by Nora Hoppe for the Saker blog
Various notes and reflections by Nora Hoppe
Judging by the many reactions of various journalists, analysts and lay persons around the world (chiefly in the West), many people expected the Chinese government to respond with immediate lethal force when Nancy Pelosi’s plane landed in Taipei. Many were even disappointed or… incensed – whether they are for or against the People’s Republic of China – when this did not occur. Several wrote that China had now shown itself as weak and ineffectual, that it was all “bark and no bite”, that it had permanently lost face before the world. These people seemed to have interpreted Hu Jixin’s artful warnings on Twitter and on his commentary on Global Times in “Hu says“ in a hyperbolic manner… “Hollywood” style. They had been expecting a theatrical showdown. (We remember similar expressed frustrations regarding Putin’s initial “patience” with regard to western crimes committed in Syria and in Ukraine.)
So, where is the response? Why do so many people today always expect the instantaneous and the blatant? Is it because so many in our impatient, consumerist times are accustomed to instantly getting what they assume or what they want?
And what is a sign of strength? Is it immediate brute force? Perhaps it is for those programmed by stale Hollywood action narratives that have apparently moulded recent western policies and strategies…
Western colonialism (which persists) and the domination of western media and western trivial culture (I make a point of saying “trivial” here, as western classical culture is now almost extinct) have limited many people’s perceptions of the cosmos all over the world. Today, in the West, to its own detriment, the current “[non-] culture” has indeed obscured almost all of the noblest achievements of Western civilisation in the past. In view of the present-day Collapse of the West, many comparisons are made with the Fall of Rome… In “The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire”, eminent historian Edward Gibbons described the erosion of culture of that era: “The name of Poet was almost forgotten; that of Orator was usurped by the sophists. A cloud of critics, of compilers, of commentators, darkened the face of learning, and the decline of genius was soon followed by the corruption of taste.” But at that time the destruction was not so comprehensive and so pervasive.
At any rate, not all countries in the world are driven by western narratives. In this world there still exist other mind-sets, other beliefs, other perspectives, other mentalities, other courses of action… And hopefully these countries will continue to honour the rich civilisations of their past.
* * *
Qi is revered not only in the aesthetics of classical Chinese painting, where it is represented in the Emptiness and in the flow of ink, not only in Chinese traditional medicine, not only in the martial arts…
But what is “Qi”? It can be said to be “breath” on a cosmic scale, the “energy of the Universe”… also “life force”. Qi is also said to be the basis of the world, the original form of all the tangible and intangible things, the root of consciousness…
Qi, like the Tao, cannot be fully defined. It will always remain an enigma to us, because human beings are incapable of fathoming the Universe and life in its deepest sense. This is a humble and honourable approach to a belief system. The human being is NOT and can never be the all-knowing master of the Universe.
An excerpt from the Tao Te Ching (Chapter 42) describes the Genesis of the Universe (which the “Theory of the Big Bang” comes close to echoing):
The Tao begets One (the un-manifested Qi).
The One begets Two (the static polarities of Yin and Yang).
The Two beget Three – a dynamic Qi appears opening Yin and Yang into a harmony of interaction.
And from Three, creation [in time and space] unfolds and all things are born.
In this way, all things carry yin on their backs and embrace yang.
By balancing Qi they achieve harmony.
In the Tao Te Ching, the Universe is pictured as a great bellows engaged in a cosmic process of respiration. The “breath” has two complementary dualities, Yin and Yang – corresponding to inhalation and exhalation. The activity of breathing in and out unites humans with the alternating rhythms of heaven and earth. In the Chinese martial arts, to keep one’s Qi strong is to be able to balance the Yin and Yang within oneself.
Mencius (372–289 BC), an itinerant Confucian philosopher (considered the “second Sage”, after Confucius) who synthesised integral parts of Taoism into Confucianism, believed that the human is naturally virtuous and humane and that it is the influence of society that causes bad moral character. He described Qi as a vital energy. Qi was necessary to activity and it could be controlled by a well-integrated willpower. When properly nurtured, Qi was said to be capable of extending beyond the human body to reach throughout the universe. It could also be augmented by means of careful exercise of one’s moral capacities.
The cultivation and balancing of one’s own Qi (which begets harmony) requires patience, tranquillity, equanimity, awareness. Qigong is a practice that typically involves meditation in motion, coordinating slow-flowing movement, deep rhythmic breathing, and a calm meditative state of mind. With roots in ancient Chinese culture dating back more than 4,000 years, a wide variety of qigong forms have developed within different segments of Chinese society: in traditional Chinese medicine for preventive and curative functions; in Confucianism to promote longevity and improve moral character; in Taoism and Buddhism as part of meditative practice; and in Chinese martial arts to enhance self-defending abilities.
The martial arts of China (Zhongguo wushu) and other countries in East Asia often deal with the complementary dual forces of “pushing” and “pulling”. If, for example, your adversary is pushing, the best way to deal with him is not to push back because this only leads to unnecessary painful collisions and also wastes one’s energy… the best way is to open the way for his push and at a last, quick and unexpected moment steer it abruptly in another direction, which will often lead to his fall. The adversary has thus generated his fall himself from his own energy.
Basic training in Chinese martial arts speaks of the following practices: “Train both the External and the Internal. External training includes the hands, the eyes, the body and stances. Internal training includes the heart, the spirit, the mind, breathing and strength.” Meditation is considered to be an important component of basic training as it can be used to develop inner calm, focus and mental clarity. (Inner calm, focus and mental clarity are rare states today, especially in a fast-paced, hyper-consumerist, capitalist world that is a product of the West.)
Kano Jigoro (born in Mikage, Japan; 1860–1938), who studied the Four Confucian Texts and became the founder of judo (meaning “gentle way”), a system of unarmed combat evolving from jujutsu), embraced the principles of seiryoku zen’yo (maximum efficiency, minimum effort) and jita kyoei (mutual welfare and benefit – influenced by Confucianism). He illustrated the application of seiryoku zen’yo with the concept of ju yoku go o seisu (softness controls hardness): “In short, resisting a more powerful opponent will result in your defeat, whilst adjusting to and evading your opponent’s attack will cause him to lose his balance, his power will be reduced, and you will defeat him. This can apply whatever the relative values of power, thus making it possible for weaker opponents to beat significantly stronger ones. This is the theory of ju yoku go o seisu.” Judo evolved from jujutsu… but Kano changed the second character of “-jutsu” (meaning “means”) to “-do“, meaning “way”, “road” or “path”, which implies a more philosophical context than “jutsu” and has a common origin with the Chinese concept of the Tao.
It is interesting to note that President Putin holds a black belt in judo, and was awarded the sixth dan by the Kodokan Judo Institute in Tokyo in 2000. (Early this year he was however stripped of this title because of his “actions in Ukraine”, but… he had earned the title through his skills. The “International Judo Federation Headquarters” that took this inane decision is seated in Hungary – in the EU.) Putin is obviously well aware of the subtle balancing acts involved in strengthening one’s Qi, and he has an extraordinary gift of endurance. Political analyst and essayist Dmitry Orlov expounded on this in an incisive essay first published in 2018.
