The United States has always been a source of fascination — both attraction and repulsion — for the people of France, Mexico, China, and African countries such as Nigeria, Ghana, and Sudan. "America Through Foreign Eyes" is a rich, interdisciplinary, international course that features Rice University faculty from a variety of disciplines and area studies. Focused on perceptions of America abroad, the course is a cross between World Cultures and American Studies. The course features four modules, each covering the perceptions and interactions of particular regions with America, Americans and Americanization.
Feng Yu, December 7, 2014, Interviewed by Dr. Anne Chao
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來自 Rice University 的課程
America Through Foreign Eyes
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從本節課中
America Through Chinese Eyes
The United States has always been a source of fascination for the people of China. Chinese observers and travelers are rarely indifferent to American culture and people. This module, “America Through Chinese Eyes,” examines historical and contemporary perceptions of America, Americans, and Americanization through the lens of Chinese writers, artists, politicians, intellectuals, and public opinion. Taught by Dr. Anne Chao, a professor of History, this module will cover the four themes of the course: Democracy and Modernity; Globalization and Capitalism; Racism and Immigration; and Intellectual and Cultural Life.
與講師見面
Dr. Anne S. ChaoLecturer
Rice University
Dr. Julie FetteAssociate Professor
Rice University
Dr. Jeffrey FleisherAssociate Professor
Rice University
Dr. Moramay López-AlonsoAssociate Professor
Rice University
Good afternoon, my name is Feng Yue.
And I'm now working with the Global Times English version, and
I'm based in Shanghai.
Before joining Global Times,
I've been working with The Shanghai Day Life for eight years as an editor.
Also an English language newspaper.
We heard of this country when we were from the [FOREIGN].
Something like, I think [INAUDIBLE] is very interesting and impressive.
Countries like United States and Great Britain are paper tigers.
So, that's maybe the first impression.
[LAUGH] Yeah, and then, I went to United State in 2005,
as the visiting scholar to the journalism school
of Missouri University, that's the first time.
And also, up till now, the only chance for me to be there.
I studied there for a whole semester, and
I found the country is very worth experiencing and
going there and witnessing it by ourselves,
so I can actually say, it's very great.
>> Is the experience look good?
>> Very great, yes, including in the communication with the classmates
they are, with the professors, and professors, and faculties.
And also, with different people during my trip and the whole stay there.
I'd like to say, the paper tiger is something the childhood memory.
Before I went to the States, I'd like to say my hopes and
expectation or understanding United States represents number one.
So, I'd like to know about the differences or
the gap between United States and China.
Something I'd like to, so at that time I never thought of the paper tiger again.
So, when I was there, I found, yes,
it's a country with a very big or greater diversity.
And there, we can say people of different races and
I can find especially that the treatment or
the manners or the policies toward the disabled are very great.
For example, we find that the disabled people can
use very advanced high technology called vehicles, very safe.
It looks very cool when that vehicle is quite far away from you.
You can feel that.
You hear that special, something like the voice or the sound.
So, I think it's very, how to say,
not easy to do that much for the groups.
So, that impressed me a lot.
>> And any other thoughts about available the users to arrive in Missouri.
>> I'd like to say, okay, it's just a, how to
say, maybe a middle class state or a city.
And it isn't as great as I have ever expected it,
because maybe I was from Shanghai.
And Shanghai represents the very high level, the every.
So, I found art is not as great, or
the hometown or the city back in China.
And to me, the differences are not that huge,
so that's something I feel quite proud of.
>> And in the manner of the classes, the way the classes are conducted,
there's interaction between professors and students, are there differences
from the Chinese experience and what you found in Missouri, in America?
>> Totally different.
First off, I found that a lot research and
home work we have to do before you enter in the classroom,
so that you can talk freely with the professors.
If you don't read much enough, you couldn't interact with them.
Then it's something like a waste of time.
And also I'd like to say the atmosphere is quite great.
The professors are quite open.
They would like to welcome or encourage you to express your opinion.
And I remember very clearly and experienced, is a time,
it's something like talking about,
not exactly as Americans [INAUDIBLE] with Chinese eyes.
It's something about, I don't know when it started but it's something like,
let me say something about my impression about the United States.
And I used as a word of hegemony
because I told them the true experience in back in Shanghai.
