An Anthropological Study of Ethnicity and the Reproduction of Culture In
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London School of Economics and Political Science An anthropological study of ethnicity and the reproduction of culture among Hong Kong Chinese families in Scotland Eona Margaret Bell A thesis submitted to the Department of Anthropology of the London School of Economics for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy London, October 2011 1 Declaration I certify that the thesis I have presented for examination for the MPhil/PhD degree of the London School of Economics and Political Science is solely my own work other than where I have clearly indicated that it is the work of others (in which case the extent of any work carried out jointly by me and any other person is clearly identified in it). The copyright of this thesis rests with the author. Quotation from it is permitted, provided that full acknowledgement is made. This thesis may not be reproduced without my prior written consent. I warrant that this authorisation does not, to the best of my belief, infringe the rights of any third party. I declare that my thesis consists of 81,554 words. 2 Abstract This thesis is about inter-generational relationships and the reproduction of culture in the family lives of Hong Kong Chinese people in Scotland. It is based on fifteen months of ethnographic fieldwork and informal interviews in family homes, Chinese language schools and community organizations in Edinburgh. A central question is that of ethnicity and how people learn to “be ethnic” while living in a Western, multicultural society. The first part asks what Scottish-born Chinese children learn about ethnicity through growing up in families who work in the ethnic catering trade. Chapter 1 introduces the themes of ambition and achievement, and the mixed emotions associated with this sometimes-stigmatized occupation. Chapter 2 focuses on ideas about the duties of parents, drawing on life stories of three generations of Chinese Scots to describe their decisions concerning childcare and schooling. The second section concerns the learning of specific cultural practices – language and handicrafts – in the institutional context of Chinese complementary schools. Chapters 3 and 4 show that these are important spaces where people feel part of a group with shared moral responsibility for the maintenance and transmission of culture. The question of “authenticity” in both cultural practice and interpersonal relationships is discussed. Chapters 5 and 6 explore how Hong Kong Chinese Scots are responding to the rise of China as a global economic and cultural power. Ethnographic data from Chinese New Year celebrations in Edinburgh, and Mandarin language classes for Cantonese-speaking children suggest that people may engage in “inauthentic” cultural practices for strategic economic or political reasons. However, these articulations of ethnic identity are also important for the nurture of inter-generational relationships. The thesis concludes with the argument that Chinese Scots take a future- orientated approach to family and community life, drawing selectively on the resources of inter-ethnic ties and language to prepare their children for a changing economic and social environment. 3 Contents Contents ........................................................................................... 4 Acknowledgements ........................................................................... 6 Note on transliteration of Chinese terms ........................................... 7 Introduction ...................................................................................... 8 Ethnicity, multiculturalism and groups................................................................... 12 Cultural reproduction in families ............................................................................ 18 The rise of individualism in Chinese society .......................................................... 23 Chinese people in Scotland ..................................................................................... 29 Census data ............................................................................................................. 29 Studying Hong Kong Chinese people in Edinburgh............................................... 33 Scotland as a setting for research ............................................................................ 43 Part 1 Reproducing culture in families ............................................ 49 Chapter 1 Getting away from the takeaway: stigma and pride in the ethnic catering trade ....................................................................... 50 Chinese caterers in the British class system ........................................................... 56 Hierarchy and class in the Edinburgh Chinese catering trade ................................ 59 Choosing to work in a restaurant ............................................................................ 63 Chain migration and the matter of trust .................................................................. 64 Insiders and outsiders ............................................................................................. 68 Conclusion .............................................................................................................. 69 Chapter 2 Tiger mothers with feather dusters? Parenting choices for restaurant families .......................................................................... 72 Life stories: three generations bringing up children in the West ............................ 76 The moral duty of parents ....................................................................................... 82 A parent’s role in education .................................................................................... 84 Parental control over children’s behaviour ............................................................. 85 Children’s care for their parents ............................................................................. 87 Conclusion .............................................................................................................. 90 Part 2 Reproducing culture as community ...................................... 93 Chapter 3 The success and failure of “group-making” in Chinese community language schools ........................................................... 94 A lesson in relationships ......................................................................................... 98 Forming a peer group............................................................................................ 102 The role of parents in the Chinese school ............................................................. 105 4 Parents as teachers ................................................................................................ 106 Being custodians of “Chinese culture” in Scotland .............................................. 108 Partnership with mainstream schools ................................................................... 113 Conclusion ............................................................................................................ 115 Chapter 4 The tie that binds: gender and handicrafts in the reproduction of culture .................................................................. 118 A women’s domain of knowledge ........................................................................ 123 A social space for women ..................................................................................... 125 Hedonized technology .......................................................................................... 126 Cultural authenticity and multiculturalism ........................................................... 128 Knotting as an invented tradition .......................................................................... 129 Lily’s story ............................................................................................................ 131 Adorning the home ............................................................................................... 134 Leisure time for men ............................................................................................. 137 Conclusion ............................................................................................................ 139 Part 3 Reproducing culture as Chinese overseas ............................ 141 Chapter 5 Chinese New Year celebrations in Edinburgh: preserving tradition or celebrating integration................................................. 142 Chinese New Year Celebration at the Edinburgh Festival Theatre ...................... 146 “Shanghai Nostalgia Extravaganza” at the Sheraton Hotel .................................. 153 Preserving and passing on tradition ...................................................................... 157 Contingency and transience .................................................................................. 158 Chapter 6 Like a chicken talking to a duck: the shifting values of speaking Chinese in Scotland .......................................................... 163 On not speaking English ....................................................................................... 167 Hakka – a language of the past? ........................................................................... 170 Cantonese, language of family and tradition ........................................................ 171 Language and the Chinese person ........................................................................ 173 Mandarin