Assess the impact of modernisation in Chinese Society today. After Deng Xiaoping’s economic reforms in 1978, there has been an inux of modern and western inuences into the country !o doubt the "hinese society is #ery di$erent today from that of %ao’s era and before, certain o&d socia&istic attitudes sti&& remain especia&&y in the o&der generations and the rura& areas 'his essay see(s to study the contradictory impacts of modernisation has on the "hinese society )#en though modernisation exposes the "hinese society to a pðora of foreign inuences, paradoxica&&y, it a&so heightens the "hinese awareness awareness of their own traditiona& roots *ence, whi&e it is undeniab&e that modernisation modernisation &eads to ob#ious socia& changes in "hina, it must not be ignored ignored that the "hinese society is high&y heterogeneous and di#erse+ and its extent of impact depends &arge&y on how we&&accepted the e$ects of foreign inuences are by the di$erent communities in "hina %odernisation has &ed to rapid urbanisation that in#ariab&y changed "hina’s socia& demographics Deng’s economic &ibera&isation resu&ted in the opening up of coasta& cities 'he estab&ishment and expansion of other urban centres &eads to greater trade and commerce %ore "hinese a&so migrated from rura& to urban areas in search of better &i#e&ihoods 'hese ha#e caused the transformation transformation of "hinese fami&y structure structure as most who &i#ed in cities wou&d prefer to ha#e nuc&ear fami&ies o#er extended ones *ectic city &ife a&so resu&ted in more &ate marriages, higher di#orce rate and more peop&e choosing to remain sing&e "oup&ed with the one chi&d po&icy, and changing "hinese #a&ues, birth rates ha#e dropped and the "hinese popu&ation is rapid&y ageing 'his trend has become irre#ersib&e as more than ha&f of the "hinese popu&ation are &i#ing in cities today, adopting new socia& perceptions and &eading modern &ifesty&es, comparab&e to other foreign cities, such as -ang(o( and .eou& /ising a0uence and better education after modernisation ha#e resu&ted in the rise of a c&ass of we&&todo "hinese "hina’s midd&e c&ass is norma&&y concentrated in &arge cities such as -eiing and .hanghai 'hey are the two maor consumers of foreign products and ser#ices -eing we&&tra#e&&ed and betterinformed, the midd&e c&ass of "hina has spearheaded e#en more socia& trends, such as the re#i#a& of traditions and bringing in cu&tures and &ifesty&es beyond the country 'his group of "hinese a&so inc&udes prominent inte&&ectua&s and artistes 'hey are the criti2ues of contemporary "hinese society and creators of future socia& trends ma(ing its impact extensi#e An examp&e wou&d be the artist, Ai weiwei 'he midd&e c&ass communicates among themse&#es through modern media &i(e 3ei -o and /en /en and disseminates ideas &i(e en#ironmenta&ism and human rights that e#en the authoritarian go#ernment 4nd it hard to contro&
"hanging &ifesty&e of the common peop&e as a resu&t of modernisation is e#ident in the appreciation and adaptation of foreign cu&ture *ouseho&d fast food names &i(e %acdona&d, subway and 56" are 2uic(&y changing the dietary habits of "hinese isiting pubs and (arao(e &ounges instead of drin(ing tea and eating dim sum has become the fa#ourite pastime of many "hinese opu&ar cu&ture from the 3est, apan, .outh 5orea as we&& as some other foreign societies ha#e gained wide popu&arity in "hina 'his exemp&i4ed in the #ariety of music the younger generations &isten to, their fashionab&e dress sense and the assimi&ation of western stories in the mo#ies they watch /e&axation of o:cia& contro& o#er re&igious be&iefs and their adherences ha#e a&so resu&ted in an insurgence of foreign faith ;:cia& 4gures states that there are now 1< mi&&ion of rotestants and = mi&&ion "atho&ics in "hina >i#en that communism and re&igion are supposed to be mutua&&y exc&usi#e and the "hinese "ommunist arty has a&ways been hosti&e towards western ideas, this is a notab&e change %odernisation has brought with it the spread of #a&ues that are distinct&y di$erent from the %aoist past "apita&ism has p&aced a greater emphasis on materia&ism, consumerism and competition 'his has resu&ted in peop&e pursuing indi#idua& success and persona& 2ua&i4cations at the expense of co&&ecti#ism and fami&ia& commitments 'he rise in di#orce rates and cohabitation rate cou&d ha#e a&so been a byproduct of this 'he getrich 2uic( menta&ity has &ed to many socia& prob&ems &i(e the pro&iferation of scams, #ices, defecti#e manufacturers and industria& po&&ution "orruption is so deep&y entrenched in the "hinese society, it is rooted e#en in the go#ernment that is supposed to be mitigating it *owe#er, there are &imitations to the impact of modernisation as many in&and rura& regions sti&& remain re&ati#e&y una$ected ?n&and pro#inces such as >ansu and @inghai are re&ati#e&y intact from modern inuences which impacted most&y coasta& cities i&&ages in the countryside are sti&& staunch&y adhering to traditiona& agrarian &ifesty&e 6or examp&e, women are sti&& discriminated in many of these p&aces and fami&ies wou&d prefer boys o#er gir&s 'raditiona& #a&ues &i(e concern for one’s fami&y surname are sti&& practised 6oreign inuences concerning entertainment and modern #a&ues cou&d not reach the countryside due to poor transportation and communication )#en when they do in some p&aces, minority groups treat them with hosti&ity and see it as ust another of the go#ernment’s attempt to in4&trate their nature cu&ture 6urthermore, many rura& fo&(s continue to worship %ao and his ideo&ogy %any are a&ien to the new cu&ture and #a&ues that struc( coasta& cities %odernisation has the re#erse impact of heightening "hinese awareness of their traditiona& roots >reater natura& con4dence as a resu&t of the successfu& economic reforms, expansion of "hina’s prestige and the search for cu&tura&
identity amidst the inux of g&oba&isation, has &ed to the re#i#a& of traditiona& "hinese cu&ture "hinese traditiona& cu&ture, former&y suppressed under %ao, is re#i#ed by the state to promote nationa&ism, socia& stabi&ity and cohesion ;ne of such examp&e is the promotion of "onfucianism that is e#ident in *u intao’s po&icies of de#e&oping a *armonious 3or&dB 'he de#iation from %arxist theories and the need to &earn from the experiences of other renewed interest in the ancient phi&osophy "hinese !ew Cear, ancestorworship, @ing%ing and %oonca(e festi#a&s are now practised under o:cia& encouragement ?n sum, modernisation has brought about signi4cant impacts in #arious aspects of the "hinese society 3hi&e modernisation has rapid&y and radica&&y transformed the city areas of "hina, it must be noted that on the other end of the spectrum, there are areas that are sti&& minima&&y inuenced by it %ost important&y to note, modernisation is a continua& process and hence g&oba& trends wi&& continue to change the "hinese mindset and their socia& &ife
