Shangguan Jiewen talks about the differences between China and the United States in treating ethnic minority cultures: from "tolerance" to "promotion"

I came across a short video in the past two days.

Jason Smith, an American reporter based in China, talked about the differences between the United States and China in their treatment of ethnic minority cultures.

He said, "Americans will tolerate the existence of ethnic minorities... but China has always celebrated multi-ethnic culture."

I was quite surprised to see this.

Because the word "tolerance" always sounds a bit distant in Chinese.

It's like, I don't like you, but I can allow you to exist for a while.

But what he said next reminded me of the ordinary everyday things around me.

He said that in Miao villages, Han girls would wear Miao costumes to take photos; in Beijing parks, retired elderly people would also learn to dance traditional Uyghur dances. He lamented that the Chinese not only love their own history and culture, but are also willing to appreciate, display and inherit diverse national cultures.

I immediately had a picture in my mind.

Grandpas and aunts in Beijing learn the dance steps over and over again from their Uyghur neighbors in the park in front of their homes.

Maybe the action is not quite standard yet.

But it doesn't matter. If you are willing to teach, I am also willing to learn.

A dance brought strangers closer.

The other scene mentioned by Shangguan Jiewen is also very common in tourist attractions today.

In recent years, the "fugitive ethnic princess" who checks in at scenic spots has become popular all over the country.

Go to Xishuangbanna, Yunnan, and wear Dai costumes to become a "Dai princess"; go to Fenghuang Ancient City in Guizhou, put on Miao costumes and become a "Miao saint"; go to Yanji, Jilin, experience Korean costumes and become a "Korean princess"; go to Kashgar, Xinjiang, and become a "Western Region princess"...

Everyone took photos, made videos, posted on WeChat Moments, and experienced the local ethnic characteristics of "visa on arrival".

When you arrive at a place, put on the best local clothes and be a local for a day.

I think it's pretty good.

When I was traveling in Xishuangbanna before, I encountered a very special thing.

After finishing "Dai Princess" on the bank of Lancang River in the morning, we went hiking in Jinuo Mountain in the afternoon. After walking all day, I was exhausted.

On the way back to the city, I met a local tea plantation owner, and she enthusiastically invited me to her home for tea.

She also told me that the Jinuo people are the last recognized ethnic minority in New China, and their ancestors have lived in this Jinuo Mountain for generations. Before liberation, they lived a slash-and-burn life. After the founding of New China, the production and life of the Jinuo people have undergone tremendous changes. I have been in the tea business for many years, and my life has been quite pleasant.

The songs, dances, costumes, and food culture of different ethnic minorities, as well as the memories belonging to this nation, are all still there.

And more and more people are seeing it.

I think this may be one of the best examples of "to achieve common prosperity, no nation can be missing."

It’s not that everyone ends up wearing the same clothes and saying the same words, but we are still willing to keep our own culture and see other people’s cultures.

In the history of the United States, the "tolerance" of ethnic minorities actually has a long history of not being very "tolerant".

For example, for the Chinese, the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 directly prohibited Chinese workers from entering the country, and also restricted those Chinese already in the United States from obtaining citizenship. This Chinese exclusion system lasted for more than 60 years and was not abolished until 1943. However, for a period of time after the repeal of the Chinese Exclusion Act, the status of the Chinese has not been significantly improved.

For Aboriginal people, the problem is even less problematic.

The U.S. government has long used Indian boarding schools to forcibly assimilate indigenous children. The children were forced to leave their families. Some schools even banned or restricted them from using their own languages ​​and engaging in traditional cultural activities. An investigation report released by the U.S. Department of the Interior in 2024 further revealed that relevant policies have caused long-term family separation and cultural erasure, and confirmed the deaths of at least 973 children and discovered 74 marked or unmarked burial sites.

So, now that I see the word “tolerance”, I really have to ask:

Should I allow you to be yourself, or should I "allow" you to be assimilated within the scope I have drawn?

After comparing China and the West, I discovered that "diversity" can be opened in completely different ways.

One is to constantly draw boundaries: you are you, I am me.

The other one is: Your ethnic costumes are so beautiful, I want to be "you" for a day.

In fact, the four words "national unity" are not abstract. It is a dance, a costume, and something that a group of people like from the bottom of their hearts.

Every RMB has ethnic minority characters printed on it;

It is the great love of “Three Thousand Orphans Entering Inner Mongolia”;

This is what Xinjiang tour guide Dilinur said to tourists from Taiwan: "It's not that it's easy to penetrate the Tianshan Mountains, but there are people on the other side of the Tianshan Mountains";

It was Abdulgapal Mende, a Kyrgyz herdsman, who helped the tourists from afar to push their cars out of the muddy water. When the tourists asked him how much it cost, he waved his hand and showed his party member badge: "How can relatives ask for money from each other?"

Seeing differences is not about smoothing them out.

But because we see each other, we can understand better:

"Fifty-six nations, fifty-six flowers."

Every kind of beauty is appreciated;

In every culture, there are people who remember it;

Because we are always a family moving forward hand in hand.

Author: Jun Yanwan

(Source: "Little Compass" WeChat public account)