Introduction
Culture is defined as the totality of behavior patterns passed out to others through social interactions and includes activities such as food, music, beliefs, values and entertainment among others. In short, culture is defined as a people’s way of life.
Humanity is continuously undergoing cultural change, thanks to the expansion of interaction forums such as mass media. Actual interaction between people of different cultures also leads to cultural influence. Cultures are affected externally through contact with other societies. Acculturation is of the view that contact may promote or stifle social alterations in the culture of a society. Cultural norms may also be transferred from one society to another via acculturation or enculturation; this leads to a modification of their cultural ways in accordance to that of the other society.
Cultural importation between the West and the East is nothing new; these two societies have long absorbed and adopted each other’s culture since the early 18th century. In the mid 1800s, Japan was opened up after many years of isolation and began exporting prints done on woodblock to France. These prints influenced the works of early painters such as Van Gogh, Cézanne and Manet. Other Asian inventions which widely influenced the westerners’ culture include eyeglasses and fireworks.
Aspects of Asian culture that deal with spirituality have always been found to stir the Westerners; these include meditation in the martial arts, known as the Tai Chi. The idea of alternative medicine which is widely used in the west also originated from the East, mainly India and China. These practices include acupuncture, reflexology, homeopathy, herbal products, osteopathy and mind-body-soul interventions. Western influence can also be seen on the Asian streets. Walking along the streets of Hong Kong, one cannot fail to see the influence of the hip-hop culture on the Chinese population. Youths dressed in oversize clothing are a common sight. American food companies like McDonalds and KFC are now operating in China.
European fashion labels like U2, Espirit and Gucci also operate in Chinese cities. Automobile companies in China include Rolls-Royce, General Motors and Audi. It is therefore evident that both cultures have heavily borrowed from one another. The impact of such cultural influence can be either positive or negative.
It is in this context that we wish to study how Asian and Western cultures have undergone acculturation as a result of interactions between people from these two cultures.
Objective
The objective of this research paper is to look at how the Chinese martial arts culture of Kung fu has been adopted in the Western countries, notably America. We shall trace the roots of this culture, current use and how cultural influence impacts on a society.
Discussion
Kung fu refers to a group of Chinese martial arts mainly involving sharp blows and high-flying kicks applied to an opponent’s body’s pressure points. These fighting styles are categorized according to families or schools of martial arts.
For our study of cultural influence, we shall study the kung fu culture which began in China in the medieval times and eventually adopted by the Western countries.
A Historical Perspective
The art of kung fu originated from China more than four thousand years ago. This is thought to have been fuelled by the need for self-defense in battlefield wars and also as a hunting skill. Martial art techniques were propagated by a Chinese Emperor known as Yellow Emperor before rising to the throne in 2698 BC (Talk Kung Fu, n.d). He developed the Jiao Di (horn-butting), a wrestling style where the participants used horned helmets and used these for attacking their opponents.
As a result this style later on came to give good results in battlefields. The Jiao-Di later developed to Jiao Li in during the Zhou Dynasty (Michalet-Romero, 2003). Jiao Li extended to include other techniques of strikes and blows. It is during this time that Confucianism and Taoism developed and Jiao Li incorporated these two philosophies. It later on came to be taught to soldiers and in the long run accepted as a sport in the Qui Dynasty at around 221 BC.
Kung fu flourished during the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) but was referred to as chi yang, a kung fu style known as the monkey system (hou-chan) was devised during the Ching Dynasty (1644-1911) (Talk Kung fu, n.d). Many kung fu organizations were established at the start of the early 20th century and this put it on the world stage, especially when it was included in the Berlin Olympic Games (Chinese Culture, n.d).
Further publicity was gained at the end of the Chinese Civil War as many well-known kung fu masters migrated into other countries and continued to teach it in their new countries. (China Guide, n.d)The traditional kung fu was modernized by the Communist Party in the early 1960s into a version known as Wushu and was introduced into high schools and universities across the country for sporting purposes. The kung fu culture has recently extended to movies and television. It has also been incorporated into martial arts studies in the western societies.
The Kung fu Culture in the West
The Kung fu culture has been incorporated into the mainstream western media, schools and social places like fitness centers.
It is rare to watch an American action movie without seeing scenes applying the Chinese martial arts theme. This genre, commonly known as Wuxia Pian involves a hero and contains action scenes with high-flying kicks and sharp blows applied at pressure points of the body (Lam, 2009).
