this? Promote that foreign can do actual good? Or encourage critical dialogue starting within the government?
Or take the simplistic suggestion made by Raymond Zhou to Zhang Ziyi instead, “Maybe she can pretend to date a nationalistic youth. That would quell the flames of ignominy.”
There is this belief that China is finally getting their “rightful place”. The country has started seeing the surges in their economy after hearing various achievements and downfalls in their history. Like the recently concluded Beijing Olympics where the message seems to be “we have made it as a great, modern nation.” Who can blame China now for being sensitive?
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ChinaGeeks’ C. Custer translates Chinese blogger Hong Huang about the nature of “soft power” vs “hard power” and the need for China to unleash an army of Zhang Ziyi’s–not Confucius–on the world to further China’s soft power and persuasiveness.
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Websites like chinaSMACK are as accurate a representation and reflection of foreigners as it is of Chinese people. Why do so many fight racism with more racism?
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The China Blogger Conference is largely inaccessible and irrelevant to most foreigners. Even so, what happens here, every year, is something we can all appreciate.
Hong Huang: Zhang Ziyi and “China’s Soft Power Army” 
Foreigners Attacking Chinese Racists Reveal Their Own Racism 
CNBloggerCon: For The Chinese, Not The Foreigners 
Now, I’m sorry, but that Washington Post article you link to is just bullshit.
I do understand that the Great Olympic Visa crackdown caused a lot of inconvenience for a lot of people, many of whose presence in China was undeniably good for all parties concerned, but:
The article starts with the story of some Aussie who had been working in China on a visitor’s visa (would that be an L or tourist visa?) for years. Please tell in which country is it legal to work on such a visa? It has always been easy to get legitimate work (especially as an English teacher, as said Aussie was) with a legitimate visa. So why lead with such a story?
Then that American who got in trouble outside the Carrefour in Hunan… his story is stripped bare of any context or nuance, just left there as an example of how “dangerous” China has become for foreigners. In the real world, he found himself in the wrong place at the wrong time, something that can happen to anyone in any country.
The journalist did a better job with the foreigner beat up in the Shanghai subway, but still, two random, unconnected instances of foreigners being attacked proves absolutely nothing.
Ridiculous. The article proves nothing about nothing.
As for Zhang Ziyi, I have no idea why she provokes such ire, or why the irate should get so much attention. She should be prosecuted for impersonating a talented actress, but other than that, what’s the big deal?
As far as I am concerned, some people do care. That’s why people have wrote opinions about her.
HOT OFF THE PRESS???
You say: “Moving on to something more current, it is observed that this growing dislike for foreigner is being felt by many tourists.”
And then you link to a Washington Post story that is not current. It’s 10 months old.
Don’t be daft.
Relatively, it is more current than the “long history”. Anyway, thanks for sharing your opinion.
I think we should be fair to Baoru, the article may be a year old, but these waves of xenophobia, or what you want to call them, come and go.
I don’t think that anti-foreign feelings can be explained by just referring to past injustices dealt to China by foreign powers. Most major countries in the world have had their episodes of foreign domination, but that doesn’t automatically translate into anti-foreign feelings. And we should not forget that the Chinese government itself is guilty of far more recent outrages against its own people.
Back in 2002 when “Hero” came out, I noticed that among my (Chinese) students- and female students in particular- Zhang Ziyi was held in near-universal contempt, something that I found odd to say the least for such a popular movie star. Male students tended to be indifferent about her.
My (female) students explained that she had offended them by (allegedly) saying in interviews that a) she knew she was beautiful and was proud of it and b) that she had risen to the top without help from anyone else. So in other words, she was arrogant and ungrateful. Mind you, this was years before Zhang began dating Vivi Nevo.
My take on it is that while Zhang’s dating Nevo has made her a target for scorn, it’s probably just male “fans” (or rather ‘fenqing’- as alluded to in the article) who have recently begun to pick on this since female “fans” have held her in contempt for so long.
Finally, an observation: I find the concluding paragraph quite odd. If it’s believed in China that the nation is finally taking its “rightful place” among nations, then what more obvious confirmation of this could there be than seeing a successful Chinese being courted by a successful westerner? Doesn’t this sweep away dated, racist, (and possible nationalistic) notions that Chinese were previously unacceptable and undesirable as marriage partners? Shouldn’t this be celebrated as progress on the international stage?
Or, is it simply that male ‘fenqing’ not being principled at all and simply picking on an easy target due to their own insecurities about their place in the marriage market? Where’s the outcry about Wendi Deng?
Japanese flight attendant complains about Zhang Ziyi’s rude behavior
Bleh. Divas suck.
Unions between western males and Chinese (women, for example) have long existed even before Ziyi’s and Vivi’s. So this isn’t really a progress on the international stage.
I think it is because Zhang has more fenqing factors (as compared to Wendi Deng) seen by the ultra-nationalists.
I’m quite sure the vast majority of people couldn’t give a flying f*** about her nor do they care what he does.
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“I don’t think that anti-foreign feelings can be explained by just referring to past injustices dealt to China by foreign powers. Most major countries in the world have had their episodes of foreign domination, but that doesn’t automatically translate into anti-foreign feelings.”
I hope your joking. From India to Africa and South America, where ever western colonialists have gone there has always been anti-western feelings even to this day.
Areas in many countries also have anti-Chinese feelings in communities where there are Chinese owned markets and businesses.
So what
yes, so what?
“Who can blame China now for being sensitive?”
