Chiu
A COMPARATIVE RESEARCH BETWEEN THE
PHENOMENONS OF CHINAIZATION AND
AMERICANIZATION:
WHY DOES CHINESE CULTURE HAVE A LIMITED
INFLUENCE IN HONG KONG AND JAPAN?
By
Chih-Yang Chiu
Utrecht 2008
The Netherlands
1
Chiu
Chih-Yang Chiu
3091899
MA in Comparative History
23 June 2008
Supervisors: Rob Kroes & Maarten Prak
2
Chiu
3
CONTENT
Introduction…………………………………...4-18
Chapter 1
Definition and Case Introduction…………..19-32
Chapter 2
Analyses of Newspapers and Movies………33-68
Chapter 3
Language Cause and Others………………..69-85
Chapter 4
Conclusions…...……………………………..86-94
Bibliography………………………………...94-100
Chiu
4
Introduction
0.1 Outline
The aim of this paper is to look closely at the way China promotes its culture to
other countries. I will compare this with the phenomenon of Americanization in order
to find out why there is no corresponding Chinaization. I will look at and come up
with several possible explanations to determine the most likely reasons behind this.
The methodology that I use in this research paper will be examination of the case
study within two regions. One is Japan and the other is Hong Kong. I have chosen
these countries for the case study based on historical consideration, which I will
explain further in the section of 0.3. I will try to compare these two regions by using
Mill’s method.1
The aim of this paper is trying to analyze the reasons why countries like Hong
Kong or Japan had been heavily influenced by Americanization instead of
“Chinaization”. Hong Kong was particularly chosen a case study because much of the
world has often take it for granted that Hong Kong residents are Chinese, however the
world has neglected a extremely important historical fact, namely, that Hong Kong
was colonized by British Empire from 1842 to 1997.2 As a consequence, Hong Kong
1
Ragin, Charles, The Comparative Method-moving beyond qualitative and quantitative strategies,
(London: University of California Press, 1987)
2
Soon after the Opium War broke out in 1840, the Qing emperor gave up on the war and sought
settlement with the British Empire. In 1842, the Qing was defeated by the British Empire in the First
Opium War, and in the next year it signed the Nanking Treaty with the British Empire, in which Hong
Chiu
5
residents have long been confused about their national identity. Hong Kong national
identification problems have similarly caused Hong Kong resident to become
confused about cultural identification. This national identification problem is worth
considering by looking at the cultural “symbols” to explore the true attitude of Hong
Kong resident toward Chinaization. This issue will be described in detail in Chapter
One. Here, I will discuss the part symbols play in the definition of Chinaization. As
Geert Hofstede has stated in his book, Cultures and Organizations: Software of the
Mind, the onion theory sees symbol “only as the outermost layer of culture.3” The
“symbol” here refers to general media reports, fashion style, and symbolic festival
that related to Chinese culture. The paper will discuss the variety media’s response of
both impact of American culture and Chinese culture.
0.2 Research Question
Why does Chinese culture have a limited influence in Hong Kong and Japan? This
is a phenomenon in media such as pop magazine and daily newspaper or in terms of
custom and cultural acceptance. These both reflect the fact that there is insignificant
media response and cultural acceptance of Chinese culture by Hong Kong and Japan.
In contrast, why is the influence of American Culture on these two countries’ pop
culture so manifest and welcomed? Besides the media and information technology,
there has also been a great deal of American culture influence instead of Chinese
culture influence in many other areas. This is the proposition that the paper seeks to
Kong was officially ceded to the British Empire. Information Resource: Qian Mu, The General History
of China (Taipei: Dongsheng, 1980), pp.567-569
3
Geert Hofstede, “Introduction: The Cultural Relativity of Organization Practices and Theories”,
Culture and Organizations: Software of the Mind (New York: McGraw-Hill, 2005), pp.1-36.
Chiu
6
emphasize. Why do local residents welcome a culture and its influences, while
rejecting another potentially strong influential culture? However, the discussion of
culture is too broad, and easily generalized. In fact, culture is divided into many very
minute levels, which will not be easy to describe here. The focus here will be on the
media and language layers. The media is the channel with which it is easiest to reveal
the culture of a country. This is true even when the authorities control the media. A
government controls the media because it wants the people to think and consider the
issues in certain ways. Then, clearly, the prohibited topics and materials are certainly
not good for the authority, and are often also unfamiliar to its people. Therefore,
regardless of whether the media is controlled, this paper will still focus on cultural
influences in the media.
Here, it is necessary for me to limit this paper to Hong Kong from 1997 till present.
I will focus on the media response and the language used by Hong Kong residents and
on movies, newspapers, and reliable surveys from Internet resources. What kind of
culture appearance do these media materials reflect, and why is American culture so
obvious, while Chinese culture once again is merely part of the tradition.4
The same consideration is used in discussing Japan. I also evaluate the non-political
level, but I will also discuss the consequences of the war. I aim to focus on Japanese
living in Japan coming into contact with American culture and Chinese culture. There
is a reflecting a general attitude of cultural acceptance of American culture which is
reflected in the media, but why is there no substantial Chinaization in Japan? An
interesting question is, why is Japanese kanji5 “becoming merely” traditional text
4
In 214 B.C., the Qin Dynasty sent armies to officially incorporate the Hong Kong region into its
territories. Information Resource: Qian Mu, The General History of China (Taipei: Dongsheng, 1980),
pp.198
5
The way of writing in Japanese kanji is basically similar with the characters used in Chinese writing.
The small number of uniquely Japanese kanji is referred to as Japanese kanji. “Morohashi’s Dai Kanwa
Chiu
7
instead of the normally used text. In daily life, kanji is disappearing at a rapid speed.
Now, the popular novels in Japan are mostly written in hiragana, so the public can
easily understand them. In 2003, Japan Times conducted a street survey6, which
investigated the degree of understanding for kanji by young Japanese between 20-30.
More than half of Japanese youth believe that kanji is too difficult and should be
replaced. Japanese kanji is written in the same way as Chinese, but their meanings are
very different; it is a new language that began gradually to be derived and created in
the fifth century in Japan7. Kanji formerly had a very important position in the
Japanese language, but, like all traditions, after it is perceived as being difficult and
requiring time to learn, it has slowly been replaced by the phonetic spellings of
hiragana.
Hence, I am here looking at my main research question: Why there seems to exist
no Chinaization in Hong Kong and Japan? For Hong Kong, the time will be limited to
after 1997. As for Japan, the time will be limited to after World War II. What
dynamics does Chinese culture have or lack so that Chinese culture has difficulty in
spreading to other countries? In the same time, I shall discuss what advantages
Jiten” is the greatest Japanese kanji dictionary, recording nearly 50,000 kanji. However, after World
War II, the kanji used in modern Japanese only number a few thousand. There is no difference between
classical Japanese kanji and traditional Chinese. Information Resource:
http://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E6%97%A5%E6%96%87%E6%BC%A2%E5%AD%97, view date:
18/02/2008
6
The original homepage had been deleted. Therefore, I am here using the data that I analyzed already
in 2003 for a research project for Commonwealth magazine in Taiwan.
7
It is uncertain when Chinese words were passed from Japan to China, but it is generally agreed that
some Buddhist monks passed kanji to Japan with sutras in the fifth century. The kanji in these sutras
were read in imitation of pronunciation of Chinese monks. However, this allowed the writing system
of “kanji” to begin development. Kanbun is essentially inserting unique Japanese auxiliary phrases so
that Japanese users can use Japanese readings to read kanji articles. Information Resource:
http://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E6%97%A5%E6%96%87%E6%BC%A2%E5%AD%97, view date:
18/02/2008.
Chiu
8
American culture has that can help it to easily spread to other cultures? These will be
discussed within the scope of this paper. The reason I pick up two different periods
for my case study is because Hong Kong’s sovereignty had return to Mainland China
after 1997. Before that, Hong Kong was colonized by U.K. Only to pick up such
different times that could compare if I aim to focus the influence of Chinaization and
Americanization in these two regions.
0.3
Purpose of Writing the Paper
I am writing this research paper mainly for two reasons. First, in early 1980, the
United Kingdom was preparing for the return of Hong Kong in seventeen years, and
this prompted the United Kingdom to request a splitting of Hong Kong’s
“sovereignty” and “governance” with Mainland China even after 1997, whereby its
sovereignty would belong to Mainland China while the British would retain
governance. Various political and commercial Hong Kong elites supported related
suggestions. This bring me to the question of why would these Hong Kong elite rather
let Hong Kong be a colony than be ruled by Mainland China, where they “originally”
belonged? Considerations behind such actions deserve our contemplation, even
though this suggestion by the British was later dismissed by the leader of China at the
time, Deng Xiaoping. China insisted that the United Kingdom had neither rights of
sovereignty to Hong Kong nor governance8 after 1997; China not only wanted to
retrieve the New Territories, but it also saw the cession of Hong Kong and Kowloon
as the product of an “unequal treaty”, and so it was necessary to retrieve Hong Kong
as a whole. At the time, Deng Xiaoping promised that with the retrieval of
8
RTHK Corporate Communications Unit, http://www.rthk.org.hk/classicschannel/video/90s_0012.asx,
view date: 18/02/2008.
Chiu
9
sovereignty, Hong Kong would be permitted to possess an independent economic and
political system. To be precise, there will be a “high degree of autonomy” in Hong
Kong.9 However, most of Hong Kong residents still have no faith in the Mainland
China rule of Hong Kong, and this created a wave of emigration in the 1980s; many
Hong Kong residents moved overseas, choosing to live in a foreign land rather than
stay in Hong Kong.
Until today, Hong Kong residents still sense that they are “Hong Konger” instead
of Chinese. Hong Kong’s Ming Pao News found in survey conducted in 2006 that
93% of Hong Kong middle school students identify themselves as Hong Kongers as
opposed to those who identify themselves as Chinese10. In the same year, a study by
Hong Kong University also showed that 61% of the interviewed Hong Kong residents
refer to themselves as “Hong Konger”, but only 36% refer to themselves as
“Chinese.”11 Hong Kong residents clearly have a national identification problem,
which has also influenced their attitudes towards acceptance of other cultures. For
example, in terms of customs, most Hong Kong resident stills have the habit of
drinking afternoon tea, like the British, and they do not feel strongly for traditional
festivals of China. Rather, they are very interested in Western holidays such as
Valentine’s Day and Christmas. The local news and newspapers reflect this. Why is it
that while the world sees Hong Kong resident as Chinese, there seem to exist no
Chinaization in Hong Kong?
The second reason has to do with Japan, a country that has been “Traditionally
Chinalzed” in living habits, such as the important customs like ancestral worship and
9
Wikipedia: Introduction of the culture of Hong Kong, http://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/hongkong#.
E6.98.8E.E6.9C.9D.E6.99.82.E6.9C.9F, view date: 20/02/2008.
10
Hong Konger Front, http://www.hkfront.org/20060115ch.htm, view date: 20/02/2008.
11
The Central News Agency,
http://www.cna.com.tw/publication/cnamagnew001_049_detail_03.html, view date: 20/02/2008.
Chiu
10
also like general etiquette. Japan has also undergone the Taika era reforms during the
nine century which is complete Chinaization; despite that, why is there no
Chinaization in Japan at present? In this paper, the definition of Chinaization is only
limited to evaluating the cultural symbols. In other words, why do we not see
Chinese-style apparel and accessories incorporated in Japanese culture? Why do we
not see many movies with a more in-depth evaluation of the emotional entanglements
between Japan and China? Why does Japanese vocabulary have increasingly more
imported words from the West, while the kanji are disappearing? Chinese culture uses
to be such a strong influential culture in the Japanese islands, but why is this no
longer the case? The above questions are the primary motivations for me to write this
paper.
0.4
Academic Background
A great deal of work has been done on cultural studies after World War II in Japan.
What seems to be lacking, however is finding the connection between war and later
cultural influences. Many scholars have been focus on post-war Japan’s local cultural
features. Most scholars are inclined to analyzing culture, but there are few articles that
start from the beginning of the contemporary popular culture. That is, for these two
regions that have been formerly deeply influenced by Chinese culture, why has
American mass culture become the manifest culture in Hong Kong and Japan today?
The transformation of culture requires time, so why is it that the culture of these two
regions changed so quickly? Here, the “quickly” refer to four years, five years, and
ten years. However, Chinese culture has been tangibly and intangibly rooted in Japan
Chiu
11
and Hong Kong for centuries12. In the media as well as other areas, the culture of
Japan and Hong Kong do not show manifest Chinaization. Why? Perhaps Botond
Bognar’ observation could bring us some information13. He said, “It is important to
emphasize that, in the radical transformation of their country, the Japanese were not
merely reluctant ‘warriors’ but truly active participants and eager learners. Lagging
behind the West by about one hundred years in just about every respect, Japan was
hungry for Western Knowledge, culture, and civilization, and this often meant a
wholesale embrace of anything Western. ”
In the past 20 years, Western scholars have made progress in studying the Japanese
culture, especially in evaluating the structure of Japanese culture, gender issues, and
aging levels in society, which have been most frequently used as major research topic.
Regrettably, the research topics of these scholars do not conform to the topic of this
paper, and thus will not be discussed here. This paper uses an overview within a
historical perspective to evaluate cultural identification. This paper compares
Americanization and Chinaization. After a literature search, I found the work of a few
scholars who I deem to have in-depth understanding of the identification question of
Japanese culture, so I decided to use their work as indispensable references. For
instance, Professor Gjerde and Professor Onishi14, jointly wrote “Selves, Culture, and
Nation: The Psychological Imagination of ‘the Japanese’ in the Era of Globalization.”
This article used the psychological aspect to evaluate the identification question for
12
From the Taika reforms to the end of Tang Dynasty, Japan has at least been influenced for two
hundred years. As for Hong Kong, since the Qin Dynasty saw it as territory with a bureaucracy until
the Qing Dynasty, it has been influenced for over a thousand years. Information Resource: Qian Mu,
The General History of China (Taipei: Dongsheng, 1980), pp.997-1003
13
Fehrenbach, Heide and Uta G. Poiger, Transactions, transgressions, transformations: American
culture in Western Europe and Japan (New York: Berghahn Books, 2000) pp.51
14
Both of them are professor of California at Santa Cruz, the United States of America.
Chiu
12
Japanese national culture. In the article, there is a section, in which Professor Gjerde
and Professor Onishi strongly emphases the topic of the distinction between cultural
values versus actual practices15 which made me reconsider many things. How to put
the cultural values of a country into practice, and how can it be defined as practice?
According to the anthropologist Clifford Geertz, who defines culture as “a set of
control mechanisms--plans, recipes, rules, constructions, what computer engineers
call programs for the governing of behavior,”16 the question of cultural values versus
actual practice can be extended to a great distance. Thus, after reading the articles of
these scholars, I decided to limit the assessment of Japanese national culture and the
culture of Hong Kong to the “symbol”, only discussing the manifest culture, such as
the reportage of culture by the media and the habit of language use in order to avoid
over-broadening of this paper, and also not to extend the definition of culture.
In research area of the culture of Hong Kong, a great number of Hong Kong
scholars have devoted themselves to this field and to the study of Hong Kong
literature, movies, and mass culture to determine how the culture of Hong Kong has
been influenced by American mass culture and Chinese culture. Some scholars use
movies to evaluate the breadth and depth of English colonial influence in Hong Kong.
Others evaluate the intricate complexes between Westerners and the colonized Hong
Kong, and deal with how the nature of culture of one country is impacted by the
colonization of another region. As to these elements of cultural exploration, here I
quote American scholar Michael Anderegg words to express my consideration, “How
to define a culture is certainly influenced permanently and not temporarily. In terms
15
Onishi, M. and Gjerde, P.F., Selves, Culture, and Nation: The Psychological Imagination of ‘the
Japanese’ in the Era of Globalization, Human development (Basel), Volume: 43, Issue: 4-5
(July-October 2000), pp.217.
16
Geertz, C., The Interpretation of Cultures (New York: Basic Books, 1973), pp.44.
Chiu
13
of manifest culture, how would we ascertain the clarity of manifest culture, is there a
temporality?” 17 For example, after 1997, when Hong Kong sovereignty and
governance was returned to China, there was a wave of discussion about what exactly
is the culture of Hong Kong. Whether the influence of Western culture is increasing
or decreasing, how are we going to determine all those crucial issues such as the
culture of Hong Kong is the part of the culture of China, or not. Therefore, I give a
specific timeframe to the discussion of manifest culture in this paper, which is from
1997 till present. This is in hopes that a comparative exploration of Americanization
and Chinaization can be clearly defined, then used to conduct the discussion of the
main research question.
0.5
Methodology
The methodology I use in this research paper is going to use the case study within
two regions. One is Japan and the other is Hong Kong. I have chosen these countries
for the case study based on historical background consideration, which I mentioned in
section 0.3, in relation to the purpose of writing the paper. I seek to compare these
two regions by using Mill’s method, which is method of agreement.
Comparative history sits by two methods, one is Historical method and another is
social science method such as the Mill’s method I am going to use. I shall explain
here why I am not using the Historical methods in this practical thesis. Using the
Historical methods could be very specific. It seeks the details of one event in very
detail way in order to make for a satisfying explanation of what happened on their
own. However, Historical methods tend to very easily loss the track of main argument
17
Michael Andereregg Ed., Inventing Vietnam: The War in Film and Television (Philadelphia: Temple
University Press, 1991), pp.213.
Chiu
14
and main research question because the Historical method was told to be specific and
given details all the time. I consider this method is not appropriate compare to Mill’s
method because this thesis is cultural studies after all. The term “culture” had
included too many events and too many causes that may lead to an outcome that I did
not expect. In other words, Historical method had the bigger chance lead to the
outcome in a very unpredictable situation and hard to analyze the cause that turn out
not able to complete the comparative research.
By looking at more than one case it at least tries to analyze beyond one particular
case. As with any choice of approach in history or social science, the advantages
come with a set of disadvantages and a choice must be made. For the most of
comparative history, the number of cases is not big enough to allow us for conclusion
to be made with statistical certainty. From this point of view, more cases are
inevitable means less space and less time for the particularities of a specific case that
might be expected. In the ideal situation, a comparison with large numbers of cases
can gain some statistical significance and explore the causation in only one region of
case studies. In this thesis however, only two regions are being compared. Since I do
not have quite amount of cases to do the comparative research. I aim to use the most
suitable method that is method of agreement that allow this thesis to discuss about
Americanization and Chinaization, while still can get many useful data that presents
as chart and tables. To discuss more about why China is so close to Hong Kong and
Japan in geographically that the influence of Americanization still much more
stronger compare to Chinaization in Hong Kong and Japan.
Mill’s method of agreement is suitable to be the method I intend to use in this thesis
because of its simplification. It is a method associated of comparative approach to
history. This thesis uses Mill’s method of difference to process the causal data. And
compare the data with yes/no or present/absent systemically allows people to read
Chiu
15