When Chinese people heard about the, got the news of the WTO,
the twin towers collapsed, we say the characteristic of love.
Chinese always say [FOREIGN], September 11th.
And in fact at the very beginning,
we could hear the voices or the opinion like,
maybe because the United States did something wrong.
So, they gotta revenge or because they always intervene or
interfere with the other's and that activity stirred some hatred.
Then, but of course the mainstream voice is that terrorism
couldn't be tolerated in any form or it was an excuse or alibi.
But, that's the true feeling or the voices I have heard.
So, I shared that with my classmates in the United States.
I could feel and remember their shock.
They couldn't believe.
But they have to accept that's something real and true.
That's something like effect.
So, taking back to the early 19th century or
20th century, yes, we can find that we call foreigners.
And when we are referring to foreigners, many of us or
the public would like to think maybe it's just United States.
Because the United States has been number one for quite a period.
Yes, we should say the participation
of Americans it's quite big.
As you mentioned the helping of setting up,
establishing hospitals because previously it's just the traditional.
Chinese medicine and in the end we had the western
hospital medical system with the help of foreign countries.
Of course, including United States and
also some schools, universities and girls schools or
boy schools, especially in Shanghai.
We have the in Chinese we say [FOREIGN]
the East China University of Critical Science.
It's derived from Saint John's University.
And also we can find the, how to say, the roots or
the traces of the western influence.
So, and also they're religious scene.
Yes, the people get to know about, okay, the Christian or
the, because I'm not quite familiar with that field, but, anyway, yes.
A lot of quite a big roles they played,
and especially now we should say some say about
the trade thing because doing businesses,
the both countries played big roles with
each other because of the volume of the trade.
So we can say that from the levels of interstates,
or country level and maybe grassroot, official and
in unofficial levels more and more interactive.
And, how to say, developing a competitive way,
previously like it's lopsided here because the United States surpasses all,
not surpasses, United States is much the monster, much more the monster than China.
But in recent years, that we say the recession in the United States and
is rising off of China.
So that, the [INAUDIBLE], both countries are superpower.
But in effect we say that per capita thing,
it may be from the total amount says China
is really a superpower, very big.
But we couldn't compare that in the total volume.
We have to say per family.
Because although we know, in the United States,
the wealthy gap is quite to bigger.
We have the community in China is much bigger and the percentage of middle class
families in China, I think it's a far from sufficiency.
So that's biggest problem because of the population base.
China has so big population.
It's something of a very big disadvantage.
The world is such big globe and every day, in every corner,
there is something maybe bigger, maybe minor happening.
And sometimes some countries or
governments, they lack the ability to
handle it properly so we have to say yes.
They need something like a leader or
some country or an organization as a how to say,
number one to say or to give a conclusion.
Yes, that's unavoidable.
But I like to say maybe it shouldn't be a specific country.
I would like to say it would be better it's a system
or an organization, because then there will be supervision system.
There will be something like a chapter or
charter instead of very individual or self-centered policy making.
So I'd like to say as you mentioned,
in from 1945 after the World War II,
yes America actively or inactively
is a major role play in the world stage.
For example, as we know, as you mentioned the,
that their support of Taiwan and Chiang Kai-shek because
I know that during the human demonstration,
they sent seventh fleet in the street.
That might a China in situation for
more than, for so many years, Taiwan and mainlander.
So that's also something I have emphasized right now.
It's something like a scar or a better feeling for most of Chinese.
And when there was at, in the Korean War,
the Korea Peninsula thing, yes,
America has its very obvious inclination.
It just would like to help the North or the South to fight
against the other side and then we know the Vietnam War.
And we always say the veteran soldiers they also are protesting,
because we know that the victims, or the casualties or
the harm to United States citizens themselves.
It's also very big.
So you couldn't judge, okay?
Thinks it's unavoidable, then you can do that.
I don't think so because maybe there is a better solution.
Of course it's harder when we are saying right now it seems okay,
it's very easy for us to something but at a point we know it's harder.
And at the end in the most in the more recenter we find that the Iraq War and
Afghanistan.
How to say, America's role, we know that even
in the United States, in the country itself, the public is divided.
We don't know exactly whether everybody of course, not everybody is supportive for,
many people say no, they would like to express the dissatisfaction or
position by a lot of links.
So yes, it's hard.
I think the administrations or the administrators themselves also know that.
