tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10698887.post2792189009884877178..comments2023-10-22T18:25:39.688+08:00Comments on The View from Taiwan: What's Chinese?Michael Turtonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17974403961870976346noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10698887.post-51140255464953091732007-04-12T07:17:00.000+08:002007-04-12T07:17:00.000+08:00Aboriginals are an essentialized construction that...<B>Aboriginals are an essentialized construction that ignores that a large percentage (majority?) of Taiwanese have aboriginal blood in their veins. Also Taiwanese the language has accepted a lot of influence from aboriginal languages. A lot of the customs concerning marriage in Tainan are actually aboriginal in origin.</B><BR/><BR/>Blood is irrelevant, and the issue of marriage customs is probably true, though I'd like some examples. The real issue is that definitions of culture and identity are never very clear, and hard to pin down. How much aboriginal culture makes Taiwan "not Chinese."Michael Turtonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17974403961870976346noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10698887.post-42427159955798254172007-04-12T00:31:00.000+08:002007-04-12T00:31:00.000+08:00You suffer from the same problems as what you crit...You suffer from the same problems as what you criticize.<BR/><BR/>Aboriginals are an essentialized construction that ignores that a large percentage (majority?) of Taiwanese have aboriginal blood in their veins. Also Taiwanese the language has accepted a lot of influence from aboriginal languages. A lot of the customs concerning marriage in Tainan are actually aboriginal in origin.<BR/><BR/>The focus on questions regarding Taiwan's Chinese identity only helps to reinforce this wrong-headed thinking. It was a merger of several cultures, two of the biggest influences being Ming Dynasty Fujian Min-nan culture and plains aboriginal culture in Taiwan. Why isn't this a question of Taiwan's aboriginal identity then?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10698887.post-71655089830656531192007-04-11T23:50:00.000+08:002007-04-11T23:50:00.000+08:00Michael, readers of this post might also be intere...Michael, readers of this post might also be interested in <A HREF="http://sino-platonic.org/complete/spp029_chinese_dialect.pdf" REL="nofollow" TITLE="SPP = Sino-Platonic Papers ≠ SPP">this related item</A> [2.2 MB PDF file] for its treatment of "What's Chinese?" as related specifically to linguistics. It's a 1991 paper called "What Is a Chinese 'Dialect/Topolect'? Reflections on Some Key Sino-English Linguistic Terms" which I found yesterday via <A HREF="http://pinyin.info/news/2007/dialect-and-chinese-from-a-linguistic-point-of-view/" REL="nofollow" TITLE="'' 'dialect’ and ‘Chinese’ from a linguistic point of view ''"><I>Pinyin News</I></A>. The paper is by Professor Victor H. Mair of the University of Pennsylvania’s Department of East Asian Languages and Civilizations, and <I>Pinyin News</I> has the abstract if anybody wants to check it out before downloading.<BR/><BR/>Another informative piece by Mair called "<A HREF="http://pinyin.info/readings/mair/taiwanese.html" REL="nofollow" TITLE="Whose 'guoyu' is 'guoyu'?">How to Forget Your Mother Tongue and Remember Your National Language</A>" can also be read on <I>Pinyin News</I>. <A HREF="http://pinyin.info/readings/mair/taiwanese.html#part4" REL="nofollow" TITLE="''The Prognosis for Written Taiwanese''">Part 4</A> of that piece quotes an "inflammatory" article with this title:<BR/>- - -<BR/><I>"Cultural Taiwan Independence" Is More Terrifying Than "Political Taiwan Independence"</I><BR/>- - -<BR/><BR/>... and with that, Mair completes the circle.<BR/><BR/><A HREF="http://indiac.blogspot.com/" REL="nofollow" TITLE="It's Not Democracy, It's A Conspiracy!">Tim Maddog</A>Tim Maddoghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16943522529132663780noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10698887.post-87297722503343490752007-04-11T02:50:00.000+08:002007-04-11T02:50:00.000+08:00Gridman, this is something the Western world has a...Gridman, this is something the Western world has a helluva time trying to comprehend.<BR/><BR/>I'm not too good at coming up with a complete way of describing Chinese culture, but picture this. For five thousand years, one of the world's oldest documented civilizations has retained:<BR/><BR/>-Filial piety and closeness by blood<BR/>-Moderation in public<BR/>-An enduring standard written language<BR/><BR/>These are but three of the various unique aspects of Chinese culture that have survived the millennia. There is hardly a way to concretely define "culture," and that is what culture means. It's not something meant to be fully grasped by logical thought; it's intertwined with emotion. That's why the Chinese care even though you may not.<BR/><BR/>-----<BR/><BR/>Great entry, Michael. Actually, I felt that you'd already begun to answer Gridman's questions before he even asked. Taiwan hardly "preserves Chinese culture," partly because of its history and partly because it simply is a separate jursidiction by all practical measures. The people on Taiwan (or at least 98% of them) are ethnically and linguistically Chinese, with much cultural influence from China as well as variations unique to Taiwan.channinghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06386334271601532591noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10698887.post-34664201910411137622007-04-10T11:04:00.000+08:002007-04-10T11:04:00.000+08:00Your post reflects on something that has troubled ...Your post reflects on something that has troubled me for a long time: What defines the boundries of a culture? <BR/><BR/>Is it even really possible to fully define the word "culture"? Sure, there's a dictionary definition of the word, but I don't think it's as neat and tidy as all that.<BR/><BR/>How much of a difference, in what type of area is needed before one culture is considered two?<BR/><BR/>How long does it take? Does everyone have to agree?<BR/><BR/>And more importantly... why do people put so much importance on it? Who cares? Cultures have been coming and going for all time.<BR/><BR/>I feel a blog post coming on... :-)Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com