Click Here to Subsribe to the 'The Vance Report' Feed “We do think that we are better than the rest of China,” stated a young Cantonese lady during my recent visit to Guangdong Province. She went on to explain how the rest of China constantly flows into Southern China to “steal our jobs” and “get rich” on the backs of the Cantonese people. According to her, this perpetual flood of Chinese people also includes a wave of undesirable cultures which many Cantonese people find to be repulsive. She indicated that Cantonese people expect migrants in the region to adapt to the Cantonese culture as quickly as possible.
While such a strong dose of bigotry is always a bit startling, I am hardly surprised to encounter such attitudes in Southern China. An American friend of mine, who is currently teaching in Guangdong, and is married to a young lady from Northern China, recently told me about some of the bigotry that he has experienced.
“Some of my Cantonese friends do not like my wife,” he explained to me. “They talk about her behind my back and try to suggest that she is backwards and uncultured.” My friend also remarked that while his Cantonese acquaintances were friendly towards him, they pressured him to learn and follow Cantonese culture.
“I got in an argument one time with one of my Cantonese friends,” he recounted to me. “They had invited me to play badminton and I had said that I would need to check with my wife first. Later, one of my Cantonese friends told me that I had made a big mistake. She explained to me that in Cantonese culture, men still have a higher status than women and as such, suggesting in any way that your wife is controlling you is a sign of weakness.” My foreign friend tells me that this experience infuriated him and that he told his Cantonese friends that were some aspects of the culture that were simply wrong.
Do all Cantonese people have such atttudes? “Certainly not,” says a young Cantonese man who is teaching English near Guandong’s provincial capital of Guangzhou. He explained to me that he grew up in an area of Guandong province were there migrant workers from all over China. He says that he was always fascinated by the different cultures and dialects and that today he has friends from all over China.
“Anyone who says that they are resentful of the migrants who become rich in our province are simply lazy and jealous.” Anyone, he says, has the opportunity to do well in Guandong province if they are willing to work hard.
It is the perception of Guangdong province as a ‘land of opportunity’ that draws people from the rest of China. “We’ve always known that the Cantonese look down on us,” a friend from Central China who is working in Guangdong laughingly said to me. “People in Hong Kong look down on people in Guandong too so it doesn’t really matter.” Apparently, she is right about these kinds of attitudes not mattering for the millions of people who have come to Guangdong to find a better life. During my brief stay here, I have met people from all over the country who own factories, manage companies, and serve as liasons between Chinese and United States businesses. These are people who worked hard and at the same time have managed to hold on to their own culture. The fact that such bigotry exists in Southern China makes these accomplishments all the more remarkable.
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There is historical background why Cantonese people hate people from the North. That was back to 50s last century when Mao Zedong appointed Ye Jianying as General Secretary of Guandong and Ye was a Native Hakka who friendly to Cantonese people. In the 50s, Mao launched the “Land Reform” which encouraged “peasants” to kill “landlords” in order to obtain lands and farming equipments. The rest of China was doing pretty “well” of the Land Reform by killing hundred of thousand of “landlords” but Ye Jianying who lived in Cantonese region for a long time knew that a lot of lands in Cantonese rural areas belong to overseas Chinese and many of them are actually supporting welfares of the whole clan such as schooling for poor kids. Ye adopted a mild way of Land Reform by not killing too many. Mao Zedong was not happy about Ye’s performance and replace Ye and sent Tao Zhu and Zhao Ziyang to lead the “Land Reform” of Guangdong Province. The result was not only Ye was replaced, but most of native Cantonese officials were replaced by communist officials from the north who did not speak a word of Cantonese and even did not know how to write Chinese. What they did was like Pol Pot, killing many people and even their Cantonese comrades since they were not “pure” and contaminated by Capitalism thoughts. That was a easy excuse since even Communist officials in Guangdong Province have relatives in Hong Kong.
After that political cleansing, hundred of thousands of Cantonese officials and “landlords” were executed and Cantonese people had been discriminated politically since then.
The “Land Reform” was tragedy for all Chinese. But you can tell the different between Cantonese people and the rest of China. The rest of China was the people speaks the same language/dialect kill each others. In Guangdong Province was People from the North kill Cantonese.
The Communist party defined Cantonese as a branch of Han but they just treat Cantonese as minority similar to tibetans. Political and ethnic genocide towards Cantonese were no better than tibetans. Tibetans flowed to India alive and Cantonese Flowed to Hong Kong as dead bodies. Not until 80’s the PLA would shot anyone in the back who tried to escape to Hong Kong. One of routine jobs of Marine Police in Hong Kong from 50s to 70s was collected floating bodies from Pearl River.