But they couldn't, here I do not want to say hidden money because, yes,
the super power or the bigger countries have to shield some responsibility.
Like now China is also, how to say,
holding a lot of more responsibilities in
the international role to help in many fields.
Yes it's harder and unavoidable.
But how, and it's harder to say, maybe after 15 year,
after 30 years there will be A balanced
conclusion at to the point that it's hard.
>> Yes.
>> Sometimes some people would take for
granted I'm treated unequally,
even if maybe the same thing happened to
a white person, maybe the result is same,
but there will be some people, or
maybe the percentage is quite high.
They would like to think in a differential way,
something like presetting, mind setting.
Like, okay I was treated in this way because I am black.
They won't accept the fact, if you were not black,
even if you were a white person, you will still be treated in this way.
So that's something like the effect of uncertainty and instability.
So here I'd like to say diversity plays a positive role in many ways,
but, after some critical point it will play a very negative role
because they won't
think in a rational way, that's my concern.
Yeah, I would like to say still American
plays a role in influencing China.
But with China's interaction with more
countries we can find that people in China won't
regard the Americans' influence as number one.
Because we can find, as you mentioned,
okay in the fashion field we can always find the European style,
or the British style, or sometimes more specific Nordic style.
So we will find the United States style sometimes plays
a negative role means all the fashion.
Or something like that, because it's too general.
But the other countries because they are smaller,
they would like to setting their points with a different concept.
Like, they're more delicate or [INAUDIBLE] something like that.
So that's my personal impression.
So I'd like to say if it's 20 or 30 years ago, yes,
maybe American's style or
model will be set or regarded as the best one.
But now, the role or the rank is challenged by more as elements.
As you mentioned that the Hollywood movie making skills are technologies and
the special companies you mentioned, okay the Google,
I'd like to say they play quite a positive role in helping the United States,
something like the whole country's image.
Because those fields still present the most advanced and
the best level of the whole world which is very,
I'd like to say very approved
and recognized by Chinese people, by majority of Chinese people.
So that's something United States should be proud of.
>> Looking from the outside from China into the American political system,
what do you see are good things and what do you see are bad things?
>> Sorry for this point.
Because to me, I'd say
I didn't pay enough attention to the election issue of the United States.
We find that, yes,
the United States has the different election system compared with us.
The candidates, whether be presidential or
as a Senator or Congressmen, they would like to give very encouraging and
how to say very exciting speech, deliver speech.
They are not diplomats, they are just like, okay.
To us it's like an actress, but the fact is that,
when we got to know the system, we find, it's just a gesture.
And the, in the following four years, maybe they will forget.
Or they don't forget but they know it's harder to achieve, to keep their promise.
So for us it's like a case procedure we needn't take it too serious.
Sorry that's my personal opinion.
Last year I was invited by the Consulate,
US Consulate here in Shanghai to say announcement about the election results,
which party wins in which state.
Right.
And then for the poll.
Okay, in this state.
And the Republican wins because they win the majority.
Then we find that in fact it's, how to say,
relatively equal are the democractic.
Because if it didn't represent,
it couldn't represent all of the willings of residents or
people in this, voters in this continent.
I vote no because I'm the majority.
And it's very tricky.
For example, it's not an overwhelming win.
Especially something like okay.
It's only just 55 To 45, it's very unfair to that 45.
If it's 99 or 90 to 10, it's okay.
It's really a majority win.
So it's quite tricky, I'd like to say.
But anyway It gives, it gives the people
of this country a chance to express their will,
although maybe at last, my will wasn't taken, or heard.
It doesn't matter, it's still something good.
I have to admit, United States already has developed very well in the past century.
It has been the,
how to say, the leader in many fields.
And now it has some more challenges.
Because the, how to say, it may be the financial crisis,
or the employment, and also European and
the China and the Japan or Korea's role.
So.
I liked to say maybe there is something
like you just mentioned to get rid of the discrimination.
Don't think we are superior to others.
For example, do not think we can import cheaper things from other countries.
Maybe one day you will have to accept the fact that you will be the country
importing them or exporting the cheap things to other countries
because we don't know what the world will be 100 years ago or 30 years ago.
Nobody can imagine, wow, the world can be behaving or
acting in such a way, so.
I'd like to say, yes, discrimination ended the self for