“The Art of War”, written during the 6th century BCE and attributed to the ancient Chinese military strategist Sun Tzu, deals directly with military warfare but contains ideas that are adopted in the Chinese martial arts. Across East Asia, “The Art of War” was part of the syllabus for potential candidates of military service examinations. Much of the text focuses on how to outsmart one’s opponent without actually having to engage in physical battle. (Though it is now apparently recommended reading for some military academies in the West, it does not seem to have had any effect on western military strategies.)
As already mentioned in a previous essay, the Eastern mind-set tends to view things as a whole made up of complementary various parts, whereas the Western mind-set tends to focus on the individual and see “the parts” as separate entities. Just like the core content presented by the precepts of ancient Chinese Taoism, Confucianism, and Buddhism, reality and nihility, being and non-being are closely linked, and they are a unity that is both conflicting and indivisible.
In Eastern thought, humans are integrated into a larger whole rather than celebrated as a towering presence. The Neo-Confucian philosophy, which incorporated aspects of Taoism and Buddhism and was developed during the Song dynasty, cultivated a profound respect for all living things and emphasized humanity’s interconnectedness with a wider universe.
The more a human being believes in his individual exceptionalism, focuses on his ego, his needs and his wants exclusively, seeks power over others and allows himself to be seduced by the materialism of the outside world, the more disconnected he becomes from the Universe and… the less he knows himself.
The great French philosopher Michel de Montaigne, whose humble motto was “Que sais-je” (“what do I know?”), was keenly aware of his limitations as a human being in understanding the ways of the Universe. And in his essays, he wrote extensively on man’s vanity and hubris. “It was a paradoxical command that was given us of old by that God at Delphi: ‘Look into yourself, know yourself, keep to yourself; bring back your mind and your will, which are spending themselves elsewhere, into themselves. You are running out, you are scattering yourself; concentrate yourself, resist yourself; you are being betrayed, dispersed, and stolen away from yourself. Do you not see that this world keeps its sight all concentrated inward and its eyes open to contemplate itself? It is always vanity for you, within and without; but it is less vanity when it is less extensive. Except for you, O man, each thing studies itself first, and, according to its needs, has limits to its labours and desires. There is not a single thing as empty and needy as you, who embrace the universe: you are the investigator without knowledge, the magistrate without jurisdiction, and all in all, the fool of the farce.’ “
The tiny recent event, amongst many throughout the long history of the world, in which an insignificant, vapid figure named Nancy Pelosi hailing from a callow, self-proclaimed “indispensable nation” visited an island named Taiwan in order to flaunt a delusional sense of magnitude in an attempt to humiliate the time-honoured People’s Republic of China, displays a flawless example of a fool of a farce.
China is abiding its time, as Russia has been doing. They understand and have seen that initiatory lethal force is unnecessary, wasteful and ultimately self-harming. And patience has many virtues…
Today we see both the western world and the capitalist system – both of which have been in a state of decay for quite some time – crumbling. It only goes to show that the supreme focus on the individual and the absorption with “one’s own kind”, separate from and versus the Other, is not “sustainable” and not compatible with the Universe.
Some quotes from “The Art of War” attributed to Sun Tzu:
- “The greatest victory is that which requires no battle.”
- “Ponder and deliberate before you make a move.”
- “He who is prudent and lies in wait for an enemy who is not, will be victorious.”
- “He will win who, prepared himself, waits to take the enemy unprepared.”
- “It is more important to out-think your enemy than to outfight him”
- “The whole secret lies in confusing the enemy, so that he cannot fathom our real intent.”
- “Be extremely subtle even to the point of formlessness. Be extremely mysterious even to the point of soundlessness. Thereby you can be the director of the opponent’s fate.”
- “The opportunity of defeating the enemy is provided by the enemy himself.”
- “Bravery without forethought, causes a man to fight blindly and desperately like a mad bull. Such an opponent, must not be encountered with brute force, but may be lured into an ambush and slain.”
- “Do not swallow bait offered by the enemy. Do not interfere with an army that is returning home.”
- “The line between disorder and order lies in logistics.”
- “Move not unless you see an advantage; use not your troops unless there is something to be gained; fight not unless the position is critical.”
- “Let your plans be dark and impenetrable as night, and when you move, fall like a thunderbolt.”
- “The general who advances without coveting fame and retreats without fearing disgrace, whose only thought is to protect his country and do good service for his sovereign, is the jewel of the kingdom.”
- “Wheels of justice grind slow but grind fine.”
- “All war is deception.”
Principal references:
https://twitter.com/HuXijin_GT/status/1554335449539174400?cxt=HHwWgICjueX2jZIrAAAA
https://www.globaltimes.cn/page/202207/1271380.shtml?id=11
Lao Tzu: Tao Te Ching / Translator, Introduction: D. C. Lau – (Penguin Classics) [1963]
very pretty and erudite article – thank you
You seem to be very intelligent and ‘erudite’ yourself. As you exercise the intelligence God gave you in trying to understand ‘Qi’ , which Nora said is the ‘life force’ or ‘energy of the universe’ which like ‘Tao’ cannot be fully defined, and therefore will always be an ‘enigma’ to us, have you ever considered just coming to rest ? He said ‘be still and know that I am God’ (Psalm 46:10)
Nora was right when she said the ‘human being’ is not and can never be the ‘master of the universe’. Those of us who God has blessed with a depth of intelligence often wind up spinning our wheels because we fail to recognize the ‘simple answers’ that God has placed on the earth for what appear to us as ‘complex’ questions.
God is using this earth as sort of a womb that we are grown in and when our growth, directed by Him, is completed we are delivered out of it fully prepared for the heavenly existence He has been the architect of.
Does the clay say to the Potter why did you make me thus ? Those of us He has gifted with this intelligence need to understand that we need to be taught to bring it under control, lest we become wise in our own conceit !
The big bang theory has been thoroughly discredited by many scientists both pro God and anti God. It is an attempt to draw you off from a true course that leads to understanding who the ‘real’ Master of the Universe’ is.
Yes, by God’s design there is evil existent in this womb down here, He has decreed it, and He has total control over it, and He uses it to put us through carefully controlled adversity to grow us to what will be our eternal condition.
May the God of the Universe who ‘created the Heaven’s and the Earth and all that is therein’ to whom everyone and everything in it answers to, bless you on your journey !
I don’t expect you to get on board because of these words, but they are true, and I would be afraid to speak them if they were not, the Lord Jesus Christ spoke to me up there before He put me in my mother’s womb down here.
P. Georges Lemaître, mathematician and Catholic priest; He was the first to postulate the Big Bang theory.
After analyzing the equations of general relativity (those that describe the current paradigm of gravitation), he concluded that the Universe is expanding and even obtained the so-called Hubble law (2 years before Edwin Hubble himself), which quantifies this expansion. Based on this expansion, he proposed in 1931 what he called the “primal atom” hypothesis, the first formulation of the Big Bang.
Thank you Nora, wonderful stuff!
