Defining Culture

The Pearl Market, though not a traditional aspect of Chinese culture, was an exciting and eclectic experience. We walked in the door and there were vendors grabbing at us and calling to us trying to sell us cheap, worthless trinkets that were little related to anything truly Chinese—just junk you could enjoy for twenty minutes and then throw away because it broke.

What were even more shocking were the stalls upon stalls of counterfeit items like DVDs, video games, jerseys, and electronics. The government doesn’t regulate these items in China so they are easy to sell and rampant. I almost felt guilty watching the group and other tourists support the counterfeit culture. We are constantly searching for cheap things and will do anything to cut a deal. The vendors were clearly aware that we would buy anything as long as it was cheap and they played to that.

I wasn’t sure if I was more worried that the beautiful, ancient Chinese culture was falling prey to Western capitalism, or that our western culture was falling prey to the Chinese’ understanding of the way we function. Either way, the relationship seems unhealthy. Kyle told me of a family that goes on vacation to China with empty suitcases specifically so they can buy cheap Christmas and birthday presents, and with all the money they spend on the trip and vacation, they still save money on the cost of gift shopping, so they do it every year. Stories like that scare me and make me wonder where we’re headed and which culture will suffer the greatest loss (or if there will even be a loss at all).