by Anne Teoh for the Saker Blog
What’s implied in Xi’s description of ‘continuous’ and ‘dragon’ from the Xi-Trump’s conversation in Tian An Men.
Today, it’s generally acknowledged that China is a continuous civilization. During their walkabout in Tian An Men (Heavenly Peace Gates) grounds in Beijing 2017, Xi Jinping told Trump, “China has a continuous civilization.” Trump’s response was the Egyptians had an ancient civilization going back 5000 years ago or to that effect; creating a communication gap by missing the cue, “continuous.” Xi then, extended his opening introduction metaphorically – “We’re descendants of the dragon.” There was no reply to that.
This pithy but significant conversation is well recorded in the many television channels and on Youtube. With the public’s main attention largely glued to the current global political and economic uncertainties, this snappy dialogue is largely ignored by most though my ears picked up on that and dragons have centralized their position as a leit motif in my discourse about the need for cross-cultural pragmatics.
What discourse was Xi trying to engage with Trump? At heart, Xi’s a scholar-president, as we know he reads a lot and loves books; and when in the UK, he lauded Blighty with being, “the Mother of Parliaments,” and quoted Shakespeare. Hosting Trumph, Xi had initiated a subject of profundity related to history and culture, which was lost to Trump’s one liner surface response. My take on this is that Xi was interested to share his world views with Trumph beginning with what is intrinsically Chinese to his all powerful guest, the POTUS, who he probably thought would build a bridge by responding to the gist of his statement such as what’s ‘continuous’ or what’s intrinsically American. Somewhere in between their respective histories, they would be likely to discover common grounds or aspirations so crucial to both countries and the world in the post-millennial new world order. Instead, the missing link in ‘continuous’ turned Xi’s attention to “dragon.” The grounds they were walking on, in Tian An Men was surrounded by dragons.
Our perception is closely bonded with our identity, who we think we are and what we believe and live by. When XJP refers to ‘continuous civilization, he meant we’re part of our history, (and biology). What is that which is ‘continuous’ in Chinese history, and what is the dragon that has captured the imagination of the Chinese people and played a leading role in its folk culture and civilization for over 5000 years?
What is the Dragon culture?
I will begin with the universally legendary dragon as it is largely so iconic in Chinese culture that it’s become a symbolic representation.
The dragon in Chinese belief is the all-powerful manifestation of the omniscient and omnipotent – that imagined vision of an airy psyche shaping its form in the mass all around to become the energy of the mythical dragon. When we breathe out into the wintry cold air, we make a misty vapor in which hides a dragon. In festivals the dragon dance is performed to celebrate joy, community spirit and good energy. Usually, it’s a dragon chasing a golden ball, which symbolizes the dance of energy. ( as in The Dance of the Wu Li Masters : Gary Zukav : Fontana Paperbacks : 1980 )
Since the Zhou period about 3,500 BC years ago, dragon lines are believed to exist deep in the veins of the earth externally, just as it exists in the veins of human bodies along the meridian lines internally – as described in acupuncture. Hence, pre-Han Chinese viewed humans as microcosms of the heavenly macrocosm. In Feng-shui, the interaction between heaven and earth, affecting the flow of good or bad energy, can be modified by experts known as “Dragon Man ,” similarly as acupuncturists can unblock stagnant energy centres (acupressure points) along the meridian lines within man’s anatomy in order to maintain the circulation flow. The whole universe then, is seen like a living organism in which the movements in heaven have their repercussions on the earth. Man is not superior to either heaven or earth but is more like a mediator to harmonize the two spheres; hence the idea of the Middle Way.
Throughout the ages, the dragon has evolved to become part of a normal creature in Chinese folklore, reducing the true spiritual and the ethereal essence of dragons to the symbolic world of a bright and jolly mythical creature representing human aspirations for the positive things in life such as power, joy, benevolence, success and celebration, especially during the new year. Thus, communion with the cosmic forces and nature, is nearly lost, mainly to us city onlookers. But look closely and one finds that the Chinese dragon is hidden in the ancient mists, “the transmogrified immortal (Stephen Skinner: The Living Earth Manual of Feng-shui) that lie hidden in the air as in the writhing of the landscape in mountain ridges, winding rivers, underground water tables, on mountain tops, between contrasting earth formations.”