such complicate cultural studies more easily and clearly. This method allows cause of
a case study with a positive outcome to be rejected by another case with a negative
one. However, any amount of cases that does not cover every causal constellation
opens the possibility of missed conjunctions, a problem that is aggravated by the
possibility that the some cause are not being investigated at all because of ignorance
about them.18
Here I intend to find the possible causations behind this outcome, that is, the
absence of the influence of Chinese culture in Hong Kong and Japan. Therefore,
based on the common features shared between Japan and Hong Kong, I establish three
major causes to analyze in the beginning. These three causes are economic
considerations, the effect of war, and language barriers. I will use Mill’s method of
absent/present systemically to compare whether these two regions have been
Chinalzed or not. I seek to explain which part of these regions has the phenomenon of
Chinaization and which part of these regions has not been Chinalzed. I will also
explain why I first choose these three causations to analyze.
0.6
The Structure of the Thesis
The structure of this paper is generally as follows. In the first chapter, I will define
Chinaization as used in this paper. In the first few sections I propose Taiwan as a
model country to help understand the term Chinaization. This model country
illustrates better the idea of Chinaization. At the same time, I will provide a clear and
concise explanation of Americanization and Chinaization so the reader can fully
understand the extent and scope of my definitions of Chinaization and
18
Mahony, ‘Strategies of the causal assessment’, pp.352-353; Ragin, Comparative method, pp.36-42
Chiu
16
Americanization. In chapter one, I will also introduce the association of Chinese
culture in Japan and in Hong Kong within the brief history of these two regions. I aim
to describe the culture of these two regions systematically. In the later sections of
chapter one, I will compare the existing Americanization and Chinaization, but the
scope of these comparisons are limited only to first impressions witnessed by the
habit of language use and media in these two regions, i.e. in the culture of Japan and
the culture of Hong Kong. Since we have various media channels, I will confine the
discussion in this paper only to newspapers and movies. I will go into the reasons why
I choose these two media channels in further detail in chapter one as well.
In Chapter two, I will use Mill’s method of absent/present systematically to
compare these two regions and explain the aforementioned three causes. The reason
why I choose these three causes, media cause, military cause, and economic causation
is because these are the three causes that is so manifest that can show us the real
situation by numbers and allow me to investigate the phenomenon of Americanization
and Chinaization more convincible and systematically. First, I will analyze the movie
industry and newspaper industry in both regions. What is unique about these three
causes in Hong Kong and Japan? Second, I shall use the comparison way to explain
the features of these three causes in more detail way by number and table I provide.
Finally, I conduct a systematic comparison and factor analysis of these three causes.
In Chapter three, I expect to find more detailed causations for further analysis and
comparison.
In Chapter three, I will try to remove weak causes and also to explain why such
unreasonable causes cannot help in explaining my main research question. Finally, in
the conclusion in chapter four, I will analyze why the causes I filtered out can achieve
the current outcome. In other words, American culture is manifest, but there exists
currently no manifest Chinaization in the culture of Hong Kong and Japan. As for my
Chiu
17
main research question, I will give detailed answers in chapter four.
0.7
Outcomes
After fully analyzing the three basic causes, I will attempt to clarify the main
challenge to my study. For instance, why has the cause of language barriers led to the
current outcome?
Currently in Hong Kong and Japan, Hollywood movies are the mainstream movies
and the top-grossing movies have confirmed this phenomenon. In Hong Kong,
American studios produce the up to 90% of the top-grossing movies.19 In Japan, the
mainstream movies are split. 40% are Hollywood movies and 60% are Japanese
films.20 Nonetheless, none of these regions had shown any signs of Chinaization.
With regard to newspapers, Japan’s mainstream newspaper will only mention China
when the topic is related to economic or diplomacy issues. Most Japanese recognized
that many aspects of their culture originated from Chinese culture. However, this did
not seem to change Japanese perceptions of Chinese culture as a foreign culture. And
what is among the most interesting phenomenon is that the Japanese prefer to see
American produced movies more than Chinese produced movies. This interesting
phenomenon is also confirmed by the top-grossing movies in Japan. In 2007, none of
a movie in top 10 lists is produced by Chinese or Chinese investments. 21
How does the reasons I have focused on, economic factors, the effects of the war,
and language barriers, have led to the current outcome of less manifest influence of
19
Commerce and Economic Development of Hong Kong,
http://www.cedb.gov.hk/ctb/chi/paper/doc/FGF- (final). pdf, view date: 05/03/2008.
20
Screen Magazine, March 2008.
21
Motion Picture Producers Association of Japan, Inc., http://www.eiren.org/boxoffice/index.html,
view date: 09/03/2008.
Chiu
18
Chinese culture in Hong Kong and Japan comparing to American mass culture? This
is indeed the ultimate research goal of my paper. In the study of cultural history, and
even more so, in the research of general history, most scholar’s approaches are
inclined to provide singular analyses and explanations for historical events, and
analyze the special transformations in culture. However, these scholars may overlook
the fact that at similar times, there are similar regions that are also undergoing
enormous changes in regional or national culture within effect to Chinese culture. I
tried to write this paper as an overview, and I seek to propose questions for the
enormous issues behind it. If American mass culture is a product of modernization,
and it was World War II that provided the suitable timing for American mass culture
to spread through the world causing Americanization, then, is it possible that one day,
that globalization will become the force for Chinese culture and perhaps cause the
Chinaization of our world? I keep an open mind with regard to this question. In this
paper, I use the method of comparative history to study an issue that has not yet been
dealt in contemporary academic circles so much; why does there seems to be no
manifest Chinaization of Hong Kong and Japan?
Chiu
19
Chapter 1
Definition and Case Introduction
1.1 The Definition of Chinaization
How do we come up with a definite definition of “Chinaization,” the key term in
this paper? Here, I will use “Taiwan” as an introduction to define Chinaization. The
definition is achieved by looking at Taiwan’s films, newspaper, language, and
Taiwanese’ cultural identification before a final definition is determined.
What does Chinaization look like in Taiwan? Since understanding Chinaization
would require a comparison group, I have chosen Americanization (which will be
given a definition in the next section). Cultural identification is based on the extension
of history. As the economic relationship between Taiwan and China becomes stronger,
the nature of Chinaization is also being seen. Chinaization that is based on historical
structure is not just a strong impress for Taiwanese but Chinese all over the world.
The Taiwanese are more Chinalzed than Chinese that come from Mainland China,
and one of the reasons behind this is that Mainland China had been through the
Cultural Revolution which had seriously destroyed most of the traditional culture.22
During the Cultural Revolution, there are “The Four Olds” which means old Custom,
old Culture, old Habits, and old Ideas. One of the stated goals of the Cultural
Revolution in the People's Republic of China was to bring an end to the Four Olds. It
22
Yen Jiaqi, The History of Cultural Revolution (Taipei: Yuanliu Press, 1990), pp.18-19
Chiu
20
started in Beijing on August 20, 1964. The two major ill effects of the 10-year long
Cultural Revolution include: 1. The destruction of cultural assets. The slogan of
“removing old traditions” has almost completely destroyed anything that symbolized
culture, including Confucian temples, traditional private schools, and invaluable
works of calligraphy. Most of the traditional architectures seen today are replicas; the
ruin is still there, but the precious cultural asset no longer exists. 2. Thought Reform,
which has worse effects than the first one. During those ten years, the students who
should have been educated at school were forced to do hard labor in farms, and they
basically learned nothing about the Chinese culture. The effort of relearning the
Chinese culture is “too little, too late.” Xiao-ping Deng opened up China’s market to
foreign capitals23, and Mainland Chinese welcome modernization wholeheartedly.
They are not interested in rebuilding the lost traditional Chinese culture, not to
mention retaining it.
In 1949, Kai-shek Chiang led KMT troops to retreat to Taiwan. During the
standoff with Ze-dong Mao’s communist party, Chiang executed martial law and
prevented anyone from speaking local languages at any location. In history books, the
promotion of the Chinese traditional culture was absolute. Any song, movie, or
newspaper that was not “Chinese” enough was banned. Any publication or speech
that is not of traditional Chinese culture would face the military court. Although
Taiwan has experienced military dominance 24 , it has unexpectedly retained the
traditional Chinese culture in Taiwan. In this island where local languages and
23
In 1989, Xiao-ping Deng officially announced that China would conditionally introduce capitalism
to stimulate China’s economic growth. The famous slogan at that time, “a good cat is the one that
catches mice, regardless its color,” indicates that any ideology could work with capitalism as long as
China’s economy could develop. See Zhang Yufa, The History of Modern China (Taipei: Dongkua
Press, 1988), pp.573-575
24
Zhang Yufa, The History of Modern China (Taipei: Dongkua Press, 1988), pp.375-376
Chiu
21
Japanese cultures were pervasive, all traces of Japanese colonization were deleted due
to military dominance. The colonization of Japanese in Taiwan was started in 1895,
the Ching army lost to Japan in the Sino-Japanese War of 1894-1895 and signed the
Treaty of Shimonoseki in which Taiwan was ceded to Japan. In 1945, Japan
surrendered at the end of World War II and was demanded to return Taiwan to China.
During the 50-year long Japanese dominance, all Taiwanese were asked to speak
the Japanese language and live the Japanese way of life. Such colonial policy was
known as the “Kou Min Ka Policy” that greatly influenced the Taiwanese. After that
period, theaters only showed “patriotic movies” that stressed Taiwan’s return to
mother China. Newspapers only contained words related to Chinese operas and
classic poetries. Traditional Chinese festivals were greatly celebrated, and every detail
that comes with traditional Chinese festivals was followed. Education focused on
telling the Taiwanese that they were authentic Chinese, and they should learn all the
Chinese traditions25. This refers to the learning of classic Chinese, calligraphy, and
classic poetries that are treated as important as mathematics or physics. In short, after
the Cultural Revolution profoundly destroyed traditional Chinese culture, Taiwan
became the place where such culture was perfectly retained, including traditional
words, theatrical performances, artifacts, and traditional festivals.
After the martial law was lifted in 198726, traditional Chinese culture became
weaker due to the influence of American pop culture. However, the Taiwanese had
not entirely lost the identification towards the Chinese culture due to anti-communism
25
26
Wang Xiaobo, The History of Taiwan and Taiwanese (Taipei: Dongda Press, 1988), pp.34-36
Due to rapid democratic movements and the fight for freedom of speech, Ching-kuo Chiang
announced the end of the martial law on July 14th, 1987. Afterwards, the public started to enjoy
freedom of speech and thoughts. They can also express their opinions through approved publications or
assemblies. See Wang Xiaobo, The History of Taiwan and Taiwanese (Taipei: Dongda Press, 1988),
pp.84-87
Chiu
22
films, military movies, history movies, and works focusing on the Chinese history
(such as “Hsi-hsih” by Han-hsiang Li in 1965), cultural origin (such as “Hsing-huo”
by Jin-liang Hsu in 1978), and the history of colonization (the Japanese in the movie
“Jing Wu Men” that were produced in the earlier days. The Chinese culture retained
in Taiwan started to take on a sense of “oriental aesthetics” that is introduced to the
entire world and became a cultural hub in Asian Pacific27 . The Taiwanese see
Chinaization as a flowing concept that changes at a subconscious level due to
temporal or spatial changes. This is why when a Taiwanese might feel like a
“Taiwanese” when watching local news in Taipei, a citizen of the “Republic of
China” when seeing images of Beijing’s military threats towards Taiwan, and a
“Chinese” when watching programs that introduce the Chinese culture, history, or
cuisines28
Using Taiwan as an introduction case, we must not ignore political issues.
Should Taiwan become independent? Or should it be returned to China? According to
surveys done by the Mainland Affairs Council29, most of the Taiwanese preferred to
maintain the status quo and see how things go (34.9％), 12.7％ wished to maintain
the status quo permanently, 18.5％ preferred to become independent, and 18.3％
preferred to be unified with China. However, when asked whether Taiwan is a sacred
part of the Chinese territory that cannot be divided, more than half of the respondents
agreed. This phenomenon deserves our attention: despite the political threats and
being banned from most of the international events, most Taiwanese still prefer to
maintain the status quo and identify with the Chinese culture. If this were not a sign of
27
Chen Naiching, “Oriental Aesthetics Shines in Taiwan,” New Taiwan Weekly Journal, pp.415
28
China Times, EW Cross Road Section,
http://211.20.186.41/mingyeh/archive/2008/02/15/246210.html, view date: 24/02/2008
29
Mainland Affair Council, http://www.mac.gov.tw/, view date: 25/02/2008
Chiu
23
Chinaization, then there would be no model available to be used in this study.
Here, I have prepared a table to list the features and definitions of Chinaization
in this paper.
Table1.1 The Definition of Chinaization
Media/ Language/ Others
Characters
Newspaper
More than 30% of the news coverage is
on China (including: economic, fashion,
international, and etc.)
Films
At least one or more commercial films
introduced in a month is based on the
Chinese culture (including: traditional
Chinese culture and historical fact, etc.)
Language
Mandarin is used in more than 30% of
daily conversations, reading, and writing.
Others
The sources for the public to know about
the Chinese culture are not limited to
Western media or local news.
In terms of newspapers, the reason why I have picked the boundary of 30% is
because a region or country that has newspapers with coverage on China that exceeds
50% is basically a Chinese styled, not Chinalzed, country. Taiwan is a good example
since such coverage is less than 30%. Considering China’s rapid economic growth
and international exposure, it is possible that such coverage is about the discussions
on the influences of China’s economic development on the world or the changes in
Chiu
24
the world caused by China. Therefore, I choose the boundary of 30%, and I also need
to discuss China’s current trends and artistic or cultural activities.
In terms of movies, the criterion I chose is that at least one commercial film
needs to be based on the Chinese culture. This is because Hollywood films are the
mainstream now, and turning domestic commercial films into big hits is not easy. If
the film is based on Chinese culture or the history of China, the production studio
must be absolutely sure what kind of movie elements does the audience want (e.g.,
entertainment), whether the movie is trendy enough, and where exactly does the
concept of the movie come. If there is a film merely having little elements about
Chinese or Chinese culture but the film’s major topic has not related to Chinese
culture or the history of China, is not within my definition of Chinaization.
In terms of languages, there are two reasons why my boundary is “Mandarin
being used in more than 30% of daily conversation and reading/writing. First of all,
China is a great continent with many local languages or dialects that have mixed with
Chinese or have local accents. However, the term “Chinese” as we know it refers to
“Mandarin,” and my definition Chinaization covers any region where Chinese is used
in reading and writing even though it may not be used in daily conversations
(illiterates are not included in my discussions). Second, this paper mainly has two
cases for me to study, and one of which is Hong Kong. We all know that Hong Kong
residents speak Cantonese, a form of Chinese dialect, with writing styles that are
different from that of Mandarin as well as some special words that shape the tone of
speaking. Should this language be considered “Chinese?” I will have detailed analysis
in Chapter 3 on language causation.
Other efforts in this study are about the other case study -- Japan. Japan actually
has many myths and histories that are closely related to China. Detailed discussion is
on Chapter 3’s detail causation.
Chiu
25
1.2 The Definition of Americanization
Jessica Gienow-Hecht has suggested avoiding the term “Americanization“ and
prefers to call this phenomenon “American cultural transfer”. Americanization still
remains the operative concept to me but it certainly requires a definite definition in
this paper because I am trying to compare the phenomenon with Chinaization. I am
aware that this may lead to the over simplification of the definition of
Americanization. Therefore, I will try to use Kuisel’s concept of Americanization as
the foundation for my definition of Americanization in this paper.
Kuisel said, “What, then, is the content of Americanization? America since at
least the end of the nineteenth century has exported certain products, techniques,
fashions, investments, and art forms, as well as people, institutions, and values, which
have been strongly identified with America both by Americans and by others. Many
of these exports can be loosely categorized as features of mass culture or consumer
society. Both of these were fully developed and actively proselytized on a global scale
by Americans. So were companies like General Motors and IBM as they moved
overseas. In time, these products, businesses, and cultural practices became
domesticated and may have lost their nationality, but at the moment of import they
were deemed to be American.”30 In other words, Kuisel’s concept of Americanization
means that with modernization, any product exported from America -- fashion, art, or
values, is a part of Americanization. These exported products represent America, and
the national identity in the companies that exported them still remains even though
they have become international corporations. Such concept is enough for me to define
30
Richard Kuisel, Americanization for Historians, Diplomatic History, Vol. 24, Issue 3 (Summer
2000), pp.515
Chiu
26
Americanization because I am only mentioning the symbol as speak to the
phenomenon of Chinaization, which is the main character I would like to compare
with. Americanization is merely a contrast. Since Kuisel’s concept is relatively easy
for making comparisons with Chinaization, I use part of Kuisel’s concept of
Americanization as my own definition of Americanization in this thesis.
Table 2.2 is the definition of Americanization I use in this thesis. I had list this
catalogues in compare with the phenomenon of Chinaization. As we can see that I
have picked the boundary of 30% is because a region or country that has newspapers
with coverage on the United States of America that exceeds 50% is basically an
American styled, not Americanized country. The whole thesis will follow the
definitions that Table 1.1 and Table 1.2 has established.
Table1.2
The Definition of Americanization
Media/ Language/ Others
Characters
Newspaper
More than 30% of the news coverage is
on the United States of America.
(Including: economic, fashion,
international, and etc.)
Films
One or more commercial films introduced
in a month are based on the American
culture.
Language
English (This language cause will not
analyze that detail compare to Mandarin.
More discussion will discuss in Chapter
Chiu
27
3, section 3.4)
Others
The sources for the public to know about
the American culture are not limited to
local news.
1.3 Introduction of Hong Kong
Today, the so-called “Hong Kong area” includes Hong Kong Island, which was
ceded to the United Kingdom by the Qing Government in 1842, Kowloon Peninsula
and Stonecutters Island, ceded in 1860, New Territories, leased in 1898, and all the
land near New Territories. Historically speaking, this area has been a not-well-known
“frontier” 31. The culture of Hong Kong is constantly being examined by scholars is
because Hong Kong enjoys both economic sovereignty and political powerlessness32.
What is unique about Hong Kong is that unique ways of thinking have still been
developed here, “fusion of Chinese and Western philosophies,” which will be
interpreted in the next paragraph. The culture of Hong Kong has, in one hand,
deviated from traditional Chinese culture, but it is also trying to be close to Chinese
culture as well as Western culture. In other words, Hong Kong is being limited by the
mainstream culture while trying to establish its own cultural identity.
The culture of Hong Kong can best be described as a foundation that began with
Chinese culture, and then leaned toward Western culture for much of the twentieth
century under constructive British colonialism. Despite the 1997 transfer of
31
Huo qichang, Hong Kong and Modern China (Taipei: The Commercial Press, 1980), pp.3
32
Yuan Qiushi, The Major Event of Hong Kong: 1997-2002 (Hong Kong: Joint Publishing, 2003),
