What can Chinese best learn from my country?
- Source: Global Times
- [01:31 December 22 2009]
- Comments
Quincy Angol, a native of the Caribbean island of Dominica, currently studying engineering in Beijing
Cultural pride
It's hard for me to say what China can learn from my country, since the main infl uences on Dominica are actually foreign.
We became independent from Britain, and our political culture derives from them, but we were originally settled by the French, and today our culture is strongly infl uenced by American television.
Obviously we're proud of our democratic heritage, and I feel that the Chinese people should have a stronger voice, and more choice in voting.
We're an island of only 70,000 people, but we still have a wide range of political opinions and a vibrant press. The main thing, though, is that I think China has to learn to express its culture more, especially in the big cities, such as Beijing and Shanghai.
I was surprised that the first couple of years I was here I didn't get to see any real cultural stu. , until I went to villages in the south.
There you see local traditions, rituals, superstitions, and so on, but in the big cities all of that is very hidden. They've turned into blandly cosmopolitan centers, with little sense of traditional Chinese culture.
It almost seems as though people are ashamed of their own traditions.
In Dominica, in contrast, our culture pervades our life. Catholicism is a large part of this, since people on the island are traditionally very devout.
For instance, we have a big emphasis on the ceremonial year.
During the holidays, nobody wears their usual regular clothes. Instead they wear special clothes, and everyone goes to church.
Even in ordinary life, our religion and our heritage are visible on an everyday level. I think that traditional Chinese culture is not something to be ashamed of, or covered up for visitors.
People come to China wanting to see Chinese things. Cosmopolitan and Westernized cities are nice, but it would be good to have a local feel too.
