The Appreciation of Culture in Movies ——The Gua Sha Treatment

The Appreciation of Culture in Movies ——The Gua Sha Treatment

Introduction • The film “Gua Sha” presents the cultural differences and conflicts between the largest Eastern country, China and the strongest Western state, America. Through this film, we can see there is a gulf between the two countries in the aspect of culture, just as the Pacific Ocean divides the continent into two parts.

Datong Xu’s family----a cross section of the diversity of cultures. Every member in the family represented a special cultural form.

Datong Xu----a mosaic of Chinese culture and American culture. • Xu was a Chinese immigrant in U.S.A. and he had been there for eight years. He had accepted many behaviors and views in American way. Meanwhile the traditional Chinese thoughts and values were rooted in his mind deeply. The two kinds of cultures coexisted in Xu’s mind. Usually they were compatible, but sometimes they conflicted with each other.

For instance, he showed filial piety to his father. When he became a successful computer games designer, he invited his father to come to America to share the happiness with him. Indoors he was always responsible for his wife and son. He knew clearly that he must carry out the main duty to his family. Outdoors, he worked hard, respected his boss for his trust, appreciation, support and entrusting Xu with an important task.

These values were all from the Confucian tradition in China. Confucianism emphasized “Three Cardinal Guides” : ruler guides subject father guides son husband guides wife “Five Constant Virtues”: benevolence, righteousness, propriety, wisdom and fidelity Among them, the chief virtue in Confucianism is filial piety.

The ethical-moral system which was set up by Confucius is shared, learned, and passed down through the generations in China. Datong Xu was born, educated and brought up in China. The Confucian tradition played a great role in his mind and couldn’t be removed, although he could accept the American customs, obey the American law, even think and live in the American way.

Culture is just like an iceberg. What Datong accepted were aspects of American culture that were easily observed and often referred to as objective culture. But most of his culture which was below the surface of his awareness, not easily observed referred to as subjective culture is that of traditional Chinese culture.

Mrs. Xu (Ning Jian) Datong’s wife----a representation of another kind of Asian-Americans. • What she knew about Chinese culture was fewer than Datong. • She had been fully westernized without awareness. • She had the American value, spoke English, taught her son in the American way. • even in the dinner, she asked her son, Denise to use fork instead of chopsticks.

However, she could understand the traditional Chinese culture. This is why she could tolerate Datong’s father’s irritating habits such as smoking indoors, which she disliked in fact. She supported Datong carrying out his filial duty to his father, and when Datong was accused by the Children Welfare Agency, she helped Datong hide the truth to prevent the old man from worrying. While John Quinlin was surprised why Datong took the responsibility for Guasha, she told him:"Because he is a Chinese."

This character shows that culture is dynamic. The culture one person accepted can be replaced by another culture, because the cultural circumstance has changed for a long time. This is a subculture existing in the dominant culture. (In the U.S.A. American culture is superior and the Asian-American culture is just a kind of subordinate culture.)

Datong’s father (Yixiang Xu)----a typical symbol of traditional Chinese culture. • He was totally incompatible with the modern American culture. • He had many virtues of traditional Chinese culture, such as： • loving younger generation (He supported his son’s career, took care of his grandson.) • valuing friendship (felt happy when he met Lao Huo, his old friend in the award ceremony and felt sad after Lao Huo died) • integrity (After Ms. Xu told him the truth, he immediately went to Mr. Quinlin’s home to tell him that Datong was innocent, it’s his mistake.)

These virtues are the images of five relationships that were advocated by Mencius : father and son (love) those between ruler and subject (the relation of righteousness) husband and wife (chaste conduct) elder brother and younger brother (order) friend and friend (faithfulness) 注: 孔子曾提出了君君臣臣、父父子子和仁义礼智等伦理道德观念。孟子进而提出“父子有亲，君臣有义，夫妇有别，长幼有序，朋友有信”的“五伦”道德规范

But Datong’s father also had some bad habits, such as smoking indoors. In fact, these actions are impolite or unhealthy. In America, people are told not to do that. Except that, he couldn’t speak English. Because of this limitation, Datong's father was limited in his own cultural circumstance, thus he couldn’t join in the intercultural communication. This shows language is one of the most important elements in intercultural communication.