pp.3-4
Chiu
28
sovereignty with the Mainland China, Hong Kong continues to hold an identity of its
own. The unique culture of Hong Kong that combines both Chinese and Western
philosophies can be seen in the daily lives of Hong Kong residents. According to
China News Paper’s report Lu Hui Chen, “If you can stay in Hong Kong for a while
and patiently observe this city, feel her culture, and capture her quality and spirit, it
would be an interesting experience. The language used in conversations is often a
mixture of Chinese and English. An ordinary woman who has lived in Hong Kong for
a few years would naturally pick up many English vocabularies. English names are
commonly used by people, and white-collar workers often prefer to converse in
English. The culture of Hong Kong is popular and used in the daily life. It is
involved in capitalism, processed by the strong commercial society, and has been
turned into a commercial by-product that is given back to the public. The culture of
Hong Kong is easy to absorb and easy to be enjoyed in our daily life.33”
Despite the question whether the Hong Kong culture is blooming or declining, it
has always been an exciting topic for researchers due to its diversity and complexity.
Surprisingly, the study on Hong Kong culture has not been significant in the field of
Asian cultural studies as much as people expect34.
Anthony Lawrence, a senior BBC correspondent to Hong Kong, once mentioned in
an interview35 that the Hong Kong media faced a “constraint” issue due to the
political situation after 1997. To what extent and how far can the Chinese pop culture
33
China News Paper,
http://translate.google.com/translate?hl=zh-TW&sl=zh-CN&u=http://www.chinanews.com.cn/hr/news/
2006/11-13/819658.shtml&sa=X&oi=translate&resnum=10&ct=result&prev=/search%3Fq%3D%25E
9%25A6%2599%25E6%25B8%25AF%25E6%2596%2587%25E5%258C%2596%26hl%3Dzh-TW%
26client%3Dfirefox%26rls%3Dorg.mozilla:zh-TW:official%26hs%3DN9N, view date: 25/02/2008
34
Peng Lichun, MingPao News, October 22, 1999.
35
Wen, Zhuofei Ed., The memory of Hong Kong (Taipei: Vista Publishing, 1998), pp.75
Chiu
29
develop in Hong Kong? Anthony Lawrence concerned weather Hong Kong residents
turn down Chinaization as Hong Kong residents have strong self-consciousness.
Under China political monitoring, press freedom has undoubtedly been compromised,
which aroused much emotion and triggered many thoughts in Anthony Lawrence,
who is identified as a “half-Hong Konger”.
1.4 Introduction of Japan
The culture of Japan was under strong influence of China prior to A.D. 1192.
After the 10th Century, Japan stopped dispatching their diplomats to the Tang Dynasty
to learn about Chinese culture and implemented national isolation in 1633. During
that period of time, Japan has absorbed the Chinese culture and developed their own
unique culture. In the 17th Century, Western cultures were also introduced to Japan
due to Western powers forcing Japan to open up their market. The culture of modern
Japan is greatly influenced by European and American nations, especially in terms of
language. However, the traditional Japanese culture is still being protected. The three
features of the Japanese culture is the strong influence of Confucianism on the
Japanese society, etiquette, and loyalty towards one’s group36.
Culture is the way of life of an ethnic group, and we need to examine the
environment of an ethnic group before understanding their cultural development.
Japan is a group of islands located in East Asian Pacific and is surrounded by the Sea
of Japan and the China Sea, which separated it from Korea and China. Japan has
36
Many scholars went to China with Japanese diplomats in the 9th Century to learn about the Chinese
culture, especially Confucianism. There are many Confucian scholars in Japan in the 17th Century. Also,
the Japanese has learned philosophy from the Netherlands. Information Resource: Winkel, Margarita,
Discovering different dimension: explorations of culture and history in early modern Japan (the
Netherlands: Leiden University Press, 2004) pp.47-48, pp.169-172
Chiu
30
many mountains, including volcanoes, and is prone to the effects of monsoons37. As a
result, natural disasters such as volcanic activities, earthquakes, and typhoons are
frequent, which shaped the Japanese’ sensitivity and even fear towards nature,
resulting in religious practices. For instance, “Tengu” is one of Japan’s mythical
creatures, and it is also recorded in China’s “Shan Hai Jing,”38 in which it is
described a creature that is shaped like the fox. However, the origin of “Tengu” that is
known today is different. Many scholars believe that “Tengu” comes from the stories
that were introduced to Japan by Chinese merchants and has eventually been
distorted.
Although the Japanese stopped sending diplomats to China after the 10th Century,
the Chinese culture and Buddhism that have already been introduced to Japan have
gradually been processed and absorbed by the Japanese. A national culture that is
suitable to Japan’s condition, tradition, and hobbies has gradually been formed which
in turn started Japan’s own words, poetries, and literatures39.
Today’s Japanese culture is heavily influenced by Western culture, especially the
American culture, and the effects of Chinese culture have become quite minimal. In
terms of language, the Japanese use English pronunciations for modern products such
as televisions, and they even use English words such as “stress” in their daily life to
describe their emotions40. However, the “traditional Japanese culture” that was shaped
by Chinese culture is still being carefully protected. Skyscrapers have not created
37
Ito, Abito, Aspects of Japanese culture and society: an anthropologist’s view (Tokyo: International
Society for Educational Information, 1997), pp.7-9
38
Winkel, Margarita, Discovering different dimension: explorations of culture and history in early
modern Japan (Netherlands: Leiden University Press, 2004) pp.169-171
39
Fehrenbach, Heide and Uta G. Poiger, Transactions, transgressions, transformations: American
culture in Western Europe and Japan (New York: Berghahn Books, 2000) pp.75
40
Nan Po, The Theory of Japanese (Taipei: Li-Hsu Publishing Press, 2003), p.3
Chiu
31
barriers between the traditional and modern Japan, and neon lights have not severed
the continuance of history. While enjoying modern civilization, the Japanese still
cherish their traditional culture. For example, despite the complicated procedures of
putting a “kimono” on, the Japanese still love this traditional clothing that is worn
during recreations as well as formal occasions41.
Japan has annual religious and folk activities throughout the country, showing how
much emphasis they place on their traditional culture. These ceremonies and activities
are impressive because every detail is retained, but little do today’s Japanese know
that many of such activities are originated from Chinese culture. For example, the
Lantern Festival on the 15th of the first Lunar month is a traditional Chinese festival
that is also shared by the Japanese. Similar customs for this festival is also seen in
both countries; the Chinese celebrate with dumplings whereas the Japanese would
cook congee with small red beans42.
The changes seen in Japan are constantly being made due to different social,
cultural, economic, and international situations43. Based on this premise, we cannot
only analyze how the Japanese culture has developed but also determine the route of
Japan’s modern history. For hundreds of years, the Japanese has treated the Western
world as a mirror for searching and improving themselves. After World War II, the
Japanese have spent much time in comparing themselves with Westerners as if the
latter is the only group that is more advanced, developed, and deserved to be copied
by the former – even when the Japanese admit that the Chinese culture and
civilization have influenced them profoundly. This complicated position has also
41
Winkel, Margarita, Discovering different dimension: explorations of culture and history in early
modern Japan (Netherlands: Leiden University Press, 2004) pp.342-345
42
Winkel, Margarita, Discovering different dimension: explorations of culture and history in early
modern Japan (Netherlands: Leiden University Press, 2004) pp.171-172
43
Nan Po, The Theory of Japanese (Taipei: Li-Hsu Publishing Press, 2003), p.89
Chiu
32
shown in Japanese literature. In the book of Japanese literature and Chinese Culture,
many Japanese writers including, Take Yoshimi, Ozaki Hideki, and many others has
all showed their interest as tracing the connection between traditional Japanese
cultures with Chinese culture44. In other words, there are times Japanese admire
Western culture, especially American culture. However, there are actually certain
times at which Japanese are confused and seeking to know what is the exact
relationship between Japanese culture and Chinese culture. This is one of the research
questions of this thesis I am trying to answer.
44
Wang Xiaping, Japanese literature and Chinese Culture (Ningxia: Ningxia People’s Publishing
House, 2002), pp.176-180
Chiu
33
Chapter 2
Analyses of Newspapers and Movies
2.1
Analyses of Newspapers and Movies in Hong Kong and Japan
1. The newspaper society in Hong Kong after its return in 1997
Over the past ten years of Hong Kong’s return, there has not been any dramatic
change in the pattern of Hong Kong’s newspaper society. The ownership of many
newspapers has changed and that has made influence on the original model of
newspaper publication, but the entire structural changes are not obvious. According to
the statistic made by the Hong Kong government, the 2006 annual report shows that
there were approximately forty Chinese newspapers and ten English newspapers in
Hong Kong. Approximately 1.1 million pieces of collect newspapers are published
every day. Among these newspapers, the volume of the public-oriented daily
newspapers published is the largest, such as “Apple Daily”, “Oriental Daily” and “The
Sun”, occupying 70%45 of the sales amount of Hong Kong’s newspapers. This type of
newspapers tends to report social news and entertainment news, and its news
broadcasting method is more fervent, focusing on people’s livelihood and making a
larger influence on Hong Kong citizens. At the same moment, there is an
extraordinary success has been seen in free daily newspapers emerging in Hong Kong
these years, like “Metro Daily”, “Headline Daily” and “AM730”, of which around 1.1
45
Yang, L. J., Changes and Immovability of Hong Kong Newspaper Industry after its Return over the
Past Ten Years (Shanghai: China Newspaper Industry Press, 2007), pp.23.
Chiu
34
million pieces46 are sent out daily.
In the first stage of Hong Kong’s contemporary newspaper society, from the end of
World War II to the late 1960s, its allocation and the content of newspapers have been
affected by the Chinese political situation and a higher degree of Chinaization. The
period, from the 1970s to the Sino-Britain negotiation, is the second stage of the
development of Hong Kong’s contemporary newspaper society. Regarding the
volume of newspaper agencies, the 1970s claims to be the most prosperous period in
the development history of Hong Kong’s newspaper society with an astonishing
historical record up to 128 agencies. A batch of local consciousness-oriented
commercialized newspapers has become its main stream, especially posing the largest
influence on public-oriented newspapers. During this period, Hong Kong’s
newspapers had a strong Americanized atmosphere and took readers’ interests as a
market inclination. In the transition period, content of Chinese elements increased,
and many newspapers established Chinese groups emphasizing the quality of Chinese
news; also, the content has been gradually diversified, and the economic reports
turned their focuses from the macroscopic polices to microscopic dynamics, so Hong
Kong’s newspaper society has become one of the largest distributing centers of the
Chinese news. After Hong Kong’s return in 1997, many newspapers have
Chinese-capitalized backgrounds, such as “Ta Kung Pao”, ”Wen Wei Po” and “Hong
Kong Commercial Daily”, which have insight reports about China. Considering
political opinion-orientation, Chinaization tends to be strengthened.
The development of Hong Kong’s newspaper society has been closely linked with
the economic status. After World War II, Hong Kong’s economy has rapidly
developed. The average growth rate went up to 35% between 1947 and 1951. In the
46
Yang, L. J., Changes and Immovability of Hong Kong Newspaper Industry after its Return over the
Past Ten Years (Shanghai: China Newspaper Industry Press, 2007), pp.24.
Chiu
35
entire 1950s, the average growth rate was 7%; in the 1960s, the average growth rate
was 13.6%; in the 1970s, the average growth rate increased by 19.3%; after entering
the 1980s, the growth still remained steady at two digital numbers.47
From the postwar to 1980s, Hong Kong generally lay in the period of high
economic growth, so that provided the development of Hong Kong’s newspaper
society with an excellent economic environment.
Table 2.1 The Numbers of various newspaper in Hong Kong*
Year
47
Chinese
English
Newspapers
Newspapers
1946
14
4
1956
30
12
1966
44
4
1976
96
3
1985
44
2
1996
38
10
＞2006
＞40
＞10
Huang, X.R., The Economic Outline of the Hong Kong Newspaper Society (Shanghai: The Window
of Mass Media in the Special District, 2006), pp.60.
Chiu
36
* Information Resource: Wang Gengwu, Hong Kong History: New Perspectives (Hong Kong: Joint
Publishing, 1997) pp.859
In table 2.1, it clearly reveals that types of Hong Kong’s Chinese newspapers tend
to increase stably every ten years. There were 14 types in 1946, 30 types in 1956, 44
types in 1966 and 96 types48 in 1976. Since 1998, the development of Hong Kong’s
newspaper society has entered a low-tide period due to the influence of Asian
financial crisis. Thus, the volume of newspapers has also dropped. From 2001 to 2004,
the newspapers business became extremely difficult. Many newspapers, like
“Overseas Chinese Daily News” and “Daily Express”, were closed, owing to overly
severe competitions, ill-managed advertisement and high cost. However, in 2006 and
2007, Hong Kong’s economy recovered, so the Hong Kong’s newspaper society lived
a better life compared to the old days before 2004. Types of newspapers rebounded to
their original amount in 1996 before the return, and even rose up.
Comparing the
data of 1996 and 2006 in table 2.1, explanations can be made, as follows:
Hong Kong mass media is Americanized, whereas the control over it made by the
government seems “westernized”. There is no law to restrain press freedom in Hong
Kong. Therefore, after the return, press freedom still has remained unchanged. Only
when the mass media create a tremendous turmoil, the government will interfere in
press freedom.
2. Japanese Newspaper Society
The Japanese are probably the people who like reading newspapers the most. The
largest volume of newspaper publication in the world is in Japan49; there are five
48
Huang, X.R., The Economic Outline of the Hong Kong Newspaper Society (Shanghai: The Window
of Mass Media in the Special District, 2006), pp.60.
49
Nan Po, The Theory of Japanese (Taipei: Li-Hsu Publishing Press, 2003), pp.128-129
Chiu
37
newspapers listed in the world top ten of newspaper volume. These are “Yomiuri
Shimbun”, “Asahi Shimbun”, “The Mainichi Newspapers”, “Sankei Shimbun” and
“Nikkei”, with the volume ranging from ten million to two million pieces or so, nearly
a half of national newspaper volume. Among them, the top one of the world, “Yomiuri
Shimbun”, issues more than 14 million pieces daily, with 10.2 million morning posts
and 4.23 million evening posts. The second largest newspaper, “Asahi Shimbun”,
daily issues more than eight million pieces50.
The reason why there are so many Japanese newspapers issued relates closely to
Japanese citizens’ higher quality of education of culture. Japanese education is
widespread. Free education has been conducted in elementary school and high school.
The people who have taken high school education amount to 96% of the total
population, and the ones who have received tertiary education aggregate 36%51.
The pervasion of education brings abundant newspaper readers. Most of Japanese
elementary schools and high schools have their own instructors for news education.
Since childhood, students should take enlightenment education of mass media; the
instructors also help students publish school newspapers. Once the students enter into
their schools, they have an extremely close relationship with newspapers. Also, all of
the large newspaper agencies in Japan introduce newspapers to the high school classes
as teaching material, in order to enlarge the influence of newspapers.52 This has an
invaluable meaning for the development of Japanese newspaper society.
According to the data in year 2006, averagely 633 people in every one thousand
50
Zhang, X.D., Experience of the Japanese Newspaper Society, The Journal of Military
Correspondent, (2nd edition, 2001), pp.38.
51
Wei, M.G., Decode the High Issued Volume of Japanese Newspapers, The Journal of Journalist,
(11th edition, 2006), pp.52.
52
Ito, Abito, Aspects of Japanese culture and society: an anthropologist’s view (Tokyo: International
Society for Educational Information, 1997), pp.32
Chiu
38
people in Japan read newspaper, ranking the first in the world. Apart from Norway’s
similarity to it, other countries fell far behind it. However, the Japanese newspaper
society was also affected by the recession of world newspapers. In 2006, the volume
of newspapers issued in Japan amounted to 52,310,478, and the average reading
volume for each household is 1.02 pieces of newspapers. Each household in Japan
read 1.22 pieces of newspapers in 1993, but this figure fell to 1.02 pieces of
newspapers53 in 2006.
Over the past ten years, as the Japanese population grew, the issued volume of
newspapers decreased. The major reason for this decline is the Japanese youth do not
read newspapers. After 1997, the development of Hong Kong’s newspaper society
also faces the same situation, the loss of young readers. Emerging electronic network
media accepted by the young generation is also a new symbol that affects American
mass culture in Japan and Hong Kong.
In view of page content, dramatic or abrupt incidents are posted in the front page of
Japanese newspapers. In addition, there are comprehensive page, politics page,
international page, economic page, editorial page, sports page, social page, etc. In the
last page of newspapers, TV program preview and stock market information are
generally presented. Each piece of newspapers issues more than 30 pages every day.
The exposition of the pages made here can be also helpful in the analysis of culture
comparisons.
Japanese newspapers have a tremendous impact on Japanese culture. In October
2005, NSK (Nihon Shinbun Kyokai) conducted a survey focusing on people’s
attitudes toward five major mass media, including newspapers, TV, broadcasting,
magazines and network, and the result showed: 92.5% of people read newspapers, and
53
Suzuka Kenji, New Dynamics of the Japanese Newspaper Society (Shanghai: China Newspaper
Industry Press, 2007), pp.74.
Chiu
39
57.4% of people read newspapers five or six days a week, nearly everyday54. A
survey conducted by a Japanese TV network also indicated that more people seem to
take TV as an entertainment institute, though newspapers are the main source of news.
The reliability of advertisement in newspapers, TV, radio, monthly journals and
weekly journals respectively accounts for 49.6%, 37.9%, 12.2%, 2.6%, and 1.4%55.
This is exactly why I choose to analysis newspapers for the comparative analysis of
Japanese culture in this paper.
Nevertheless, the situation of Hong Kong’s newspaper society is completely
contrary compared to Japan; the best-selling newspapers have the lowest credibility.
Hong Kong citizens consider the so-called success of these best-selling newspapers is
replaced by sacrificing the credibility of the mass media. The survey revealed that
journalists’ social status in citizens’ mind dropped to the 7th ranking from the 3rd in
1997. The same type of survey conducted in 2006 made people more anxious, and the
credibility of Hong Kong press fell to the lowest, even more regressive than that in
200056.
Regarding authority and insight reporting, Japanese newspapers have absolute
predominance. Japanese people understand the world through newspapers, and
newspapers mainly affect their Americanization after war. In 1949, a strip cartoon,
called “Aviation Blonde “, was published in the morning post of “Asahi Shimbun"; its
animated pictures and words revealed American modern life style and prosperity. In
1950, “Asahi Shimbun” sponsored an American exhibition held in several exhibition
54
Wei, M.G., Decode the High Issued Volume of Japanese Newspapers, The Journal of Journalist,
(11th edition, 2006), pp.52.
55
Zhang, X.D., Experience of the Japanese Newspaper Society, The Journal of Military
Correspondent, (2nd edition, 2001), pp.39.
56
Chen, C. F., The Recall of the Hong Kong Newspaper Society over the Past Ten Years (Beijing: Ups
and Downs of the China Newspaper Industry Press, 2007), pp.26-28.
Chiu
40
halls in the outskirt of Osaka. In “White House Hall”, American history starting from
“May Flower” to “Franklin Roosevelt Period” was illustrated through pictures.
Affluence and prosperity of American society were shown to visitors in Main Hall.
The latest development of technology displayed in TV Hall. In Panorama Hall,
several important architectural works symbolizing America and some economically
developed areas, including New York’s Skyscrapers, Statue of Liberty and San
Francisco’s Golden Gate Bridge57, were introduced to visitors. “Asahi Shimbun” also
made a monographic report for this exhibition; thus, American photos and words were
emerging. This exhibition attracted a flood of Japanese people and newspaper readers.
An enormous hit was made, so many Japanese thoughts tended to be Americanized
and started sensing the coming of “Americanization”.
3. Movies Industry
1. Hong Kong Movies
Hong Kong was once the third largest movie production center (second only to the
United the States of America and India). Its export volume was once way higher than
India, whose movies were mainly for the domestic market, and Hong Kong movies
could compete head-to-head with American ones. At that time, Hong Kong was
known as the “Oriental Hollywood”. In its prime time in the 1980s, the Hong Kong
movie industry produced more than 200 movies annually. However, in the past