Feng-shui incorporates the skill to absorb the heavenly energy into our bodies, buildings and the earth’s terrestrial formations. Geomancers study the landscape to find energy lines and places where energy accumulates. Places charged with energy can positively affect the psychology, health, life and movements of the people and the community. Today, geomancy is alive and working to spot dragon lines to harmonize people, buildings and landscapes, with the heavenly energies and they can be found among Chinese communities everywhere; and also in main land China, I believe. It’s important to note that generating the energy is not about using it for personal empowerment but as a harmonizing agent between heaven and earth in the environment, the goal of this being to keep the flow going.
The dragon is part and parcel of ancient Chinese astro-biological science (Wheatly) or in modern day parlance, “astro-ecology,” ( Steven J. Bennett) with connections to Tian Xia ( above as below) and is intrinsic to “Feng- shui” ( originated about 3,500 BC years ago as part of folk culture and Daoism) and the “I-Ching,” (roughly 3,500 years ago). They are integral to the Daoist precept that human actions on earth affect the heavens above and movements in the heavens have consequences on the surface of the earth below – as verifiable in sources from The Form School and The Compass School of ancient Chinese geomancy ( a fitting subject for Climate Change). Hence since the late Zhou period, the emperor ruled as the Mandate of Heaven (Zhou dynasty in China -1046 BCE – 256 BCE) divinely ordained as chief mediator to guide his people, thus establishing human connection with the environment and the cosmos.
However, even in its folklore tradition, there are some telling signs in the physical nature of a typical Chinese dragon – it has a long undulating body but it’s not creepy like those of snakes, more like the great wall, wide and accommodating enough for one to ride or walk on it ; it can bring rain but it doesn’t emanate fire, hence it’s not a threat to humans, unlike the western dragons which breathe fire and are to be slaughtered. To quote Stephen Skinner (The Living Earth Manual of Feng-shui: 982: Routledge & Kegan Paul Ltd) “ Feng –shui (wind and water) ‘ together express the power of the flowing elements on the surface of the natural environment and through the earth. There are dragon lines of energy in the earth and their interaction with man are viewed as part of his subtle environment.” What do we know about why Xi so passionately endorsed Climate Change?
Viewed in its relation to the earth and the cosmos, dragons are the animating essence of the natural system, like ecology with a capital E. In the wisdom of the Chinese sages, neither heaven nor earth is isolated and complete in itself, but it is left to man to be the mediator between the two. “ The classic role of the mediator,” (to maintain the flow of energy) “ like all Chinese philosophical systems, is to avoid conflict at all cost.”
(S Skinner: The Living Earth Manual of Feng-shui: RKP ; 1995 ) Taking Skinner’s quote into our current historical context, we might have some hopes of peace by getting feng-shui experts or dragon-men to make divinations for warlords and in war zones, modify the personalities and structures of the landscapes to generate good energy flow and transform static metallic and fiery elements stirring conflicts with the softer elements of flowing wind and water. In the eyes of the ancient sages, wars are zones of dead energy blocks and signs of human failure. This is a destructive rut when humans are not in tune with their higher cosmic awareness. We need a dose of positive Win Wins to turn things around.
Following the discussion so far, in this respect then, dragons are shapers of history and it’s vested on our leadership to understand their currents and use them to make decisions and navigate the movements to avoid conflicts, developing a future shaped in the balance of all these forces pertaining to heaven and earth. So let’s be sensitized to the dragon with the code E=MC2 and not get sucked into black holes of no return.
The dragon flies through the long history of ancient China. From the apex down to the rural base, the Chinese perceive their emperors as ‘The Mandate of Heaven,’ divinely ordained; one with adherence to the rites of Confucianism and Daoism. The practice of feng shui, acupuncture, TCM (traditional Chinese medicine) and food cuisine throughout the ages to the end of the Qing Dynasty in 1912 are all influenced by the energy concept of dragon culture; a culture that sees the world evolving between the heavenly (spiritual) and earthly ( practical) forces and where humans mediate to keep the balance and too ensure the flow (circulation) of energy.
