Significance of Chinese Sentimental Objects in Intimate Relationships
(You don't have to write the exact the same structure I gave, just write whatever you think is better.)
(Should follow the file'CYP methods od enquiry Experiential or representational' and need to put the Interview I gave you in this essay )
Some reference I will put in the file.
Title:The value changes of contemporary Chinese memorials in intimate relations
The value of contemporary Chinese monuments in intimate relationships
Structure:
Introduction:
Mainbody:
The first paragraph: Grandma's story: When I was young, my grandma often told me the story between her and grandpa. What impressed me the most was the story she told when she got married. At that time, China went through a difficult period of three years, also known as the Three-Year Famine, which refers to a period of nationwide famine in the People's Republic of China from 1959 to 1961. Some scholars included 1958 and 1962 as a period of famine. According to estimates by various parties, the great famine that occurred during the three-year difficult period caused a total of 15 to 55 million abnormal deaths in mainland China. It is widely regarded as the largest famine in human history, and it is also regarded as the largest in human history. One of the serious man-made disasters.（https://zh(dot)wikipedia(dot)org/wiki/%E4%B8%89%E5%B9%B4%E5%9B%B0%E9%9A%BE%E6%97%B6%E6%9C%9F）When grandma married grandpa, she sewed a pair of underwear as a wedding gift for grandpa. For the Chinese at that time, eating enough was a problem. My grandma told me that people at that time got married by sewing a pair of underwear, a new dress, or a new quilt. These items remind me of people's wedding rings today. As a student majoring in jewelry design, I am very curious about what has changed people's choice of giving memorabilia in intimate relationships? Before the ring was used as an expression of a wedding memorial,，In China in the 1950s, people had nothing to give to each other because the material level was very low and people had almost no material requirements. People in the 1960s generally regarded a bed, a kettle, a spittoon, and a washbasin as wedding souvenirs. The total value added up to about 15 yuan. Although it seems not to mention it now, it was a sky-high price at the time. The memorials in the 1970s included a bed, a table, a cupboard, a cupboard and 4 chairs. At that time, the total value was about 200 yuan, which was considered a luxury. In China in the 1980s, people's material level gradually improved. The memorials included a watch, a sewing machine and a bicycle. And these three things have to recognize the brand. The best watch is Shanghai brand, the sewing machine is butterfly brand, and the bicycle is permanent brand. It can be seen that people have gradually pursued brand and quality of life at that time. The four major pieces of marriage in the 1990s have become refrigerators, washing machines, tape recorders, and televisions, with a total value of almost 3,000 yuan.
First paragraph: (Mainly talk about)
When I was a little girl, my grandmother used to tell me stories about her and my grandfather. One of the stories that impressed me the most was the one she told that happened when she was married. At that time, China was going through the Three Years of Hardship, also known as the Three Years Famine, a period of national famine in the People's Republic of China between 1959 and 1961, and some scholars classify 1958 and 1962 as the famine period. According to various estimates, the famine that occurred during the Three Years of Hardship caused a total of 15 to 55 million unnatural deaths in mainland China, and is widely regarded as the largest famine in human history and as one of the worst man-made disasters in human history. (https://zh(dot)wikipedia(dot)org/wiki/%E4%B8%89%E5%B9%B4%E5%9B%B0%E9%9A%BE%E6%97%B6%E6%9C%9F) When my grandmother married my grandfather, she hand-sewed a pair of pants as a wedding gift for him. During that period it was a problem for the Chinese to have enough food to eat. Grandma told me that the most people got married in those days was to sew a pair of underpants, a new dress, or a new quilt. These items reminded me of the wedding rings people have today. As a student of jewellery design, I was curious as to what has changed the choice of souvenirs people give in their intimate relationships. Before rings were used as an expression of a wedding memento, people in China in the 1950s had nothing to give each other because the material level was very low and people had few material wants. In the 1970s, souvenirs included a bed, a table, a cupboard, a cabinet and four chairs, the total value of which was about 200 yuan, which was a luxury purchase. These three items were also branded. A watch was preferably a Shanghai brand, a sewing machine was a butterfly brand and a bicycle was a permanent brand. In the 1990s, the four major items for a wedding became a refrigerator, a washing machine, a tape recorder and a television, with a total value of almost 3,000 yuan. https://www(dot)gdjlwl(dot)com/peisong_278861
In the changes in China's monuments over the years, we can draw a conclusion. From the initial pair of underwear to the present ring, this is a change from high to low use value. Before the 1980s, people still focused on meeting daily life needs, such as a bed, tables, chairs and cabinets. In the 1990s, after the material level gradually improved, people began to pay attention to the improvement of the quality of life. Nowadays, people use a small ring as a wedding memorial. Compared with the wedding memorials before the 90s, the ring has almost no use value in daily life. On the contrary, its artistic value and commemorative value are higher than its use value.
