Is there any issues with using western influences in a pre-colonial era Northeast Asian-coded setting? For example, I have a setting heavily based on China, but have taken some aesthetic cues from European architecture, art, and culture (notably Georgian and Roman architecture, and western-style Oil Painting and Roman sculpture) and I'm worried that this has vaguely imperialist undertones.
Western Influences in Chinese Settings
China is a huge country with a really immense history. Its borders and influences have fluctuated a lot over time. Why not pull from that?? You have a vast amount of source material you can use.
Why canât China just be enough by itself???
I agree with Stella. Look at the Tang Dynasty, for example, considered Chinaâs golden age. Many outside cultural influences, all of them non-Western, mostly through trade through the Silk Road or via sea.
China has a rich cultural history on its own, with its own specialties in architecture, painting and sculpture. Do some research, and you might be surprised at what you find.
Stella and Jess have already explained that China is a hugely varied country with lots of inspiration to pull from. Twice. I, however, am here to address a much different point: why culture forms the way it does. You seem to be under a few misguided assumptions about culture that is making you extremely prone to cherry picking which parts of culture you want to include where, which leads to all sorts of problematic things. Namely, that itâs possible to swap one thing out for another âeasilyâ.
This is to explain why cherry picking is impossible.
Cultures are born out of the environments that made them. Roman architecture exists because the Romans had access to copious amounts of concrete materials/marble and lived in the Mediterranean, which got very hot summers, heavy rains, and not a whole lot of cold. As a result they created structures that worked for this, which included open airways, pillars, easy to clean floors, shade, and ventilation. Meanwhile, Georgian architecture came from England, where there was a ton of clay, in a very densely populated area that needed to expand because of the Industrial Revolution happening, in a damp, cool environment (England hardly ever breaks 15C or 60F). This means they build their places to retain heat and be as efficient in this as possible.
Roman statues require marble, as well, or at least easily carved stone. They require large blocks and the materials required for incredibly strong glue in order to hold a bunch of smaller blocks together. These blocks need to be of high quality, as well, so they donât ârotâ or crumble once theyâve been carved.
Oil paint requires flax (which, yes, is in China) and oil-soluble pigments that are accessible enough/not sacred for other things so painters can use them. Considering that China does have flax, there are likely other factors that could have contributed to them not developing oil paints on their own. Not all minerals can mix well with oil, and the ones used in the basis of European oil paints might not exist in Chinaâs soil, or the minerals might have a totally different purpose in Chinese culture. (I am not Chinese, so I will not speak on specific meanings for minerals; do this research yourself)
Which brings me to my second point. Cultures put value on different things. Each culture ends up with a base philosophy for what they esteem and how they use resources, which proceeds to influence how it develops. Architecture has meaning to it. So does what colours you use in different applications. Because these things are sacred and/or practical for certain social orders.
There is no such thing as âaestheticâ when you get down to the root of each single item, because that aesthetic has a practical purpose. There is also no such thing as a âsolely religious reasonâ under the same logic. Cows have become sacred in most varieties of Hinduismâ because cows (and oxen) have been the main farming animal in the Indian subcontinent for millennia. They provide milk for sustenance, power for ploughing fields, and dung, which can be used as a floor polish and, when dried, a source of fuel for fire that gives off a more even heat than wood. As a single provider for crucial elements of agrarian life, their sacredness developed from their practicality. Having cows roam freely meant absolutely everyone could have access to an efficient cooking fuel.
Chinese brush painting has meaning. Jade sculpture has meaning. Pagodas and sloped roofs and gates have meaning. The philosophy, environment, history, and present circumstances of a culture is built into every. single. little. thing. about that culture, meaning you cannot just change it out.
Unless you learn the very root of culture, their values and stigmas and honours and shames, you cannot modify it accurately. Cultures survive because that was the best way to respond to the world at the time. A long-standing culture such as Chinaâs has to be functional and incredibly well suited for the environment, otherwise it would not have survived. There is something about Chinese culture that works extraordinarily well for it to perpetuate itself, and you cannot disrespect that.
Learn the âwhyâ of culture. Learn how it came to manifest and the reasons behind its manifestations. Study the geography and resources available to the people at hand. Know a culture so well you can explain how it works in real life and how your worldâs history parallels the circumstances that created a similar culture in fantasy.
Only then will you be able to pull it off with respect.
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