I’ve been a student of Eastern philosophy for over 50 years, and one thing I’ve learned is that one starting out on this path should not expect to understand everything at first take.
I’ve re-read passages years later and realised “Ah yes, that’s what it means!” Understanding can come in a flash, but usually it just grows.
And another thing. It’s worth the effort.
wonderful text. Thanks.
Thanks for the thoughtful essay and paintings.
Wish I could see larger versions of the latter.
A movement occurred. In nothing. The nothing that some would come to call the mind of God. What science would call a singularity, an un-manifest universe – without time or space.
Before, it was a mind in meditation. Empty. Still. A unity. Pure consciousness, bliss, being. One without a second. No thing.
For no reason, in the deep, deep, stillness, consciousness became aware of itself – reflected in a soundless emptiness -became aware of itself as object – and in so doing a distinction was created between Self and not-Self. Where there was no-thing, was now some-thing.
The distinction between subject and object created a relationship between them. From one, three had emerged: self, object and relationship.
The distinction between self and non self creates a boundary: inside is me and outside is you. As we attend to the inside, internal objects (thoughts) are discovered. As we attend to the outside, other objects, things, are manifest. Our experience of these objects determines our relationship to them. Repulsed or attracted. The boundary has it’s own characteristics – subtle, sensual, felt.
Each boundary, when viewed from the inside, seems different than when viewed from the outside. The experience of the various objects seems different depending upon our point of viewing. Distinct perspectives emerge.
As the one Self reflected on these phenomena, a spectral universe came into being.
Consciousness became fascinated by the products of it’s own creation – exploring a multitude of self-organising fractal facets. Each playful moment of attention generated a new distinction – between this and that, between a multitude of worlds, of colours, of oceans, of beings. An infinity of imagined objects. Consciousness re-enters each object and discovers self-similarity at each level. As above, so below.
Becoming like a cosmic game, more and more things appeared as symmetry was broken. The cosmic Self played with itself as the light of consciousness illumined the darkness. Life cascaded across an expanding universe. All connected through the unity of the original creation. But as our complex world emerged, the elements became further and further apart, like distant leaves on opposite sides of an enormous tree.
After a while, busy with their own aspect of the whole, the leaves stopped recognising each other. They had gone their separate way for so long that they no longer remembered. Dismembered, they forgot their unity, their connection. Mankind treated animals as if they were objects with no feelings. Different kinds of men treated each other like animals. And they treated the earth as if they hated it. The descent from grace was complete.
But, despite it all, consciousness, the singularity within which our universe has exploded into being, has not gone away.
From a small movement, through a simple process of distinction, a complex spectrum of being has emerged. A fractal entity of infinite potential. We may not know it, but that is how we got here: living in a world of self and non-self, me and you, one and another. A world of illusion, which we call reality – powered by consciousness.
Our universe speaks with one voice as it breathes in and out. A deep breath in – retained for a moment – and then a long slow breath out. In and out. Inhale and exhale. Inspire and expire. We do it all the time without realising it’s deep significance.
Each out-breath is a creative act, an echo of how we came to be. Visions arising from our imagination, are given meaning and order, energised into motion, elucidated into matter, time and space – and are born. A top-down process.
We are inspired by our own creativity and breathe in. In so doing we discover and learn from our experience. We feel and perceive the physical world, recognise patterns and organise them into concepts and meanings as new images appear. A bottom-up process.
Life is elucidated by this cycle, manifest at every level. From micro-cellular respiration through to galactic birth and death. We are still connected. Still One. … still …
Sun Tzu is more philosophical psycho babble than it is a military strategy handbook.
Honestly, I think western military academics have wasted far too much time over the years studying it.
Let’s have some perspective here. Japan repeatedly dominated China in numerous conflicts going back to the 1800’s. Why study the military philosophy of a country on the losing side of so many conflicts?
Yes, know your enemy. But, don’t worship the alter of someone who never actually win a war against outside forces. And certainly don’t go around quoting them which does nothing but falsely elevate them.
Ingenuity, agression, logistics and flexibility wins. Know the capabilities and limitations of your weapons systems and people.
The truth is, the Western nations are very, very good at war. Under the right leadership they are nearly unbeatable.
Right now, western leadership is corrupt, incompetent trash and I would think their opponents would be working 24/7 to take advantage of that.
Putin is an anomaly in this world. A person of such rare and historical significance that his name will still be known 1,000 years from now when all his opponents will have long disappeared into the dustbin of history.
Putin had given Russians the means to match their hearts in combat and, in so doing, has created the only force in the world with both the means and the will to fight the West.
China?
What have they proven that they can accomplish when it comes down to decision making in the heat of war?
They, themselves tried a program to emulate western style empowerment of lower ranking leaders and it was a complete failure. Their entire cultural background is too caste to compete in that way and (if they continue to follow the teaching of Sun Tzu) they will routinely be paralyzed in the battlefield and repeatedly fail to capitalize on situations.
Just like the Pelosi trip. Yes, China came out weaker from it. If they don’t take Taiwan shortly after US midterm elections, it will be another failure on their part for lack of boldness. 2024 US will vote in someone that won’t be anything like we have now and that window of opportunity will be missed.
I’m not rooting for China in anything. They have a value system far different than mine and I don’t want their value system spreading any more than I want the progressive socialist woke value system spreading.
If you are not impressed by the works of Sun Tzu and the ancient Chinese Daoists, you simply have not understood them.
The barbarians defeated the Romans, and the Mongols defeated the Persians. Does that mean they were superior? Rome sits atop the seven hills of Washington DC, and the Persians are where they’ve always been. Where are the barbarians and the Mongols now? So what if Japan defeated China in a battle or two, where are the Japanese now?
Western nations may have been good at war for a while, but something tells me that they may end up like the Mongols: totally irrelevant and harmless.
I sense a lot of anger and frustration in your comment. It would do you well to try some meditation.
The internal arts of the ancient Chinese sages has very little to do with the modern Communist state of China. Your dislike of China is misplaced here, imho.
Food for thought, thank you.
I worked in oil and gas all around the world as a project manager. Working with people for months at a time you learn their culture on a practical level very well.
In China, at a shipyard where the project was behind schedule, a Chinese welder was electrocuted. His dead body was left where it lay for hours until lunch time when they finally decided to clear him.. People walked by, glanced and just kept going.
It was disturbing to say the least. I brought it up with my Chinese counterpart and he reassured me that if it was an American they would have stopped work in the area. I was not as reassured as he thought I should have been.
It’s not that I dislike them. They have a different value system than we do. That is a fact. That fact applies to many different cultures. Chinese value system is not what I’d want to live under.
“Chinese value system is not what I’d want to live under.” What values would you like to live with? Have you seen all these hundreds thousands homeless in the US dying in the streets? Heve you seen all these thousands (often) young americans dying in the streets in the US due to fentanyl and other drug overdoses and nobody seems to care. And what about of all the over million covid deaths? Is there somebody that still believes that the US care about its citiens?
Look into the history of mining, logging, and other industries in our wonderful nation. This went on all the time. What was our value system then? The same as today, only the Chinese are the ones who look at the dead bodies for our “industry” which we offshored to them.