Early Recorded History
The Zhou Dynasty period, which had the longest dynastic reign, can safely be viewed as laying the template for successive Chinese dynasties, right up to modern and post-modern China. Excavations of Zhou and Warring States (late Zhou) tombs in the last few decades led to new knowledge of the local traditions and their sacrificial rites. From the relics, we learnt that standardization and quality control were well in place by this time and all the elements of mass production in specialized factory-type settings were in place (see, e.g., Barbieri-Low 2011: 374; Falkenhausen 2006). The thousands of pottery figures used in tombs such as the army of Qin Shi Huang Di shows a complicated production process including management by master crafts persons. The individuality of their faces and artistry of design and mould suggest there were highly skilled craftsmanship. Women (Barbieri-Low 2011: 379), found to be involved, indicate that Chinese women had responsibility roles in society in early imperial times.
There were also evidence of the development of Chinese food production, distribution, and consumption in the late Zhou of the Warring States period. It was during these times that China’s basic food system developed. The division between the wheat-and-millet north and rice-based south also became established. The science of nutrition, food and health was part of the development in Chinese medicine, verifiable in The Yellow Emperor’s Book of Medicine ( Nei Ching) written probably end of Zhou Dynatsy or in Han Dynasty. In the military world, there were interstate conflicts and periods when various leaders vied for hegemony.
The main philosophical schools of influence originated during the warring states of late Zhou Dynasty by which time bureaucracy, systemic governance, language, writing and literature and food techniques were already standardized. Confucianism, Daoism and Legalism were the main schools of thought. China had this civilization in place by the end of the Zhou era but it’s the main philosophies of Confucius and Dao that gripped the Chinese to internalise the essence of these teachings so thousands of years and generations later, most Chinese are inherently Confucian and Daoist even without learning what they are about.
Early Chinese Philosophy
Confucianism taught conformity to an ethical code of righteousness. Confucius’ teachings focused on the individual in his relationship to others strictly based on ethical considerations and moral principles – Do not do unto others what you wouldn’t do unto your self . Do not put off what you can do today till tomorrow etc. The central tenet is the ‘Lunzi,’ the scholar gentleman trained in self-control, develops self-respect and is a virtuous and filial son following the rites and rituals structured within a civilised world. Legalism is a theory of the law under autocratic and centralised rule with strict laws and harsh penalties the purpose of which was to instil law-abiding behaviour and orderliness. Daoism focused on the individual and his relationship with nature and living in harmony with it. Central to Daoism is the practice of “Wu Wei” or inaction, a state of mindfulness giving in to thought-free mind, effortlessness and natural action as exerted by the qi or energy. These three philosophies influenced the early Chinese empires and have a lasting impact on Chinese thinking to this day.
To my mind, it’s Daoism that, due to its inherently organic and ecological considerations, has entrenched itself with the dragon of feng-shui as ‘the living organism’ in Chinese culture; and it aided development in the natural sciences in the forms of the I Ching divination, herbalism, acupuncture, the Yin and Yang binary concepts, Chan Buddhism and Tai Qi Chuan .
By the end of the Zhou Dynasty 3,500 BC years ago, there was King Wen, meaning Civil or civilized king who excelled in civil virtues, arts of peace and civilizing influence on his people and ruling an empire with a well-structured bureaucracy, industrialization, standard language and writing, literature, music, rites, rituals, tenets and a food cuisine as we know today. Hence, from the time of King Wen there was a civilisation already set in place. Some celebrity from one of the Women’s magazines claimed that Xi looks like Winnie Pooh Bear we loved so much, but my take is Xi is a greater King Wen reincarnation. There’s a chasm if we compare King Wen and Winnie Pooh knowingly in cross-cultural pragmatics speak.
The Chinese character, Wang, 王for king depicts the mediator between heaven and earth (three horizontal lines) with a vertical line cutting half way through the three horizontal lines, signifying the mediator and Mandate of Heaven. The character for guo or nation 国
shows the king with a dot over the base line signifying order and stability. The king in his throne is set within a rectangular frame or borders. Here we have the essence of the Chinese world-view for their civilization – centralization, mediation and order. Apart from the debatable Tibet and Xinjiang issues, this image of Chinese king ship and nation can safely be regarded as influencing the Chinese’s disinterest in taking from others (based on observations/experience and shared talk) or invading other countries.
