Construction of Chinese Culture after the Socialism Era

Construction of Chinese Culture after the Socialism Era

“Call it democracy, call it democratic socialism, but there must be a better distribution of wealth within the country for all God’s children”. The words of Martin Luther King are a genuine reflection of the relationship that is shared within a society. The concept of Socialism has been a considerable part of many nations for a long time now. China for instance, managed to get rid of Socialism and begun the creation of its social construction after Socialism, giving rise to the concept that is known as the post-socialist era. This concept is a term that is used to describe the situation in which a phenomenon or an idea, which does not conform to the Marxist ideologies about the society but has significant impacts on the nation in terms of cultural influences on the existing culture. Ideally, evaluating China on the angle of the end of Socialism can enlighten the readers of the various transformation that the nation has experienced following the end of Socialism.

Since the abolition of Socialism in China, citizens have experienced a different kind of freedom that has caused people to be more open-minded and accommodative. The society that was initially created by Socialism was mainly controlled by the activities and policies that contributed to collectivism. Following this, issues such as sexual orientation were primarily based on heterosexuality that was the most common sexual identity in the community. Following the abolition of Socialism, however, the perception that people had on the sexual orientation of the people begun to change as it corresponded to the impressions and the open-mindfulness of the society. Homosexuality, such as gays, started to rise, and they would no longer hide because the community had changed from a collectivist society to an individualistic culture, and people grew to respect the opinions and the choice of other people. Rofel supports that “There is renewed attention in China to a concept of justice in the name of sexual desire. And a transnational scene has opened up in Beijing; gay men and a few lesbians from every global corner reside there” (451). The homosexuals have become an integral part of the Chinese society and this can be seen through the creation of their places of entertainment such as bars and salons in which these people can interact. As much as this may seem as an alienation, it is a step, especially for a society that was held in the arms of Socialism for a long time. Even so, the fact that the homosexuals can dwell among the heterosexuals without the fear of being persecuted is reason enough to protect these people. Considering that most of these people are below thirty years, learned and most of them are educated, proves the fact that these concepts begun after the fall of Capitalism.

Additionally, the opening of China following the abolition of Socialism contributed to the ushering of foreigners who brought with them the influence of homosexuality. The era of Socialism did not create provisions in which any foreigners could enter China. As such, most of the foreigners influenced, or instead introduced the gay sexual orientation in the Chinese community and left the impact on the Chinese natives. Rofel supports that “Other gay foreigners lead lives reminiscent of colonialism, occasionally engaging with native Chinese men as sexual partners but having little interest in what the encounter means for these men” (453). After a while, the Chinese community has begun identifying with this sexual orientation, and they began viewing it as a regular thing. Through this method, sexuality established the foundation in the Chinese community. Following this, the number of Chinese gay men continued to rise in the proceeding years, and they created a new society in which people were trying to be open-minded.

Furthermore, the opening of the Chinese economy to foreigners following the collapse of Socialism led to the destruction of some of the most known social class systems. To be particular, the [tongzhi] among the Chinese community was considered the noblest of the noble in society. As such, they were a massive part of the socialism government in China. However, the abolition of Socialism in the nation gave rise to the collapse of the social class systems that, in the end, introduced concepts such as Capitalism in the Chinese republic. Rofel explains that “Since the opening up of the market economy of China, the term has dropped in popularity, now giving way to a more capitalistic and individualistic way of using personal names” (465). The collapse of Socialism impacted the Chinese economy to the point that it gave rise to a new wave of Capitalism that continued to establish a ground to the end that it has taken a considerable part of the Chinese economy even in contemporary times. When the Tongzhi adopted communist China in the year 1977, it expressed the desire to indigenous the sexual politics of the nation and, at the same time, reclaim the cultural identities of the people in the society.

Moreover, the abolition of the concept of Socialism also created an opening of China, making it a permanent place for foreign males. Following this, the ratio between the male and the Chinese women was unequal since the white men were many as opposed to the women. The interaction between these people, however, disrupted the aspects of morality that was initially an essential aspect of the culture of the Chinese. During the socialism era, the Chinese had a strong bond to their cultural and traditional teachings about the element of morality. After welcoming foreigners following the abolition of the Socialism, the nation became more open to cultural influence from foreign cultures. With this in place, the introduction of the foreign men showed the Chinese women that they were not bound by any culture as they had the ability to enjoy life just like any other people. Susan Koshy argues that “Asian women have gained ‘sexual capital’ in the West through glamorous accounts of western males. Asian female sexual relationships situated in Asian countries but produced by westerners” (Farrer 75). Following the cultural infiltration by the western states, Chinese culture was distorted as the women began commercializing sex to foreigners, and it was never a big deal to be paid for sex any longer in the Chinese culture. Gradually, this concept grew, and with time, the people continued to accept and incorporate the commercialization of sex into their culture.

Also, the concept of opening up the Chinese borders contributed to the creation of the idea of civilization in the Chinese community. The foreigners aided in opening the eyes of the Chinese natives about the concept of sexuality and, through this, influenced the way of the Chinese reasoning and perception regarding this concept. Following this, the Chinese views about the idea of sexuality changed, and they began seeing this concept with a more open-minded point of view. Research has it that foreigners are often intrigued by the naivety of societies that can barely have a conversation about the subject of sex. When they came across the Chinese community, more and more of the foreigners went to the nation, and within a short while, they were influencing the Chinese cultural beliefs and values that have been an integral part of the society for a long time.  Farrer explains that “They applaud the absence of sex on television, and the clothes that conceal every curve of the body, like a healthy sign” (70). To a certain extent, the foreigners, particularly the Americans, believed that the Chinese community is mainly controlled by the construction of the society and especially the thoughts of Chairman Mao. These foreigners believe that a person has the right to do what he or she wants and that the person should not be hindered by any traditions or doctrines. Following these beliefs, foreigners influenced Chinese women and men. They changed society into one that people do what they wanted to do, without the fear of being judged by society.

Conclusively, the post-socialism era was the moment through which the Chinese community changed in terms of its social construction, and its economic development. Ideally, the nature of the Chinese community, especially the cultural traditions and values that were held by the community, were the most affected. Another aspect of Chinese tradition and culture that was affected is sexuality. Initially, the Chinese culture identified and only allowed the heterosexuality as the mode of sexuality among its people. After the abolition of sexuality, however, these people changed their sexuality and incorporated aspects of homosexuality that had been introduced in the nation by the foreigners. Following this, the society became open-minded to accommodate these people and even allowed them to create and establish their places of entertainment in society. Above all, the introduction of the foreigners in the Chinese culture introduced aspects of Capitalism in the Chinese economy that destroyed the value that is acquired from these platforms through the construction of Capitalism that has impacted the economics of china to date due to the high rates of unemployment.

Works Cited

Farrer, James. “A foreign adventurer’s paradise? Interracial sexuality and alien sexual capital in reform era Shanghai.” Sexualities 13.1 (2010): 69-95.

Rofel, Lisa. “Qualities of desire: imagining gay identities in China.” GLQ: A Journal of Lesbian and Gay Studies 5.4 (1999): 451-474.

Works Cited