I agree with your sentiments. I think Eastern philosophy is needlessly obscure, just like all the religious mumbo jumbo in the West.
I have noted the Schadenfreude of our non Western friends, who seem to think we are finished. How they have come to this conclusion seems to be not from direct observation, but from our news media and our disgruntled commentators.
To illustrate, I was curious as to how much money we ‘waste’ cultivating our lawns and looked it up. The Americans spend something around 76Bn on their yard upkeep every year. I found this hilarious, but our pious Global South friends will no doubt be outraged that they have famine while we grow grass so that we can spend an hour a week cutting it so we can look at it with satisfaction for the rest of the week. Meanwhile, the cost of living crisis in the West means that the feckless will have to be subsidised with tax payers money so that they can heat and eat. Dr Hudson, who is a great economist seems to think the former, i.e grass cutting is more wasteful than the latter, i.e, subsidising the poor. I personally think they are both a great way of building a modern economy. No doubt the global south thinks a better use of our money would be to give it to them so they can buy our grain, which, on balance, seems to be what we have been doing, as the chances of them paying back all the loans are close to zero, it appears. The predictions of our collapse would seem to be the triumph of hope over experience, just as the man who owes a debt is not entirely upset upon hearing the news that his benefactor has deceased prior to payment.
On a side note, for all the ‘we gots the gas, guys’ out there; There are now several cars that can give 190km a week from the panel embedded in their chassis. Think about the implications of our stubborn, Nationalist Socialist like adherence to environmental principles in the long term if we can do this in just 12 years.
We may be cold this winter, and I am inclined to think this will do us good, as we in the West are mostly too fat, due to our excessive food production and consumption, and the cold will burn off our excess calories. That excess fat, if added together, probably equals Russia’s above ground oil stocks and will tide us over the lean times like it is designed, by evolution, to do.
As for Germany’s de-industrialisation, well, they need a rest. Time for beer and sausage, so they can store up fat for the winter, which is the resurgence of an ancient Western European tradition, and not before time too. The idea of a thin German is, like the immensity of the universe, difficult for a mere mortal mind to grasp. Perhaps the Eastern Qi adept finds this easy as a slow movement while breathing out, but us fat, overfed, grass cutting Westerners need some heft for pushing those rechargeable lawn mowers about. ‘The heavy hammer for the long nail’, is how our greatest modern philosopher, Publius Partakus, put it.
I am so amused by this little epistle that I shall copy it to notebook in case it is not approved. Someone somewhere will understand the depth of it.
Stephen Galvin
I find it interesting that you should bring up cutting lawns. I hate cutting the lawn so I now raise sheep for milk, meat and wool.
What I have found through my hatred of cutting lawns is a type of Zen from agricultural production on a small scale and meaning of the circle of life.
I have also observed that the meaningless wasted time of people could be harnessed for their own agricultural production which can (if observed) provide a more virtuous mindset without the instant gratification and excess vanity of the declining western world.
Thank you. I think we should develop mini sheep, or let the rabbits do their thing. As I get older I am beginning to think eating meat is actually the original sin.
As to our decline, I believe we have had it too soft for too long, and it is about time we closed ourselves off from the global south. Apparently we have hindered their development. We, the western men, need some time to ourselves. Perhaps a hundred years without us will allow the rest of the world to discover that advanced financial capitalism just makes you fat and stupid. Good luck for the future. Steve.
Eating meat was not an original sin. It became necessary, as did agriculture, due to catastrophic climate change caused by (among other things) the global wars of the previous civilization (Plato mentions one of the major ones), magnetic reversal, solar outburst, and the Earth;s orbit intersecting a stream of ice comets (Think several Tunguska events every six months for decades). These events occurred between 15-10K years ago.
I don’t mean in the biblical sense. I mean that if we can kill and eat a bird, then to farm and slaughter humans is only a separation of derees of sentience. I eat meat, but begin to think it is wrong.
As to the catackysm to which you refer, I believe based on the Plato/Solon thing, that It was around 11,500 years ago, after the younger Dryas, and the fall of Atlantis.
“The idea of a thin German is, like the immensity of the universe, difficult for a mere mortal mind to grasp. ”
Wow, it ‘s pretty funny hearing this from an American.
I guess you haven’t spent much time in Germany. Or perhaps, the USA. Or perhaps, either country!
The USA is 12th on the world’s obesity rating, with 36% of the population being obese.
Germany is way down the line, with 22% of a much smaller population being obese.
https://worldpopulationreview.com/country-rankings/obesity-rates-by-country
I guess it is still considered OK to put down Germans.
Taffy, I do fully agree with you. Seemingly in the US the average Joe will never grasp what a s””ithole his country is…so endlessly “admired and envied” from the rest of the world…
the most obese, most uneducated, most stupid people are living in the US…..
there is no use trying to argue with them…
You are correct, Mr Taffy. I have spent no time in either country. Germans may be thin or fat. This is not important. It is the idea of Germans being fat, like all westerners, that we must implant in the collective consciousness of the Global south. We are fat, while they starve. We grow fat on their suffering. If it had not been for us, they also would be fat, but much more advanced than us.
When our civilization falls, the Global south will immediately gain weight, and be much less hungry, for we will not be able to pay them for all the food they have grown, and this will drive down the price of local produce, thereby leading to a deflationary spiral in foods such as guam, plantain, etc…
And again, you are correct when you say it is still considered OK to put down the Germans.
Not by me, of course. I think there are ‘two sides to a story and several different versions of a song’. No, it is the ‘victors’ who believe they have the sole right to celebrate the courage and sacrifice of their soldiers in WW2. This right is also eternal, apparently, and is passed on to those who took no part in the hostilities. Anyone who takes a different view is apparently, a Nazi, even if they are not Nationalist or Socialist.
If one does not celebrate the wholesale butchery of Ukranian youth, one is also a Nazi, according to many people on this blog. If one does not hate Russians, one is a traitor to democracy, according to the Western media. The old phrase, ‘Put not your faith in Princes,’ springs to mind.
We are in the era of absolutes, where the facts bear no relation to the narrative, and what you believe depends upon which side you are on. Thus, a fat and prosperous German as an idea is much more important than data and statistics, which are different depending on where you are. So, you see?
We in the West, are prosperous because we exploited the ‘Global south’, (Which seems to mean brown people), and as soon as we stop they will cease to be backward, illiterate peasants who are only corrupt because they have no agency. Once they are governed locally by their own officials, things will be much better. The Chinese and Russians would never dream of exploiting them for their labour, and will immediately offer them citizenship, and inclusion in the yellow BRIC road project as engineers and accountants.
It is odd that the most obese nations, top ten, are Global south, so I must assume that the transfer of civilisation has begun, and the West is indeed in a state of decline.
As a minor quibble, I might point out that I insist the Germans are meant to be fat. You are referring to obese, of which there are only around 15 million. The rest are just fat.
You have evidently read The Saker’s advice for aspiring trolls. You would have been better to take the concept of Qi seriously.