Following the warring states, Qin Shi Huangdi (221 BC) conquered the various disparate states and created for himself the title, Emperor of the Qin. He further unified China, made advances on standardization of the wheel and extended the construction of the Great Wall. It was a short reign when the Han dynasty (206 BC – 220 AD) took over and marked the golden age of China, a long reign when the ‘Mandate of Heaven’ brought peace and prosperity on earth, the Silk Road traded and there were foreign exchanges of goods, travels and religion among many things.
Here we backtrack to the origin of the main philosophies of China – Traditional or Chinese folk religion, a belief related to nature and the energies generated to create deities and immortals in the environment. It probably originated from nature worshipping and developed alongside agriculture, incorporating the seasons, the earth and the heavenly bodies. The character 神 (shen) meaning the psyche, divinity, soul or spirit developed, probably alongside rituals such as ancestor worshipping, practiced in Confucianism and Daoist rites and rituals. Chinese New Year celebration, which runs for 15 days, beginning with the waxing of the new moon and ending with the full moon waning is a celebration of spring and a rejuvenation of life in traditional folk religion. It starts with the dragon dance (invoking good energy) and fireworks ( driving away evil spirits). Celebrating Chinese New Year is an internalization of this traditional rite for all Chinese do the same things from New year’s eve to the 15th of the full moon. They chuck out unwanted hoardings, clean the house, stay up late, get new clothes and make a feast of food for the new years’ guests. No one should be negative or argue on New Year’s day but children and the elderly get red packets when they greet the new year.
There isn’t any authoritarian dictate to prescribe how to celebrate Chinese New Year but, like Confucianism and Daoism, everyone follows the tradition instinctively.
Around 67 BC, on the Silk Road, Nepali and Indian traders and monks spread Buddhism through Hotan, then Xinjiang. Mahayana Buddhism spread across China and developed into Chan ( metaphysical Buddhism examining the Buddha nature) or Zen Buddhism which later spread to Korea and Japan as Zen Buddhism in the 3rd and 4th century AD. The Chinese readily welcomed Buddha’s teachings about Compassion for all sentient beings, the transience of life and finding a way out of all suffering but they also developed the more esoteric aspect of the Buddha nature with their understanding of Daoism and Wu Wei (non action). This is an interesting analogy with Wang Lorbin, a famous folk song collector in the 60s being called a “thief,” and the current Trump accusation of China “stealing” technological ideas. In fact, the Chinese didn’t make a single claim about developing Zen or protest against the accusation. Ideas spread and if they’re any good, they get better developed.
The Han dynasty was followed by successive rebellions and enthronement of a line of famous emperors creating their hallmarked names. There was standardization in various areas in bureaucracy, the sciences, philosophy, the military and the arts, writing and literature and construction. Briefly, each dynasty was noted for its particular contribution, the Han for its golden age, the Yuan for the Silk Road, the Sung for its refinement in the arts and sciences, the Ming for its exquisite porcelain, the Tang for is expeditions abroad and the Qing for its territorial expansion. From the dynastic line and the achievements of each dynasty, I am inclined to see the inherently competitive nature within the Chinese empire to excel, innovate and push boundaries internalized by many Chinese families. There, we have Lang Lang’s father urging him “No.1, No. 1”!
Most Chinese, with their Confucian moral, civic and ethics, believe that good kings bring order, peace, prosperity and progress. There’re also believers in Daoism who develop the undying arts of the natural sciences like Wu Shu, Tai Qi Chuan, acupuncture, Feng-shui , TCM and has influence on the I Ching , Chinese Poetry and Military strategists like Sun Tze (500 BC ) and Mao Zedong (1893 – 1976). As chartered by Joseph Needham in his 14 volumes of Chinese Science and Civilization, China made many inventions, too many for it to make claims for. Combined with their well-known industriousness, it is reasonable to think they lived a purposeful existence and they were scientific, artistic, creative, innovative and productive in outlook. The dynastic courts ensured there was classical as well as folk cultures e.g. the literati engaged in the fine arts like painting and calligraphy, the town folks and villagers had paper cuts and embroidery. There were great craftsmanship in pottery, fabrics, silk and brocade, furniture, wood carving, gymnastics, martial arts, meditation, road shows operas, sport like archery, horse polo, table tennis and so on. Today, their continued existence makes China a rich place to explore.
