Rice’s China expert Steve Lewis helps the Houston Rockets prepare for the Ming dynasty

BY B.J. ALMOND
Rice News Staff

Houstonians aren’t the only ones intrigued by the Rockets’ new 7.5-foot player, Yao Ming. So are many of the 500 million predominantly young, urban people watching his National Basketball Association (NBA) games in China.

”Houston is now known all over China,” said Steve Lewis, senior researcher for the Transnational China Project at Rice’s James A. Baker III Institute for Public Policy. ”You can’t pay for publicity like that.”

Because of his expertise in Chinese culture, Lewis recently was asked by the Chinese Community Center to meet with the coaches and management staff of the Houston Rockets to educate them about China’s history and people.

”Before Yao Ming arrived, the Rockets’ management wanted to find out as much as possible about his country and culture so they would know what to expect, both to help prepare the staff and players for their new teammate and for marketing in China and the U.S.,” Lewis said.

The efforts of a local franchise of the NBA to globalize parallel the worldly aspirations of China’s changing middle class.

”Chinese culture is changing in fundamental ways, as evidenced by advertisements geared toward a new generation of young people who identify less with national culture and more with a blend of European, Asian and American values,” Lewis said.
Yao represents that new generation and suddenly has become an important political, social and cultural symbol.

Because he comes from the state-run sports system, Yao contributes to Chinese national pride in great athletes. Chinese urban youth are huge basketball fans, and Yao has the potential to inspire them.

Because Yao has come to the United States to work and live independently, he serves as a reminder to Chinese that China is opening up to the world and is no longer a closed society. He will be a symbol of how Chinese work together with people from different societies, which is especially important for younger generations of Chinese who must grow up in a post-World Trade Organization economy, Lewis said.

China’s interest in Yao is readily apparent. The Rockets’ games are broadcast in China, and the People’s Daily, a government-run newspaper in China, has been publishing stories about him collected from other newspapers. Yao also has become a popular topic in Internet chat rooms in China.

”A lot of the sports chat rooms just have advice on how Yao can improve his game,” Lewis said, ”but for the most part, I think the Chinese are curious about how Yao Ming is fitting in here and getting along with his teammates.”

Lewis is curious as well. Because the Transnational China Project explores the influence of the interaction of people, technologies, commodities and ideas from other societies on contemporary culture in Chinese societies, Lewis said Yao could make a very useful case study.

”Is he becoming ‘Americanized,’ or is the team becoming more Chinese-oriented, or will Yao Ming and the team come up with a new culture of interaction?” Lewis asked.

The eyes of Texas — and China — will be watching to find out.