decade, the Hong Kong movie industry has been shrinking (see table 2.2). The box
office income of Hong Kong movies decreased from HKD$540 million in 1997 to
57
Wang, X. D, Historical Investigation of Americanization of Japanese Journals and the Examination
of Japanese Culture, The Journal of Cultural Studies, (3rd edition, 2007), pp.110-111.
Chiu
41
HKD$253 million in 2006. The number of Hong Kong movies shown in Hong Kong
every year also dropped from near 100 to 51 and box office earnings plummeted. For
a long time, foreign movies, especially Hollywood movie, have been the top-grossing
types of movies in Hong Kong. Local Hong Kong movies seem to have hit the bottom.
On the other hand, since 2003, joint movie production projects between Hong Kong
and Mainland China have been increasing. The number increased from 10 movies
annually to 31 in 2004 and 29 in 200558.
Hong Kong movies have a multi-cultural identity. 95% of the population in Hong
Kong is Chinese, which ensures the predominance of the Chinese culture. As a result,
Hong Kong movies are acceptable not only in Hong Kong, but also in East Asia,
where Confucianism is prevalent.59 Between 1842 and 1997, Hong Kong was ruled
by the educational, political and law system of the United Kingdom, so the Hong
Kong residents were used to the common law system. They have the western
democratic concepts profoundly so it is easy for Hong Kong residents to communicate
with the world. Both the traditional Chinese culture and the western culture (including
American culture) play an important role in the shaping of the movie culture in Hong
Kong.
58
Zhong, Bao Xian, The Rise and Fall of the Variable Hong Kong Films from 1997 to 2007 (Hong
Kong: Hong Kong & Taiwan Movies, 2006), pp.69
59
Hu, Ke and Liu, Hui, “Review of Hong Kong movies in the past decade”, Movie Arts, 2007, Issue 4,
pp.7
Chiu
Table 2.2
Year
42
The annual box office income of Hong Kong movies*
Number of local
Box office income
The total box
movies produced
from local movies
office income
that year
(million dollars)
(million dollars)
1997
94
547
1，156
1998
92
421
1，088
1999
146
352
916
2000
151
382
964
2001
126
456
1，034
2002
92
352
908
2003
97
433
899
2004
64
403
953
2005
55
308
947
2006
51
282
N.A
* Information Resource: Wang Gengwu, Hong Kong History: New Perspectives (Hong Kong:
Joint Publishing, 1997) Vol.2, pp.520; Zhong, Bao Xian, The Rise and Fall of the Variable Hong
Kong Films from 1997 to 2007 (Hong Kong: Hong Kong & Taiwan Movies, 2006), pp.69
The character of “Hong Kongnizing” is the epitome and generalization of the local
characteristics in the Hong Kong culture and movies. Ever since the early 1980s,
strong and obvious ideological characteristics have been found in Hong Kong
residents. After Hong Kong’s sovereignty return to Mainland China in 1997, this had
fundamentally changed the identity of all the Hong Kong residents. During such a
radical historic change, Hong Kong residents, influenced by several ideologies, tried
Chiu
43
to decide whether they should keep or abandon their original Cantonese culture. For
the general public in Hong Kong, such an adaptation process was a struggle between
“recognizing Chinaization” and “maintaining Hong Kongnizing”.
60
When talking about the “Hong Kongnizing” of movies in recent years, we need
to note that, although the market has been changing the local culture and movie
industry in Hong Kong, the cultural mainstream of Hong Kong movies has not
actively entered the Mainland China. As a result, the original cultural genes and the
unique elements of Hong Kong movies have been roughly preserved in Hong Kong.
Hollywood movies are the mainstream in most parts of Asia, but their influence is
still not strong enough to form a monopoly in Asia. Movies from different regions
will challenge the predominance of Hollywood movies. They will stand steadfast and,
through different strategies, be ready to make a comeback. For instances, in 2007, the
government in Hong Kong announced the founding of Hong Kong Film Development
Council. At the same time, HKD$300 million were added to Film Development Fund
to help solve the funding and training of professionals in the movie industry to ensure
Hong Kong’s role as “Oriental Hollywood”.
Movie professionals in Hong Kong have also been carrying out a new globalizing
attempt. Some of these professionals received their training in Hollywood and took
their experience with them back to Hong Kong. These professionals, with the
cooperation with Mainland China, are forming a new globalizing path for Hong Kong
movies.61 These individuals may represent the Hong Kong movie culture now as if
they succeed in their globalizing attempt, they will then represent the mixture of
60
Here, “Hong Kongnizing” refers to represent strong Cantonese culture. As for Cantonese culture, the
further details will be discuss in chapter three.
61
Wang Gengwu, Hong Kong History: New Perspectives (Hong Kong: Joint Publishing, 1997) Vol.2,
pp.459-472
Chiu
44
Chinese culture and western culture, or even represent the most classic Chinese movie
culture in the eyes of the world.
The Hong Kong movie industry has not yet weathered the crisis, but in its
development, we have witnessed its resilience and confidence, which is probably
another embodiment of the perseverance of “Hong Kongnizing”.
2. Japanese Movies
After World War II, Japan was under the ruling of the American military. To cater
to the American authority’s need for democratic reforms, Japanese newspapers
increased their coverage of the prosperous American society. As a result, many
Japanese people were fond of the Unite of States of America.
How did Japan’s movie industry develop under the United States of America ruled
between 1945 and 1952? Under the ruled of the U.S., the content of screenplays was
monitored. Those that praised militarism, fascism or anti-U.S. materials were all
banned.62 Movies about the retaliation of ancient samurai were also not allowed as
well. On the other hands, numbers of movies that praised democracy and revealed the
fact that militarism fooled the Japanese, who were the movies that help American’s
democratization in Japan, increased greatly.
During the World War II time, the general public in Japan supported Japanese
Fascism. However, no movies about the general public’s support of Fascism ever
appeared. The movie circle was also very passive about the issue of war criminals. It
was rarely mentioned or even ignored. Hollywood movies, which were strictly banned
during the war, started to enter Japan during the postwar time. American pop culture
and lifestyle infiltrated into the Japanese society and were highly admired by Japanese.
62
Schmit, Ume, Modtranen, B urohelden und K uchenger uchte- Japanische (Taipei: Jia-Xi Books,
2000), pp.108-110
Chiu
45
This situation remains the same even until today63.
When the period of United States of America ruled ended, Japanese movies
associated with traditional Japanese culture came back and the audience loves these
types of movies talking about traditional culture even before the World War II. The
movie industry of Japan achieved unprecedented developments. The five major movie
companies in Japan were producing movies at full speed. On average, two new
movies were released every week. At the end of the 1950s, 500 movies were produced
annually. Against the Japanese backdrop, American cowboy pictures, action movies
and gangster movies were all being transformed into Japanese style movies. Classic
stories such as kabuki and new kabuki were all turned into the topic of Japanese
movies at that time.64 There were also movies about the Japanese teenagers life
influenced by American pop culture. The giant monsters famous like Godzilla were
extremely popular in Japan, and Godzilla soon became the new character in Japanese
pop movies. Various kinds of movies started to appear in Japan. Many famous
Japanese movie individuals won awards in western European movie festivals, such as
Venice and Cannes, which fully demonstrated the psychological need of the Japanese
Nationalism during this period.
At the beginning of the 1960s, Japanese movies achieved great developments. The
number of movies produced reached the peak in 1960, in which 547 Japanese movies
were produced65, which indicated that, at this specific point of time, Japan had
63
Yomota Inuhiko, “Review of Japanese movies in the past century and the main trends since the
1990s”, Forum on The World Film, 2004, Issue 2, pp.109
64
Yomota Inuhiko, “Review of Japanese movies in the past century and the main trends since the
1990s”, Forum on The World Film, 2004, Issue 2, pp.110
65
Yomota Inuhiko, “Review of Japanese movies in the past century and the main trends since the
1990s”, Forum on The World Film, 2004, Issue 2, pp. 111
Chiu
46
became one of the major movie producing countries like the United States of America,
Hong Kong, and India. Within the cultural realm in Japan, movie reviews were quite
radical in the 1960s. Many Japanese intellectuals viewed their movies as a mirror of
the reality. They debated based on their own aesthetics, their view on the world and
political beliefs. However, compared with 1960 to1964, there was 50 percent drop of
audiences. Due to the new media appeared like Television, suddenly emerged great
number of audiences decreased. As a whole, the number of movies produced by
Japanese major movie companies decreased gradually in the 1960s.
In the 1970s, major movie companies in Japan went bankrupt one after another;
therefore some of the Japanese movie companies started making pornography and
comedies in order to survive. In the latter half of the 1970s, a mass-production model
was introduced. During that time, political turmoil ended and the society stabilized. It
was university students’ anti-systemic movements morphed into slaughters among
comrades and terrorist bombings that led Japan’s movie industry to decline; the
overall situation fell into an extreme decadency. The light at the end of the tunnel
came when Kadokawa movies appeared in the late 1970s. The joint venture between
the publication industry and the movie industry created a new movie production
model and the achievement was quite magnificent. However, this was only an
exception. In most cases in the 70s, movie production companies and the star system
all went downhill.
In the 1980s to early 90s, the Japanese movie industry went from bad to worse.
Major companies started to sell their production facilities and theaters. As a matter of
fact, many companies were on the verge of bankruptcy. The whole Japanese movie
industry did not thrive in the early 90s mostly because of the economic bubble burst
in Japan in 1993. The whole society fell into a recession. Many enterprises that
invested in the movie industry in the 1980s pulled out their capital and movie theaters
Chiu
47
with unique character but not commercial enough all closed one after another. In
contrast, a great number of movie rental stores emerged and some movies were only
available for rentals but not shown in theaters.66
One characteristic of Japan’s movie industry in the 1990s is that directors such as
Go Takamine, Youichi Sai and some Korean directors living in Japan were very
active. They demonstrated the cultural diversity happened in the Japanese society and
expressed this sort of diversity within movies67. In this period, Japan animation
developed dramatically. Not only did they set new box office records at their home
country, Japan animation also attracted much attention abroad.
In 1958, television stations started operation, which resulted in a 50% decrease of
movie audiences. 1996 marked the arrival of the multi-TV-channel era, which further
negatively impacted the Japanese movie market. The number of audiences kept going
down and a vicious circle was formed. Faced with such an impact brought by
television, the Japanese movie industry initiated reforms. To preserve the artistic
effects of American movies, starting from 1994, foreigners could independently
operate the theaters and invest in theater facilities. By 1996, there are 13
American-invested theaters in Fukuoka were in full operation 68 . These 13
American-invested theaters have somehow represented the influence of American pop
movie and American pop culture toward Japan.
In the past 50 years, through the reform of movie production, the dynamics
66
Yomota Inuhiko, “Review of Japanese movies in the past century and the main trends since the
1990s”, Forum on The World Film, 2004, Issue 2, pp. 112
67
Yomota Inuhiko, “Review of Japanese movies in the past century and the main trends since the
1990s”, Forum on The World Film, 2004, Issue 2, pp. 113
68
You-Jue Qian，”Japan and Asia movie data researcher，Japanese movies that are walking into the
21st Century”, Movie Correspondence, Issue 6, (Summer, 1999),
http://www.triphopmusic.net/dianying_japanmovie.htm, view date: 29/04/2008
Chiu
48
between independent moviemakers and major movie production companies was
changed fundamentally. For example, in 1996, three major movie production
companies, Shochiku Eizo Company, Toho Company Ltd and Toei Animation Ltd,
produced 59 movies while 11619 independent Japanese movies produced followed by
the U.S. model.69 And released in the same year. In terms of the number of movies
produced, independent moviemakers did much better. The way that movies were
shown was also reformed. In the past, independent movies could hardly reach the
general public, and they were only shown in a single theater. With the diversification
of movie production, a single theater release became surprisingly common.
Independent movies were first shown in a single theater and some of the special
movie theater set especially for audiences. These independent movies received critics
from audiences and then locate outstanding ones. The most representable movies
including “Sleeping Handsome” and “Rising Speed” in 1995, “Shall We Dance” in
1996 and “Children Come Back” in 1997. These movies were all only shown in one
single theater when them first released. After receiving great reviews from audiences,
these outstanding independent movies were then re-shown by mainstream movie
production companies for commercial profits and attract more audiences to watch
independent movies. Movies with creative ideas could succeed with this a single
theater release model and this is probably the new trend for Japan’s movie industry in
the twenty-one century20.
Nonetheless, the ideas of independent movies were Japanese follow the role of
Hollywood trend. Today, Hollywood movies still are the heads of worldwide movie
industry. Although Japanese independent movies were received great comments that
69
You-Jue Qian，”Japan and Asia movie data researcher，Japanese movies that are walking into the
21st Century”, Movie Correspondence, Issue 6, (Summer, 1999),
http://www.triphopmusic.net/dianying_japanmovie.htm, view date: 29/04/2008
Chiu
49
still cannot ignore the fact that Hollywood movies is top-grossing movie almost all
over the world.
2.2
Comparisons between Chinaization and Americanization
Based on the review of the development of the newspaper industry and movie
industry in Hong Kong and Japan, this part uses newspapers and movies to look into
cultural expressions and further compare how obvious Americanization and
Chinaization are in Hong Kong and Japan in an attempt to provide materials for future
studies.
1. Newspapers
In terms of newspapers, the top three most famous newspapers in Hong Kong,
“Apple Daily”, “Oriental Daily” and “The Sun” are selected to compare with the top
three most famous newspapers in Japan, “Yomiuri Shimbun”, “Asahi Shimbun” and
“The Mainichi Newspapers”. Due to the fact that access to paper-based newspapers is
limited and major newspapers have websites providing identical information as the
paper-based newspapers, this thesis uses news reports on the websites of major
newspapers. In terms of the items selected for comparison, I decided to compare the
coverage of the news first and then analyzed the news reports statistically.
(A) Hong Kong Newspapers
Among the three major newspapers in Hong Kong, the coverage of “Apple Daily”
is obviously Chinalzed. As I had mentioned in Table1.1 in chapter one, the newspaper
coverage discuss about China has to be more than 30% that counts for the region has
the phenomenon of Chinaization. “Apple Daily” has nine major sections, which
Chiu
50
include a cross-straight section70. Within the cross-straight section, six out of seven
columns (28%) discuss China issues.71 The six latest news sections include one
cross-straight latest news column (16%), which covers only latest news in China.
News reports on China issues account for 44% of the total reports, and U.S. news only
accounts for a little portion comparing to news of China. “Oriental Daily” and “The
Sun” use the same news website72 and share their news information. They have a
section devoted to China issues. However, “Oriental Daily” and “The Sun” have
more coverage about the reports of the United States of America. There are special
columns on the U.S. presidential election reports, and major sport events in the United
States of America.
(B) Japan Newspapers
For the top three largest newspapers in Japan, “Yomiuri Shimbun”, “Asahi
Shimbun” and “The Mainichi Newspapers”, compared with the newspapers in Hong
Kong, have more sections, which include politics, international news, economy,
weather, animation and society. The newspaper of “Yomiuri Shimbun” and “The
Mainichi Newspapers” show no manifest signs of being Americanized or Chinalzed.
The coverage of “Yomiuri Shimbun” and “The Mainichi Newspapers” are most focus
on domestic news. “Asahi Shimbun” has a China section, which is devoted to China
issues. It has a Beijing Olympics column and a column for news copied from
“People’s Daily” in Mainland China. However, this is not enough to be a sign of
Japanese newspaper had been Chinalzed. The data are not clear enough to have a
70
Cross-straight section indicated this section is practically discussing issues related to Hong Kong
within Mainland China.
71
“Apple Daily”, http://www1.appledaily.atnext.com, view date: 30/04/2008
72
“Oriental Daily” and ”The Sun”, http://epaper.on.cc, view date: 30/04/2008
Chiu
51
conclusion of weather “Asahi Shimbun” is Chinalzed or not. I had clear shown the
analyzed results of newspapers content in both Hong Kong and Japan in Table 2.3 by
using Mill’s method.
“Asahi Shimbun” has the largest amount of China news. Based on the research on
its website, there are 22,600 items on China issues while there are only 4,750 items73
on U.S. issues. Its news coverage is obviously Chinalzed as I mentioned in the former
paragraph. On the website of “Yomiuri Shimbun”, 9,244 China news items and 8,905
U.S. news items were found74. On the website of “The Mainichi Newspapers”, 2,808
China news items and 2,401 U.S. news items were found75.
The content of news reports in “Yomiuri Shimbun” and “The Mainichi
Newspapers” are almost equal when it comes to the content related to the
phenomenon of Chinaization or Americanization. However, there are a little bit more
news on China issues than focus on the issues of the United States of America as I
searched the news on the website of “Yomiuri Shimbun” and “The Mainichi
Newspapers”.
There is one thing that worth noticed that are issues related to cultural news reports
of China are still rare comparing to the cultural news reports of the American pop
culture in all Japan’s newspaper.
We need more proofs in order show is Japanese newspaper is been Chinalzed or not.
The evidence and many other proofs had showed us that Japanese newspaper industry
today is Americanized, from the content relate to the U.S. and the layout design is so
colorful and entertain just like newspaper in the U.S.76 Thus, we could say Japan
73
“Asahi Shimbun”, http://sitesearch.asahi.com, view date: 30/04/2008
74
“Yomiuri Shimbun”, http://insite.search.goo.ne.jp/yomiuri, view date: 30/04/2008
75
”The Mainichi Newspapers“, http://search.mainichi.jp, view date: 30/04/2008
76
Fehrenbach, Heide and Uta G. Poiger, Transactions, transgressions, transformations: American
culture in Western Europe and Japan (New York: Berghahn Books, 2000), pp.75-79
Chiu
52
newspaper industry has the sign of Americanized after World War II.
Table 2.3 Comparison of Newspaper Content
Americanization of
Chinaization of
newspaper content
newspaper content
Apple Daily
No
Yes
Oriental Daily
Yes
No
The Sun
Yes
No
Yomiuri Shimbun
Yes
Unidentified
Asahi Shimbun
Yes
Unidentified
The Mainichi Newspapers
Yes
Unidentified
* *Information Resources: “Apple Daily”, http://www1.appledaily.atnext.com; “Oriental Daily”
and ”The Sun”, http://epaper.on.cc, Paper version of “Yomiuri Shimbun”, “The Mainichi Newspapers”,
and “Asahi Shimbun”.
However, this trend of Japan’s newspapers been Chinalzed is still way weaker than
the strong influence by American pop culture as we notice the layout of Japan
newspapers are designed extremely similar to the newspapers of the United States of
America. The United States has several of types of newspapers, as to the paper
version; they chartered as colorful and very entertain for reader. These characters we
could also see that in Japan newspaper. Therefore, as the results of analyzing layout, I
had clear shown the analyzed results in both Hong Kong and Japan in Table 2.4 by
using Mill’s method of saying that Japan newspaper is Americanized base on the
evidences I received.
Chiu
Table 2.4
53
Comparison of Newspaper Page Layout
Americanization of
Chinaization of
newspaper page layout
newspaper page layout
Apple Daily
Yes
No
Oriental Daily
Yes
No
The Sun
Yes
No
Yomiuri Shimbun
Yes
No
Asahi Shimbun
Yes
Unidentified
The Mainichi Newspapers
Yes
No
*Information Resources: “Apple Daily”, http://www1.appledaily.atnext.com; “Oriental Daily”
and ”The Sun”, http://epaper.on.cc, Paper version of “Yomiuri Shimbun”, “The Mainichi Newspapers”,
and “Asahi Shimbun”.
2. Movies
In the realm of movies, American culture has precedence over Chinese culture.
Since the 1990s, Hollywood movies have established their movie hegemony all over
the world. Hong Kong movies have also represented the Chinese culture after 1997.
However, in the realm of movies, American culture still eclipses Chinese culture.
Concerning the analysis of Americanization for market penetration (table 2.5), in
Hong Kong, the percentage of Hollywood box-office revenue in total local box-office
revenue is higher than that of the movies made in Hong Kong or commercial movies
in relation to China. Although Asian action movies and martial arts commercial
movies have been noted worldwide these years and have been splashy and getting
Chiu
54