It is a real physical force, as well as having the attributes described by Nora Hoppe . The Malaysian Chinese Tai Chi teachers, who preserved some of the forms lost in the PRC during the Cultural Revolution, treat meditation as the most serious aspect of their martial art.
Douglas Macarthur also though like ActivePatriot but lost badly, in North Korea. Wanted to use nukes against China, but that was too much, even for warmonger Truman. The nukes Truman had dropped in Japan gave birth to merciless Furies, as madening as the ones buzzing Orestes. Instead of conjuring more Furies, the President of the US scapegoated Macarthur. Otherwise, it would have been the start of the 3rd (hot) World War, right there.
Maybe (just maybe) Sun Tzu has merit
You are totally wrong in your summary & fail to understand that China is in lockstep with Russia & together they will prevail against the War mongering uSA & NATO. Their value system is better than anything in the uSA – am I mistaken in taking you as a real patriot of the uSA ?
The Value System of the US! Snigger.
I don’t have to be ashamed of the car that I drive.
My watch cost more than you made last year.
Never give a sucker an even break.
I am the greatest.
Might makes right.
The Pacific Ocean? What the heck, let’s play safe and bomb it anyway.
“Just like the Pelosi trip. Yes, China came out weaker from it. If they don’t take Taiwan shortly after US midterm elections, it will be another failure on their part for lack of boldness.”
For lack of time, I’ll only comment on the absurdity of the statement above. To put it bluntly and rudely, China’s reaction to that trip showed it owns the US and Taiwan. The reaction effectively was a blockade of Taiwan, and neither the US nor Taiwan did a thing to stop it. China ended the blockade at its own discretion only. You can be sure most countries in the world took note of this.
As for their value system, I don’t think they have the intention to impose to anybody who doesn’t want it, as opposed to the degenerated West and its “democracy and freedom” garbage.
The US speaks with forked tongue. “Freedom and democracy in the Indo-Pacific” means the US is planning a blockade of the South China Sea, the Strait of Malacca, and even the Strait of Hormuz. They done it before, to choke Japan.
When China says it wants Freedom of Navigation, it means just that.
USer militants are not welcome in the Caspian Sea, the Black Sea, the South China Sea, and a whole heap of other places. Kindly return home, Yanqui.
ActivePatriot
I think one of the great downfalls of the western military is the inability to know the enemy and know itself.
What I am getting at through my observations of 20 years of active duty is the decline in the realistic approach of our forces. When I joined (as a dumb kid) the military had discipline, realistic physical fitness, a war fighting attitude, honorable officers, empowered NCOs and enlisted based upon the blue book, consistent improvements in strategy and tactics, and esprit de corps. Most leaders in combat arms understood their limitations and were honest about it.
The U.S. Army transitioned in a state of consistent decline for the 2 decades that I served and from what I see and hear it is much worse today and is the total opposite of what it once was. I know I sound like an old man yelling get off my lawn, but talk to any retired senior officer or NCO and if they are honest they will tell you the same.
Simple observations will tell anyone. The soldiers walk around with false bravado but are in reality Joe shit the rag man. There are no rules so their is no discipline. When combat is real against a peer enemy they will fold like a cheap suit. No amount of tech is going to save them when they can’t steal themselves against natural fear and become courageous.
The sad thing is that the Army thinks they can fight a virtual reality was similar to UKR.
Look at the great NATO training that was provided to the UKR. Trench lines is just one stupid example.
As with successful business, people are the key, equipment will always be second.
Too many replies to reply individually.
Roman empire was destroyed from within by its own corruption, that is what lead to military defeats. Same is facing the West.
As for USA, its basic value system from inception has been steadily corrupted. This new brand of progressive, socialist liberalism is fast tracking the destruction of the USA from within.
In what world would you expect US liberals to blindly support spending tax payer dollars on arming Ukraine to the teeth? New brand of socialist liberals are pro domestic terrorism and war.
It was Obama years that made it ok for liberals to accept drone killing of brown people everywhere without declared wars.
USA is a cesspool of institutionalized corruption out in the open.
China is no better. Anyone who thinks different hasn’t spent enough time over there to realize that.
Sun Tzu – philosophical BS parading as an instructional for war. Chinese martial arts? And the last time one of them had any success in the UFC against modern MMA training?
China had a caste system/mentality to keep a very large population in check. That caste system does not allow a younger person of lower status to make their own independent decisions. That is China’s Achilles heel.
People who think Russia and China are on the same page are fooling themselves. They are not. They will, however partner on things that serve both their interests.
Russians don’t want to become like Chinese any more than Americans do. Russians don’t want the same form of Chinese government any more than Americans do.
I’m rooting for success for Russians
I am not rooting for success for China.
I suggest people review each situation individually. That whole “enemy of my enemy is my friend”, that’s not true. It’s a stupid saying. Your enemy is your enemy based on facts, not more psycho babble.
It seems that the western world thought that by giving all their manufacturing and technology to the Chinese was going to make them go along with the new world order/ rules based order for a one world govt. What the west didn’t realize is that China had no intention of being subservient to the west. It reminds me of Frankenstein. Create the monster, monster turns on master, except this time the monster isn’t running of to the arctic.
Whatever one thinks of China and their culture they do know how to play the long game. They seem to have never forgiven the west for all the BS they did back in the day. I can’t say that I blame them.
On another note China may be reluctant to expose their most devastating weapons until the time is right. Perhaps taking our the Aegis systems or something like that.
/not more psycho babble/
I can see your point, especially as I am from the West. However, here is General Vo Nguyen Giap, and the US Naval War College, an other notables taking Sun Tzu very seriously:
The Art of War Documentary – Narrated by Donald Sutherland
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3zFd5rwraOY
So, even though I am ignorant on the topic, apparently others take it very seriously. The last third of that documentary is about applying Sun Tzu to business practices, which I found even more interesting than the sections on war.
All IMHO
But you must understand that the Chinese ( and Russians and others for that matter) don’t want your ‘value system’ (rather lack thereof) spread to them.
I find myself agreeing with ActivePatriot for so many reasons, mainly factual and practical.
Yin/Yan, SunTzu, Judo; or Yoga/Meditation or simply reading a book, having good simple food, browsing internet like you are doing now (suprise!!!)….that’s all easily defined under how an individual can survive and thrive.
However, it fails to explain how a society applies all that philosophy on a broader scale.
For example, there is no indication that in China’s history the regimes applied these philosophies to their own employees and rulers as they let it be preached to the wider public. I can be doing yoga all I want, but when the taxman knocks on the door I better speed up my breathing and open that door. Otherwise I’ll have to take it away from any govt into forests and caves just to live in “peace”.
The result of some philosophy was “Filial Piety” stories, no?
You don’t want a healthy society taking those literally because it’s demeaning to a human what’s idolized in those “values”. There is also a general lack of acknowledgement that China’s culture had a massive break from the past during last century – when older generation perish suddenly, the value system has a clean break. You can patch it up in words, but it will show in practice.
