Why You'll Never Be "Cultured"

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(1) The Idea: A Journey Without A Destination

Culture is a paradox in the West.

We revere those who have it but call them snobs under our breath. We aspire to engage with it, but our natural tastes always prefer something else. Also, no matter how much we read, write, think, cook or travel, culture always seems just a step too far from us. It’s something reserved for those people.

But today, I want to share a different perspective on culture, and it’s rooted in a language that is both familiar and foreign to me: Chinese.

I learned this language alongside English when I was growing up in Shanghai, and though I’m fluent, the nuances still escape me at the best of times. So today let’s just start with one idea: wen hua (culture)

In the Chinese system, wen hua (culture) is written as 文化.

The first character 文 (wen) means text, but it’s often used as an adjective to describe all things literary. 文学 (text study) means literature, and 文豪 (text giant) is exactly what it sounds like: a literary giant.

The second character 化 (hua) is a lot more subtle because it’s often used as a prefix and suffix to denote change/transformation. 化学 (transformation study) means Chemistry, and 西化 (Western transformation) means Westernisation.

And when we put them together, 文化 literally means: transformation through texts.

This definition of culture holds for both the East and the West. Words and texts have always forged the foundations of systems of government, economy and science. But beyond that, I think this definition of culture is also useful for our own lifelong learning journeys.

See, the main problem with calling someone/yourself “cultured” is that it assumes an endpoint. It’s done because we’ve read x, watched y or attended z in concert. But when we think of culture in terms of 文化 (transformation through texts), the journey never ends because change/transformation is baked into the idea.

In other words, calling someone “cultured” in Chinese simply means that they transformed through their readings or have the capacity to do so. It denotes an open mind that’s capable of letting ideas trickle into everyday life and, in that sense, reading books for people with 文化 is not at all about accumulating dead quotations, but an active search for different perspectives to colour their worlds.

In addition, this definition of being “cultured” isn’t just limited to reading, but applies to everything that has the capacity to shape our world. It invites music to colour an afternoon walk to the park. It leverages graphic design to appreciate London’s street signs, and it opens our palettes to foods that tell the story of a seaside town in Italy.

So, there’s bad news and good news. The bad news is that we’ll never be cultured under this definition, because change is baked into this journey of education. But the good news here is that most of us are cultured simply because we have this unique capacity to allow music, poetry, novels and films to transform an otherwise mundane reality.

(2) Reflections

1: Describe the last piece of media that changed the way you view the world. It could be a film, a novel or even an album. Be precise: what looks different in your world after you’ve experienced this piece of media? How has it informed your life’s philosophy? And what’s something you started noticing?

2: Be ruthless with your curation. Given that the texts/media we consume can directly transform how we see the world, what would you rather consume? Be deliberate about what you allow into your mind, and ask yourself: Is this giving me a better perspective on the world, or is it shrinking my world down? Notice the effects of culture and choose deliberately.