By Dr Bibiana Chan
Encounters in Intercultural Communication: Creativity, Emotion, and Mental Health (A Chinese Australian Perspective)
Growing up in a traditional Chinese cultural environment, I learned early that emotional restraint was considered a virtue. Expressions of strong emotion—whether joy expressed through hearty laughter or sorrow released through tears—were often discouraged. The guiding belief was that composure reflected maturity and stability. Yet, interestingly, while Chinese social norms discouraged overt emotional expression, Chinese artistic traditions—music, poetry, painting—are profoundly emotional, often leaning toward melancholy. Traditional Chinese music, for example, frequently carries a plaintive, longing tone. One might say that emotion, when not permitted to surface through speech, found its way into art.
The great poets of the Tang Dynasty illustrate this paradox. Li Bai (李白), flamboyant and larger-than-life, praised the beauty and grandeur of the world with exuberance. Du Fu (杜甫), in contrast, wrote with deep sorrow and political anguish, chronicling suffering and instability. Their work shows how Chinese culture has long held space for emotional intensity—just not always through direct interpersonal communication.
My own childhood education reflected another facet of Chinese cultural values: discipline through imitation. As a primary and secondary student, I practised Chinese calligraphy diligently. The goal was perfection through copying the master’s stroke by stroke. While this method instilled patience and perseverance, it also left little room for experimentation or self-expression. Curiosity, spontaneity, or trying something new—hallmarks of creativity—were sometimes viewed as rebellious or disruptive. Conformity ensured social harmony, but it could also suppress a young person’s willingness to step outside the comfort zone.
Years later, in an Australian context that prizes individuality and initiative, I realised how cultural values shape perceptions of leadership. For many second-generation migrants, the Chinese virtue of “willingness to compromise for the collective good” can be misread as passivity or a lack of confidence. This tension points to a deeper intercultural communication challenge: behaviours shaped by one cultural system may be interpreted very differently in another.
Creativity, Expression, and Mental Health
From a mental health perspective—drawing also on my academic background in anthropology and psychology—creativity plays a vital role in emotional wellbeing, especially for those raised with emotional restraint. Creativity offers an alternative language. When words are constrained by cultural norms, art becomes a psychological release valve. Whether through music, dance, calligraphy, or poetry, many Chinese people historically expressed centuries of unspoken emotion through the Four Arts (琴棋書畫 – zither, chess, calligraphy, painting).
For me personally, creative expression through floral arrangements and botanical painting has been a powerful source of solace and healing. Working with flowers at the Community Flower Studio (CFS) has been more than an artistic pursuit—it has been a journey into mindfulness and emotional connection. The delicate act of arranging petals or carefully painting the subtle veins on a leaf allows a form of emotional release that transcends language. In moments of grief or stress, these creative acts help me access feelings that were once hard to articulate, offering calm and grounding.
At CFS, we see this phenomenon with many young people, especially those from culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) backgrounds. Our workshops—led by young people for young people—use floral art as a bridge to mental wellbeing. Participants often share how arranging flowers or engaging in botanical painting helps to calm them down and express emotions they cannot easily say out loud, breaking down intercultural barriers around emotional openness. The creative process becomes a shared language, fostering community and resilience.
Moreover, the “Petal-it-Forward” campaign, where flower bunches are given to people experiencing mental health challenges, symbolizes how small acts of creativity and kindness can foster connection across cultures. It’s a reminder that creative expression is not only personal but also social—building empathy and understanding within diverse communities.
Contemporary psychology echoes this. The concept of being “in the zone” or experiencing “flow,” described by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, parallels the Chinese idea of “忘我”—“forgetting the self.” Whether writing calligraphy with a brush, moving with ribbons in traditional dance, or arranging flowers with focused care, the person becomes fully absorbed, finding calm, meaning, and emotional release.
For individuals—especially migrants—who have carried suppressed emotions across cultures, creative expression can become a bridge to healing. It reconnects them with feelings that were once discouraged and allows for communication that transcends linguistic or cultural barriers.
Intercultural Communication Through Creativity
Creativity therefore becomes an intercultural tool. It enables communication between cultural worlds—between emotional restraint and emotional expression, between conformity and individuality, between the Chinese emphasis on harmony and the Australian emphasis on authenticity. In my community mental health work, I see repeatedly how creativity helps young people articulate identity, negotiate cultural expectations, and manage stress. It allows cross-cultural understanding to flourish in ways that spoken language alone cannot achieve.
References
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