On a larger scale, Western culture is not an anomaly. Romans themselves were heavily influenced by Christianity. So much that they shifted the capital so far to the east! Although, it can be said that after some drastic changes in their thinking they just abandon the idea of where their values originated from. With denial of their cultural origins it’s pretty much back to barbarism. West is experiencing the start of clean break from its original values. If it continues and completes, they can patch it afterwards, but the patch will show in behavior and thought.
It can also be debated that western philosophy is only 500 year old; which is nothing compared with older and surviving traditions.
But as it stands, without a decline completed to rock bottom, West did hit a peak of civilization in its internal workings. To have constitutions written, which are at least theoretically applied the same way to common man and a man working for the regime. To own property without being answerable to anyone for it. Paying taxes and the privileges being distributed to a large extent.
All this is possible only with a vast wealth and long period of peace, where it’s usually accepted that peace is guaranteed.
If you consider that after current turmoil when you tell your grandchildren you could afford to lock your house, go on a ski trip or something, come back and buy all essentials on your way back from airport and start your normal “job” the next morning, they may not understand it.
What makes it all possible is a different discussion. There is no evidence that people in China ever enjoyed that level of civilization on a personal level.
China’s leap forward has possibly fueled western prosperity too.
Until 20 years ago things about China that made the news were Europe and US refusing to import plastic toys due to toxic compounds, things made by prisoners. Now the news are about China’s expansion from Mexico to Taiwan, and from Europe to South Africa. Where it will end is anyone’s guess. America shouldn’t have introduced fiat money to exponentially increase the purchasing power of dollar. There was China to oblige and exponentially increase production to match that demand. Doesn’t make either of them a great hope for humanity.
On military subject there are better commentators on this blog.
For me Pelosi’s visit is a nothing burger.
Im in with ActivePatriot for the most parts. All these spells and swearing secret Chinese philosophy invisible powers who wins with long term patience, “If you wait long enough something will happen”. Come on.
It may be good for convincing yourself that next time you meet bully you will beat him, next time.
China has better qualities in many other areas than in the hard game of military, but I admire the way they handled the Hong Kong issues with a soft hand and they for certain are a better card for Africans than anything Western or Indian or ME.
It is better to not call a man a fool, remain silent and he will do it for you.
Not taught @ Annapolis or West Point or Colorado Springs: inferior eastern know-how
https://www.wowshack.com/incredible-footage-ring-of-fire-an-indonesian-odyssey-video/
We have entered the phase of “East” standing up to the “West” after hundreds of years of colonialism, slavery, greed, cruelty, multiple genocides, humiliation, “Might is Right”, and “Ends justify the Means” attitudes, thinking and actions of the West. Along with Eastern philosophies mentioned in the article, 5,000 years old Historical largest Epic story ever written, consisting of 100,000 Sanskrit verses, namely “Mahabharata” helps one to understand the current period of struggle between Dharma (Right Means based on Truth, Morals, Fairness, Empathy, Compassion, Valor etc.) and Adharma (opposite qualities of Dharma such as Pride, Vanity, Selfishness, Consumerism, Lies, cruelty, Wrong Means justifying the Ends etc.). In the final battle of Mahabharata, Kurukshetra battle, smaller army of Pandavas, who follow Dharma prevail over larger army of Kauravas representing Adharma. There is no doubt that Dharma will also prevail in this era, no matter how long will it takes. Universal Laws of Dharma are intimately connected to Universal Laws of Karma (Laws of Actions and Results as well as Causes and Effects).
The ancient Chinese sages believed that good health was a result of attaining a balance between Yin and Yang. To put this in the simplest most practical form so that anyone can apply it to themselves and reap good health as a result, they say that one should begin by taking a single muscle in the body as an example.
Look at the muscle of your forearm, for example. It has two functions: you can contract it or relax it. Contraction is Yang, relaxation is Yin.
Things that are like the contraction of a muscle, like activity, heat, etc, are Yang. Things that are like the relaxation of a muscle, like rest, cold, etc, are Yin.
So, what does balance between Yin and Yang mean? It means that any physical activity (Yang) must be followed by an appropriate rest (Yin). Too much exertion and activity without enough rest causes an imbalance which Chinese medicine practitioners call a Yin deficiency.
The symptoms of Yin deficiency are generally: feeling hot, night sweats, high blood pressure, difficulty sleeping, etc.
But on the other hand, too much rest and not enough activity causes Yang deficiency, the symptoms of which includes: feeling cold, low blood pressure, and general weakness and listlessness.
Most people in the modern world suffer from Yin deficiency and heat.
The simplest way to nourish Yin is to take 10 minutes every day, sit down on a chair or crosslegged on the floor, close your eyes, quiet your mind, take a step back from your life and worries and stresses, think about nothing, just relax. That state of relaxation and stillness is Yin, and the more you cultivate it, the more it will balance out the Yang of non-stop running around and activity of the modern lifestyle.
Ten minutes a day of stillness and relaxation can go a long way towards averting the inevitable final result of Yin deficiency, ie. heart attack, stroke, etc.
This is a perfect follow up to Pepe’s article about Rumi, It is excellent to see this new series of spiritually oriented articles on the blog. Daoism and the Chinese internal arts are a true treasure trove of vital knowledge, especially in these dark times, as is the poetry of Rumi.
Thanks for that explanation. It helped my understanding.
A most soothing article!
If you can keep your head while all around you people are losing theirs, victory is assured.
It’s sheeple who demand Instant gratification and for a shekel or two Hollywood financiers and producers will grant their wishes,/desires.
Still, Inspector Columbo did manage to solve all his murder cases in the 120-150 minutes timeframe.
I liked your quote from Kipling’s “IF”.
I saw it described recently by an Indian academic as a very good summary of the Bhagavad Gita.
The line I like the most; If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster
And treat those two impostors just the same;
“The Tao begets One (the un-manifested Qi).
The One begets Two (the static polarities of Yin and Yang).
The Two beget Three – a dynamic Qi appears opening Yin and Yang into a harmony of interaction.”
LOL, I assume you realize this is exactly as Blavatsky described the beginning of the universal cycle including the reference to the great breath.
You should realize that Blavatsky copied the description of the universal cycle from the Indians, Chinese who had a few thousand years precedence over her.
True story:
Indian man: There is only one philosophy of life, and that is the two.
Me: Is that “two” T-A-O?
Indian man: No, Stupid: T-W-O!
Open thefly.com, and if you’re open minded, like the millions who have accessed that data, you’ll have the answers. The data goes back to the how and the what happened up to multiple quadrillion years ago. The data suppliers themselves don’t have the answer to the biggest question.. how and from where did the original Creational Spirit arise?
Well written up in The Pleiadian Mission by US Psychologist Randolph Winters.
That’s the junkest site I’ve seen this year.
I have only the deepest respect for Professor Smoothie (Andrei Martyanov) yet I believe his recent hypothesis (China was humiliated, should’ve responded with overwhelming force) to be correct only if you are a hardcore Russian officer, with a hardcore Russian perspective. This is not the Ming dynasty (which, there is an interesting argument to be made that Russia is going through its own “Ming” dynasty).
