Chinese Cultural Fever

Chinese Cultural Fever - ( simplified Chinese: 文化热; traditional Chinese: 文化熱; pinyin: wén huà rè) was interpreted as a cultural tendency in mainland China in the late 1980s, beginning with the economic reform.

Some may consider it as the first independent cultural initiative in China ever since Chinese Communist Party took over mainland China in 1949. However, China shut herself up in isolation until recent times when she opened to western philosophy and technological influences. When Tiananmen Square Massacre took place in 1989 resulting in several deaths during demands for liberalization in China, China's political climate was subject to abrupt change which seemed to have brought to an end all forms or expressions of Chinese cultural fever. Nevertheless, Chinese cultural fever sparks again in the 21st Asian Century when China continually makes huge progress in economic and technological advances both locally as well as internationally. Everywhere you go, you can see Chinese influence all over the world: politically, economically, culturally, technologically and environmentally. People from all over the world come to learn Chinese, eat Chinese meals, drink Chinese tea, and study at Chinese Universities for profound cultural exchanges.[1]

Chinese Political Climate After Tiananmen Square:

After the massacre of protesting students at Tiananmen Square in 1989, the Chinese political climate changed drastically. China began to control its citizens more harshly and consequences became more dictatorial. They began to limit citizens criticism against the government and silence the people. The Democracy Wall, a way for citizens to express their opinions about Congress, was demolished and citizens still have little say in government power. Although free speech was never given to the citizens, they opened up to involve themselves more with international affairs, spreading their culture globally.

Chinese Cultural Fever in the 21st Century America:

Chinese culture has affected our society today on a global scale. Since the increased popularity of immigration due to the 1849 Gold Rush Era in California, Chinese culture has seeped into American society. Chinese food has seen a severe climb in popularity. Immigration helping to integrate Chinese cuisine into American culture. In 1989, Chinese restaurants have increased to a number of 43,139,[2] three times the amount of McDonald's across the country in 2019. Many Chinese dishes have also become a staple to American fast food, combining similar tastes creating a heterogeneous mixture: Chinese-American food. Panda Express, a staple Chinese-American fast food chain, collects a hefty revenue of 3 billion dollars[3] making it the 23rd[4] most popular food chain in America.

Chinese language class enrollments are increasing rapidly as well. With the growing economy of China, classes on the language are skyrocketing, making it the 7th most popular language class offered in schools across America. For the year 2009, 51,582 college or university students[5] in America are learning the language. Chinese language enrollments among university and college students have seen a 51% rise from the year 2002 to 2006, making it the second fastest rising language course, falling short to Arabic. A similar pattern was seen in 1980 when Japan's economy rapidly increased. The increase of interest between students and the Japanese language corresponded similarly to the relationship between students and the Chinese language.

Immigration:

Immigration plays a role in the current Chinese cultural fever. During the years of 1980-1990 more than 800,000 Chinese persons immigrated to the United States of America.[6] With the sudden increase of Chinese citizens, Chinese culture increased alongside the population. Chinese food was becoming more and more popular. The cause of such immigration can be due to a multitude of factors. The Chinese brought their home to a foreign country, helped popularize the sudden increase of Chinese comfort foods. Din Tai Fung, a Taiwanese dumpling chain which serves comfort meals, has seen a drastic increase in sales.

The increase of Chinese citizens has also sparked an increase in interest in Chinese products. Certain Chinese teas have to see an increase in interest.

The introduction of a "new" language will too spark interest, and as more and more Chinese citizens immigrate and create their own Chinese-American families, the more the language will be spoken. Currently, in America, there are more than three million Chinese speakers[7] and with a substantial amount of Chinese immigrants, there will be more to come.