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Cantonese Culture Against the Rest of China

“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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