Guanxi Master

Past and Present Hollywood Stereotypes and Archetypes of China

One of the great movies of the 50’s is the legendary Around the World in Eighty Days, and part of the charm of the 1956 movie adaptation of Jules Verne’s classic novel is in its exaggerated stereotyping of the characters. It’s a surprise feast for the eye and delightfully flooded with incidental cameo appearances of almost fifty celebrities alive at the time. Directed by Michael Anderson and produced by Michael Todd, the film starred the stately Larry Niven as Phileas Fogg. Nominated for eight Oscars and winning five, it was a late part of that era in which Hollywood “took itself seriously.” Todd’s movie is an affectionately tongue-in-cheek “seriously epic” send up of 1930’s -1950’s Hollywood. Read the rest of this entry »

How the West overlooks the positive requirements for constructive critique

In a recent blog at The China Beat, the Association of Asian Studies’ annual conference in Philadelphia expressed dismay that Beijing had prevented its Chinese featured speaker Cui Weiping (崔卫平) from attending. Ms. Cui had been scheduled to participate in the conference’s round table discussion “Against Amnesia: History, Memory, and the Role of Public Intellectuals in 21st Century China,” and while her work commitments were cited as the reason for refusing her exit from China, the title of the session itself may have been enough to raise concerns in Beijing. Control of an intellectual who may potentially be critical of China has a long historical precedent.

In China, artists and intellectuals have been fostered in an atmosphere of an almost religious awe for authority that must be scrupulously maintained in order to keep harmony and prevent dissent from breaking out into social unrest and chaos. When it comes to pointing out flaws in the ruling system, class, or person, the Chinese have a saying: Read the rest of this entry »

A philosophical exploration of Western academia’s fascination with East Asian culture and thought

A familiar scene: the affluent cosmopolitan city dweller sits at a sushi diner in the middle of a bustling American metropolis. Before him rolls a mechanized conveyor belt offering all the supposedly-palatable delights of the Orient, in perfect and beautiful variety. He very discriminately raises his chopsticks and partakes, and in his mind swim visions of pagodas, misty rainbow bridges, and kimono-clad women drinking tea. It’s sophisticated, refined, and, above all – fashionable.

In the modern Western world, we generally agree on the need to look far away from our own historical perspective and put ourselves in the shoes of the other. Yet the world we live in is becoming increasingly small, thanks largely to Western industrialization and its resulting technological revolutions. Who is sufficiently other from us, and who are the ones that we so desperately need to learn from? Read the rest of this entry »

Forcing the Chinese to live up to Western expectations, when the West can’t decide what it wants

Thanks to China Esquire and Silicon Hutong for showing we’re not the only ones who’ve been thinking this. While many have no hesitation in criticizing Chinese business ethics, few are willing to admit that the West is not much better. Whatever pretensions to moral superiority Westerners may have had in the past are becoming more and more ridiculous in light of today’s corporate and social cultures.

Quoting Fareed Zakaria, our bloggers highlight the trend in recent corporate history:

I agree. The fact that America and Europe have long-ceased to operate out of morality and personal conscience is Read the rest of this entry »