Introduction
Due to globalization, international sports have not only brought about economic gains but also major cultural influences throughout the world. Such information is delivered by sports celebrities through the form of advertisements, endorsements, and marketing events. Amongst the prominent celebrities in the 20th century, Yao Ming was undoubtedly the most influential Asian icon who topped ‘The Forbes Chinese Celebrity List’ for consecutive six years (2004-2009) (Haozhou P, 2019, p.16)
The 5 times NBA (National Basketball Association) All-Star player displayed not just great basketball skills but also his humble and likable personality on and off the court which attributed to his extreme success and popularity. Using basketball as a universal language, Yao Ming introduced China to the rest of the world getting them to know about the new image of rising China. Considering the international image of Yao Ming and his influence on the two nations, the global icon has brought about the development of U.S-China relations; politically, economically, and culturally (Haozhou P, 2019, p.vi) This paper will not be focusing on Yao Ming’s on-court achievement but the cultural influences brought about by his presence in both country.
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The Asian Image (Stereotype)
Negative image associated with Asians has been ongoing in the United States since the building of Transcontinental Railroads in the 1860s and the immigration of Chinese laborers during the California Gold Rush in the late 1840s (Jung Lee Y, 2019, p.26) Early days Asian immigrants were seen as low-level and cheap labors which built up the traditional stereotypes like garment workers, laundry man, etc. Racial tension arose in 1880 between White and Chinese laborers, Chinese immigrants were stereotyped as ‘nothing more than starving masses, beasts of burden, depraved heathens, and opium addicts’ (Jung Lee Y, 2019, p.26). Even in the 20th century, Chinese and Asian Americans were stereotyped as Kung Fu experts, technology nerds, and poorly speaking restaurateurs in Chinatown in the movies (Jung Lee Y, 2019, p.4).
However, in recent years, new Asian immigrant flows were seen differently as they were stereotyped as high achievers; such as capital investors and highly educated individuals. Yao Ming’s ‘flexible citizenship’ and his cultural significance as a prominent Asian figure were partially linked to the new image of Asian Americans, consisting of a highly educated and skilled labor force. ‘Flexible citizenship’ is an ideology on citizenship that defines the traditional citizenship view due to globalization where people choose their citizenship based on economic gains rather than political rights or participation within the nation (Haozhou P, 2019, p.42).
Physicality
The humiliation since the end of the Qing Dynasty robbed the confidence of the Chinese and even brought about the nickname of ‘Sick Man of East Asia’ by Japan and Western countries (Haozhou P, 2019, p.36). The nickname brought about a sense of physiological inferiority for Asians. The perceived image is further directed to the Asian sports which was believed most suited the Asian’s body structure and composition, such as gymnastics, table tennis, and badminton. Chinese sports are often associated with the ideas of agile, quick, and small which affected the reputation and development of Chinese sports on the international stage. The stereotype of contact sports like basketball was only for tall and big-sized people, the ten-foot hoop seemed to be too high for the vertically challenged Asian players. Confucian culture mainly attributes how Chinese sports were stereotyped as advocating self-restrain peace and which less favors less body contact sports. (Haozhou P, 2019, p.36).
Unlike other Asian sports stars, Yao Ming’s dominance in the NBA was partially attributed to his height together with his skills on the court, the 7 ft 6 player’s body structure is rarely seen in the Asian ethnicity: towering height with exceptional talent. The significant contrast of the physical image of Asians combined with the masculinized and African American-dominated NBA, Yao Ming’s physical appearance and talent changed the feminized stereotype of Asians and Asian Americans as being unathletic, short, and small-sized.
China Manufactured Products (Made in China)
‘Made in China’ products are often stereotyped negatively with association with bad quality, cheap, and unsafe to consume/use. One of the many examples such as poisonous milk powder containing melamine in 2008 that killed 6 babies and made 300,000 ill is one of the many incidents that took a huge toll on the reputation of Chinese products (BBC News, 2019). Human rights involved in manufacturing in China were also one of the concerns for ‘Made in China’ products. The negative stereotype of Chinese products is the result of negative consumer experiences and the influence of media coverage.
In the 20th century, cheap ‘Made in China’ products can no longer meet the needs of consumers as the demand for quality is on the rise. Nobody is more suitable than Yao Ming to bring forth the change of image for Chinese products. His humble and likable image and giant yet agile body deliver high quality. He is the symbol of a world-class product that has been successfully proven in the United States, filled with consumers’ expectations of high quality. In addition to Yao Ming’s team spirit, loyalty to the Chinese Nation, and tremendous work ethic also display the quality of the world-class ‘product’ to the rest of the world. Yao Ming’s reputable Asian image helped in shifting the stereotype image from ‘Made in China’ products to ‘Made by China’(Haozhou P, 2019, p.3).
Political Stereotype
To the Americans, China was still the poor and old country with a traditional image at the time of the cold war when the country was in poverty accompanied by issues such as debt problems, lack of human rights, and increasing military power (Haozhou P, 2019, p42). The Chinese government has been promoting itself as a rising country while minimizing the negative image as an aggressive power to the Western countries. The promotion of ‘soft power’ was favored by China in contrast to ‘hard power’ like military and political enforcement. The phrase ‘soft power’ refers to the ability to get what people want through admiration and attraction rather than through sheer force (Haozhou P, 2019, p.48). Despite the government’s effort to advocate ‘soft power’, people are still not much aware of it or view it as propaganda. For example, according to the 2008 CCGA soft power survey, the majority of Americans (94%) knew little to no about the concept of a ‘harmonious world’ that was heavily advocated by the Chinese government (Haozhou P, 2019, p.67).