good scores in the film festivals, the total amount of their box office still falls behind
the Hollywood movies. Table 2.5 has shown clear box-office situation in Hong Kong
and Japan by using Mill’s method. If the table present “Yes” which means Hollywood
movies box-office’s total amount is won more than the local movie’s box office at
that year. On the other hand, if the table represent” No”, which indicated the local
movie’s total amount is won more than the Hollywood movies.
Table 2.5 Comparison of Box-office in Hong Kong and Japan*
Hong Kong after 1997
Japan after World War
II
1998
Yes
Yes
1999
Yes
Yes
2000
Yes
Yes
2001
Yes
Yes
2002
No
Yes
2003
Yes
Yes
2004
Yes
Yes
2005
Yes
Yes
2006
Yes
No
2007
Yes
Yes
*Information Resource: Zhong, Bao Xian, The Rise and Fall of the Variable Hong Kong Films
from 1997 to 2007 (Hong Kong: Hong Kong & Taiwan Movies, 2006); Motion Picture Producer
Association of Japan, http://www.eiren.org
Chiu
55
The box office income of Hollywood movies comparing to the local movies in
Hong Kong and Japan shows a clear sign that movies in Hong Kong and Japan is
Americanized (see Table 2.5).
There is indeed a more interesting phenomenon that after World War II Japan has
been extremely protecting its self-made movies. In the respect of box-office analysis,
it even directly separates the box-office counting into two parts: western films and
Japanese self-made movies. This analysis can be clearly expressed and elaborated on
the website of Motion Picture Producer Association of Japan.
77
However, if culture
penetration is carefully discussed from the aspect of total revenue, except for 2006,
Hollywood movies have gained the most box-office yearly from 1998 to 2007.78 It
shows that Japanese people have a favorable impression on Hollywood movies and
are willing to take out their money for movies.
Despite the situation, Japanese movie industry is indeed trying to get back on its
feet, striving to revive local movies to compete with Hollywood movies. In 2006,
Japanese movies achieved a major breakthrough. In that year, local movies took
53.2%79 of the market share, which exceeded the market share of Hollywood movies
for the first time in 21 years. Of all the 821 movies released, 417 of them were made
locally. The number of movies produced annually exceeded 400 for the first time in
33 years80.
In Hong Kong, Hollywood blockbusters are still the heavyweight players. In 1998,
the box office income of “Titanic” alone accounted for a quarter of the total movie
77
Motion Picture Producer Association of Japan, http://www.eiren.org/, view date: 08/04/2008.
78
Motion Picture Producer Association of Japan, http://www.eiren.org/, view date: 02/05/2008.
79
Qian, Tai, “Recent developments of the types of Japanese movies”, Journal of Nanjing Arts
Institute-Music & Performance, (April, 2007), pp.87
80
Qian, Tai, “Recent developments of the types of Japanese movies”, Journal of Nanjing Arts
Institute-Music & Performance, (April, 2007), pp.87
Chiu
56
market income. From 1994 to 2000, on average, 10 foreign movies took 70% of the
market share every year, among which Hollywood blockbusters movies were the top
grossing movies. This allowed American culture to be “propagandized” through
Hollywood movies. As for Hong Kong local movies that invest and produced by
Hong Kong people, roughly 100 locally produced movies were released every year,
but they took less than 30% of the market share81.
My discussion here does not include some of the Hong Kong movies that were
invested by people in Mainland China. Since access to such information is limited, no
analysis on such investment was conducted.
Table 2.6 Comparison of types of investment in Hong Kong and Japan*
Hong Kong after 1997
Japan after war
Independent film-making
Yes
Yes
Star system
Yes
Yes
Large investment
Yes
Yes
New technology
Yes
Yes
*Information Resource: Zhong, Bao Xian, The Rise and Fall of the Variable Hong Kong Films
from 1997 to 2007 (Hong Kong: Hong Kong & Taiwan Movies, 2006); Motion Picture Producer
Association of Japan, http://www.eiren.org; Miller, Toby, Global Hollywood (London: BFI, 2005)
The movie production model in Hollywood profoundly affects the movie industry
in Hong Kong and Japan. The star system is a case in point. From Marilyn Monroe in
the earlier years to Sharon Stone, Julia Roberts and Tom Cruise in the 1990s, movie
81
Fu Poshek, “China Global: Hong Kong Cinema After 1997”, Contemporary Cinema, 2007, Issue 4,
pp.53
Chiu
57
stars are Hollywood movies’ passes to all the movie markets in the world. Such a
system is also adopted by Hong Kong and Japan as a main strategy to sell movies.
As for the new technology, and independent filmmaking, we have the examples of
Japan follow the U.S. leading trend and successfully produced excellent movies like
“The Battle of Wizard ” in 2006 and “The Sink of Japan” in 2007.
In terms of the amount of investment, the Hollywood movie production has a
“heavy bomb” reputation. In 1963, US$44 million were invested in making
“Cleopatra”. In 2005, Hong Kong followed the Hollywood investment model and
spent HD$160 million in making “The Myth” and HD$150 million in making “Kung
Fu”. The total amount invested in “Seven Swords” also exceeded HD$100 million82.
In addition, some Hong Kong movies were big hits and were then re-made in
Hollywood, such as “Infernal Affairs”
83
. These movies all chartered as using
superstar actors and apply a great deal of modern digital compositing techniques,
which closely followed the movie technique revolution trend in Hollywood.
The model in which major movie production companies and independent
moviemakers co-existed was copied by Hong Kong after the 1970s. In the end of
section 2.1, there are several paragraphs also describes the rise of local Japanese
movies and mentions the development and general situation of the production of
independent Japanese movies.
Hong Kong has returned to China in 1997, but the local Hong Kong culture,
which has a long history, is still not Chinalzed. The leading role of American pop
culture is reflected in Hollywood dominant movies. After the World War II, for a long
82
Zhao Wei Fang, “Modernization and Indigenization: The Interaction between the Films of
Hollywood and Hong Kong——The Access to the Resurgence of the Film in Hong Kong”, Journal of
Shanghai University, (March, 2007), Vol.14, No. 2, pp.110-119
83
Zhong Bao Xian, The Rise and Fall of the Variable Hong Kong Films from 1997 to 2007 (Hong
Kong: Hong Kong & Taiwan Movies, 2006), pp.160
Chiu
58
time, Japan was greatly influenced by the United States of America in many layers.
Professor Watanabe at Keio University thinks that the post-war generation is obsessed
with the U.S. “To a great extent, American hamburgers, Coca Cola, jeans, swing
dance, pop music and disco spread in the same way. They received the most unique
and powerful exposure in Hollywood movies, Television, and other audio and video
media.”
84
From the analysis of Japan’s movie, it is clear that the Americanization in
Japan has not changed much during the post war period.
2.3
Factor Analysis
Before a conclusion of this thesis is reached, we must analyze the reasons behind
the conclusions obtained from the previous sections. Only by doing so can we locate
the causes that affect the region by phenomenon of Americanization and Chinaization.
1. Chinaization
Since 1997, the section design and the content of Hong Kong newspapers have
been obviously Chinalzed. There are numerous reasons to explain such phenomenon,
including the majority population in Hong Kong is Chinese, Hong Kong and
Mainland China have the same traditions, the fading of colonization, and the
enhanced economic and trade relationship between Hong Kong and the inner land.
However, the most important reason is the Chinese authorities’ control over
newspapers. This is a political issue and this thesis does not intend to discuss that.
84
Yasushi Watanabe, “Japan’ Through the Looking - Glass: American Influences on the Politics of
Cultural Identity in the Post war Japan, ” Passages, Vol.2, No.1, 2000, pp.23.
Chiu
59
From section 2.2, we know that Japanese newspapers are not obviously Chinalzed
or Americanized. Among the most famous newspapers in Japan, only “Asahi
Shimbun” is slightly Chinalzed and this particular point can contribute to our analysis
of causes why Chinaization is not manifest compare to Americanization in Japan.
In terms of the economy, Japan saw the burst of an economic bubble in the 1990s
and the recession afterwards. It is foreseeable that Japan will be affected by the
Chinese economy and possible feel the influence of Chinese culture as well. Another
cause worth considering is that as the Chinese military becomes more and more
transparent, Japan feels the pressure from the rapid military development in China, a
rising oriental superpower, and Japan has once again ”need” to enhance their
understanding of the essence of the Chinese culture. “Asahi Shimbun” has a Chinese
column, which allows the Japanese public to learn about the Chinese culture. The
above-mentioned discussions and analysis are based on Mill method, which is
summarized in Table 2.7. In Table 2.7, “1” one means positive of the causes effect the
outcome of Chinaization becomes manifest. On the other hand, “0” means negative of
the causes effect the outcome of Chinaization becomes manifest.
Table 2.7 Analysis of The Cause Whether Chinaization Is Becoming Manifest*
Causal
Majority
Hong Kong
population
Japan
is 1
0
Chinese traditions = B
1
0
Military power = C
1
1
Economy = D
1
1
Chinese = A
Chiu
Profitability = P
* Form
1
60
1
this we can obtain the following primitive Boolean equation:
P = ABCD + abCD
This can be minimized to:
P = CD
* Information Resources: Abbas, Ackbar, Hong Kong: Culture and Politics of Disappearance
(Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 1997); Blyth, Sally & Ian Wotherspoon, Say it, Hong
Kong (Hong Kong: Oxford University Press, 1996); Kenichi, Ohmae, Beyond National Border:
Reflection on Japan and the world (Tapei: Commonwealth Publishing, 1987); Schmit, Ume,
Modtranen, B urohelden und K uchenger uchte- Japanische (Taipei: Jia-Xi Books, 2000), Chinese
version.
Based on this, we can infer that military power (C) and economy (D) are the main
causes determining whether Chinaization is emerging in Japan or China while
majority population is Chinese and Chinese traditions are not valid causes behind the
Chinaization in Japan and Hong Kong.
2. Americanization
Based on the analysis in section 2.2, the Americanization of Hong Kong and
Japanese movies might result from the following causes.
First of all, the cultural cause. The local culture accepts or rejects the foreign
culture so cultural cause is the most important reason we should consider. The
original structure of the local culture will determine how the local culture interacts
with the new culture. If the local culture is open and accepting, or due to the historic
accumulation, a dual cultural structure is formed. The new culture is the other half of
Chiu
61
such a dual structure so the new culture is not likely to be resisted by the local culture
and can last long.
As mentioned in the chapter one, Hong Kong culture can be summarized as
“Hong Kongnizing”. Hong Kong is located close to Mainland China, and Chinese
people, the Chinese language and Chinese culture continue to affect the Hong Kong
culture. Between 1842 and 1997, Hong Kong was colonized by the United Kingdom,
so Hong Kong is deeply affected by the western culture and the English world is the
other half that is integrated into the Hong Kong culture. Such a dual structure of Hong
Kong perfectly allows American mass culture, which is also part of the English world,
to be well accepted in Hong Kong.
During the Sui Tang Dynasty (between the 6th and the 10th Century), the
architecture, culture, politics and every aspect of the society in Japan were deeply
influenced by the Chinese culture. Japan sent envoys to China to learn and brought
back Chinese cultural classics. These preserved classics have now become the
national treasure and are under the protection of the government. In other words,
Chinese culture had been “transformed” into part of Japanese culture and well
preserved. During Meiji Restoration (1603 – 1867), on the foundation of the absorbed
Chinese culture, Japan started learning western technology, culture, education and
lifestyles to further enhance their national strength. The restoration of the Japanese
local culture included both Chinese and western cultures and ideologies. The dual
cultural structure, from the Chinaization in Sui Tang Dynasty to the westernization
during Meiji Restoration, was integrated into the history at that time, which was at
least a few hundred years old. This cultural structure explains why after the World
War II, Japan leaned toward the U.S. and Americanization became obvious.
Secondly, the economic cause. The consumer-market-led economy has been
expanding globally. With the collapse of the Soviet Union, the United States of
Chiu
62
America became the number one superpower in the world and many regions and
countries followed its economic model. American mass culture grows with economic
activities so the general public, who are the consumers, finds it easy to accept
American mass culture. After the World War II, the global situation stabilized,
providing a benign economic environment for each region to imitate the American
economy.
For instance, after World War II, the Hong Kong economy on average increased
by 35% annually between 1947 and 1951. In the 1950s, the economic growth was
maintained at 7%, 13.6% in the 1960s and 19.3% in the 1970s. In the 1980s, the
economy still maintained a double-digit growth. During this period, Hong Kong was
in a high economic growth period85.
Thirdly, as to the military cause. Occupiers can impose a culture on their occupied
regions. For example, the British Empire introduced English education in its colonies.
Even the latter half of the 20th Century and the national independence movement have
passed, these former colonies are still affected by the culture of the English world.
After the World War II, the Americanization of Japan was closely related to the
fact that the United States of America took a global cold war strategy. American
solders played an important role in enhancing American’s influence on Japan. After
the Korean War, the number of American soldiers in Japan decreased year after year,
but they were still the largest group of people showing the local Japanese people the
modern American life. Yoshimi Shunya, a Japanese scholar, thinks that the forming
of the Japanese public culture had a lot to do with American military bases in Japan.
He believes that, it was through the direct contact with the occupying solders that
Japanese public culture gained a footing after the World War II. The contagious
85
Huang, X.R., The Economic Outline of the Hong Kong Newspaper Society (Shanghai: The Window
of Mass Media in the Special District, 2006), pp.60.
Chiu
63
influence of the American culture, such as jazz, fashion and the sex culture, started to
spread from the American military bases and soon grew in Japan. Compared with
other Asian nations, the number of American solders in Japan was the largest and they
stayed there longer. Therefore, they greatly influenced the everyday life and culture of
the Japanese people. They played an important role in the “Americanization” of the
Japanese society86.
Fourthly, for the support of the elites. The attitude of elites, who represent the
local culture, also affect whether a foreign culture will be accepted or not. The local
cultural representatives, the elites, are usually the individuals who have a higher social
economic status. Apparently, these individuals play a vital role in determining the
political, economic and cultural development in a region.
In 1983, Tokyo Disneyland opened and a “Disney craze” followed in Japan.
Yoshimi Shunya thinks that the success of Tokyo Disneyland can be viewed as the
peak of Japan’s Americanization after World War II33. The general public can relax
and be refreshed in Tokyo Disneyland and the elites think the values promoted by
Tokyo Disneyland change and influence the visitors unobtrusively and imperceptibly.
Tokyo Disneyland can be viewed as a mark of a peak in Japan for the
Americanization and how much the elites support Disneyland is an indicator of how
Americanized a region is. The construction of Disneyland in the suburbs of Paris met
strong opposition from the French elites. Japanese people did not have any radical
reactions like the French. Let me briefly mention Hong Kong Disneyland. When it
opened in 2005, the elites in Hong Kong did not hold an opposing attitude as the
French.
86
Yoshimi, Shunya, “‘American’s Desire and Violence: Americanization in Post War Japan and Asia
during the cold War”, translated by David Buist, Inter Asia Cultural studies, Vol.4, No 3 (December,
2003), pp. 439.
Chiu
64
Finally, the imposing of cultural hegemony is another cause. The imposing of
cultural hegemony can be a strategy taken by an economic and military superpower.
The spread of cultural media, such as movies, television programs and books, make
people in other countries and regions gradually identify with certain ideas and
concepts so it is a great tool for hegemonic countries. It is safe to say that, to a certain
degree, Hollywood movies have such a national strategic.
As analyzed by many scholars87, they mentioned the global capitalism in the 20th
Century brought up the cultural hegemony of Hollywood. America’s advanced
technology, political and economic power, assertive diplomacy and its symbol as a
modern nation provide Hollywood movies momentum to future expand in the global
movie market and dominate the movie culture all over the world.
Table 2.8
Hollywood box office
Global box office income of Hollywood movies*
Domestic market
Foreign markets
Before the early 1990s
70%
30%
The mid-1990s
50%
50%
The year 2015 (predict)
20%
80%
income
* Information Resource: Toby Miller, Global Hollywood (London: BFI, 2005); Kristin Thompson,
Exporting Entertainment: American and the Western Film Market (London: BFI, 1996)
87
Toby Miller, Global Hollywood (London: BFI, 2005); Melvyn Stokes, Hollywood Abroad:
Audiences and Cultural Exchange (London: BFI, 2005); Kristin Thompson, Exporting Entertainment:
American and the Western Film Market (London: BFI, 1996); Chris Berry, China On Screen (New
York: Columbia University Press, 2006)
Chiu
65
In the beginning, the box office income of Hollywood movies depended on the
large domestic market, which accounted for 70% of the total income, and the main
foreign markets were Europe and Latin America. With the global strategy, in recent
years, the box office income structure at home and abroad has changed dramatically.
In the mid-1990s, Hollywood movies’ box office income in foreign markets
accounted for 50% of the total and the number is expected to increase to 80% in 20
years88.
Asia is where Hollywood movies develop the fastest and the foreign markets where
Hollywood movies monopolize. If we define the market infiltration rate base on how
much the Hollywood box office income accounts for the total box office income, the
infiltration rate is 96% in Taiwan, 78% in Thailand, 65% in Japan, and 60% in Hong
Kong89 (as shown in Table 2.9).
88
Fu, Poshek，”China Global：Hong Kong Cinema After 1997”, Contemporary Cinema, 2007, Issue 4,
pp.53
89
Christine Klein, “The Asian Factor in Global Hollywood: Breaking down the Notion of a Distinctly
American Cinema”, http://www.yaleglobal.yale.edu, view date: 03/05/2008
Chiu
Table 2.9
66
Market infiltration rate of Hollywood movies in Asian markets
(Taiwan, Thailand, Japan and Hong Kong)*
* Information Resource: Christine Klein, The Asian Factor in Global Hollywood: Breaking down the
Notion of a Distinctly American Cinema, http://www.yaleglobal.yale.edu, view date: 03/05/2008
America’s cultural hegemony strategy allows the Hollywood “super films” to
challenge, suppress and destroy the local movies in almost any region. Before 1993,
the top-grossing movies in Hong Kong were all local movies. However, in that year,
“the Jurassic Park” changed the situation and the Hong Kong movie industry fell into
a recession. In 1995, the market shares of Hong Kong movies and western movies
were 62.58% and 37.42% respectively, but the numbers changed to 52% and 48% in
1996.90 The box office income of local movies decreased from HKD$1.2 billion in
1992 to HKD$600 million in 1996. In 1997, the number of local movies released
dropped below the 100 mark for the first time and the box office kept going downhill.
Such pressure remained for more than 10 years and gave the Hong Kong movie
90
Zhong, Bao Xian, The Rise and Fall of the Variable Hong Kong Films from 1997 to 2007 (Hong
Kong: Hong Kong & Taiwan Movies, 2006), p.37-40
Chiu
67
industry little room for breath. In 2007, “Spiderman 3” and “Pirates of the Caribbean:
At World’s End” brought in HKD$50 million and HKD$40 million in the box office
respectively. Sadly, Hong Kong movies could not compete at all91.
All of the above are possible causes I have been discussed that made into the
following table, If the table present “1”, which means the cause is positively “push”
the influence of Americanization. On the other hand, if the table represent” 0”, which
indicated the cause is negatively “push” the influence of Americanization.
Table 2.10 Analysis of market infiltration causes in Hong Kang and
Japanese movie markets
Cause
Hong Kong
Japan
Cultural structure = E
1
1
Economy = F
1
1
Military = C
0
1
Support of elites = G
1
1
Cultural hegemony = H
1
1
Profitability = P
1
1
* Form this we can obtain the following primitive Boolean equation:
P = EFcGH + EFCGH
This can be minimized to:
91
Hu Ke and Hui Liu, “Review of Hong Kong movies in the past decade”, Movie Arts, Issue 315, p.7
Chiu
68
P = EFGH
Based on Mill Method, we can see that dual cultural structure (E); the development
of commercial economy (F), the support of elites (G) and the imposing of American
cultural hegemony (H) are the main causes influencing the Japanese and Hong Kong
societies.
Chiu
69
Chapter 3
Language Cause and Others
I have two directions for discussion in this chapter. The first is the reason for
unclear Chinaization caused by language factors; As for the language cause, I will
first discuss Japan’s language use situation in current Japan, and then will discuss the
current language use in the Hong Kong region in order to have a more clear picture of
what is the relationship between the language causal and the outcome. The reasons of
language causal that cause the difficulty of promoting Chinaization will be discussed
