Hard to believe that it is almost three years ago that I posted "Can a Black Man be Chinese?," a somewhat long (by blog standards) reflection on race, ethnicity and national identity. And I would be remiss if I did not mention the follow up post: "Can a Black Woman be Chinese?". How time flies...
I thought of both of these posts yesterday when I saw this ChinaSmack post: "Chinese Men with Black Women & African Wives," which seemed to confirm my earlier analysis.
The intersection of demographics (i.e. sex imbalance in China) and globalization (i.e. increased movement of people generally around the world) is raising fundamental challenges to cultural nationalists who attempt to freeze particular definitions of identity in time and space.
And, just to be clear, a contemporary Confucian perspetive would accept all of this. There is no inherent racial or ethnic prejudice in The Analects - anyone, regardless of race, who enacts Duty according to Ritual to move toward Humantiy is a morally accomplished person. A Black man or women can, if they choose, be Chinese....
this is a little out of date now, but have you seen this story?
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=120311417
Posted by: Alexus McLeod | June 19, 2011 at 01:57 PM
I would be more down with this if the person accepts the fundamental premises of Chinese culture, such as filial piety.
The reverse side of the coin is whether a person remains Chinese if he abandons Chinese culture.
Posted by: JusticeAndMercy | June 20, 2011 at 08:43 PM
Alexus,
Yes, I blogged about her here. Wonder what happened to her?...
Justice,
This raises a question: should we also say that those people living in China who have, in their deeds, given up filial piety (and my sense is that that number is growing) are no longer "Chinese"?
Posted by: Sam | June 20, 2011 at 10:44 PM
I'm speaking from a Chinese standpoint rather than a Confucian standpoint here...
I feel that if a Chinese person (e.g. by blood) abandons Chinese culture, especially Chinese moral culture, then he has lost his way, but I wouldn't say that he is now non-Chinese.
But if a non-Chinese person wants to claim Chineseness, then I feel he needs to prove himself in a way a Chinese person by blood does not. I can accept him if I feel he respects and identifies with Chinese culture.
I believe that other nations probably feel the same way about this issue as pertains to them.
Posted by: JusticeAndMercy | June 21, 2011 at 04:22 AM
Reminds me of the white horse discourse.
Posted by: {:-]))) | July 19, 2011 at 10:13 PM