Guest Author - Caroline Baker
When we speak about Chinese, we are actually talking about a very diverse and varied group of people. From the Northern mountains to the Southern shores, China is composed of a wide variety of geographic areas. There are deserts all the way to the west and lush coasts along the east. There are major metropolitan cities, on the order of New York City and sleepy rural towns such as what was captured in Pearl S Buck’s Good Earth. And with each area comes a unique sub-culture of China, each contributing their own flavors to the word "Chinese". This is just what is normally referred to as "mainland China".
Contribute to that the ever globalizing world we live in. We must not forget the Chinese who also exist in Taiwan, the Chinese that live just outside in Thailand and other Asian counties, and the Chinese who have immigrated to other countries. There are Chinese-Americans, Chinese-Canadians, Chinese-English. And did you know there’s a large population of Chinese who migrated to the Caribbean's?
The result is a very diverse and mixed definition of what it means to be Chinese.
As part of an effort to represent all of these sub-cultures, I am starting a special series called Many Faces of Chinese. In the coming months, we will explore together all the diversity that exists. This will include articles on different customs, music, dress, and art that are part of life today, not just things of the past and history. This will also include some interviews with people from around the world.
Are you a Chinese that can help represent one of the diverse groups I’ve named above? Would you like to help me in this electronic endeavor to truly capture the faces of Chinese? If so, please drop me an email at: chineseculture@bellaonline.com.