in the first two sections, and I will analyze whether the language cause is the reason
for the current conditions in Japan; in other words, I shall analyzes whether the cause
to outcome process is reasonable.
The second direction discusses other causes, and as stated in the directions in the
Introduction and Chapter 1, are these factors worth consideration, or whether there is
no relationship between the other factors and conclusions; this will all be discussed in
this chapter.
3.1 Language Causation in Japan
Takayuki Tatsumi had mentioned an extremely important concept of “imitation”
of Japanese. He proposed that Japanese are good at imitate of Western just about
everything. This has no exception as to language and literature writing. He said,
“Modern Japanese authors, whether prewar or post war authors, started their career by
Chiu
70
imitating and assimilating the works of Anglo-American precursors. One example lies
in The Legends of Tono (1910).92”
Tatsumi’s words can be attested by the discourse of other Japanese authors and
painters, such as writer Junichiro Tanizaki and Western-style painter Arai Rikunan
who has lived in the West for a long time. Arai Rikunan who is a painter that only
paint his drawing in Western-style. The discourse of these two Japanese people is
more than radical. Junichiro Tanizaki has stated his position clearly most of the time.
Junichiro Tanizaki express best of his position when he says, “The West, compared to
Japan, has the most greatest art in the world, and anything of the West is beautiful,
eliciting envy and praise.” Arai imitates the West, and is disgusted and extremely
critical of Japanese life, language, action, and even appearances.93 Indeed, there are
many Japanese people admire the West and imitate culture associated with Western to
an extreme point. However, with the defeat after World War II, such extreme
discourse has gradually internalized to a part of the deep sense of inferiority in the
hearts of Japanese.
Japanese people use language in daily life to express their preference and
appreciation for American mass culture94. I have long been in contact with Japanese
culture and modern drama. It is easy to see that in modern drama, the frequency of
foreign loanwords have become higher than kanji. Among vocabulary discussing
emotional states, “pressure” and “rapid heartbeat” are English pronunciations
rendered in Japanese spelling. As for electronic appliances in daily life, it is even
more frequent to have a name that is English pronunciations rendered in Japanese
92
Fehrenbach, Heide and Uta G. Poiger, Transactions, transgressions, transformations: American
culture in Western Europe and Japan (New York: Berghahn Books, 2000), pp. 225-226
93
Nan Po, The Theory of Japanese (Taipei: Li-Hsu Publishing Press, 2003), p.86-87
94
Kenichi Ohmae, Beyond National Border: Reflection on Japan and the world (Tapei:
Commonwealth Publishing, 1987), pp. xxxiii-xxiv
Chiu
71
spelling, from the toaster, to the refrigerator, television, and microwave, these are all
typical Japanese words as loan words from English that have been transformed.
Then, how do we define Chinaization here? According to the definition in
Table1.1, Mandarin is used in more than 30% of daily conversations, reading, and
writing can be defined this region has the signature of Chinalzed; this is the precise
definition of Chinaization in this thesis. Japan, however, has its own language that is
used 100% of the time, and English loan words are obviously more popular than kanji;
Kanji is Chinese words that pronounce in Japanese language. Thus, in the way of
linguistically causal in Japan does not fit the definition of this thesis, which means
Japan is not a region that has been Chinalzed as speaking in term of language.
In terms of language cause, I shall use a different angle to answer my main
research question; is it because Japanese people use foreign words so often that lead
them can accept Western influences much more easily comparing to accept Chinese
culture? And so Chinese mass culture did not become popular or a manifest culture
that has strong influence in Japan? According to the observations of Japanese culture
by Dai Jitao who is famous for observed Japanese culture, Dai said, “the advantage of
Japanese people is they are good at absorbing civilization from the world, and have
the capability of self-preservation and self-development; However, the disadvantage
of Japanese people at having the island-nation character of being too worried over
minor matters, as well as the inclination to idolize the West and look down on
China.”95 Dai Jitao’s long-term observations have always been fairly objective, and
objectively he proposes the internalized attitudes of Japanese as prejudiced against
China; from this, there is a source for the Japanese uncaring attitudes of China. As
95
Nan Po, The Theory of Japanese (Taipei: Li-Hsu Publishing Press, 2003), pp.142
Chiu
72
from the historical perspective, Japan has long been subservient to China96, the
Chinese gave titles of kings of Japan, and many titles are derogatory. For example, the
titles often include the word “Wo” which carries contempt for Japanese’s height is
short and also the word is a metaphor, meaning China looked down on Japan. The
Japanese people somehow know that China looks down on Japan. Thus, from this
view of historical feuds and problems, it may really have its difficult for Japanese
people to accept rising Chinese culture right away.
Generally, if Japanese people tend to be prejudiced against China after World
War II, how can Chinese mass culture become more popular or becoming a branch of
manifest culture in Japan? Not even mention to before and after World War II, when
American mass culture arrived in Japan along with modernization. Comparing to
these two cultures, the passive and conservative Chinese culture had certainly become
relatively less popular or even insignificant. For the promotion of Chinaization, this is
apparently very questionable problem, which are the Chinese culture is passive and
conservative.
It is precisely because of I have founded almost zero linguistic cause that may
influence Chinaization in Japan; I therefore decided to dispel language cause as a
factor influencing the outcome of this thesis.
3.2 Language causation in Hong Kong
Chinese scholars have long emphasized the unique language culture of Hong
Kong. In order to understand Hong Kong’s language and the people’s attitudes of
96
Since the Era of Three Kingdoms around 200 C.E., historical materials record the historical fact of
Japanese subservience to China. Although Chinese dynasties change, Japan still served China until the
Meiji Restoration in Japan.
Chiu
73
language use, first it is necessary to understand Hong Kong identification.97 Hong
Kong residents have a strong local attachment to Hong Kong, with the identity of
“Hong Kongers.” This identity is qualitatively different from the national identities
that emphasized by other countries. In the value system developed by Hong Kong,
there is a low influence of the nation or political affairs, even after 1997; Hong Kong
residents are concerned with economics and civilian affairs.98
The Hong Kong identity is basically established on the lifestyle and value
orientation of Hong Kong, socially and not politically. In Hong Kong, unequivocally,
Hong Kongers make their considerations based on Hong Kong and have clear
self-identification, and in turn deeming that there are Hong Kong values.
Concepts and value orientations formed from Hong Kong identification can be
seen everywhere, for expresses a degree of confidence and sense of superiority. Such
confidence and sense of superiority has also created Hong Kong’s own cultural
products such as Hong Kong’s unique television shows, movies, and popular songs.
This unique style of these products is largely due to the unique social models and
values of Hong Kong. The “Hong Konger” unique is spread through mass culture and
consumption; Hong Kong led its own style of thought, which powerfully and vitally
creates a cultural style different from that of other areas of China. The language that
carries this cultural style is Cantonese.99
97
Yang Rong-tsong, “Hong Kong’s Language Problem and Language Policy – Also a discussion of the
influence of Hong Kong language policy on the Hakka group”, Hong Kong University Sociology
Journal, (May, 2005)
98
Wang Gengwu, Hong Kong History: New Perspectives (Hong Kong: Joint Publishing, 1997),
pp.859-867
99
Chen Bingliang Ed., The pop culture of Hong Kong (Taipei: Joint Publishing, 1994), pp.16-20;
Wang Gengwu, Hong Kong History: New Perspectives (Hong Kong: Joint Publishing, 1997),
pp.613-615
Chiu
74
The role of Cantonese in Hong Kong identification is incomparable. Current
standard Cantonese comes from the Guangzhou dialect, of the Guangdong Pearl Delta.
Since Guangzhou is the administrative center of Guangdong and thus its dialect has a
higher status than other dialects, and has become a common language. Between the
establishment of Hong Kong and before World War II, Guangzhou is connected to
Hong Kong, so Hong Kong also inherits Lingnan culture100, with more contact to the
outside and more open to the world. After 1949 Hong Kong has had more
opportunities for development, becoming the new center of Guangdong Pearl Delta.
Thus, Cantonese of Hong Kong also inherits civilization accumulation of the Lingnan
region and Cantonese culture, and it is a language abundant in cultural resources. In
the 70s and 80s, Hong Kong public culture took off; Hong Kong’s Cantonese culture
has become a strong culture that can spread.101 When I interviewed and researched in
Hong Kong, I often encountered Southeast Asians with a Chinese heritage that were
enthusiastic about learning Cantonese, and this is influenced by the powerful public
culture of Hong Kong. As I have chance that could interview Hong Kong residents,
most of Hong Kong residents have really strong emotion as to adhere to their
Cantonese culture.
Historically, before advancement of Hong Kong’s Cantonese culture, the
position of Mandarin is much higher than Cantonese102. When “Hong Kongers” watch
Mandarin movies and sing Mandarin songs, Cantonese is only one of many dialects at
that moment; even though there were more people speaking Mandarin at that time, the
100
Enright, Michael J., Edith E. Scott, and Ka-mun Chang, Regional Powerhouse: The Greater Pearl
River Delta and the Rise of China (Singapore: John Wiley and Sons, 2005) pp.39-42
101
Wang Gengwu, Hong Kong History: New Perspectives (Hong Kong: Joint Publishing, 1997),
pp.859-867; Enright, Michael J., Edith E. Scott, and Ka-mun Chang, Regional Powerhouse: The
Greater Pearl River Delta and the Rise of China (Singapore: John Wiley and Sons, 2005) pp.21-23
102
Chen Bingliang Ed., The pop culture of Hong Kong (Taipei: Joint Publishing, 1994), pp.16-20
Chiu
75
position of Cantonese culture has not been obtained.
The riot in Hong Kong in 1967 was a time when Hong Kongers were striving to
obtain their special cultural identity against the backdrop of the Cultural Revolution.
The means might have been radical, but it apparently succeeded in drawing the
attention of the public and the government to the languages and regional culture in
Hong Kong.
This is because after the Hong Kong riots of 1967103, the Hong Kong government
finally evaluated Hong Kong’s local cultural policies and decided to develop local
culture by emphasizing Cantonese, rather than being laissez-faire to local cultural
affairs. At this point, the other dialects in Hong Kong television and broadcasting
disappeared, and only Cantonese developed. Thus, an education system was
developed where Mandarin was the written language and Cantonese was the oral
language. Cantonese received comprehensive development as well as status in various
formal situations. Today, Hong Kong children has received such Cantonese mix up
with Mandarin education and grown up, the current situation in Hong Kong is that
Cantonese has become a fully functional language of Hong Kong residents, covering
education, entertainment, proselytizing, and ancestor worship.104
Hong Kong’s “English First” standards have a reason for their formation and this is
another interesting phenomenon besides Cantonese culture to discuss in order to know
the deeper part of the culture of Hong Kong. In terms of Hong Kong work
environment, most jobs involving texts that require fluency in both Mandarin and
English, many employers ensure applicants’ English ability by asking them to take
103
Sally Blyth & Ian Wotherspoon, Say it, Hong Kong (Hong Kong: Oxford University Press, 1996),
pp.92-101
104
Wang Gengwu, Hong Kong History: New Perspectives (Hong Kong: Joint Publishing, 1997),
pp.453
Chiu
76
written English exams or they would be eliminated first. With education, many people
in Hong Kong use English level to determine the quality of a school; famous middle
and elementary schools are English schools. With the effect of famous schools,
elementary students who have good grades enter famous English schools, and some
parents only use English to determine the quality of school, so over these years
English has become more important than Mandarin. And the influence coming after
“English First” has shape Hong Kong residents speaking English in their daily life. As
a matter of fact, I had observed that Hong Kong residents speaking more English than
Mandarin in their daily life. They seems it is easier to say English rather than
Mandarin.
The following passage is representative of Hong Kong’s “English First.” “Due to
our circumstances, for us (and other people whose native language is not English) to
learn and have a good command of English is necessary for international interaction
and world standing. Thus, in order to perpetuate Hong Kong’s metropolitan
characteristics to become even more prosperous, or even simply survive in the world,
we have to emphasize English. Under such circumstances, in order to cultivate a
group of people fluent in English, Hong Kong has a few elite English middle schools,
but there is nothing wrong with that. English has value and it is normal for language
to become the rule that determines good or bad schools.”105
Hong Kong is a Chinese world. Generally speaking, over 97% of the Hong Kong
population is Chinese106, and approximately 95% speak Cantonese. Thus, discussing
Hong Kong’s language issue does not involve discussion of how the internal group
communicates. This is different from the ways in which Singapore and Malaysia have
different ethnic groups, and it is also different from the immigrant countries of United
105
106
“Sneaking Bilingual Education”, Hong Kong Economic Times, January 1, 2001, pp. A27
Here, “Chinese” is not limited to Chinese born in China.
Chiu
77
States, Canada, New Zealand, and Australia. Discussion of Hong Kong’s English
issue, which is primarily used to communicate with the outside world, and the
language policy, is actually in a comparatively singular linguistic context. Using
policies to create a bilingual or multilingual world, such experiences are more
difficult in countries with diverse ethnicities. Further, Hong Kong is a world of
speaking Cantonese. Even though Cantonese is strong language within the region of
Guangdong in China and has its own unique Cantonese culture. Nevertheless, in
China it is still a minority language, thus, Hong Kong residents must work at learning
Mandarin, so they can communicate with others in China who are outside the
Guangdong language area. This means that regardless of international languages or
national languages, Hong Kong residents has to expend energy to learn languages
other than their daily language, Cantonese.
Hong Kong Education and Manpower Bureau Chief Lo Fan Shufen publicly
stated, “In Hong Kong, we emphasize both English and Mandarin. Hong Kong is an
international city, English is the language of work, and good English ability tends to
be seen as personal achievement. On the other hand, Hong Kong is also a special
administrative region of China, thus Hong Kong residents must be able to speak
Mandarin for communication. Since most Hong Kong residents are from Guangdong
in south China, the daily language is Cantonese. Thus, our language policy is to
cultivate the “two written languages, three oral languages” ability for young people.
This means that they should be able to read and write Mandarin and English, and be
able to fluently speak Mandarin, Cantonese, and English.”107
107
Yang Rong-tsong, “Hong Kong’s Language Problem and Language Policy – Also a discussion of
the influence of Hong Kong language policy on the Hakka group”, Hong Kong University Sociology
Journal, (May, 2005)
Chiu
78
Table 3.1 Language use ratios in Hong Kong
Types
of Cantonese
Mandarin
English
Others
20%
45%
2%
Language
Usage ratio in 95%
daily life*
*I consulted the various journals from Hong Kong Chinese University for a summarizing ratio,
because the ratio method needed for this paper could not be found, I created it. It primarily references
The Journal of Cultural Studies. Issue 1-3, 2005-2007
Table 3.1 lists the degree of prevalence of language use percentage in Hong Kong.
Cantonese nearly has an absolute advantage in Hong Kong of 95%, which teaches us
much. First, language and identification supplement each other, and identification is a
good way to develop language. When there is clear identification, it would promote
long-term development of the language connected to the identification. Here,
Cantonese provide a very good example. Conversely, language is the tool to develop
identification; in order to develop cultural identification, if there is a corresponding
language, it is easy to establish identification of the culture and thus distinguish the
culture from other.
In Table 3.1 also shows that the ratio of English use by Hong Kong people is still
higher than Mandarin, which shows that the aspect of English in American mass
culture has deeply influenced Hong Kong. Regardless of Hong Kong’s English
colonial history or its Americanization, Table 3.1 clearly shows that no doubt
Cantonese is Hong Kong’s strong language. This truly surpasses the Chinaization
phenomenon in this thesis. The linguistic Chinaization defined in this thesis is listed
in Table1.1; Mandarin is used in more than 30% of daily conversations, reading, and
Chiu
79
writing. Without a doubt, in terms of reading and writing, Hong Kong has the
phenomenon of Chinaization, but the speaking has not fully caught up.
Thus, I think that language causal has clear phenomenon of Chinaization in Hong
Kong although it is incomplete with the oral part. Nonetheless, since the Chinaization
of language causal in Hong Kong could be identified by the definition I made in this
thesis and it had indeed reach the standard. I therefore officially put language cause as
a factor that influences the outcome of Hong Kong is gradually Chinalzed and
Chinese culture may become more manifest in the future days.
3.3 Other Possible Cause
According to the work of many specialists’ scholars in Chinese cultural
transmission in the field of cross-cultural transmission. They had raise a theory of
because of the uniqueness of the Chinese language that would probably restrict
Chinese cultural output as well as influence by other foreign cultures, and Chinese
culture would stagnate after reaching a certain point.
There are usually two types of Chinese uniqueness noted by these scholars: 1, it is
difficult to learn Chinese, the words have multiple meanings which often result in
misunderstandings and trouble during the learning process, 2, Chinese is difficult to
learn so that those who have Chinese as their native language may subconsciously be
unwilling to learn a foreign language.108 Such troubles in cross-cultural transmission
are also likely to appear in other cultural transmission. However, in this thesis, I will
use the articles of the following scholars, and after introducing the point of views of
these scholars that I will try to analyze the uniqueness of Chinese and the connection
108
Sally Blyth & Ian Wotherspoon, Say it, Hong Kong (Hong Kong: Oxford University Press, 1996),
pp.69-72
Chiu
80
to their cultural influences.
The first scholar Hou Dongyong109 mentions in his 2001 article “To Set up Right
Chinese International Image in the Intercultural Communication,” In this article, he
said, ”With the impulse globalization, intercultural communication become more and
more frequently, but owing to the variance of culture, the different culture misread
each other. In the intercultural communication studies, the scholars had been
cognizant of the cultural variance and distinguished them. Chinese culture is a kind of
high-context culture, so it is impossible to understand Chinese real panorama, nor the
media language. The author thinks the inapprehensive of Chinese international image
is created by two aspect: one is foreign medias report with orientation and
misunderstanding, the other is Chinese media including news media and cinema and
books can not reflect Chinese prime culture to abroad.”110 On the other hand, Chang
Shu-Mei words also proposed similar views as for the Chinese is easy to be
misunderstand, Chang stating that it is very common communication problems arise
from misunderstanding between those whose native language is not Chinese and those
whose native language is Chinese and when they use more complex vocabulary and
grammar. Additionally, some communication problems are due to misunderstanding
of native Chinese speakers due to incorrect pronunciation by non-native Chinese
speakers, and vice versa. Further, even though the listening and speaking ability of
some non-native Chinese speakers can allow them to communicate with native
Chinese speakers, but since they do not have cultural background knowledge relating
109
Associate Professor Hou, Dongyong, currently works at National Jinan University School of
Communications. His work involves the study of news, theory of communication studies, public
opinion studies and investigation, international communications, newspaper opinions studies, history of
Chinese public opinions, the history of Chinese communications, among others.
110
Hou, Dongyong, “To Set up Right Chinese International Image in the Intercultural Communication
", The Annual Journal of Chinese Communication Society, (July, 2001), Abstract.
Chiu
81
to the dialog topics, it is difficult to interpret deeper language behaviors.111
The consensus of the two scholars is that Chinese seems to be a language prone to
misunderstanding and difficulty in communication. Here, I jointly discuss this view
and the main research question; does the basic language of its transmission, Chinese,
affect Chinaization?
