About:
This
website offers information on Chinese families.
Specifically, it presents to the reader history
about the Chinese family
and the way Chinese families have evolved to their present state in the
United
States.The
historical aspect will focus
on things that developed the typical Chinese family’s ideals and the
modern-day
aspect will focus on which traditions and ideals have stayed the same,
which
have changed, and which have been dropped altogether.
A
reader may be interested in learning about Chinese families to broaden
his or
her views on different cultures and to better understand Chinese
friends/co-workers/acquaintances, or just Chinese people in general.A reader interested in
learning about the
“model minority” phenomenon can benefit from this website as well by
learning about
the background and upbringing that result in many Chinese being one of
the
“model minority.”A
Chinese reader,
particularly a Chinese-American reader who is of the first generation
born in
the United States, will find this information useful in helping him/her
to
understand himself or herself and his/her family better.
In
the Future:
Many
changes will occur to the Chinese family based on environment and the
way the
Chinese culture in the United States evolves.
The
Chinese-American family will be greatly influenced by the way American
culture
changes by virtue of living in the US—they will have to adapt
themselves to
changes, or will latch onto traditions more tightly in fear of losing
their
heritage.
The
Chinese-American family may just further adapt itself to American
culture in
the future and embrace more European values and retain less Chinese
ones.On the other
hand, it could further adapt
itself to American culture by finding a niche in the American society
while
retaining most of its values.
The
Chinese-American family at this point is still relatively new (compared
to
European immigrant families that came about 200 years before), and thus
are
still seen as exotic and extremely different by some less diverse parts
of the
United States.The
Irish were easily
identified early on when they first came, but then eventually came to
be
accepted as a normal and integral part of American society.The Chinese-American may
go the same way and
one day be completely normal to everyone to the point that
Chinese-American
families and people will be a common sight in mass media like
television,
movies, and newspapers and also occupy many more positions of authority
in
companies and the political sphere.
Currently, there are relatively few Chinese people
portrayed in the
media, few in important positions of authority in companies, and few
Chinese
politicians.
The
Chinese-American family may also greatly influence American culture in
the
future.Americans,
in an effort to
attain the success of the “model minority,” may begin to adapt Chinese
family
values into their own families.
Sources:
Many
sources of information will be used for this website.
Scholarly articles will be used in
researching the history of Chinese families.
Newspaper and magazine articles will primarily be
used for information
about modern Chinese-American families.
Studies done on Chinese-American families will be
used to provide
further details about the dynamics and state of Chinese-American
families.Firsthand
accounts, either written or oral
(but recorded in writing), will be used for information about both
historical
Chinese families and modern Chinese-American families.
Secondary texts, like literature from ancient
China and literature from the modern United States can provide more
information
about both historical and modern Chinese families as well.