Yang responding to Yang begets more Yang, that means lives will be lost. A trivial humiliation is acceptable, to err in an operational — nay, cosmic — balance is worse than wrong. If Russia is a sleeping bear, then China is a dreaming dragon. The dragon does not stir for pitiful ants. It enjoys the solitude of its lair, and all the ants come to seek its gold, as ants do.
The mandate of heaven must never be compromised. It is not so simple as “saving face.” China will never callously and insignificantly spill Chinese blood in order to prevent the “humiliation” from an ant to the dragon. Prepare, for when the blood flows, it will flow like the wrath of god, and nothing can prevent it, not all the king’s horses nor all the king’s men. It is wise and prudent to lengthen the amount of time before such mandate is necessary, yet when heaven mandates it, the Chinese will answer, for we are both the ants and the dragon, we crawl like ants, we die like ants, we sleep and awaken like dragons. When dragons awaken, the world trembles. Better to save it for a future day.
inch time foot gem
dzogen
Well I am just a humble old white guy who only likes fantasy movies ; but all I can say is I hope the west , in my life time can eat their own excrement for a change; it could be an education!!
I disagree. Human beings are capable of fathoming the Universe and life in its deepest sense. Those who do are just not well known.
China could have checkmated the US by continuing exercises indefinitely thereby effectively blockading Taiwan. Either US would have to declare war to break the blockade (no way they would dare to challenge China on its own turf) or sanctioned China (which would backfire much more on US thant China) or done nothing (losing face and Taiwan’s semiconductors). US empire would have collapsed, and while China would have been bruised, it would have put an end to US threats forever. They lost a golden opportunity. My experience with Chinese people in America: they only care about money and challenging the US will come with costs which they are not willing to pay , not now, not tomorrow. I fear Russia will have to stand alone against the US.
Nice article, Nora! I have not studied Tao directly, so this fills in some gaps for me. You provide a good explanation of the philosophy underlying China’s actions. Beautifully written.
It’s hard to make an honest and thoughtful judgment when you live in the west. There have been too many lies and along the way.
There are similarities within the above to Professor Iain McGilchrists Brain Hemisphere hypothesis, built on the remnants of the old & discredited New Age Left / Right brain theory, based on his extensive work on Split brain & schizophrenic patients, neuroscience & his knowledge of the humanities while professor at Queen’s college Cambridge. He has been warning for at least 30 years about how the West will fall & makes use of various philosophies & Art from both East & West to illustrate his conclusions.
Thank you very much for the above which in my opinion is complimentary to that which I have learnt from him.
The empire would love China to devolve from rational pragmatic policies and to return to obscurantism such as, at least part of, Taoism is.
Seeking to encourage the irrational in rival societies has been a prevalent feature of the empire.
Outside science and technology, obscure thinking makes it easier to foment unrest for evil foreign forces.
Inside science and technology, I dont see how it would be of much use.
Its place is in art and poetry and such.
Dear Doña Nora, Chinese painting illustrations have had a strong impact on my interior, could you suggest a book on this art of Chinese painting? Sorry to bother you with this.
China accepted the gift Pelosi offered, and now have fully claimed all the air and sea territories around taiwan. ultimate taichi move, give a little take everything. a week of air & sea blockade, showing that the both US & Japan will NOT come to taiwan’s aid has shown the island’s populace they are on their own when SHTF.
Thank you for this beautiful essay on Chinese philosophy. I really enjoyed it.
Please, continue with it!
At rest is easy to hold.
Not yet impossible is easy to plan.
Brittle is easy to break.
Fine is easy to scatter.
Create before it exists.
Lead before it goes astray.
A tree to big to embrace
Is born from a sledner shoot.
A nine-storey tower
Rises from a pile of earth.
A thousand-mile journey
Begins with a single step.
Act and you ruin it.
Grasp and you lose it.
Therefore the Sage
Do not act
And so does not ruin
Do not grasp
And so does not lose
People commonly ruin their work
When they are near success.
Proceed at the end as at the beginning.
Therefore the Sage
Desires no desires
Prizes no prizes
Studies no studies
And returns
To what others pass by.
The Sage
Help all beings find their nature.
But does not presume to act.
Tao Te Ching
Lao-Tzu
China is abiding its time, as Russia has been doing. They understand and have seen that initiatory lethal force is unnecessary, wasteful and ultimately self-harming. And patience has many virtues…
Reading the quote above reminded me of two strategic games. Go or wiqei and chess. The first being used by China, while chess is by Russia. No Hollywood script can ever explain how both strategies are being played out at the same time against the “free world” aka the collective West.
The US embarrasses itself by supporting the split of Taiwan from China, while rejecting the split of Donbass (and even Crimea) from Ukraine. I’d say this requires some serious pretzel logic, but that would be antisemitic.
There is a proverb: o si tacuisses, philosophus mansisses,
By threatening beforehand, and then responding rather weakly with some exercises and sanctions a la USA, the Chinese fell into the trap to demonstrate to others that they might not be all they claim to be. A trap set by the USA.
Compare their wild threats and rather subdued follow to the Russian federation’s dealing with NATO’s nonresponse to it’s proposal. Just announcing a military technical response…and what this response turned out to be, a grinding down to a fine powder of the Ukrainian military.
So no, I do not take seriously any excuses or explanations to justify Chinese behaviour. It was that of a paper tiger, making a lot of noise with little to show for.
Perhaps it would help if you understood that Nancy Pelosi is perhaps the largest fundraiser for the Democrat Party, and that there are a lot of rich ethnic Chinese in her electoral area in San Francisco. They wanted her to go to Taiwan, and so after a delay for COVID, she did so. It seems that she did not think through the implications for the long-standing policy of ‘strategic ambiguity’ that means formal acceptance by the USA that Taiwan is an integral part of China, while de facto trying to encourage its independence activists, including the present government of Taiwan. This was bound to be sensitive after the USA has recently sold additional arms to Taiwan.
Since the PRC now has a larger number of surface warships than the USA, and they are more modern, as well as anti-ship ballistic missiles that can reach well beyond Taiwan, this was not a good time to implicitly call into question the legal standing of Taiwan as an integral part of the PRC.
The only naval weapons that the USA has that are considerably superior to what China has are its submarines. Aircraft carriers are now clearly obsolete, and you do not seem to have noticed that the USA did not send the USS Ronald Reagan through the Strait of Taiwan. Are you sure about which country looks weak in this context?
By the way, on Chinese conceptions of war, there are some excellent insights in this book, which includes Sun Tsu’s famous work:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Military-Classics-Ancient-History-Warfare/dp/0465003044
Is this site mainly about making excuses now? Show me the link where the Saker or any of his friends predicted the SMO would still be going on six months after it began. If an analyst can’t predict anything correctly, then the analyst is worthless. Anyone can make after the fact excuses.
And no, I didn’t have to go to Staff School to come up with this opinion. The way this war has been conducted was a POLITICAL decision.
Am I surprised that China is also showing a foolish lack of resolve? No! Spare me the Sun Tzu quotes. Sun Tzu isn’t walking through that door.
“If an analyst can’t predict anything correctly, then the analyst is worthless.”