One conclusion can be drawn from the changes in Chinese souvenirs over the years. It is a change from a pair of pants in the beginning to a ring in the present day, a change from high to low use value. Before the 1980s, people still focused on meeting their daily needs, such as a bed, table, chair and cupboard. In the 1990s, when material standards gradually improved, people began to focus on improving the quality of life. Nowadays, people use a small ring as a wedding memento. In contrast to pre-1990s wedding tokens, the ring has almost no use in everyday life; instead, it has more artistic and commemorative value than its use.
Second paragraph: The different materials of wedding rings nowadays. Need to join the interview in interview.
1. Why do people like to choose gold rings, the reason for their value preservation?
2. Why did diamond rings gradually become mainstream?
3. What other expressions do people like to use instead of wedding rings? Tattoo ring? etc.
Pursue a sense of ritual and a spiritual contract.
Compared with other wedding rings, on the basis of cost and design, does it have additional spiritual value?
1. The meaning of the wedding ring before marriage: promise, contract, ceremony.
2. The meaning of the wedding ring in marriage: the embodiment of security, status and identity
3. The meaning of the wedding ring after the divorce: the original value was taken away and given a new meaning. recall.
4. After the death of the other half, the meaning of the wedding ring. 1. After my mother passed away, in memory of my mother, my father wore a ring on his little finger to commemorate her. 2. Morning jewelry in the Victorian period.
Second paragraph: the different materials used in today's wedding rings. Need to include the ‘INTERVIEW‘.
1. why do people prefer gold rings, the reason for retaining their value
2. diamond rings, why are they becoming mainstream?
3. what other expressions do people like to use instead of wedding rings? Tattoo rings? And so on.
The quest for ritual, the spiritual contract.
Is there a spiritual value attached to the existence of a wedding ring compared to other, based on cost and design
1. the pre-marital meaning of the wedding ring: commitment, contract, ritual.
2. the significance of the wedding ring in the marriage: security, status and identity
3. The meaning of the wedding ring after divorce: the original value is taken away and given a new meaning. Memories.
4. the meaning of the wedding ring after the death of the other half. 1. after my mother died, my father wore a ring on his little finger in her memory. 2. the Victorian Era- morning jewellery.
The third paragraph:
After the increase in material, people's sense of happiness continues to decrease. Reasons for the spike in divorce rates.
As people's material life improves, the prices and choices of these monuments become uncontrollable. After people’s threshold for memorials is raised, the level of happiness gradually decreases. Analyze the phenomena and causes of contemporary society.
Argue: Should people go back to the essence of love? The necessity of material life.
Third paragraph.
People's happiness continues to diminish instead as material things improve. The reason for the soaring divorce rate.
The price and choice of these mementoes becomes uncontrollable as people's material life increases. The reasons for the gradual decrease in happiness after the threshold for the souvenirs has been raised. Analyse the phenomenon and its causes in contemporary society.
Arguement: whether people should go back to the essence of love. The necessity of a material life.
Conclusion:
THE CHANGING SIGNIFICANCE OF CHINESE SENTIMENTAL OBJECTS IN INTIMATE RELATIONSHIPS
Student’s Name
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Contents TOC \o "1-3" \h \z \u Introduction PAGEREF _Toc94033190 \h 2Research Questions PAGEREF _Toc94033191 \h 4Methodology PAGEREF _Toc94033192 \h 4Findings PAGEREF _Toc94033193 \h 5Discussion PAGEREF _Toc94033194 \h 8Consumption PAGEREF _Toc94033195 \h 8Consumer Culture PAGEREF _Toc94033196 \h 9Influences to these incidents PAGEREF _Toc94033197 \h 12The Value on Intimate Relationships PAGEREF _Toc94033198 \h 13Conclusion PAGEREF _Toc94033199 \h 14Bibliography PAGEREF _Toc94033200 \h 16
The Changing Significance of Chinese Sentimental Objects in intimate relationships
Introduction
Sentimental objects are structures or tools designed to commemorate a person or an event. These objects can include artworks, ornaments, and cultural asset. Use of these objects in China are a common occurrence and mainly reminds one of big events, such as marriage or death. Among the Chinese culture, these sentimental objects have been evolving with the changing times to represent the value that one attaches on something. Rings, necklaces, and other gifts awarded to people during special occasions are common examples of sentimental objects because they help them remember or commemorate the special event or day (CG Sculpture and Jewelry 2019). When an individual graduates, they are given a present in commemoration of their graduation. Similarly, when one weds, they get gifts that will help them remember their wedding day. This report analyzes the use of these tools in establishing the value of marriage as an intimate relationship between two people. It shows the Chinese cultural evolution towards materialism. The study utilizes a narrative approach involving the experiences of different people who existed during the different times, specifically from the 1950s, when the gifting process began, to date. The narrations are then classified into themes, which form the basis of the discussion on how the culture has evolved to become more and more materialistic.
