The People's Daily Vision: Yao vs. Yi

As I began to discuss earlier this week, the coverage of Yao and Yi allows us to examine not just international basketball, but nuances in contemporary Chinese culture.   We must view Yao and Yi not necessarily as agents of change, but as representative of shifts in Chinese culture.  The following is an analysis of this week's coverage of the Yao-Yi match-up from the online English edition of the People's Daily, the Chinese Communist Party's authoritative newspaper (PD.) [The articles were originally published in the China Daily and reprinted for the People's Daily online edition.]

The cultural shift that the PD describes (and sanctions as acceptable for the state) pits "traditional" Chinese values against a younger "vanguard" generation.

Leading the Houston Rockets is Yao, a man born to one of the most traditio nal sports families in Shanghai. He received strict and systematic basketball training over the years without ever getting to see an NBA game on TV or wear name-brand basketball shoes.

At the other end, Yi: a post-1985 generation from Shenzhen, China's vanguard city in reform and opening-up. The youngster idolizes Michael Jordan and spent most of his childhood playing street basketball until he was noticed by a pro coach in a three-on-three street-ball national tournament. -- People's Daily, Nov 9 2007

While the clash is depicted as an internal battle, the allusion to Michael Jordan suggests that the PD understands Yi's generation as having adopted and learned this new style from the United States.  Nonetheless, the relationship is not a simply between imperialist/impersonalized but one between Chinese generations.  Western culture is not being imposed on the Chinese people, but being offered as an alternative model which China can emulate (or not.)

In fact, the PD does not present this culture clash as one emanating from the state.

Amid all the excitement, the game will be - as fans have called it - a clash of Chinese cultures; tradition verses trend; modesty against flamboyance.

The PD emphasizes that "fans have called it" a culture clash, suggesting that the impetus for and battle over change comes from the population itself.  This characterization does not necessarily conflict with the general understanding of China's "modernization" efforts.  Since Deng Xiaoping's regime in 1978 (lasting until the early 1990's,) the Chinese government has emphasized a loosening of state control over Chinese society.  Specifically, the government began to mix nationalized industry with economic independence and individual ownership. 

Nonetheless, the state has made sure to maintain control over the pace of change as leaders attempt to avoid political upheaval (such as the "Tienanmen Square Massacre" of 1989) or economic collapse (such as Russian hyperinflation in the early 1990's under Boris Yeltsin's watch.)  Not unlike the United States, the Chinese government has made sure to slow down economic growth in order to avoid a "bursting bubble."  The state continues to control the media. As the New York Times reported on the pet food scandal this summer,

As of late Friday, however, the report of the nationwide inspections was being carried only in the English-language versions of Xinhua, as well as the English-language versions of other state-controlled newspapers, like People's Daily and China Daily. -- New York Times, May 5 2007

Thus, the Chinese state sanctions certain developments in the media (e.g., the Yao's traditionalism vs. Yi's generation), while censoring others (e.g., China's contamination scandal.) 

We must appreciate that access to information in China is not only a matter of how much or little reporting the state allows the population to read.  We must appeciate that there remains an asymmetrical relationship of intellectual capitol between China and the United States.  For example, the PD reports,

The game [between Houston and Milwaukee] attracts world attention and 250 million Chinese audience, according to estimated statistics of NBA.com. -- People's Daily, Nov 10 2007

Likewise,

According to Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, more than 100 million Chinese fans are expected to watch the game via a national telecast on CCTV or regional telecasts on networks in Shanghai and Guangdong province, to be aired live on Saturday morning in China. --  People's Daily, Nov 9 2007

What is fascinating about these quotes is that there is no mention of Chinese estimates of viewership, and indeed these statistics do not seem to exist.  The newspaper relies on American statistics for number of Chinese viewers.  Imagine if a Chinese soap-opera were imported to the United States.  Would the USA Today rely on Chinese statistics to quantify American viewership?  Certainly not.  Lack of information in China is not merely a matter of lack of freedom, but also a product of an underdeveloped media/academic/technological infrastructure for quantification.