Zhang Ziyi, Jin jing, anyone else who’s been on the receiving end of mindless xenophobia. Of course, they shouldn’t be blaming ‘China’ as a whole, that would be meaningless- but blaming (or laughing at) the people whose feelings are so ’sensitive’ and yet don’t mind throwing insults at others is entirely justified.
You’re right. My point is to go over the simplistic assumptions.
“What could be a possible solution to this? Promote that foreign can do actual good? Or encourage critical dialogue starting within the government?”
Well, ending tacit support for the wumaodang and their ilk, understanding and coming to terms with the fact that China is not the only country to suffered from colonialism in the 19th century or WWII in the 20th, and making a shift to thinking of China as an important part of the emerging multipolar world rather than “the next America.”
But whatever. Articles like this are so poorly reflective of most Chinese, young and old, who don’t spend all their time at the wangba trying to be part of some nationalistic “movement,” and the sensationalist tone just reinforces the stereotypes many people around the world have that the Chinese are touchy to the point of absurdity, and always a hair away from Boxer Rebellion-ing out again. That’s ridiculous.
PS. The words “China Daily” and “discussion” do not belong in the same sentence.
PPS. EVERYONE can “blame China for being so sensitive” — just as I can blame myopic, small-minded people in my own country who are so sensitive about China becoming richer. No one, from individual to country, is beyond criticism in the world. If you want to be a “great, modern power” nowadays, you have to recontextualize your place in the world. 200 years ago, it just entailed hopping in a ship and acting like a monster as far from home as those ships could take you. Things have changed.
Just wanted to clarify– I am not generalizing the Chinese people as a whole in my post. There are the “ultra-nationalists” who think one way and the others who are just apathetic. Both which I think are extremes.
Thanks for the great comments!
Hi there. Just wanted to point out that Raymond Zhou’s name is misspelled throughout. He was born in mainland China and uses the pinyin spelling of his surname. Oh, what the hell, as long as I’m here…
I believe Raymond to be one of the more consistently sensible and balanced voices writing in English on China, and the fact that his columns appear in the China Daily is no reason to be dismissive of them. Raymond’s been taking on the more extreme fenqing nationalists, and I think he’s been doing a fine job of it (see his recent column on Unhappy China), even if I’m not sold on his contention that “the raucous represent the majority” among young netizens. They’re certainly a whole hell of a lot of them, yes, but my distinct impression is that 1) in real-life conversations people tend not to take such extreme positions, and 2) BBSs and other comment forums somehow self-select for extremist posters–the haters, the trolls. When your sentiments are too tempered and mild, it’s hard to be bothered to post them when you know you’ll just be flamed by some pimply adolescent with a surfeit of spleen to vent.
If you read Chinese, do check out his excellent film criticism, most of which appears in the magazine Kan dianying 看电影 and have recently been anthologized in a book he was kind enough to give me.
Cool, thanks for recommending the film criticism. Actually, I enjoy reading Raymond’s columns in China Daily. He is balanced in writing his views.
Oh well, there will always be critics in every side.
zhang ziyi will probably lead a happy and long life despite the opprobium heaped upon her. Like, why not exemplify her, instead of vilifying?
She’s not the prettiest, or most talented, and China has 1.3 billion ppl. The ball came her way, she grabbed it and has been running with it ever since. That’s a lesson for anyone who wants to lead the pack: be focused on your own goals, work with ppl who are useful to you, and pay no attention to those who think they should be running your life.
Heck, dat sounds like the success story of China itself. So China will probably lead a happy and healthy life, too, despite all the bitching.
I love this comment and I agree! Lead, follow or get out of the way!
On the contrary, I think she is rather pretty and talented.
I love her portrayal in “Memoirs of a Geisha”.
Madama Butterfly? I love how Lea Salonga portrayed Kim in Miss Saigon as well.
Lea Salonga is really a good performer. You have good taste as well.
China is, indeed, becoming a more dominent player on the world stage,O.K. ? Now don’t go eating your own.
I think one problem with the Chinese is that they can’t differentiate between what a government does and what the people actually behave. Take Japan for example. A few of its politicians have visited the notorious Yasukuni Shrine, but majority of Japanese are peace-loving. Unfortunately, Chinese just can’t understand this and they vent their anger against ALL Japanese.
Perhaps China is such a homogeneous country that Chinese believe all other nations are likewise homogeneous.
first of all….you say “I sense that this “naturalistic” drive and uber-touchy sensitivity comes from the government and the people’s single-mindedness and the bitterness of foreign imperialism in China.”……….AMERICA IS WORST! we think we’re right about EVERYTHING! Americans are the ones who are “single-mindedness”, dont point fingers at other people and be hypocritical
OK, so Zhang Zhi Yi is in love with a non-Chinese man, so what? I’m another who “stole” the heart of a beautiful Chinese woman. Does Mandarin translate : “THE HEART HAS REASONS EVEN THE HEART KNOWS NOTHING ABOUT”. RichFromTampa
Remember the reason why Jesus hates Judaism? It’s because Orthodox Jews are NOT allowed to have great sex! If Israeli Jews want to have great sex, they should convert to Buddhism and marry Asian women!
Magnifying the so-called “errors” of Zhang ZiYi and attaching National significance to her behavior exposes the juvenile level of popular culture among Chinese netizens. These posts demonstrate an embarassing, low level of social criticism. Sometimes a beautiful young woman is just a beautiful young woman.
Hi Rich,
Hmm…well there are a lot of those “juvenile level of popular culture among Chinese netizens”. People just like to comment and criticize. Interesting to see though what get’s them “high” on these issues. But I get your point. Agree with your last sentence.