The research shows the evolution of materialism in the Chinese culture, whereby traditionally, people were more focused on meeting their basic needs. However, as they satisfy those requirements, they develop a higher level of needs that again require them to work towards satisfying. Before the 1950s, people wedded without being expected to provide significant amounts of dowry payments. All they needed were a few items that would help them raise their children. However, with time, they increased their valuation of relationships and opted for more expensive items as a show of commitment and appreciation. Today, sustaining intimate relationships is quite challenging because the people have become extremely materialistic and will only gauge one’s commitment from how much they are willing to spend. Partners who lack the financial resources to back up their love claims often loose their lovers to others with the financial muscle.
The trend can be equated to the Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, a pyramid characterized by psychological needs at the bottom and self-actualization at the top. As the society has continued evolving, it has also advanced in the fulfilment of its needs according to the hierarchy. In the early 1950s, when China was suffering from an economic crisis, people were more concerned with satisfying the psychological needs. However, as they stabilized, their needs also shifted and they began focusing on their safety, belonging, esteem, and eventually self-actualization. Consequently, unlike in the 1950s, where one could only express their love for their partner by meeting their basic psychological needs, the modern intimate relationships demand more as the partners focus on self-actualization. The same trend can be noted around the world, whereby one’s satisfaction with a relationship may not depend on the basic psychological needs satisfied, but on the value of the products provided.
Prominent Wedding Gifts in the 1950s- 1970s
Prominent Wedding Gifts in the 1980s - Date
Research Questions
1. How have the values changed over the different generations or time period?
2. What are the influences that have made this happen?
3. What value do contemporary Chinese monuments play in intimate relationships?
Methodology
There are several approaches in collecting data. This research involved the use of narrative research approach. The most common narrative research techniques include looking at the oral history of the given group, engaging in an interview with an individual who understands the specific culture, or reading material culture of the stated society. This research utilized the three techniques to understand the evolution of Chinese relationships and their representation using different forms of materials possessions. Oral history is a method of conducting historical research by recording a narration from an individual with a personal experience of the historically significant events (McHenry Library). In this research, used my grandmother’s narration concerning what used to happen from the 1950s to date. The use of oral history as a method of collecting data gave me the opportunity to collect firsthand information from a person who experienced the events. The technique also allowed me to seek for clarifications about some of the concepts that were unclear. However the use of this method was also challenging because the narrator is bound to forget certain important concepts. In my case, I realized that my grandmother tended to repeat certain ideas and also forgot others. Consequently, I decided to supplement the information by interviewing my step-mother’s father concerning his marriage and the gifts he received or gave out during their wedding. I also talked to my father concerning the types of wedding gifts that our grandparents bought. Finally, I inquired from my friends about their dating experiences and some of the reasons why they broke up. Interviewing the four people, my grandmother, my step-mother’s father, my father, and my friends provided an excellent picture of the generational transformation of wedding gifts. After conducting the interviews, I then proceeded to research different literary sources to learn the perspective of the various authors about the topic. I researched about the Chinese history and how the changing culture influenced relationships. I focused more on the concept of material culture to understand the changing trend in the materials given during wedding times, and how these materials have been changing with time. My search also centered on wealth and the role it played in intimate relationships. The search involved the valuation of love. The ultimate goal was to establish how the people settled on using the ring as a sign of love and commitment, compared to the other traditional materials that were more useful in people’s daily lives. A proper understanding of the entire process called for a research into the process of getting married, which involved evaluation of the different years and social conditions that shaped the gifts provided. The views obtained from these interviews combined with the research were then categorized into themes for discussion purposes. The themes were mainly centered on wealth and love and how the two concepts changed from the 1950s to the modern times.