By 2011 – 12, the Qing dynasty (Manchurian) had weakened considerably in the face of continuous and expansive foreign invasions, extracting greater concessions whenever there were unrests and making demands on China from their unequal treaties. The Qing’s inability to modernize or defend the country in the face of western aggression and their failure to consolidate the Chinese economically, militarily or nationally turned many Chinese to look toward the west for modernizing China. Many Chinese elites, empowered by new enterprises, trade and modern technology, forsook the Manchu courts, which was corrupted and had failed to feed the poor and hungry, provide jobs or enforce population control. There were reforms, uprisings and revolutions, culminating in the early Republic of China as a constitutional republic (1912- 1949). The breaking up of the Qing Dynasty ended over 4000 years of imperial Chinese governance.
The short time they took to establish a modern Constitution indicates the effectiveness of the old bureaucracy and the foresight of the transient leadership, namely that of Dr. Sun Yat Sen, who had a pivotal role in the overthrow of the Qing Dynasty. In the chaos of the Qing’s dissolution, Japanese and foreign invasions and WWII, we forgot that China had a meritocracy system and that education and receptivity to foreign influences had a strong foundation in its civilization since the Han period.
The 20th century witnessed how China outwitted foreign invasions, unequal treaties, extreme hunger and poverty, natural disasters and civil war. There was growing nationalism that culminated in the May 4 Movement, led by students after the Versailles Treaty in which the Europeans conceded Chinese Manchuria to Japan. Many different groups sprang up in Guangzhou and all over China to answer to the cry of the country’s needs; the most prominent among them were Chiang Kai Shek’s Kuo Min Tang (KMT) Nationalist Party and Mao Zedong’s Chinese Communist arty (CCP). In a century of utter dehumanization, chaos and living with internal threats, the two parties briefly united to fight against the barbaric Japanese invaders; but soon after fell apart due to foreign support for the KMT. Corruption was rife and an inability to uplift the starving, displaced and jobless as well as concessions made to foreign and Japanese powers saw Mao’s CCP, with its powerful message of hope, tenacity and equality for a new China staunchly supported by the majority of Chinese across China, particularly the peasants, students and workers.
1949 was a decisive year when Mao announced that China had stood up on 1 October 1949 and declared the founding of the People’s Republic of China to the cheering masses. Mao had a vision of a society with full equality, living communally, therefore sharing resources, and attending education classes on Marxist and Maoist dialectics. It started a modern Chinese socialist world view; a radical change from the feudal imperialism of the dynastic periods. It took a revolution, years of civil war, a daunting sacrifice of many lives ( many were tortured and executed for being communists) and major structural and societal upheavals to change imperial China into a communist country. Some sources claim 45 million died as a result of the Cultural Revolution and the Great Leap Forward; other, (more reliable) sources claim 15 million died in the CR and the GLF. Natural disasters, famine, the civil wars and the Japanese killed more than 30 millions. We shouldn’t forget there were sanctions against China in that time too.
China made a ground-shifting phenomenon to shake off imperialism, foreign invasions and internal divisions, made possible only with Mao’s unique character and world-view. Mao was a Daoist of the dragon school who knew the mountains first hand, a superior strategist of the traditional Sun Tze academy, a Marxist socialist who also liked aspects of American philosophy, a poet and a revolutionary leader. Obviously, he had a great love for universal humanity, which enabled him to galvanize the energy of the people wanting a new world order.
It’s impossible to summarize a world-view for 1.6 billion strongly independent Chinese minds. The ancient division of scholar, peasant farmer, soldier and merchant in this hierarchical social order, placed scholarship at the top; hence, the meritocracy system was established since the Zhou period. The positions of each group was not fossilized but subject to changes depending on the capability of the individual for upward mobility. However, it’s evident that the concept of ‘Above as Below’ kept the radicals in check and that in each dynastic rule there was scholarship, literature, the arts, trade, science and military advancement and explorations while the changing governments of the various dynasties could rely on a skilled and stable bureaucracy or Mandarin system supported by the educated elite who had gone through the imperial examinations. Compared to the outgoing, industrialized and imperialist colonization of the West in the later 19th century, Chinese civilization was ancient, fragile, genteel, bureaucratic and slow moving. Moreover, China was largely dependent on manual labour and the production of porcelain, tea, silk, arts and crafts while the west had machines to mass produce and armed themselves with weapons and armaments.
