We cannot ascribe American disinterest in Chinese popular culture to disinterest in China, for interest is high, nor to American cultural xenophobia, which is real, but not dominant. The Chinese title of this paper, 渠成水不到, reverses the Chinese phrase 水到渠成 to suggest that the fault may lie with Chinese popular culture itself. 水到渠成 (when water comes a channel appears) means that when flood waters cross a plain, they will find a channel even where none can at first be seen. By extension, the phrase means that success will come when conditions are ripe. In the case of Chinese cultural transmission to the United States, however, the channels are clearly delineated—America is ready—but no water flows. No cultural nourishment from China reaches us. Again, what explains this failure? What makes Chinese popular culture ill suited to American tastes?
School Authors: Robert Daly
Other Authors: Larry Diamond, Orville Schell