Findings
As a young girl, my grandmother often narrated to me her marriage story. The one thing that impressed me the most was how she got married. During this time, China was undergoing a difficult period of famine that lasted from 1959 to 1961, whereas others state that the famine began in 1958 to 1962 (Bianco, 2013). The famine, which is taunted as the greatest famine in human history, led to between 15 and 55 million deaths in mainland China. When my grandmother married my grandfather, she sewed a pair of underwear and a wedding gift for him. During that time, finding food to eat was a challenge and in grandma’s narration, people gifted each other a pair of underwear, a new dress, or a new quilt as a wedding gift. These items sparked my memory of the modern wedding rings that couples give each other as a show of commitment. As a jewelry design student, I am prompted to compare these traditional gifts and those that people give each other in contemporary weddings. I begin asking myself questions as to why people stopped giving each other memorabilia in their intimate relationships. Before people embraced rings as a symbol of marriage, in the 1950s, the Chinese did not have anything to give each other since the material level was extremely low and people did not have the material requirements. However, as people ushered in the 1960s, their materials requirements began increasing as they started appreciating certain things that play an important role in the house. During this period, the people gifted each other a bed, a kettle, a spittoon, and a washbasin as wedding gifts. All these items cost approximately 15 Yuan. While the price appears to be low, it was high at the time. The prices gifted to the people kept changing and in the 1970s, the materials included a bed, a table, a cupboard, and four chairs. The total cost for all these items was 200 Yuan, which was a luxury. The materials continued improving and in the 1980s, the gifts included a watch, a sewing machine, and a bicycle. As the number of materials given increased, people also began considering the quality of those products in terms of the brand. The best watch was the Shanghai brand, whereas the butterfly brand provided the best sewing machine. The best bicycle was from the permanent brand. Therefore, rather than only focusing on the quantity of the items, people began appreciating more the quality of the items. The 1990s marriage featured four major materials: refrigerators, washing machines, tape recorders, and televisions. All these materials amounted to approximately 3,000 Yuan.
However, as we got into the 20th century, people began opting for rings as their preferred way of commemorating marriage. The materials given were no longer needed to serve specific functions but for remembrance purposes. People had learned being attached to things and found it harder to use them or to let them go. For example, a retired Post Office worker stated that she held fond memories of all presents given to her. To her, these things are supposed to help use remember the donor, whether a friend or a relative, some of who may be long gone (Purbrick, 1). The same desire is also expressed by a former nurse, who got married in 1963 and noted that she was attached to all her remaining wedding presents and that if she was to relocate to a smaller place, she would most certainly take them with her. This idea of people holding on to things for appreciation and remembrance culminated in the people beginning to focus on the quality of the materials they received. In the interview with my step-mother’s father, aged 62 years, I asked him the time when he got married and whether there were any weeding gifts. In his response, he stated that he god married in 1983 and at the time, he bought a gold ring and gave it to my grandmother. He proceeds to state that the ring was extremely expensive and cost him all the money. According to his response, people like to choose gold rings because of their value preservation. Gold was a valuable metal at the time and hence could hold on to its value for long compared to the gifts that were common. Hence, many people bought the gold ring to symbolize the value they had about the relationship. Therefore, if you appreciated your partner, then you would go an extra mile of finding a gold ring and purchasing it for them. With time, the gold ring started losing its value in the wake of the advent of diamond. As my grandfather confirms in the interview, he replaced the gold ring with a diamond one in 2003. Similarly, the interview with my step mother aged 37 revealed that she got married in 2003 and her ex-husband bought her a diamond ring. Even after divorce, she did not throw it away but kept it for her daughter. She proceeds to state that while the ring does not mean anything to her, it is worth 200,000 RMB and with a lot of memories of her past. The shift from gold to diamond could have been occasioned by the quality of the material. Diamond, being the hardest metal, can last longer and hence more ideal for long storage times. An interview with a male friend aged 28 years revealed a similar trend of giving people gifts as an appreciation. However, the gift culture has become so significant in people’s lives that one does not have to wait for their wedding to give or receive a gift. Instead, people constantly exchange gifts to an extend that some cannot even remember what they gave their partner. In the interview with my male friend, he stated that he had given his fiancée so many gifts that he could not even remember. On asking him what happened to the gifts after they broke up, he said that he locked his gifts in a box and would not want to look at them. On the contrary, his fiancé had said that she would return all the gifts but later said that she would never want to see him again and threw them away. Amid all the gifts, one that he clearly remembers even though he never gave it to...