What is "Chinese Culture"?

To understand this phrase you have to remove the mask of stereotypes and clichés that weigh it down.  Let's look at something thats the complete opposite of this ambiguity of this phrase:  Marina Abramovic's: The Artist is Present.

It appears to be a woman sitting in a large clunky dress staring at a member of the public across a table.  Once a viewer is done, the person leaves and another sits staring at Abramovic.  Nothing special. But Marina Abromovic has sat on this chair during museum hours for 3 months!  She's not spacing off either.  If the viewer on the other chair is open to the present, she stares straight into you with full concentration.  Both are defenseless, the viewer senses emotion in it's purest form without hiding behind ego or pretext.

The general perception Chinese culture is the complete opposite.  Culture is old, traditional, full of symbolism.  It's 5000 years old and Confucius preaches it's morals.  But is is meaningful?

I forgot which survey, but there's always talk that China surpasses the entire world in math and science.  Was this due to "Chinese culture" ?  I doubt it.  The first line of the Analects quotes, "If there is the practice of learning, is there not joy?"  Were these kids happy when they were bubbling their multiple choice answers?  Both Chinese and non-Chinese have this preconceived notion that education will equate to success, but rarely do people question if the test itself is meaningful.  Barely after 100 years after the civil service exam during the Han Dynasty, it was riddled with corruption and bribery.  I doubt Confucius envisioned his predecessors to strive for perfects on the SAT.

Like a viewer looking into Marina's eyes, we have to let go of our own ego and prejudice when trying to find meaning behind culture.  Chinese culture isn't meaningful because of it's traits, it's meaningful through the values we can sense and intuit.  I hope that as I continue writing my blog, my viewers will find joy in learning.