"China Inside Out" Chapter 10

In the final chapter of “China Inside Out”, Bill Dodson describes the idea of the self-identity of the Chinese people, including the psychology of their overzealous nationalism. As long ago as the building of the Great Wall of China, Chinese people have developed a high sense of xenophobia. In the ancient past, it was the terrifying hordes of militant Mongols astride their horses that the Chinese emperors sought to keep out, but as time progressed, they tried to keep everyone out. It took a long time for them to open their doors to foreign traders, and longer still to open their country completely. During World War II, invasions by the Japanese made the Chinese people even more xenophobic. The Chinese government, intent on keeping control on its people, continues to encourage that feeling. TV shows being produced in China continually depict brutal outsiders that engross viewers, but also make them more afraid of other countries. The “Great Firewall of China” keeps the internet from interfering with Chinese citizens and showing them what other countries are actually like. Even so, with this reinforced sense of xenophobia, China is not all powerful over western influences. They still leak through, small piece by piece. I agree with Dodson's statement in this chapter because of how holed up China is. The government is so restrictive on its people that they have little choice but to believe what they are told: that their way is the best, even though it likely is not. I think the best way to research this would be ethnographic studies in China itself, speaking to citizens in China, examining the place, and seeing what the internet restrictions are like, to get the best possible idea of what information Chinese citizens are fed by their government.