Americans looking to Chinese cultureto enrich their life

In the 17th and 18th centuries, Chinese art, architecture and philosophy were much admired in the West, and Chinese luxury goods like silks, teas and porcelain were in great demand and transformed their way of life drastically.

However, following China's accelerated political and economic decline during the 19th and part of 20th centuries resulting in foreign encroachment upon its sovereignty, its cultural appeal lost its shine, except to the discerning foreigners.

With the advent of the United States as the dominant military and economic power since the 1940s, it has been the turn of the East to be mesmerised by its pervasive achievements in various fields of human endeavour.

Be that as it may, Americans, once again, are looking to Chinese culture to enrich their life. This trend is gathering momentum and is there to stay.

Apart from their love affair with Chinese cuisine, more Americans are turning to its acupuncture, herbal medicines, martial arts, gongfu films, fashions and art and crafts.

Chinese language and acupuncture are now taught in many leading US universities and medical schools. Chinese herbal medicines form an essential component of alternative medicine, which now has as many converts as those seeking conventional medical treatment.

Seemingly outlandish words such as dim sum, ginseng, gingko,oolong cha, taiji, qi, yin and yang and ba-gua have crept into their everyday language.

The latest Chinese cultural icon to make its impact there is feng shui, China's ancient art of placement.

In my recent trip to California, virtually all leading book stores and public libraries were well-stocked with plenty of publications on this highly esoteric subject.

Who are these Americans and why do they take to feng shui like fish to water? They represent a good cross-section of the public, ranging from intellectuals, business tycoons, professional people, Hollywood celebrities to housewives, retirees and students.

It owed its early success to the dogged efforts of a handful of Chinese feng shui experts. But from around 1990 onwards, numerous feng shui schools have sprung up in large American cities including San Francisco, New York, Chicago, Boston and Houston. Their enrolments have risen by leaps and bounds.

Today, the majority of its practitioners are Americans. They offer a wide range of consultancy services to both individuals and businesses. The successful among them are reaping handsome financial rewards.

Its adherents find its commonsensible approach to daily living an effective counterweight to materialism, and helps them to reduce the intrusion of technology into their lives. With its emphasis on achieving balance and harmony and peace and tranquillity at home and at work, this time-honoured art relaxes their minds and helps them overcome stresses and strains of modern living.

They firmly believe that once their mental and physical well-being are in equilibrium, then good health, work efficiency and prosperity will come their way naturally.

A conspicuous manifestation of feng shui is through the proliferation of miniature fountains strategically placed in the homes, offices, shops, restaurants and at other public places.

This is because water attracts the all-important life-sustaining qi, or energy. The soothing rhythm of running water gently beating down on pebbles or bamboos can uplift one's spirits as it symbolises a vital source of life.

Underpinning the growing popularity of things Chinese is the emergence of China as a potential world political and economic superpower.

This coincided with its reopening up to the outside world which has enabled an increasing number of Americans to travel there in order to experience at first hand the splendours of this venerable civilisation.

Added to this, the thriving Chinese communities in many American urban centres and their reputation as a model minority have aroused further their interests in this distant land, which is so vastly different from theirs.

One of the palpable strengths of the United States is that it is truly an open society. This makes it easier for it to absorb cultural values and practices from other countries and to nurture them so that they become part of the social fabric of its own multiethnic and multicultural community.

在17和18世紀，中國藝術、建筑學以及哲學，非常受到西方的欣賞。中國的奢侈品，例如絲綢、茶和瓷器大受歡迎，也深刻的改變了一些西方人的生活方式。

但是，中國的政治和經濟力量在19和20世紀初急劇衰退，領土也被外國侵占。除了目光獨到的少數外國人，中國文化在外國人眼里已失去了光輝。

美國在1940年代崛起為軍事和經濟強國，他在各個領域的卓越成就，讓東方人為之神往。

話雖如此，美國人卻又一次的轉向中國文化，豐富他們的生活。這個潮流方興未艾。
除了他們贊不絕口的中國菜肴外，有越來越多的美國人，嘗試針灸、草藥和中國武術。他們也看功夫電影，學習東方時裝潮流和手工藝。

美國的許多著名大學和醫學院，已經開設華文和針灸課程。中國的草藥已經是“他類醫學”的重要一環。有越來越多的美國人已經轉向“他類醫學”求助。

美國人在不知不覺中，也在日常生活里談及點心、人參、銀杏、烏龍茶、太極、氣、陰陽和八卦等。目前，在美國最熱門的中國文化是帶點神秘色彩的風水學。

我最近到過加利福尼亞州，發現所有著名的書店和圖書館，都有很多關于這門古老學問的書籍。

為什么有些美國人會那么熱衷于風水呢？這些人來自各行各業，包括知識分子、商業鉅子、專業人士、好萊塢巨星、家庭主婦、學生和退休人士。

風水學早期在美國的成功，得歸功于一些中國風水師鍥而不舍的努力。從大約1990年開始，風水學校便如雨后春筍，在美國大城市如三藩市、紐約、芝加哥、波士頓和休士頓出現。報名的學生非常踴躍。

現在，大部分的風水師是美國人，他們為個人和企業提供一系列的服務。他們之中比較出色的，已經名成利就。

相信風水的人，覺得他對日常生活問題，簡單易懂的解釋，能夠幫助他們抵抑物質主義，減輕科技對生活的干擾。不論是在工作場所或家里，這門古老的學問，強調的是平衡、和諧以及安寧，也能協助他們克服現代生活的緊張和壓力。

當身心得到平衡，他們深信健康、工作效率和富足的生活，便會隨之而來。

一個很顯眼的改進風水方法，是在家里、辦公室、店內或餐館的重要位置，擺放模型瀑布。這是因為水能夠吸引維持生命的氣或能量。流水輕拍卵石或竹子的溫柔韻律，象征生命的重要泉源，也能夠提神養氣。

中國逐漸崛起成為政治經濟強國，是中國文化在美國日益風行的原因。中國對外開放，也讓許多美國人有機會親身體驗，這個文明古國的風采。

此外，許多美國城市的繁榮華人社區，享有模范少數民族的美譽，更讓美國人對這個和他們的文化大相徑庭的古老文明，產生濃厚的興趣。

美國的一大優點，在于他是個真正開放的社會。因此，他很容易吸收他國的文化價值觀和習俗，把他們融入并成為美國多元種族和多元文化社會的一部分。