I am in no way a part of China, therefore, I chose to research the Chinese culture. There are several things that I thought people should know about the Chinese culture if they every plan to travel there. This is why I researched religion, entertainment, food, fashion and language of the Chinese culture.
The Chinese culture uses the Social Identity Theory much like us in the United States. According to Reid and Anderson (2010), “The Social Identity Theory does an excellent job of characterizing the status strivings of people in groups and their concomitant attitudes and behaviors. It starts with the assumption that people are motivated to achieve a positive social identity.” The Chinese culture uses Religious Identity, Ethnic Identity and Age Identity which are all part of the Social Identity Theory.
Two forms of communication are used in China, these are the same forms used in the United States just used differently. The two forms are verbal and nonverbal communication. Verbal communication is when we send messages to people through the use of words. While nonverbal communication is “the process of communication through sending and receiving wordless (mostly visual) messages,” (Wikipedia 2011).
You may notice that people belonging to the Chinese culture tend to have different Religious Identities from one another. This is because of the variety of religions practiced in the country of China. There is Taoism, Buddhism, Islamism, Protestantism and Catholicism.
I looked at two different forms of entertainment in the Chinese culture. The first form was the Chinese Opera. When it comes to the Chinese Opera nonverbal communication is used to portray the characters in the opera. Colors incorporated in the make-up and masks worn by the characters each represent the role played by the person. Therefore, if a persons make-up incorporated the color blue it was not because it looked pretty, rather because it portrayed the character as being fierce. Kung Fu was the other form of entertainment I focused on. This form of entertainment shows how Ethnic and Age Identity are used in the Chinese Culture.
The types of food as well as manners when food in China is an important thing to know if you plan to travel there. As you may remember from my last blog the types of food ate in China consist of a main dish and accompanying dishes and is ate with the use of chopsticks. More importantly is manners at the dinner table. When it comes to eating in China, Age Identity is important. You must show respect to your elders. According to Natasha (2010), “This can be done by allowing the oldest member of your group to sit facing the door while eating.” Also it is important to wait to eat until your host verbally communicates that it is time to do so.
Nonverbal communication is used to demonstrate your plans for the day by the type of outfits worn in China. Both traditional Chinese clothing is worn, mostly for social occasions, but also clothing such as blue jeans and t-shirts like in the United States.
Verbal communication is used when communicating the Chinese language which is Standard Mandarin. In China the use of symbols is used to write the language rather than writing out words.
Hopefully by reading all of my blogs on the Chinese culture I have helped you learn something about the culture, especially if you are traveling to China. For more information on the Chinese culture see my two previous blogs for greater detail.
References:
Reid, Scott, and Grace Anderson. Language, Social Identity, and Stereotyping. Ed. Howard Giles, Scott Reid, and Jake Harwood. 2010. N.p.: n.p., 2010. Print.
Wikipedia. "Nonverbal Communication." Wikipedia. N.p., 2011. Web. 6 Dec. 2011.
Doty, Natasha. Personal Interview. 11 Nov. 2011.