In Americanization, language does not create difficulty in cultural transmission,
because English has become a world language, thus in comparison, the uniqueness of
Chinese must be discussed, because under normal circumstances it cannot be
compared. From the results of Americanization transmission studies, it could be said
that basically it is the technique of interaction and its realization. The work of
Professor Hou describes the overall academia, and there are too few of such theories
that involve the overall differentiation of Chinese culture as trying to have comparison.
Lack of theory has caused another research shortcoming: lack of study regarding the
effect of mass communication in cross-cultural transmission, and there is no
introduction of mass communication theory in cross-cultural transmission. Since mass
communication is an important path to creating people’s impressions of other cultures,
mass communication has certainly guiding effect in international public opinion, so
the understanding between citizens of different countries arises primarily from media
reports. The media of different countries often only use their own national
perspectives to see problems due to political, economic and cultural issues, so before
people understand another culture on their own, they are already wearing colored
glasses, which result in the formation of incorrect impressions on other countries,
which are then difficult to change once they have been formed. The mass media is
111
Chang Shu-Mei, Misunderstanding and Clarification in Conversations: An Intercultural
Communication Study on Mandarin Native Speakers and Non-native Speakers (Shinchu, National
Chino Tung University Publishing, 2002), pp.6-9
Chiu
82
like a mold manufacturing machine, to create uniform thought among its people, and
such impressions are called stereotypes. Thus, international public opinion is not
formed through autonomous interaction between people, but rather from being
misguided by the public media. Moreover, most of the Western media does not
understand Chinese while they are reporting issues related to China, Chinese, and
further results in misunderstandings.
Here, data is used to support evidence and provide analysis. For example, the
monopoly of international news information rarely reports on other countries, or
provides twisted reporting, so that people do not receive correct information about
other cultures. As early as 1870, the three major European journalist corporations of
Agencies Havas, Reuters, Wolff, and the American Associated Press signed a
quadrilateral agreement. After World War II, the six news agencies of Reuters,
Associated Press, United Press, AFP, TACC, and the Xinhua News Agency (the first
four are more important), and these agencies essentially control most of the news
reports of the West and most of the Third World. They monopolize 80% of the
world’s news; most of the news they release is focused on their own countries, and
only 10%-30% of the news is about the world.
112
This is a low number, and their
content is war, disaster, or crime; there is rare reporting of the political
democratization, economic development, and cultural customs of Third World
countries.
The definition in Table1.1 can be used to form a brief conclusion here; of the
other influential factors in table 1.1, which primarily focuses on the local residents in
Chinese culture and related information. The sources for the public to know about the
Chinese culture are not limited to Western media or local news. Here, even overseas
112
Hou, Dongyong, “To Set up Right Chinese International Image in the Intercultural Communication
", The Annual Journal of Chinese Communication Society, (July, 2001), pp.5-8.
Chiu
83
Chinese language media does not provide “positive” reporting of China, and even
correct reporting tends to be few and far in between. According to Professor Dillon’s
investigation of North American Chinese language broadcasting and television, in the
San Francisco Bay area, 49% of Chinese broadcasting programs come from the
greater Chinese area (including Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Macau), and 51% come
from San Francisco and the rest of the United of America. Of the satellite
broadcasting programs from the Chinese language regions, 67% come from Taiwan,
16% come from China, 14% come from Hong Kong, and almost 4% come from
Singapore.113
In Chinese language television programs, 88% come from Chinese language
regions, of which 49% come from Hong Kong, 26% come from China, 24% come
from Taiwan, and 1% comes from Singapore. In summary, only 16% of broadcasting
comes from China. Due to satellite transmission technology issues, only 26% come
from China,114 and Hong Kong has twice the amount of information of China. Less
information would of course create less of an impression on people, and it is even
more difficult to evaluate the extent of influence of Chinaization.
Thus, even though the news source is not limited to Western media but from
Chinese media, the accuracy is still doubtful. Furthermore, Western media do not
know Chinese, and the uniqueness of Chinese often creates misunderstandings. Thus,
if the influence of Chinaization uses the uniqueness of Chinese and its transmission as
research factors in order to answer the main research question, the premise of the
exploration is already not objective. Speaking to evaluating whether the information
113
Hou, Dongyong, “To Set up Right Chinese International Image in the Intercultural Communication
", The Annual Journal of Chinese Communication Society, (July, 2001), pp.8
114
Hou, Dongyong, “To Set up Right Chinese International Image in the Intercultural Communication
", The Annual Journal of Chinese Communication Society, (July, 2001), pp.8-10.
Chiu
84
resources causes significant or insignificant manifestation of Chinaization. The
priority would be definitely to have objective information resources and accuracy
reports of cultural issues.
Therefore, since there is a lack of strength in academic literature and news, and
weakness in the theoretical framework, I hereby dispel the possibility of Chinese
uniqueness resulting in the outcome, as a factor connected to communication in
Chinaization.
3.4 Transmission without Language Barriers
As mentioned in section 3.3, the uniqueness of the Chinese language could
hinder the transmission of “Chinaization”; however, as stated by many scholars115,
such cultural transmission did not occur for “Americanization.” Here, the passage on
how France was Americanized in scholar Kuisel’s “Seducing the French“ is used as
an example. The reason why I cite this book as an example is because the French
culture has always been exclusive, and the French and English languages are
drastically different from each other. Even so, coca cola that represents the American
culture still caused much controversy in France since it is loved by some and hated by
others116.
The phenomenon of Americanization has broken free from language barriers. For
years, with modernization and popularity, typical American blues have become very
popular among those who do not understand English lyrics. Lastly, “Hong Kong” is
used as an excellent example to wrap up this essay. Roadside grocery vendors who
115
These scholars I had mentioned including, Richard Pells, Richard F. Kuisel, Benjamin Barber, etc.
116
Richard F. Kuisel, Seducing the French-The Dilemma of Americanization (London: University of
California Press, 1996), pp.37-69
Chiu
85
are illiterate and only speak Cantonese still sing American pop songs all the time and
do not feel estranged by the songs. In terms of speaking, they do not know any
English word but can naturally communicate with others in a mixture of Cantonese
and English. This proves that American pop culture is free from the language barrier,
and there is a reason why it has become a global trend.
Chiu
Chapter 4
86
Conclusion
After introductions, this thesis introduces the subject of study. As to Chapter 1
introduces the definitions of Chinaization and Americanization, and selected Hong
Kong and Japan for cultural comparison. Than, in Chapter 2, I conduct concrete
comparisons using newspapers and movies in Hong Kong and Japan, and analyze the
concrete influence factors. When it comes to Chapter 3, I evaluate the language
factors that may influence Hong Kong and Japan newspapers industry and movie
industry, and finally this chapter conducts final organization and summarization.
Table 4.1 The General Comparison
Chinaization
Americanization
Hong Kong newspapers
YES
YES
Hong Kong movies
NO
YES
Japan newspapers
NO
YES
Japan movies
NO
YES
From the above chart it can be known that, after 1997, Hong Kong has Chinaization
in newspapers and Americanization in movies, while Japan newspapers have
Americanization.
Table
4.1
shows
which
newspaper
has
more
obvious
Americanization; the Hong Kong newspaper has more Chinaization than the Japan
newspaper. In Hong Kong there are cultural characteristics of Chinese and Western
Chiu
87
cultural mixing, and this can be explained using the following structural factors
(Table 4.2).
At the same time, we note that my study does not end here; it is also necessary to
find effective factors that influence culture, regardless of those influencing
Chinaization or Americanization. All the factors considered in this study are compiled
in the following table.
Table 4.2 Analysis of key factors that determine Hong Kong’s Americanization
or Chinaization
Influential factors
Hong Kong Chinaization Hong Kong Americanization
Cultural structure E
1
1
Economy F
1
1
Military C
1
0
Elite support G
0
1
Cultural hegemony H 0
1
Profitability P
1
0
Form this we can obtain the following primitive Boolean equation:
P = EFCgh + EFcGH
This can be minimized to:
P= EFC
Using the Mill Method of Agreement, from the above analysis that can be known
that primary factors influence Hong Kong’s Chinaization are cultural binary structure
(E), economic and financial development (F), and military factors (C). For the elite
Chiu
88
support causal, the promotion of American cultural hegemony causal, and the
entrance of military force causes, cannot be used as effective factors that support
conclusions of the study.
As for factors that influence Hong Kong’s Americanization, other than military
factors, other factors including the cultural binary structure (E), economic and
financial developments (F), elite support (G), and the promotion of American cultural
hegemony (H), all of which influence the Americanization considerably.
Table 4.3 analysis of key factors determining Japan’s Americanization or
Chinaization
Influential factors
Japan Chinaization Japan Americanization
Cultural structure E
0
1
Economy F
1
1
Military C
1
1
Elite support G
0
1
Cultural hegemony H 0
1
Profitability P
1
0
From this we can obtain the following primitive Boolean equation:
P = EFCgh + EFCGH
This can be minimized to:
P= FC
Using Mill Method of Agreement, the above analysis shows that economic and
financial development causes (F) and influence of military force cause (C) are factors
that influence Japan’s Chinaization, dents due to a lack of support factors, thus even
Chiu
89
though geographically, China is far closer to Japan than the United States of the
America, there is still no manifest Chinaization. As for the three factors of cultural
structure, elite support, and promotion of cultural hegemony, these causes completely
do not support whether Japan has manifest Chinaization.
In terms of whether Japanese culture has Americanization, the foregoing causes all
produce significant absolute influences.
It is worth mentioning that the influence of military force of American culture on
Japan. In 1997, Hong Kong had British colonialism, and this is a very important
reason for Hong Kong’s rapid acceptance of Western culture. It seems that the
influence of military force strengthens cultural transmission. After the war, West
Germany had similar conditions as Japan. Professor Doering-Manteuffel study shows,
“the American way of life in the American occupied regions has influenced the daily
lives of Germans after the second world war, influenced young people act in public,
their clothing, and their social behavior. For many people, Americanization has
become an important fashion model of the times in the post-war era.” 117 The
imitation by young people of the American Way of life has become an important
symbol of “Americanization” in the society of West Germany.
Mary Nolan has done much work and studying “Americanization” in West
Germany after the war118, and she believes that during the process of becoming a
modern consumer society, West Germany was influenced by the American way of life
including public consumption, commercialized leisure, and public culture. American
people as the media, especially American soldiers stationed in Germany, transmit
117
Doering-Manteuffel, Transatlantic Exchange and Interaction-the Concept of Westernization
(London: University of California Press, 1999), p.3
118
Mary Nolan: “America in the German Imagination”, in Hei-de Fehrenbach and Uta G.Poiger, Ed,
Transactions, Transgressions, Transformations: American Culture in Western Europe and Japan (New
York: Berghahn Books, 2000), p.18-19
Chiu
90
these consumer goods.
After the war, an unprecedented number of Americans came to West Germany.
According to scholars, since 1945, approximately 15 million Americans lived and
worked in West Germany.119 Most of them came to West Germany simply to finish
work or to execute some task, and do not consciously propagate American cultural
concepts to the local people, but their behavior seems to the locals to represent a
“new” and “modern” way of life, forming models for imitation. Therefore, these
Americans naturally became ambassadors of transmitting American culture.
Among these Americans, there were officials executing the European recovery
program, cultural workers of American societies, businessmen, and representatives of
American civilian groups, but the most numerous group is soldiers stationed in
Germany. Intentionally or unintentionally, these soldiers produced a great influence
on the views and behaviors of Germans with whom they came into contact.
It is the same way in Australia. Australian scholars such as Ken Buckley believe
that, in terms of cultural significance, Australian “Americanization” primarily began
after the Second World War, and this is closely related to the stationing of many
American soldiers in Australia. However, they do not deny that since mid-19th century,
America has already begun to influence Australia.120
In Australia, Adelaide University history department senior lecturer David Mosler
has dual citizenships of Australia and the United States, and has worked and lived in
Australia for over 30 years. He has seen for himself the enormous influence of the
United States on Australia in the process of Australian “Americanization.” In his
119
Maria Hohn, Gis and Frauleins: the German-American Encounter in 1950.West Germany (North
Carolina: University of North Carolina Press, 2002), p.5
120
Ken Buckley and Ted Wheelwright, False Paradise: Australian Capitalism Revisited, 1915-1955
(New York: Oxford University Press, 1998), p.156-157
Chiu
91
work in 2002, he pointed out “the irresistible transmission of American popular
culture in the 20th century has deeply influenced Australia. American culture, finance,
and concepts, as well as the increasing number of Americans with financial power
have brought influence that has penetrated the spirit of Australia, and is everywhere
within its territory. Subsequently, in the Globe, especially in Australia globalization
and Americanization will continue to penetrate every aspect of life. This will no doubt
continue in the future.”121
Some Australian scholars have used the theory of “cultural transposition” as their
primary theoretical basis in explaining Australian “Americanization.”122 Australia’s
Queensland University professor Tom O’Regan used this theory in studying the
development of Australian ethnic movies. For him, “cultural transposition”
“transcends simple import/export and non-prototype/prototype binaries,” and
transcends “viewpoints relating to the cultural imperialism usually used to separate
the accepting culture and the transmitting culture.” O’Regan has explained in detail
the five stages of changes for the “transmitting culture” and “accepting culture.” In
the first stage, text from the outside maintained their “strangeness” or “exoticism.” In
the second stage, cultural texts sent by the foreign country undergo reconstitution with
texts produced under the language environment of the local receiving culture. Current
formats, forms, and precedents from the outside are used by the accepting culture to
supplement the fully unique components of the local language environment. The third
121
David Mosler, Australia: The Recreational Society (Berkley: University of California Press, 1998),
p.121
122
Yuri M.Lotman, Universe of the Mind: A Semiotic Theory of Culture, translated by Ann Shukman
(Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1990); Philip Bell and Roger Bell, “Dilemmas of
‘Americanization’” in Philip Bell and Roger Bell, ed, Americanization and Australia (Bloomington:
Indiana University Press, 1992), p.8.
Chiu
92
stage can be understood as more intricate and nuanced changes, and it is the
development of the first and second stages. In this stage, accepting texts seems to be
just as important as the models they follow. In stage four, the components of imports
are naturally absorbed into the environment of the accepting culture. Local texts are
no longer a copy, but rather are a point of reference. Culture has changed to become
an active state, and rapidly begins producing new texts. In the fifth stage, the process
of foreign texts absorbed into local texts does not continue, the latter is fully
associated with from any possible model or point of reference, forming an
independent text with new characteristics.123 O’Regan uses this theory to explain the
“nativizing” process of Australian film, which shows external “strong” culture does
not assimilate local culture, and local culture does not lose its local advantage due to
impact of foreign culture, but rather improves the innovative ability to adapt to
environmental changes by absorbing the reasonable components of foreign culture.
O’Regan’s view can be used to explain why neither Japan nor Hong Kong show
full Chinaization. It is possible to understand how Hong Kong can maintain its own
culture under the binary cultural structure, with partial inclination to Chinaization.
In Japan, Osaka Soal Women's University professor David Blake Wills uses
“Creolization” as a very important conceptual tool to analyze changes in Japanese
culture under the influence of American culture. For Wills, “this is neither
westernization or total Americanization, nor global homogenization or some other
form of assimilation.” From this angle, he analyzes the process of “Creolization” of
Japan and American cross-cultural interaction, thus producing the conclusion,
“Creolization can now be seen as a deep cultural interactive process, a spatial social
construction, not simply the cultural adaptation of a colonized people to the dominant
123
Tom O’Regan, Australian National Cinema, (New York: Routledge, 1996), p.213-221
Chiu
93
culture. Interpersonal relationships and material culture include food, apparel, and
artificial products; of course it also includes language, music, and literature. In
different degrees, they are influenced by cultural interaction.124 Even though David
Blake Wills only focused on the influence of American culture on Japan, he makes
important insights on the “Americanization” of various places in the world, something
highly emphasized by the academia.
After the high-speed development of the economy in the 1960s and 1970s, the
urbanized character is established. With the rapid development of the economy, Hong
Kong popular media developed rapidly between 1960 and 1990, so that popular
culture became the leader of Hong Kong native culture. Hong Kong has gradually
forms its own popular culture, so that Hong Kong culture, something that has always
been between Chinese and Western culture, has found its own space for development.
Undoubtedly, Hong Kong’s culture is especially unique. Hong Kong culture is not the
high culture that emphasizes artistic content and civilization. What really gives Hong
Kongers a sense of belonging is the popular culture created and developed by Hong
Kongers themselves.”125 This culture is not an elite culture, but rather commercial
and popular culture part of the lives of citizens. In another aspect, after 1997, Hong
Kong has the factors and characteristics of the two cultures of the West and China, so
that Hong Kong culture may become the new classic representative of Chinese culture,
and the future of transmission of Chinaization may contain voices of Hong Kong.
Chinaization is not like Americanization in receiving the attention of scholars from
various countries. However, if one type of culture transposes to another, effective
124
David Blake Wills, “Creole Times: Notes on Understanding Creolization for Transnational
Japan-America,” in Takeshi Matsuda ed, The age of Creolization in Pacific, (New York: Routledge,
1999), p.4, 18
125
Lo, Feng, City at the End of the Century: The Pop Culture of Hong Kong (Hong Kong: Oxford
University Press, 1995), p.98
Chiu
94
factors are as found in the foregoing such as the economy, military, and cultural
structure, then theoretically, Chinaization can do what Americanization can do. As a
winning country of the Second World War, what if China also is stationed soldiers in
foreign countries? American consumer culture has not promoted Americanization for
over a hundred years; in a hundred years, it is difficult for us to be sure whether
American mass culture would change based on the American economy.
Chinese culture has been stably preserved in China proper for thousands of years.
Historically, when foreign groups have entered China, they still became Sinicized,
such as the Yuan and Ching dynasties. There must be secrets of its longevity;
5000-year-old Chinese culture needs to be revitalized. And can the manifest and
“youthful” American culture continue to deeply influence Japan and Hong Kong, and
even the rest of the world? Right now, we do not know. What we do know is, the
phenomenon of Americanization is strong in Hong Kong and Japan. However, how
long can the introverted and reserved Chinese culture be preserved, and whether one
day it can be as manifest as American culture, are questions that are worth studying
and discussing in the future.
Chiu
95
Bibliography
Books

