The lecture this morning was about modern China, and the path it took to get where it is in more recent years. This was interesting to me, because there had been a disconnection in my mind between ancient China, China as a communist state, and the more powerful modern China that I am observing.
For centuries China was the most powerful country in the region, and its cultural primacy was never threatened. It wasn’t until the late 19 century, that China noticed it was behind and began to embrace Western technologies. From 1966 to 1967 China experienced the Cultural Revolution, in which their culture was threatened by the communist reform. The new government had little tolerance for foreigners and China quickly became an isolationist state, with virtually no one coming in and no one going out. However, a few decades later, China began to open up to the outside world and allow contact with foreign cultures.
The part of the lecture most interesting to me, came when Claudia was discussing the effects the reforms had on Chinese culture and especially young people. The extreme changes in culture has lead to a generation gap. The younger generation has access to internet, is allowed to pick their own jobs and marry when they want. On the other hand, the older generation had no contact with foreign media, was assigned a job by the government and did not usually marry for love. Young Chinese also face a demanding educational system. According to Claudia, primary school and secondary school are more difficult than college, with many students studying until 2 A.M. It is common for people to say that Chinese youth do not have a childhood until they reach college when they start partying and entertaining themselves. Because of this, it is also said that young Chinese are less mature than other countries which set up their education system differently. It seems to me that this system is backwards. School should get harder as you continue educating yourself, but of course, this is what I am used to. A young Chinese person may disagree with my view and say that school should become easier because you know more things.
The company we visited today, Tsinghua Solar, was incredibly informative. Tsinghua Solar specializes in making solar water heating a cost effective and efficient method of heating water. They talked about everything from the process by which a solar cell is designed to the world-wide distribution of their products. Tsinghua Solar has helped to move China to the forefront of this technology. In places like America, where wealth is abundant, finding economical sources of energy is not a high priority for most people. However, in China, where the standard of living is lower, thermal solar energy has become a practical option for consumers. Hopefully in future years, the United States will also become interested in this technology, because even though most people don’t need it, it could help save money for a lot of Americans.