In my group walk in late February with some fellow NYU Shanghai students in the Jing’an Temple area, I saw something exciting that is often not noticed when a foreign mind is in China: a red inscription on the stairs leading into a mall saying “Happy New Year 2023” and a red bunny in the background.
To a Western mind, this might seem like a standard inscription whose purpose might be to lure more customers into the mall; perhaps, the bright red colors with the lights on the letters succeed in providing excitement upon entrance. The commercial lure might even explain why it’s still up in late February, but what about the rabbit?
The rabbit is significant as it represents the animal for the Chinese Lunar Year. I found this juxtaposition interesting because the two times fit in the same inscription — really underlining the cultural mashup between the two cultures.
Therefore, if the object is looked at through a historical lens, one might notice the complexity of this issue in Chinese culture. The Chinese year structure is very complex; it has been established since the 14th century BC and has been in place ever since. How the calendar works differs significantly from the Western calendar as it considers the moon phases, and it is less accurate than the Gregorian calendar (used in Western civilization). The calendar’s accuracy is why the Gregorian calendar has been preferred to the Chinese calendar due to its reliability.
Having said this, asking about someone’s birth date in China could be controversial; some people only go by the Chinese calendar, while a growing majority will say two birth dates. Here comes another aspect of the argument: time in China isn’t just used for practical measures but is also a vital part of today’s Chinese culture. The Chinese New Year is one of the most celebrated and one of the few events in Chinese culture. With the significant influence of Western civilization, there is a worry that traditional Chinese values could vanish with time.
The use of the Gregorian calendar in China happened around 1912. As I mentioned, China made this change due to international relations and its accuracy over time. Although time is also depicted in the photograph of the mall entrance, making it also a medium for public advertisement. The picture shows the epitome of this change and the economic interest in promoting Western consumerism, which fueled the mall’s entrance inscription. This sign fascinated me because of how quickly time measures and traditions, in a more general way, change by large movements of culture.
Being Italian and having lived in the United States for seven years, I noticed how cultures change uniquely. When I was a child, Italy was a very traditional-minded country. Still, as time elapsed, I quickly saw how influence from the United States changed various traditions, work life, and even speech. I remember that during the walk, a classmate and I had an interesting discussion about food. We started talking about how Shanghai and near Jing’an Temple are full of American fast food; in this case, I noticed how Italy and China have at least one thing in common: American fast food. Therefore, it is unsurprising to see how Western culture is acting toward China as the United States acted toward Italy.
In conclusion, I am very intrigued to see how China handles this change, and I would be interested to see if Chinese people are aware of this pressing issue or if they aren’t aware of how times are changing. Furthermore, in today’s day and age, would the western influence have influenced Chinese culture so much that it has become a key part of it?