As English-speaking Malaysian British Straits Chinese I haven’t lived through the history, culture and revolution that had taken place in China. What I know of China is gleaned mainly from books, contacts with the various types of Chinese and personal experiences of mainland Chinese within and without China.; as well as among the various Chinese ‘dialect’ communities such as the Cantonese, Hakkas, Hokkiens, Beijinger, Shanghainese, Huananese and Tibetans and Urghurs. I have known them all to be different in many fine ways, yet, among the Han Chinese, I also know they all share an unbreakable Chinese world-view. One needn’t be taught Confucianism or Daoism; they’re inherently in us. Most Chinese, mainland or overseas, understand virtue, filial piety and how to celebrate the Chinese New Year. They will all understand which food is yin or yang, how to speak to the elderly, refusing to take anything unless almost forced upon, vying to pay for hours till someone’s already paid and in China, having the same knowledge of the lengthy Chinese history.
Apart from the traditional practices and food, new ideas will catch on like fire and spread so one finds every Chinese household having the new ‘Yee Sang” or “Lo Hei” in Cantonese fortune dish whether they’re in Hong Kong, Taiwan, Malaysia Singapore and else where in the Chinese communities of the west. Similarly, as a main land Chinese friend once said, “A famous celebrity wore red shoes and when the spotlight fell on her red shoes, all the women in China started wearing red shoes.” I had an inkling of that when I heard all my Singaporean colleagues singing Teresa Teng’s, “The Moon Represents My Heart,” and a decade later, was I surprised, when all my Chinese colleagues in Guangzhou sang the same song. What amazed me was everyone knowing that song. Yet, if you’re engaged in deep discussions with a group of Chinese, you will surely find that no two Chinese ever share the same perception.
Can someone explain if Russia and China have a true military, political and economic alliance? In other words would Russia come to China’s assistance if it were attacked by the West and vice versa? Also in regard to Syria wouldn’t it have made complete sense For Russia, China and Iran to have formed a formal alliance where they would have set up a no go zone to the West by establishing a shield with their militaries placed there. Additionally this would have given China invaluable real practice for its military. I’m really confused with the Russia-Chinese relationship. I hope Saker could provide some in depth articles regarding this.
China has a true military alliance with North Korea but that, as far as we know is the only one–and which explains why the US has not and will not attack the DPRK.
It has an undefined alliance with Russia and cooperates ever more closely with it but what that means operationally we have yet to discover–but here’s an educated guess:
If the West pushes Russia too far then China will draw energy towards itself by, for example, extending an ADIZ over–and closing the Straits of–Taiwan and the entire SCS to military vessels. Permanently. That costs nothing and sends a strong signal.
If that proves insufficient, China will sink the first (preferably) Japanese, Australian or British destroyer that defies it.
If the US defies it, China will sink a USN vessel and leave the US with distasteful options: China is militarily superior to the US within 1,000 km of its shores and land borders and the US cannot sustain an attack there because of its extended supply lines and the vulnerability of its foreign bases. If it risks an attack on Chinese vessels on the high seas it risks retaliation in kind and, of course, the dismal prospect of seeing all of its cities vaporized in 45 minutes.
Every day China’s position in its Near Seas becomes stronger. Every day it launches a new fighter, bomber or naval vessel at a rate the US cannot match.
It currently has eight Type 055 cruisers commissioned or under construction, for example, and they are the most powerful surface combatants afloat, each equipped with 132 missile launch tubes and each salvoe capable of wiping out an entire battle fleet several times over–at a range of 1,000 miles. The gap is much smaller than our media would have us believe.
And, after all the huffing and puffing, though fleets sometimes win battles, economies always win wars and China’s economy if much bigger than America’s and growing three times faster.
Putin on his March 1. speech expressively named the relation to China as our strategic, military alliance !
Bravo! A wonderful introduction to Chinese culture! Many thanks!
