Culture Change In Chinatown
Part 1
/^ULTURE change is a process by which old institutions, behavior, artifacts and symbols are modified or replaced by new ones. This process may proceed rapidly or slowly, with or without serious dislocations. Culture change may receive its impetus from within or from contact with a foreign culture. Since it is a continuous process the culture as a whole is never in a state of perfect integration, hence the presence of certain elements which, at best, seem to serve no useful purpose, or, at worst, are actually destructive. English spelling is an example of such an anachronism.
It is not correct to say, as some writers have, that the Chinese in Chinatown have not changed very much. It is true that in some respects
This is a report from Health, Welfare and Social Organization in Chinatown prepared by New York City's Community Service Society.
they are more conservative than their brethren in China, but all the groups discussed have made adaptations to a greater or lesser degree to living in North American cities. In order to stay out of trouble one must learn to cook with gas or electricity, dispose of wastes properly, cope with traffic, pay income tax and do many other things, many of which are alien to the traditional rural society of China. However, even when such adaptations are made it is possible for groups to retain much of their heritage through many generations in spite of intensive culture contact with a dominant society. Tribalism among American Indians is a vivid example of this.
It is the purpose of this section to introduce the reader to certain principles of culture change as they relate to social structure in order that social disorganization in Chinatown may be better understood.
Any time a relatively small group from one culture is submerged in a
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CHINATOWN NEWS, MAY 18, 1964