Differences between Chinese and American Cultures

Differences between Chinese and

American Cultures in Gua Sha

Abstract:Gua Sha is a Chinese film shot on location in St. Louis,reflecting on the cultural differences between America and China.Datong's father gives their 5-year-old grandson Dennis a painless, ancient Chinese treatment,which is called Gua Sha,for his grandson has got a fever.However,this treatment leaves bright red marks on the boy's back. This alerts the Child Welfare Agency to take the child away and charge the parents with neglect.Few days later,many court hearings engage in their life,which almost makes this family separated.This movie is about the differences between American and Chinese culture,showing us how cultural differences will influence on our life in different ways,such as the types of thinking,some kinds of cross-cultural expression,etc.

Key words:cultural differences;Gua Sha;cultural expression

1 Review on Gua Sha

Gua Sha is built upon the misapprehension on medical treatment between China and America.Medical treatment can also be a part of culture in a country,for example,the Western medicine and the traditional Chinese medicine.Chinese medicine has the brilliant history of thousands of years,while western countries have their extremely helpful medical system.From the beginning to the end of this movie,Gua Sha is the clue of the epitasis.It can not only tell us the the dissimilar types of thinking on medical treatment but emphasize the distinct between Chines and American culture.The Child Welfare Agency regards the marks on the boy as a kind of abuse instead of

a proper medical treatment and then they sued Datong.Because of this misunderstanding,the

normal father love became a kind of crucial and violent maltreatment.Some Chinese immigrants struggle to hold onto their American dreams in the USA,but some people can not make clear the differences between countries to countries.Then,the misapprehension arises and they do wrong things consistently.The immigrants even do not know what is right,because they know little about the culture.Therefore,Gua Sha is a wonderful movie to remind people of the cultural differences,and it can also help people draw a clear distinction between cultures of the

different countries.

Gua Sha is a movie that can make people think deeply about the cultural differences.In the first place,I want to discuss about the Xus.The Xus is a Chinese family,however,they do not speak their mother language at home,but speak English.That is really an incredible thing.Though it is obvious that they want their child to pass an important exam,they do not n eed to teach their son in this way.But what I learn from this action is the cultural convergence.When a person is new in some countries,it is good and beneficial for him to know about the local culture.Only when he gets used to the native custom,he can live better.The Xuns even go so far as to insist the boy use a fork and knife instead of chopsticks,even when it's obvious they are still eating Chinese style food, served in the normal way: communal dishes for the food and smaller, individual rice bowls for each person. Mother seems a bit inflexible in her insistence on being as American as possible, while Da Tong's cultural learinings are just as strongly Chinese, although not by conscious choice.Secondly,I want to focus on the cultural differences.Datong hits his son during the party time in front of his best friend.In China,when children fight with each other,the parents have rights to take action to let their children know what is wrong and what is right.But in America,it seems unnecessary and makes the boss of Datong looks peaceful and uncaring,so Datong hits his son is not like an appropriate method.That is the cultural difference.People might think that Datong is a rude guy because he hits his child for his son's fault in the party instead of admiring what Datong has done.In America,as the Declaration of Independence of the Thirteen Colonies says,all men are created equal,but Datong hits his son.This action will make some American people confused.Additionally,the Chinese folklore about the Monkey King can really illustrate the cultural differences.In China,the Monkey King is the symbol of goodness and brave,but it becomes an evil and violent character in America.The Child Welfare Agency uses this folklore as an evidence to persuade the judge to make a statement that Datong is guilt.But in Datong's opinion,Monkey King is not a kind of devil.Finally,it is the problem about Gua Sha.Never had heard of Gua Sha in America at that time,people regarded the bright red marks on the boy's back was a kind of maltreatment.So this led the authorities to sue Datong.Numerous court hearings began and the young couple both felt frustrated.Though it is a story,it may repeat itself many times in the area where many oriental immigrants live and all of these are due to simple misunderstanding between cultures.We all know

that the conflict and contradiction between Western and Chinese culture may also cause jokes and even some misunderstandings.Only if we eliminates the misunderstandings,we can get along well with others when we live abroad.

The movie shows me how normal it is for people to search for ways that their culture is superior to others' and how the misunderstandings arising from different cultures.Parts of this movie can occurs me that the misapprehension of different cultures would be a very dangerous thing.What's more,Gua Sha shows how a person's cultural beliefs are so deeply set within oneself that it can not be proved.The invisible nature of one's cultural beliefs also makes him difficult to explain yourself to others when questioned.From the movie,the court hearings is the best example to testify this matter.Although Da Tong's love for his son is tested severely,he never gives up.This can not only tell the audiences that Chinese people can bear hardships and stand hard work to prove themselves but show us a father figure.We can always hear about the mother love,but we seldom feel what is the father love.This movie is successful in its characterization.

Nowadays,with the development of the society and civilization,more and more people will come across the foreigners during their lives.So they will realize the cultural differences are playing an important and essential role in daily life.The consciousness of differences between Chinese and American cultures should be improved.We should respect other cultures,in the meanwhile,we also need protect and heritage our traditional Chinese culture.We may work with foreigners or live next door to foreigners in the future,however,we should pay more attention to the differences of culture in order not to make some ridiculous things happen.

2 Conclusions

From the above analysis, we can draw the following conclusions:

This movie has many contradictions.Gua Sha is the clue of all this movie.It shows us a kind of ancient Chinese treatment leading a series of disputes because of the different cultures in different countries.The conflicts between both sides can make the audiences rethink profoundly about the culture."Skin Scraping" reacts the collision of two civilizations between Chinese and American by one traditional Chinese medicine cure named Gua Sha.Though it is not easy to solve this problem,the film brings us hopes. In the end of the film, we can see that

it is father love that prompts Chinese and Americans to reach a consensus. Although they have different cultures and hold different beliefs,the love is in common.Love is everything,and it can move all of the people in this world.

3 Background

Gua Sha is a kind of traditional Chinese treatment,which can be also called 'skin scraping'.It is based on the traditional Chinese medical science and it takes some kinds of instruments like cupping jar to rub one's back in order to improve the blood circulation.Gua Sha can also make great effects on the high blood pressure,heat stroke and muscular soreness.On the other hand,western medicine always pursues the authenticity.The western medical scientists think Gua Sha will do harm to the child for its uncertainty.Western medicine originates from physiological anatomy,so the medical scientists will pay lots of attention to the theory instead of the so-called experience.This movie is constructed upon the conflicts between the different medical theories of different countries.

References

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