Denise (Datong's son)----a mixture of American culture and Chinese culture • He was born in U.S.A. the cultural environment was American. • What his mother and teachers taught him and what he heard and saw helped him make up an American cultural system in his mind. • Meanwhile, the Chinese culture influenced him deeply by his father’s behavior, words and treatments to him.

Two different kinds of cultures are just like two different types of materials, being put into a melting-pot, then combined. In fact, how to make the boy grow up healthily and strongly means that how to make the two different kinds of culture coexist harmoniously.

Differences in Educating Children • Datong’s hitting Denis • In China, it’s common for parents to hit the child if it’s for the child’s goodness. • “打是亲骂是爱,不打不骂不成材” • “I hit you because I love you” • “当面教子,背后教妻” • teach and train our child according to parents’ will. • We Chinese take our children as part of us, as our private property, no matter how we educate them, it’s all for their goodness.

Chinese Values: • culture requires that “father guides son” • corporal punishment is an effective way in teaching younger generation. • when the older treats the younger, the younger can’t oppose, because there’re strict ranks in the family.

In America: • consider child as the treasure of the society, they are independent and free. • parents have the responsibility and obligations to look after them as well as ensure them the right of being educated • it can not be accepted to ignore the children’s need or even hit them violently. • give children the rights to select their own futures.

American Values: • the culture requires freedom, independence • strive for democracy and equality • parents and son are not only relatives, but also friends. They’re equal. • American adults respect the children’s opinion as well as privacy. • They protect the children’s rights as far as possible.

Law, relationship and work • America: • developed and complete law system • do things strictly obeying the law • believe evidences • use law to protect themselves • China: • developing and incomplete law system • attach more importance to relationship • use ethics and morals to control ourselves and judge others

Value basis • In China: the dominant culture is Confucianism. • Confucius taught that society was made up five relationships. So this culture depends on relations. • In U. S. A.: the dominant culture believes technology, economy and the Bible. • attach great importance to law, evidence and contracts.

Mianzi • In the film, Datong explained why he hit Denis in order that he gave Mr. Quinlin “mian zi”. • “face” in China carries a range of meanings based upon a core concept of “honor” • “the negotiated public image, mutually granted each other by participants in a communicative events.” • if lose face, feeling embarrassment, upset and angry.

In China, everyone is conscious of face all the time. “a person needs face as a tree needs bark” In America, concern for face exists but remains largely out of most people’s awareness.

Attitudes towards friends • Between the Chinese culture and the American culture, there are both similarities and differences in: • the way people make friends, • how friendship is maintained, • how long friendship usually lasts, • how the circles of friends are formed, • what friends can talk about with one another.

In the US, one’s friends tend not to share all aspects of one' s life but rather to be linked to specific activities. A person may have work friends, leisure activity (like golfing, jogging, bridge, and so forth) friends and neighborhood friends. They exchange different things with different circles of friends. Friends of one circle may not know friends of another circle.

In China, one may add friends by knowing friends and relatives friends, thus their circle of friends becoming larger and larger . One special aspect of friendship in China is that friendship may be strengthened by establishing a pseudo-kinship relationship.

America • One' s duties and obligations toward friends, even best friends are understood to have limits; one does not expect friends to assume burdensome, long-term responsibilities toward oneself.

China • the duties and obligations of Chinese friendship are virtually unlimited for all practical purposes. One has enormous responsibility for one' s friends. Chinese friends give each other much more concrete help and assistance than Western friends do.

Guasha--symbol of culture • a popular fork treatment for certain illnesses by scraping the forehead, neck, and chest and back of the patient with a copper coin to cause congestion in the skin vessels to alleviate pain or inflammation in China. • In this film, it represented the traditional Chinese medial skills. It has something to do with “jing and mai”. • But American doctors didn’t approve of it, because western medicine believes the experiments. They didn’t find the jing mai when they dissected the bodies.

Other symbols • Journey to the West • Chopsticks and fork

The Appreciation of Culture in Movies ——The Gua Sha Treatment