Work Ethic and Gender

 January 26, 2013      
          Stevan Harrell’s “Why Do the Chinese Work So Hard? Reflections on an Entrepreneurial Ethic” tries to make sense of what motivates Chinese men and women economically through a cultural lens. Harrell points out that socialization and material incentives have long though to be the driving force of the so-called Chinese work ethic; however, he finds that these are incomplete explanations as they are missing the important aspect of entrepreneurial ethic (1985: 215). Harrell describes entrepreneurship as an investment in the hopes it will turn into a long-term resource of “material well-being and security” for not only oneself but also to one’s immediate and future relatives (1985: 216). This work ethic to obtain enduring resources and security somewhat differs between the genders. This differential stems from the aforementioned aspect of Chinese work ethic that they work for the benefit of their family, not solely for individual gain. A male works for his family, the same family that he will be tied to for his whole life. However, at the time of the research, Harrell describes a patrilocal society where women would move to the husband’s and his family place of residence (1985: 221).  So in this logic, the entrepreneurial ethic Harrell describes does not make as much sense for women until after they have married as a women is not tied to her own family for her whole life. So, Harrell describes studies that show that women do not show the same hardworking ethic as men before they are married (1985: 220). It was found that women before marriage go to work for more social reasons than men, like finding a partner for marriage (1985: 220). Once a woman is married, and once she has children, her economic interests and work ethic changes to focus on providing for her children and future descendants (1985: 221). The focus on Chinese work ethic is relevant to the study of Taiwan as many people from Taiwan are of Chinese descent and brought this work ethic with them when they emigrated to the island. 

  I found this gendered aspect of Chinese work ethic especially interesting because of the correlations I found between the Chinese women’s work ethic and the experiences of women in Canada and the Western world up until recent times. The women I speak of often did not have careers or gave up their jobs when they got married and had children. Although it is not exactly the same situation, when I was reading about the gendered skewed lens of the Chinese work ethic, I could not help but look for similarities to my own culture. The way the women it seemed that the women in both cultures did not have much economic drive of their own before marriage, after marriage their economic gains and time were very much centered on their new families. The gendered aspect of Harrell’s analysis was especially interesting to me and this is why it is the focus of this week’s blog. 

Harrell, Stevan. 1985. “Why Do the Chinese Work so Hard? Reflections on an Entrepreneurial Ethic.” Modern China 11 (2) : 203-226.

Introducing a currency in the 20th century: The case of the Yami

January 20, 2013

The idea of having a currency seems so intrinsic to my daily life. I cannot imagine how my life or the world would function without it. However, for some societies, currency is a relatively new, and unnatural, concept. To the Yami, of Botel Tobago, now Orchid Island, in the early twentieth century, currency was nonexistent (1937: 431). That is until the Japanese slowly introduced currency while they colonized the island (1937: 431).

If a society is without currency, how does it function? In the case of the Yami, the society was extremely egalitarian. The Yami, as described by Leach, were without chiefs and had no hierarchy in their society (1937: 423). Each family unit provided enough resources for themselves, so trade had never been necessary (1937: 423). If trade was not necessary, then there certainly was not a need for a currency system. So when the Japanese decided to introduce currency to the Yami, a complex process ensued. 

To introduce currency to Yami society, the Japanese had to take many steps. First, they realized that the Yami did not produce anything that they believed could be traded (1937: 431). So, the Japanese had to create a false currency of small clay and wooden sculptures (1937: 431). The false currency were then paid for in cash and then the person could buy the item, such as cloth or fishhooks, that they desired (1937: 431). This was done so the Yami could get a grasp on the concept of currency. Before this false currency was created and the Yami had begun to realize the concept of currency, they often used the coins as ornaments for dress (1937: 431). This is to not paint the Yami in a negative light, but to point out how different the Yami and Japanese societies were. The introduction was a major change for the egalitarian society and would alter their culture forever. 

This part of the article made me realize how engrained currency is in my life and Western society. How currency almost seems like a natural part of any society because it plays such a large role in mine. However this article showed how a society without currency could be possible and could work effectively. The notion seemed so foreign and even ideal on further examination. That the paradise that Leach described was not only due to the environment but because of a completely different, and seemingly more peaceful, way of life. 

References 

Leach, Edmund. 1937. “The Yami of Koto-sho: a Japanese Colonial Experiment.” Geographical Magazine 5: 417-434.

The importance of anthropology

January 12, 2014

This blog will focus on the Anthropology of Taiwan as learned in the course ANT4105A at the University of Ottawa. The blog will examine the readings for the course to find connections between the articles, highlight the uniqueness of Taiwanese culture and anthropological research and compare history and culture of Taiwan to others around the world.

What I found particularly interesting in this week's readings was the prominence of anthropological research methods in studies that were not inherently anthropological in the early Japanese colonial period of Taiwan. The early stages of this period, beginning in 1895 after the agreement on the Shimonoseki treaty, were, surprisingly to the Japanese, troublesome. Japan had hopes of becoming a colonial power to be respected by the West; however, were met with extreme and continuous financial needs of their new colony and an incompatibility with the modern Japanese legal system and social customs and traditions of the Taiwan. To solve these issues, a commission, called the Provisional Commission for the Investigation of Taiwanese Old Customs, was created to study issues that were critical to the efficient and hopefully long-lasting governance of Japan’s newly acquired, and first, colony. 

What is interesting about the Commission was the way that research was carried out and information was collected. The Commission, focussing mainly on the Chinese of Taiwan with some research on non-Chinese, native inhabitants, conducted studies by studying historical documents and doing fieldwork, which is a main facet of the discipline of anthropology. And while the Commission did not intend to conduct anthropological studies, unlike Ino Kanori and Torii Ryuzo did at the same time while focussing on Taiwan’s Aborigines and their racial status, some of the core research was inherently anthropological. 

One main topic the Commission focussed on in order to understand Taiwanese people to maintain Japanese colonial rule over Taiwan were kinship relations. In cultural anthropology, the focus of my undergraduate degree, this is a main feature in understanding a culture.  They studied family, lineage, marriage, affine, among other things to better understand the Chinese of Taiwan. While early data seemed to suggest only a historical literature had been conduced to obtain this information, later data showed it to be based on fieldwork. The Commission also studied land systems. To do this, researchers spoke to knowledgeable people of the communities traveled to to learn in-depth and firsthand how the land systems of Taiwan worked and how the information gathered can be useful in prolonging Japanese colonial power in Taiwan. By collecting field data, it shows that fieldwork was a main component for the research of the Commission. 

The point of this focus on how the Commission collected data is to emphasize the importance of anthropology and the main features of the discipline that can be lent to studies that are not necessarily intended to be anthropological. This is why I believe the discipline to be so important. The use of fieldwork in Taiwan in just this study shows the wide range of topics that anthropological theory, methodology and practices can be useful for. 

Although the article focussing on the Provisional Commission for the Investigation of Taiwanese Old Customs went in-depth into what the Commission studied and the reports it made, while reading it I could not help but notice all the anthropological features of the studies even though it was not intended as such. This is why I have focussed on the importance of anthropology in my first blog and hopefully this emphasis will make it clear why the subject of this blog, the anthropology of Taiwan, is so important.