The RF never set a timeline, and never explained how it would fight his war. It went in with an army with the reverse troop ratio postulated needed for an attacker to be successful. This was due to the RF’s parliament decision to permit the SMO to commence with only the peacetime troop strength of the army.
China, however, bragged o rain fire from heaven and in the end finished instead with a roar with a measly miauuu.
With all due respect, Peter, the Russian parliament would have authorized 1,000,000 soldiers if that’s what Putin or Shoigu told them to do. As I said, this was a political decision. I applaud the brave Russian soldiers who have had their hands tied behind their backs.
As I said, this was a political decision.
That in my view is of course correct, like most decisions to set the limits of any military conflict.
It is then the role of the military staff to figure out how to fulfill the mission within those constraints.
Clearly, the Russian forces could have done what the US army does regularly, without effort after eliminating almost all of the Ukrainian air force.
Bomb the bejeezus out of infrastructure, raze cities…no problem, they could have severely damaged Kiev, not permitting various clowns of Ukrainian and NATO origin to prance around.
I see no reason to doubt the sincerity of the claim by the RF that they wanted to protect the ordinary citizen of Ukraine as much as possible, for various reasons. And keeping most of their forces in reserve, should NATO get stupid ideas. That seems to be the main reason, to be prepared for bigger things, and to prevent this from happening by making the self-declared enemy aware they are by keeping 80% or so behind the lines but are perfectly ready and willing to engage.
Dear Nora,
Intelligence is a beautiful thing, but it can also lead to terrible errors of judgement, which is why I’m reverting back to one of my favourite speeches from Hamlet.
“My liege, and madam, to expostulate
What majesty should be, what duty is,
Why day is day, night night, and time is time
Were nothing but to waste night, day, and time.
Therefore, since brevity is the soul of wit,
And tediousness the limbs and outward flourishes,
I will be brief. Your noble son is mad.
“Mad” call I it, for, to define true madness,
What is ’t but to be nothing else but mad?
But let that go.”
Now we all know what Hamlet’s “madness” led to; Polonius is stabbed though the arras, Ophelia commits suicide, Hamlet is poisoned in a sword duel with Ophelia’s brother, and I forget what happened to Hamlet’s uncle who usurped the crown. Utter Mayhem.
It is quite obvious that you are a scholar, that is a person learned in one subject, and I would presume that your scholastic endeavours focus upon China. Now as I remember, the old adage was that the Chinese were known as ‘the Jews of the East’, not so much for what many believe of the Jews today, but rather that the Jews were Merchants and traders within Europe, and the Chinese followed that trade in Asia. May I suggest that the Chinese quite understand the Jewish mindset, as they have dealt with those Merchants of Venice for centuries.
Now you started off your article with the mention of ‘journalists’. Back in the 1960’s when in Melbourne, Frank Sinatra referred to ‘journalists’ as prostitutes. It just shows that things haven’t changed much in 50 years. Of course Winston Churchill, when the Boer war broke out, he bought his army commission and went to South Africa as a journalist, working for one of his mother’s friends. Yes, old ‘Blue Eyes’ was spot on with his description of journalists.
Your article emanates around Nancy Pelosi’s tour to Taiwan along with her son and a gaggle of prostitutes, and one thinks then of Biden’s son Hunter and then back last century to Mrs. Thatcher’s son Mark, and I’m certain that there would be many similar cases of politicians sons making a quick buck off their parents position.
And then you mention the ‘lack of response’ by the Chinese government to Nancy’s provocation, but this is not entirely correct. The Chinese held a ‘war-game’ in the Taiwan Straits, which I would suggest would have been an ‘Ace’ over Nancy’s ‘Queen of hearts’.
And you refer to ‘The Art of War’ by Sun Tzu, but to my mind that old Apache warrior Geronimo would be smiling to himself, and Geronimo had never read Sun Tzu, as he saw that Nancy had failed to ‘sucker’ the Chinese into a false move.
The Russians play ‘Chess’, but the Chinese have their own version, ‘Chinese Chess’ which my son learnt and studied over some years. He was even able to defeat a Chinese Master in China about ten years ago in a demonstration game. Of course the Americans play checkers, which although it has a level of strategy, it is not comparable to either of the ‘Chess’ games.
Again there are comparisons of the Chinese pacifist leanings after their mauling by the Mongolians, and some would consider this to be a sign of lack of martial ability, but then consider also the American belligerent stances and in reality that belligerence is a quality that frequently leads to defeat; just ask General Custer, who had hoped to run for the presidency after winning at the Little Big Horn.
There can be no doubt that the Americans are making ‘all of the moves’ for war with both Russia and China, but also please note that they are making all the wrong moves, and the Chinese are always very good at watching and calculating, just as much as those Merchants from Venice, and they will know the time and what moves will be required for them to retain their sovereignty.
Easily one of the best pieces ever presented on this site. Thank you. Dennis G Boston US
“The tiny recent event, amongst many throughout the long history of the world, in which an insignificant, vapid figure named Nancy Pelosi hailing from a callow, self-proclaimed “indispensable nation” visited an island named Taiwan in order to flaunt a delusional sense of magnitude in an attempt to humiliate the time-honoured People’s Republic of China, displays a flawless example of a fool of a farce.”
Thank you for that.
Good essay, thank you. It is always refreshing to hear reality spoken of in its own terms.
It is indeed as she says, and we watch the western empire show us in stark terms how it both fails to understand this and also reaps the failed result from acting without understanding this, every time.
More from this author, please, if she cares to.
Are you sure the author is a “she?”
Thanks for posting this jewel
Are you related to Hans-Hermann Hoppe?
This is delightful inspiring article, thankyou.. I had to share on our noticeboard page, as too much negativity and assertions of China in Aus public commentary these days so much good missed. I posted with extracts naming author and linking article I hope you don’t mind?.. Posted to Caboolture Autonomous Peoples Assembly of Common Law Facebook group. If you want to know where. One of our Lady’s does the Qdong mediation sessions in the local park etc 🙂. Rounding out with he last summary of The Art of War – All War is Deception. Remains buzzing like a bell chime in the mind and a clever finish .
A fine study of reluctance in materials that are of different densities. Which energies conform and expand to which generations of purpose make our history. Thank you and will look forward to your next.
Fact: China is the least religious country in the world.
The most practiced religion there, Buddhism, does not believe in God.
The void is filled with all different manner of spriritialisms short of actually believing in a God.
That is simply a fact.
Their belief system is nothing like the West and definitely not the USA which was founded as a Christian nation.
If I had to compete on even turf with an article cherry picking what one considers the best of China, then I would go back a few hundred years and cherry pick what is best about America.
Currently both countries and corrupt cesspools profiting off the backs of their citizens.
America lost their way. I’m not sure if China ever had a good way to be proud of.
Thank you Nora for awakening us from our Western stupor.
Nice. I live in the Far East (not China) and because they said they would respond, I assumed they did/have and that it’s not immediately obvious. A bullet can kill instantly, but it’s also possible to hit someone so they bleed internally but don’t know it. Death is inevitable but much slower.