Blog #10: Preservation of Tradition

In the excerpt by Lisa Lowe, one particular quote resonated with me. “The degree to which they have each internalized a cultural definition of “Chineseness” as pure and fixed, in which any deviation is constructed as less, lower, and shameful.” These ideas of preserving the culture which is to be transmitted “vertically” through generations is very prevalent in second and third generation children. Speaking from personal experiences, I grew up in a family where my parents immigrated from Vietnam to the states. My parents would constantly impose their ways of living and cultural customs upon my sister and I.

A specific example would be language. My parents spoke many languages, Vietnamese, Cantonese, Mandarin, Cambodian, Fuzhounese, etc. The language I learned, that soon became my native language at home was Cantonese. I developed these skills through communication with my parents as a child, this talent to be reinforced through Chinese school on the weekends. Chinese school was a structured institution where they taught you how to write and speak the language. However, a majority of Chinese schools taught in Mandarin, a different dialect from Cantonese. I dreaded going to this mandatory schooling, as it wasn’t something I was interested at the time. As I grew older, I was able to convince my parents to stop paying for these lessons. In high school, Chinese was an option, but I chose Spanish instead due to my childhood trauma of Chinese school.

The reason my parents wanted me to learn the language was that it was significant of our Asian culture. They would always compare my proficiency in Cantonese to other immigrant bilingual children. However, I don’t see language as something imposed onto me, rather I appreciate being able to learn and communicate efficiently with my parents. This issue of hybridity and transmission of ideas through generations is ultimately up to the individual if they choose to preserve it. As we’ve learned before, there is no such thing as cultural authenticity as things are constantly changing. I believe that transmission of customs aren’t a sign of cultural definition, rather a factor of one’s identity formation.