The interesting point of the Article was accusing Cantonese Men look down upon Women. I think that was not only Cantonese culture but also Chinese Culture. Your American friend should go to “the rest” of China to see men beat their wives on the street which hardly seen on the street of Guangdong.
Cantonese people were killed and discriminated politically by the North people for decades. Now Cantonese people got rich and were not killed massively as before but still under discrimination. Most of them could not tell the difference between common people from the north or communist officials who killed their family members. They just hate them all. If an ethnic group were killed and discriminated by people who speaks a certain language for half centuries, are you sure that ethnic group would not hate that language and people who spoke it?
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The citizens of Hong Kong and Shanghai often see themselves as the cultural hub of Asia in the same way as citizens of Paris or Rome might considers themselve the cultura hub of Europe. As a metropolitan cultural hub, outsiders are often seen as culturally inferior even if they live only a few miles out in the country (migrant coming from the countryside in Guangdong province appear in Hong Kong). Even in so called multi-cultural societies – there are many expect outsiders to mainstream domimant culture as quickly as possible. This cultural “melting pot” paradigm to assimilate all competiting cultures is intrinsic to all cultures and is the natural expression for cultural survival. There are many shades of ethnocentricism – from tolerant “melting pot” environment to and oppressive racial apartheid. Many of those who are ethnocentric will deny they are practicing any form of bigotry – albeit they may give tip of the hat as an elitist with a defiant air of snobbery. In my experience, money often is the deciding factor. The wealthier one is the more tolerant elitists tend to be.
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its call saving the unique Cantonese culture and language
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I agree with the last two posters. Sorry, I know you feel that you are entitled to all of the territory under PRC control, but the Canton is what enabled China to open up and develop. I walk around Southern China and it makes me sick to see signs in schools saying “Only speak Mandarin!” Even Cantonese speakers will tell you not to speak Cantonese outside of their home because they are afraid of how they will be treated and how others will react. If you want to move to the Canton then you should learn Cantonese. Otherwise stay frozen in the north with the dong bei and bland wheat noodles. If we were talking about Tibet nobody would be on the PRC’s side. Tibetans should be allowed to speak Tibetan and if you move to Tibet you should expect to experience Tibetan culture. Like wise in Guangdong you should expect to be surrounded and enjoying the beautiful Cantonese language, food, and culture.
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Of course there is bigotry and suspicion among people from different regions. I’m sure it would the same if this was the other way around. There is a 5000 year history of Northern China trying to take over Southern China and that resentment is now being seen as happening not so much with the “job stealing” but with the fact that only Mandarin is permitted in the schools – Cantonese children in China are taught only in Mandarin and there is a growing number of young people with roots in Southern China but can not speak the dialect. This isn’t a US/Mexico similarity. It’s more complex than that. We’re talking of families with long ancestral histories in Southern China and the young generations can not understand the older generations. The language issue is a matter of control. Only in Hong Kong is Cantonese spoken everywhere. Shanghai didn’t build Hong Kong by the way – there was a long history of colonialism…..now it’s self colonization through the control of language. Sorry that your wife isn’t treated well, that is rude. But understand there is deeper sentiments than just that she is from the North and you’re among Cantonese.
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Derek Reply:
September 23rd, 2009 at 9:37 am
For real- don’t forget about how people of south china don’t get taught their own regional and ethnic histories.
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@Robert,
I agree with you. Those discrimination should be condemned. This kind of words and behavior may become the cause of conflict. Sociaty should do education or communicate well with civilians to correct these ignorant behavior.
Again that kind of behavior exists everywhere in the world.
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@Demerzel,
I agree. It happens everywhere. It’s just a bit startling to hear it directly from ‘horse’s mouth.’
@Jason Ding,
It is part of human nature but it is still ugly. I do think that those who have come to Southern China and had success are to be admired for getting past these attitudes.
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That’s called “Economic discrimination and area discrimination”. That’s one kind of natures of human being. That’s the drawback but everyone has to realize it. It’s universal issue. Good education, law and sociaty communication can help to solve this kind of discrimination to some extent.
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“She went on to explain how the rest of China constantly flows into Southern China to “steal our jobs” and “get rich” on the backs of the Cantonese people.”
Replace China with US, Southern China with Mexico, and Cantonese with American; sound at all familiar?
In any case, we all know it was the Shanghainese who actually built Hong Kong…
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