Abbas, Ackbar, Hong Kong: Culture and Politics of Disappearance
(Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 1997)

Anderegg, Michael Ed., Inventing Vietnam: The War in Film and Television
(Philadelphia: Temple University Press, 1991)

Bell, Philip and Roger Bell,“Dilemmas of‘Americanization’”in Philip
Bell and Roger Bell, ed, Americanization and Australia (Bloomington: Indiana
University Press, 1992)

Berry, Chris, China On Screen (New York: Columbia University Press, 2006)

Blyth, Sally & Ian Wotherspoon, Say it, Hong Kong (Hong Kong: Oxford
University Press, 1996)

Buckley, Ken and Ted Wheelwright, False Paradise: Australian Capitalism
Revisited, 1915－1955 (New York: Oxford University Press, 1998)

Bryman, Alan, The Disneyization of society (London: SAGE, 2004)

Chang, Shu-Mei, Misunderstanding and Clarification in Conversations: An
Intercultural Communication Study on Mandarin Native Speakers and
Non-native Speakers (Shinchu, National Chino Tung University Publishing,
2002)

Chen, Bingliang Ed., The pop culture of Hong Kong (Taipei: Joint Publishing,
1994)

Chen, C. F., The Recall of the Hong Kong Newspaper Society over the Past
Chiu
96
Ten Years (Beijing: Ups and Downs of the China Newspaper Industry Press,
2007)

Enright, Michael J., Edith E. Scott, and Ka-mun Chang, Regional Powerhouse:
The Greater Pearl River Delta and the Rise of China (Singapore: John Wiley
and Sons, 2005)

Fehrenbach, Heide and Uta G. Poiger, Transactions, transgressions,
transformations: American culture in Western Europe and Japan (New York:
Berghahn Books, 2000)

Geertz, C., The Interpretation of Cultures (New York: Basic Books, 1973)

Hohn, Maria, Gis and Frauleins, the German-American Encounter in
1950.West Germany. Chapel Hill (North Carolina: University of North
Carolina Press, 2002)

Huang, X.R., The Economic Outline of the Hong Kong Newspaper Society
(Shanghai: The Window of Mass Media in the Special District, 2006)

Huo, Qichang, Hong Kong and Modern China (Taipei: The Commercial Press,
1980)

Ito, Abito, Aspects of Japanese culture and society: an anthropologist’s view
(Tokyo: International Society for Educational Information, 1997)

Kenichi, Ohmae, Beyond National Border: Reflection on Japan and the world
(Tapei: Commonwealth Publishing, 1987)

Kristin, Thompson, Exporting Entertainment: American and the Western Film
Market (London: BFI, 1986)

Lo, Feng, City at the End of the Century: The Pop Culture of Hong Kong
(Hong Kong: Oxford University Press, 1995)

Lotman, Yuri M., Universe of the Mind: A Semiotic Theory of Culture,
translated by Ann Shukman (Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1990)
Chiu

97
Manteuffel, Doering, Transatlantic Exchange and Interaction-the Concept of
Westernization (London: University of California Press, 1999)

Miller, Toby, Global Hollywood (London: BFI, 2005)

Mosler, David, Australia: The Recreational Society (Berkley: University of
California Press, 1998)

Nan, Po, The Theory of Japanese (Taipei: Li-Hsu Publishing Press, 2003)

O’Regan, Tom, Australian National Cinema, (New York: Routledge, 1996)

Qian, Mu, The General History of China (Taipei: Dongsheng, 1992)

Ragin, Charles, The Comparative Method-moving beyond qualitative and
quantitative strategies (London: University of California Press, 1987)

Schmit, Ume, Modtranen, B urohelden und K uchenger uchte- Japanische
(Taipei: Jia-Xi Books, 2000), Chinese version

Stokes, Melvyn, Hollywood Abroad: Audiences and Cultural Exchange
(London: BFI, 2005)

Suzuka, Kenji, New Dynamics of the Japanese Newspaper Society (Shanghai:
China Newspaper Industry Press, 2007)

Tadao, Yanaihara, The Japanese Colonial Empire, 1895-1945 (Taipei:
Haixiaxueshu Press, 1999)

Miller, Toby, Global Hollywood (London: BFI, 2005)

Wang, Gengwu, Hong Kong History: New Perspectives (Hong Kong: Joint
Publishing, 1997)

Wang, Huang Chi, The Burden of History: A Hong Kong Perspective of the
Mainland Discourse of Hong Kong History (Hong Kong: Oxford University
Press, 2000)

Wang, Xiaobo, The History of Taiwan and Taiwanese (Taipei: Dongda Press,
1988)
Chiu

98
Wang, Xiaping, Japanese literature and Chinese Culture (Ningxia: Ningxia
People’s Publishing House, 2002)

Wasko, Janet, Understanding Disney: the manufacture of fantasy (Taipei:
Hong-Chi Publishing, 2001)

Wen, Zhuofei Ed., The memory of Hong Kong (Taipei: Vista Publishing, 1998)

Wills, David Blake，“Creole Times: Notes on Understanding Creolization for
Transnational Japan-America ， ” in Takeshi Matsuda ed, The age of
Creolization in Pacific, (New York: Routledge, 1999), p.4, 18

Winkel, Margarita, Discovering different dimension: explorations of culture
and history in early modern Japan (the Netherlands: Leiden University Press,
2004)

Yang, L. J., Changes and Immovability of Hong Kong Newspaper Industry
after its Return over the Past Ten Years (Shanghai: China Newspaper Industry
Press, 2007)

Yen, Jiaqi, The History of Cultural Revolution (Taipei: Yuanliu Press, 1990)

Yuan, Qiushi, The Major Event of Hong Kong: 1997-2002 (Hong Kong: Joint
Publishing, 2003)

Zhang, Yufa, The History of Modern China (Taipei: Dongkua Press, 1988)

Zhong, Bao Xian, The Rise and Fall of the Variable Hong Kong Films from
1997 to 2007 (Hong Kong: Hong Kong & Taiwan Movies, 2006)
Journals

Chen, Naiching, “Oriental Aesthetics Shines in Taiwan,” New Taiwan Weekly
Journal, pp 415.

Fu, Poshek, “China Global: Hong Kong Cinema After 1997”, Contemporary
Cinema, 2007, Issue 4, pp.53
Chiu

99
Harris, Phyllis Braudy and Susan Orpett Long, “Husbands and sons in the
United States and Japan: Cultural expectations and caregiving experiences”,
Journal of Aging Studies, Vol. 13, Issue 3. (Fall 1999), pp. 241.

Hou, Dongyong, “To Set up Right Chinese International Image in the
Intercultural Communication“, The Annual Journal of Chinese Communication
Society, (July, 2001), pp.5-12.

Hu, Ke and Liu, Hui, “Review of Hong Kong movies in the past decade”,
Movie Arts, 2007, Issue 4, pp.7

Kuisel, Richard, “Americanization for Historians”, Diplomatic History, Vol.
24, Issue 3 (Summer 2000), pp. 509-515.

Onishi, M. and P.F. Gjerde, “Selves, Culture, and Nation: The Psychological
Imagination of ‘the Japanese’ in the Era of Globalization”, Human
development (Basel), Volume: 43, Issue: 4-5 (July-October 2000), pp.
216-226.

Qian, Tai, “Recent developments of the types of Japanese movies”, Journal of
Nanjing Arts Institute-Music & Performance, (April, 2007) pp.87.

Wang, X. D, Historical Investigation of Americanization of Japanese Journals
and the Examination of Japanese Culture, The Journal of Cultural Studies, (3rd
edition, 2007), pp.110-111.

Wei, M.G., Decode the High Issued Volume of Japanese Newspapers, The
Journal of Journalist, (11th edition, 2006), pp.52.

Shunya, Yoshimi, “‘American’s Desire and Violence: Americanization in Post
War Japan and Asia during the cold War”, translated by David Buist, Inter
Asia Cultural studies, Vol.4, No 3 (December 2003), pp. 439.

Yasushi, Watanabe, “Japan’ Through the Looking Glass: American Influences
on the Politics of Cultural Identity in the Post war Japan, ” Passages, Vol.2,
Chiu 100
No.1, 2000, pp.23.

Yomota, Inuhiko, “Review of Japanese movies in the past century and the
main trends since the 1990s”, Forum on The World Film, 2004, Issue 2,
pp.109-113.

Yoshimi, Shunya, “‘American’s Desire and Violence: Americanization in Post
War Japan and Asia during the cold War”, translated by David Buist, Inter
Asia Cultural studies, Vol.4, No 3 (December, 2003), pp. 439.

Zhang, X.D., Experience of the Japanese Newspaper Society, The Journal of
Military Correspondent, (2nd edition, 2001), pp.38.

Zhao, Wei Fang, “Modernization and Indigenization: The Interaction between
the Films of Hollywood and Hong Kong——The Access to the Resurgence of
the Film in Hong Kong”, Journal of Shanghai University, (March, 2007),
Vol.14, No. 2, pp.101-119