The cultural shift in China goes beyond matters of capitalism and consumption.   The PD suggests fundamental changes in attitudes concerning public vs private and acceptable emotional displays.  As the PD writes of "Yao-Yi: 1,"

This is like the Super Bowl - in China...the excitement in China will be as palpable as that peculiar American quasi-holiday when virtually the whole nation stands glued to their television sets, amid parties and wild celebrations.

In a similar fashion, fan clubs of both Yi and Yao will host game parties around the country. The early-season showdown could change Chinese people's traditional definitions of watching a ball game, as they flock to bars and playgrounds with beers and basketballs in their hands.

"We always stay at home and watch the game, but A-lian (Yi's nickname in China) and Big Yao gave us a passion we want to share, so we will go out and enjoy the game together for the first time."

Compared with sports-crazed Western fans, who routinely go out to bars and restaurants for major sporting events, Chinese fans tend to be more introverted and are somehow not as willing to share their feelings. -- People's Daily, Nov 9 2007

As 16-year-old Yi-thusiast, Shen Ye, told the PD:

"I am not shy to say this is a big step for me...Stepping out of my private space and into the crowd is an exciting move for me. I don't know how it feels to watch my idol with 100 guys like me, but I am sure it would be more interesting than watching my small television on the sofa. -- People's Daily, Nov 9 2007

The growth in "game parties" suggests the emergence of a new model for personal interactions: one that blurs the lines between family and friends and offers new opportunities for intimacy.

It should be noted that the shift in Chinese culture is not simply a product of engagement with the United States.   The PD reports that immigrant groups have also exposed the Chinese population to public fan-dom.  Like superbowl parties, China has also seen:

Parties like the ones at The Den earlier this year, where Australian and Indian fans battled it out during the Cricket World Cup. -- People's Daily, Nov 9 2007

The PD notes that the Cricket-watching is a "sports gala that very few Chinese even know about."  Nonetheless, the acknowledgment of a heterogeneity in China is a big step.  It suggests that cultural changes come not only from engagement with foreign media and imported commodities, but also from Australian  and Indian immigrant groups in China.

Finally, the PD depicts not only cultural shifts but changes in China's geo-political future.  The rise of Yao and Yi is described as part of a multi-national challenge to American hegemony.  As the PD writes,

So for both teams [the game between Houston and Milwaukee] was just one game in 82, to the rest of the world, it shows basketball is once again a universal language, one in which we can all understand. -- People's Daily, Nov 11 2007

In other words, the Association has ceased to be an American game. The world has adopted basketball as an international sport. Yet note the comparison the PD makes in the lead of its article,

At the Toyota Center in Houston, Texax [sic], basketball history was made on the same scale as when Russian Alexander Belov hit the game winner as time expired in the 1972 Olympics Games, causing the Americans their first Olympic defeat ever in men's basketball internationally. --  People's Daily, Nov 11 2007

This analogy compares the Houston-Milwaukee/Yao-Yi matchup to the Soviet victory over the US in 1972.  In other words the newspaper compares the state of China today with the Soviet superpower relationship to the United States in the midst of the Cold War.  In the two quotes we can see rival images of the rise of China.  In the first the PD depicts China as part of the larger international community that collectively challenges the United States' hegemony by creating a multipolar world.  Yet in the second quote, China is depicted as a potential superpower rival that could create a newly bipolar world. We, thereby, see competing images of China's potential position in the global balance-of-power.

Two more notes.

• A baffling statistic: "Millions of Chinese watch NBA games, and 30% of the traffic to NBA.com comes from China." (People's Daily, Nov 9 2007)

• Finally, an odd story.  I have no sense of why this would be reported.  One could certainly speculate.  Inserted between articles about the Yao-Yi matchup and NBA game recaps, the PD reports, "American Player to Play With Lebanese Basketball Team":

"The team players who are training under the instructions of national coach Ghassan Sarkis are expecting the arrival of American players to be tested in Damascus match-ups before officially signing up with Champville club, said the report." -- People's Daily, Nov 10 2007

Certainly the Chinese Communist Party seems hyper-aware of the United State's relationship with Middle Eastern nations.