The governments of China and the United States have renewed an Accord for the Implementation of Cultural Exchange for the period of 2007 to 2009. The cultural accord recommits both governments to facilitate cultural, educational and artistic exchanges. The task of translating and publishing each others' literary and art work has been listed as a new item in the pact.
In recent years, cultural exchanges between China and the US have greatly improved. The pact says that various US artists will be invited to give performances in Beijing during the 2008 Olympic Games. Meanwhile, Chinese culture has been more widely recognized and accepted by the general public in the US since the first Confucius Institute was set up at the University of Maryland.
The trend is here to stay: Americans, once again, are looking to Chinese culture to enrich their lives. Apart from their love of Chinese cuisine, many more Americans are turning to Chinese acupuncture, herbal medicines, martial arts, gongfu films, fashion and art and crafts.
Chinese language and acupuncture are now taught in many leading US universities and medical schools. Chinese herbal medicines form an essential component of alternative medicine, which has now more than ever attracted Americans who are seeking conventional medical treatment.
Feng shui, China's ancient art of placement, is the latest Chinese cultural icon to make its impact on a good cross-section of the American public, ranging from intellectuals, business tycoons, professionals, and Hollywood celebrities to housewives, retirees and students.
In California, virtually all leading book stores and public libraries are well-stocked with plenty of publications on the highly esoteric subject. From 1990 onwards, numerous feng shui schools have sprung up in large American cities including San Francisco, New York, Chicago, Boston and Houston. Enrollments have risen by leaps and bounds.
A conspicuous manifestation of feng shui is through the miniature fountains strategically placed in homes, offices, shops, restaurants and other public places. This is because "shui," or water, attracts the all-important life-sustaining "qi," or energy. The soothing rhythm of running water gently beating down on pebbles or bamboos can uplift one's spirit as it symbolizes a vital source of life.
Many feng shui adherents find that this time-honored art relaxes their minds and helps them overcome the stress and strain of modern living with its emphasis on achieving balance and harmony, and peace and tranquility at home and at work.
Underpinning the growing popularity of Chinese culture is China's emergence as a potential world political and economic power, and its opening up to the outside world. This has enabled an increasing number of Americans who travel there to experience first hand the splendors of a venerable civilization.
Dating back to the 17th and 18th centuries, Chinese art, architecture and philosophy were highly admired in the West; and Chinese luxury goods like silks, teas and porcelain were in great demand and drastically transformed their way of life. However, following China's accelerated political and economic decline during the 19th and part of the 20th centuries, as a result of foreign encroachment upon its sovereignty, China's cultural appeal lost its shine.
In addition to national strength, the palpable strength that contributes to the Chinese culture's renewed popularity and has been thriving all these years in many American urban centers are Chinese communities. Their reputation as a model minority has aroused the interests of Americans in understanding their distant and vastly different home land.
Last but not least, the United States is truly a melting pot of different cultures. This makes it easier for Americans to absorb another country's cultural values and practices; and to nurture them into the social fabric of an multiethnic and multicultural community.
By People's Daily Online
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