An Other In Globalization: A Study Of The Chinese People Represented In The Western Media In Post Cold War Era

The paper proposes to examine the existence of the Chinese as an Other of the West inthe time and context of globalization through an exploration of the Chinese imageconstructed in the western media in the post cold war era from1992-2010and a comparisonof the above image with its historical counterpart.The post cold war world is characterized by multi-polarization and globalization. Thelatter implies an abolition of distance and borders as well as a homogenizing trend in the lifeof human kind. The paper attempts to examine how the West keep its distance and borderbetween itself and the Chinese in an era featuring abolition of distance and melting down ofborders, and how the West constructs the Chinese people as its fundamentally different Otherin a time when the life of human kind is supposed to be a bland homogeneous experientialmass. The paper endeavors to define the new characteristics and the historical heritage of theimage of the Chinese people as the West’s Other in the context of globalization, and todetermine the implications and significations globalization has on the binary Self-Other.Embarking on a quest of “who I am”, the paper hopes to contribute to theself-knowledge of the Chinese people and to provide a starting point based on reality for theconstruction and promotion of the international image of the Chinese people. On the basis ofthe concepts and practices of Self-Other, the paper hopes to provide theoreticalunderstandings on the western image of the Chinese people, the international relationshipsbetween China and the West, and the Western discourse power which dictates the image ofthe Chinese as an Other of the west.Besides a qualitative research into the western historical literature on the Chinesepeople, the paper adopts a combination of qualitative and quantitative content analysis on thenews stories on China from the print media of the United States, Germany and France from1992-2010.Historically, within the restricting structure of the power discourse invented by the West,the Chinese was subjected to an othering process. What makes this othering process possibleis the strategic position the West kept outside the Chinese: a line drew by the West and builton the “universal” norms that both a spreading Christianity and a rising capitalism decree. Consequently, under the disciplining power discourse, the image of the Chinese as an Otherof the West is constructed on the following three dimensions: the ceremonial social norms ofChinese life, the filial piety of the Chinese morality, and the pride of the Chinese people.The image thus constructed is a stunted image, with the imagery of the bind feet of Chinesewomen, the bonsai that never would grow up, or an autistic child. The essence of thisimage is that the Chinese mind is stagnated.Through a thorough analysis of the respective images of different classes of Chinesepeople represented in the western media in the post cold war era and a comprehensivedissection of the reporting structure and paradigm, the paper finds that the image of theChinese people represented in western media is constructed on the following threedimensions: the communism ideology the Chinese people adopted, the materialistic pursuitsof Chinese people, and the nationalism displayed by the Chinese people. The image thusconstructed is a ruptured image between the spirit and the flesh, a divide between theChinese embracing the materialistic side of the globalization and the Chinese rejecting the“universal” values of humankind trumpeted by the West in the age of globalization.Consequently, what lies at the center of the western image of the Chinese in the context ofglobalization is again the stagnated Chinese mind.The recurring of the historical image of the stagnated Chinese mind in the context ofglobalization reveals the persisting line of morality between the West and the Chinese withno sign of melting away in the age of abolition of distance. The historical Christianmorality gives way to today’s western values of human rights, while the rising capitalism hasgrown into a full-blown neo-liberal market economy. What stands still in time is theChinese image as an Other of the West.The paper concludes that in view of Self-Other, the western image of the Chinesepeople is a typical image of an Other. With no legitimate grounds in reality, this image isconstructed by the western desires and needs. The western image of the Chinese people is allalong a result of the Western Euro-centric mentality. Even in the context of globalization, theChinese people are still subjected to the historical role of feeding the superiority complex theWest, the Chinese stagnated mind serving as a proof of the developed state of the westernmind.In view of Self-Other, the relationship between China and the West is divided. An analysis of the western image of the Chinese people in the post cold war era shows that inthe face of China’s rise, the West continues to view China through the ideological frameworkof cold war and the West highlights a human side of the long-existing “China threat” theoriesand thus interprets the rise of China as a result of the deviating nature of the Chinese people.In the global age, far from melting away, the moral line between China and the West hasdeepened into an abyss.In view of Self-Other, the western discourse power is essentially an imperial discourseand has grown into discourse hegemony. The stereotypical western image of the Chinesepeople has gradually been calcified. The unbalanced power between the Self and Othershows increasing rigidity. Therefore, there seems to be little chance to eradicate in the shortrun both the western discourse hegemony and the Chinese image as an Other dictated by thediscourse hegemony. For a while, the Chinese people will continue to exist as the lonely,marginalized, and deviating Other in the age and context of globalization.