The popularity of the kung fu culture in the United States is attributed to Bruce Lee who came up with a television show, Kung fu (1972-1975) and was a combination of the Eastern philosophy and the Western mythology. The next film to apply the kung fu theme was Shaolin Temple produced in 1979; the film had a huge following in Western countries (Independentlens, n.d).
Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon produced in 2000 in the US further pushed the kung fu influence in the American society and became the most successful foreign film in the US film industry history.
Chinese actors have also collaborated with their American counterparts to produce high grossing films. These include Romeo Must Die (2000) which featured Chinese actor Jet Li and American actor Aaliyah. Rush Hour 1, Rush Hour 2, and Rush Hour 3 were produced in 1998, 2001 and 2007 respectively. The series of movies featured Hong Kong actor Jackie Chan and American actor Chris Tucker and were a commercial success in America and the UK. Modern day American movies applying the kung fu faucet include Hero (2002) Flashpoint (2008) and Kung fu Panda (2008), an animated film (Asian Nation, n.d).
The kung fu culture has also been incorporated into Western learning institutions; several high schools, colleges and universities now offer kung fu classes to the students and pupils. This is taught as a self-defense mechanism, leisure activity and as a sport. For instance, The Harvard Tai Chi Tiger Crane club (HTCTC) in Harvard University offers Kung fu training on a weekly basis to members of the institution (Twostix, n.d).
The Irish government encourages parents to take their children for kung fu classes as an after-school activity.
Many kung fu schools have been opened in western countries; examples are The Kung Fu School in New Zealand, Chan’s Kung Fu School at Michigan in the US and the Kung Fu Schools in the UK.
The International Chinese Martial Arts Competition is an annual festival staged at different venues around the world and the 2010 edition was hosted in Dallas, Texas. It featured performances from kung fu enthusiasts around the world.
Kung fu classes are also offered in recreational, leisure and fitness centers in the west to members of such clubs, an example is the Kung Fu and Fitness Centre in Hamburg, Germany and the Calasanz Martial Arts and Fitness Centre in Spain. It is uncommon to walk into any Western metropolis and fail to see the influence that the kung fu culture has had on its citizens.
Discussion
Cultural influence is a two-way integration process where one culture borrows elements from the other. The same process occurs of this other culture. The use of media outlets such as televisions, magazines, music and the internet are a channel by which this influence occurs. The negative side of cultural exchange manifests itself in the form of cultural erosion, a situation where friction occurs between two cultures.
A norm in one culture may be abhorred in another culture. This leads to conflict, and an example is the embrace of certain codes of dressing in the West which are not allowed in the Eastern countries such as India. Absorption of foreign culture into the mainstream culture of a society may lead to culture dilution where a culture loses its identity. This is however said to be unavoidable since culture is not static. It is dynamic and ever-changing (Forbes & Mahan, n.d).
Culture dilution is only a perception of a person’s culture. In no way does it apply on a wider field where many culture are considered from where it is seen as a form of interaction.
Culture is not just confined to art; rather it encompasses all the other activities of a society. This therefore means that the perceived dilution in the arts should not be immediately classified as a culture dilution or loss.
Not all aspects of cultural influence are negative. Adoption of Western ways by other countries especially in the field of science and technology has impacted positively in the lives of the inhabitants and long-distance traveling. For instance this has been made easier by use of technology acquired from the West.
The effect of cultural influence on consumer decisions has been used as a marketing strategy. It is normally utilized by multi-national companies to sell their merchandise in foreign countries.
Conclusion
The benefits of cultural influence on a society are positive despite the existence of what some would perceive as loss or dilution of their culture. This should however not be taken to mean that cultural influence is always positive. There has been a complete culture loss to aboriginal tribes in Australia as these smaller populations intermarried with the wider population.
Cultural influence should therefore be benefits based to those who embrace it.
Reference List
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Independentlens, (n.d). Kung Fu Goes West: Exporting Shaolin. Web.
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Michallet-Romero, L. C, 2003. The Origin of the Hong Kong Martial Arts Movie Genre and it’s Influence on the American Television and Movie Industry. Web.
Talk Kung Fu, (n.d). History of Kung-Fu: Martial Arts in Ancient China. Web.
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