Through Yao Ming’s global influence and transnational flexibility, he can be seen as a spokesperson for China’s advocation of ‘soft power’. His physicality, and reputation as an Asian global icon were the appropriate metaphors for China’s growing power, which was perceived as one of the nation’s ‘soft powers’. Yao Ming presented a humane and friendly image of China to the Americans through his characteristics, values, and active involvement in protecting wildlife with the Chinese government.
Asian Sports Scene
The slogan ‘Promote Physical Culture and Build Up the People’s Health’ was heavily advocated by Chairman Mao Zedong and it quickly spread throughout the country. (Haozhou P, 2019, p.36). The Chinese government wanted its citizens to portray a new image to the world, signifying the rebirth of the superpower. The need for a new image is partly attributed to the type of sports the Chinese play. Badminton, table tennis, gymnastics, and the traditional Taichi are often stereotyped as less masculine and competitive than Western sports (Haozhou P, 2019, p.36). Chinese athletes are often seen as physically inferior: vertically challenged, skinny, and less muscular. The representative image of Chinese sports and athletes lacks the masculinity that resembles the rising power of China. During that time, it was generally believed that ‘small balls’ (badminton, table tennis) would not change the inferior image of Chinese sports. That wasn’t the case until the emergence of sports stars like Yao Ming.
The growth of Western sports was significant in the past decade, highly competitive sports such as basketball, soccer, and volleyball. In 2018, more than 300 million people in China played basketball (Yanan, W, 2019). When Yao Ming entered the NBA as a first-draft pick in 2002, his first game drew more than 200 million views and immense attention in China (Yanan, W, 2019). He was the nation’s pride, one of the very few Asian athletes in the African American-dominated NBA. Yao Ming’s global influence brought about a change in traditional Chinese athletes’ image in America. With his modesty, work ethic, physicality, and social responsibility, Yao Ming presented a more humble and patriotic image of a Chinese athlete to the Americans.
With Yao Ming’s presence and fame growing in China, the NBA took the chance to expand its business by playing the Rockets’ (Yao Ming’s team) preseason games there. In 2016, the NBA played 12 preseason games in the country over four cities and opened basketball academies in Jinan, Urumqi, and Hangzhou (LoRé M, 2019). All of those training centers were well equipped and staffed with NBA trainers to cultivate talents in China.
Since they retired from the NBA, Yao Ming has been appointed as the president of CBA (China Basketball Association), the most competitive basketball league in China (Ma W, 2018). He aimed to cultivate more talents in the nation and make games more profitable for team owners to re-invest back into the sport. Efforts ranged from the way players are groomed through state-sponsored systems to curbing government control of the league (Ma W, 2018). The growth of basketball culture in China brought about by Yao Ming instilled confidence in Chinese sports as it is now the 4th most-played sport in China with 18% of Chinese athlete playing (Wang P, 2019).
Protecting Wildlife
Yao Ming is no stranger to conservation activism, his active partnership with WildAid (an international conservation group) to raise awareness of reducing the consumption of shark fins and ivory brought about a positive image to the Chinese, as most of the market demand came from Asia. Shark fin is seen as a Chinese delicacy symbolizing wealth and prestige despite the fact the lack of nutritional value (Tsoi G, 2019). China was once the largest market, accounting for 95% of global consumption (Tsoi G, 2019). Since the direct Chinese translation for shark fin is ‘fish wing soup’, 75% of Chinese respondents according to WildAid have no idea the delicacy came from sharks and some believed the fins would grow back (WildAid, 2019). Yao Ming tackled the issue by raising awareness of the shark-finning process and the consequences of consuming shark fin. More than 600 billboards on Yao’s anti-shark fin campaign have been put up in Beijing and major cities (Tsoi G, 2019). Through a survey conducted by WildAid in Shanghai, Beijing, Chengdu and Guangzhou, 85% of the respondents have not consumed shark fin in three years with 66% of them claiming it was due to awareness brought about by the campaign. (Tsoi G, 2019).
Like shark fin soup, owning ivory is a symbol of wealth and prosperity for the Chinese and the Yao Ming put tremendous effort into changing that perception and battle against poaching (Hinckley S, 2019). In 2014, Yao suggested at the National People’s Congress that sales of ivory should be banned in China and it came true in 2016 when the government made it official (Ellie N, 2019). Yao Ming also produced the first documentary film on ivory poaching with WildAid which was aired nationally on China Central Television (CCTV) in 2012 (R Barmé G, 2019). Additionally, Yao launched one of the biggest public awareness campaigns involving more than US$180 million in funds donated, featuring global icons such as David Beckham, Sir Richard Branson, and Prince William (WildAid, 2019).
According to government data, shark fin consumption in China dropped by about 80% since 2011 (Tsoi G, 2019). Ivory poaching in Africa is declining. As a global megastar, Yao Ming presented a more humane image of the Asian community to the rest of the world through his influence and fame, together with the aid of international conservation groups and the Chinese government.
Conclusion
Through the analysis from this paper, there is no doubt Yao Ming symbolizes the development of Chinese society and his duo social identity further improved the U.S. – China relations by integrating basketball into the Chinese culture and getting the Americans to have a whole new impression of the Chinese society. Yao Ming acted as a stereotype breaker representing the ‘model minority’ with his unique personality and physical image. Yao further utilized his fame and influence to protect and preserve the wildlife that was mainly caused by ongoing demands from the Chinese market, which brought about a humane image for Asians. Yao Ming is the personification of the rising China as an emerging superpower with thousands of years of civilization culture while diminishing the reputation of Asians as the ‘Sick Man of East Asia'.
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