Wu Guangqiang

    OHMAE KENICHI, the world famous management guru, has written a new book, one that has stirred up a debate in the Chinese intellectual community. The book is “Low IQ Society.”

    In the book, the author reveals what he discovered in China: Chinese streets are full of massage parlors while book stores are few and far between, and that on average, Chinese people read less than 15 minutes a day, a fraction of the Japanese’s. China is a typical low IQ society, with no hope of becoming a developed country, Kenichi concluded.

    While some critics refuted the argument by pointing out that Kenichi was talking about Japan instead of China, many people of vision are worried about a substantial cultural decline in China. They are pessimistic about the prospects of China’s ancient and glorious culture in the Information Age.

    Now the pessimists have strong evidence to back themselves up. A series of scandals has rocked the Palace Museum, seen as a symbol and gatekeeper of culture and art in China. These scandals have also affected the image of Chinese culture. First, a not-so-professional thief ran away with nine gem-studded items. The public was shocked by the flimsy security at the sacred treasure house.

    Then came the ridiculous misuse of a Chinese character on a banner that the Palace Museum presented to thank the police for the prompt capture of the thief. The meaning of the wrongly used character is actually the opposite of the intended message. The management of the Palace Museum made themselves look even more foolish by defending this silly mistake, saying that it was correctly used. The damage has been done even though the top management apologized for the error in the end.

    Finally, the Palace Museum was revealed to have turned part of the sacred place into an exclusive club for the superrich. Despite their initial denial, plenty of evidence eventually forced them to admit the wrongdoing. Avarice seems to have crept into this pure and solemn hall of culture.

    If a cultural symbol like the Palace Museum has degraded itself like that, how can we be sure of retaining and carrying on our cultural heritage?

    On the other hand, optimists see a rosy picture in spite of the Palace Museum incident. Look, they say, book shops are stuffed with new books on various topics. China’s publishing industry is undergoing unprecedented prosperity. Equally booming are the film industry, the theater and arts. Online literature Web sites are thriving with millions of ardent readers and many of them are also enthusiastic writers.

    Nevertheless, this very evidence is used by pessimists to prove the opposite. Yes, books cram book shops, but most of them are chaffy rubbish in attractive covers. More people can afford to keep thousands of books at home, but they hardly read any of them. Movies and TV plays have exploded in numbers and at the box office, but few have recognizable cultural value.

    Neither optimists nor pessimists can deny one thing. Chinese culture is losing ground to powerful American influence. When millions of Chinese viewers flocked to watch Hollywood-made “Mulan” and “Kung Fu Panda,” we couldn’t but deplore our job being done by others.

    In my opinion, to determine whether or not our culture is declining depends on how we define culture and what represents our culture. It is generally accepted that culture refers to beliefs, values and knowledge shared, learned and transmitted to the next generation by the people of a given nation. It influences what people think and guides what they do to maintain their distinctive identity. In this sense, if the new generation loses contact with their own traditional culture, the culture will certainly decay.

    Undeniably, our younger generation is getting increasingly alienated from traditional culture. The most evident example is that ancient Chinese classics are almost as foreign as Greek to most Chinese students — including those in universities. They are entranced by Japanese cartoons, American movies, Korean songs and online games and virtual social interaction. Non-traditional culture is eroding our heritage.

    I do not advocate reverting to old ways, which would be folly. I appeal to the authorities to adopt a practical and smart approach to inherit and carry forward the Chinese nation’s fine cultural traditions. Traditional treasure can appear in a new look.

    We have to take responsibility ourselves to maintain our valuable culture.

    (The author is an English tutor and a freelance writer. He can be reached at jw368@163.com.)