Hi Godfree Roberts
Thanks for your wonderful encouragement and nitty gritty facts; your specialists’ extension in the commentaries, as usual. They’re greatly valued .
Your last line – economies always win wars – rings true today as China launches the petroyuan, which reads out as a much kinder way of doing business due to the more inclusive terms on the profits side. I call this article – Tian Xia… a historic aspect in the vernacular! Glad you like it. There’re so many truly knowledgeable guys with such depth of experience and integrity in Saker’s blog, I hope, through your transparent discussions in balancing the chaos with non-partisan, verifiable, information, that we can win hearts and minds.
Dear Anne,
It is late here, and I must sleep. I will need to be bright and focused to enjoy this instruction, which contains (I can see from scanning the paragraphs) much to ponder upon. Just wanted to leave a quick thank-you note for such a large effort. The Taoist observors understood physics and biology before there were physics and biology. I use I-Ching divination to shake up and rebalance, or activate, my intuition — which I think of as a sixth sense. Bro 93 spoke briefly of this recently over at the Cafe. I may have no further comment here — just wanted to
Thank you.
GrandmaR,
Dearly appreciated.Hope you had a sound sleep. Indeed, physics and biology – I read Terrence Mackenna’s work on The I Ching…China’s approach to science might be different like the gunpowder being used for fireworks instead of ammunition. I hope we can have useful science and denuke destructive science and power. I’ve been watching Red Pine recently on Youtube. You might like his work.
Thank you.
Sun Yat Sen was clearly a foreign agent of certain western interests. Any cursory evaluation of his history shows this clearly. Let’s also not pretend classical Chinese culture and thought survived the end of the Qing dynasty. There was a reason”nationalists” and “communists” tried so hard to erase the past and break from traditional culture. Perhaps the people still retain some aspects of the traditional culture, but the high culture is gone. Why? Well consider the output of the past and current. Consider the values. Consider the worldview. Consider the education system.
Chinese culture is actually enjoying a Golden Age at present. Its education system is one of the most successful on Earth, and is quite innovative. China is quickly reaching parity or surpassing the West in most fields of science and technology, and educates more scientific graduates and post-graduates than any other country on Earth. It is also open to foreigners who wish to study or develop products and innovations in China or back at their homes.
Really? How do you know? Have studied there or been on academic staff?
Have you heard of “Chinese School”? It’s memorisation, that’s what they are good at.
I suggest you go there and live day to day, and see for yourself. I lived there and was on Academic Staff in universities and colleges over 14 years until late 2016. The majority of tertiary students want to go to the West for post graduate programmes. If they could they’d go to the West from Kindergarten, like most of the elite.
I have a nephew who lectures/teaches Actuary in the Australian National University. Most of his students come from the so called top universities and supposedly have 7.8 IELTS score, but he has to teach them academic English for their 1st semester in order for them to grasp the basics.
“educates more scientific graduates and post-graduates than any other country on Earth” of course the population is 1.8 Billion.
“It is also open to foreigners who wish to study or develop products and innovations in China or back at their homes.” Really? In order to study or work there one must have a “Criminal Background Check” where as no such check is available in China for Chinese because there is no national criminal register. Criminal Justice is all about money and connections.
There’s more hoops one has to jump through too, such as a notarised degree translated into Chinese. Westerners must inform, in writing, the PSB where and how they will travel upon arrival and can only stay in specified accommodations. Then there’s the Health Check; an experience one hopes should never be repeated.
Chinese culture is all about relationships, without them, even in academia, there is no progression.
The innovation there comes from students returning from the West, who have done internships and worked there. You can see that in the industrialisation, over a period of time.
China will develop and originate eventually but it’s still got a long way to go. So go there and see for yourself. Then you can sort the truth from propaganda. Every academic institution from Primary School up has a “Party Secretary”. Think about that. They still fake their GDP figures. Why? The culture of face.
I loved all my years in China, but it is nothing like any other culture or culture think, it is unique, it is new, founded in 1949.
“I have a nephew who lectures/teaches Actuary in the Australian National University. Most of his students come from the so called top universities and supposedly have 7.8 IELTS score, but he has to teach them academic English for their 1st semester in order for them to grasp the basics.”
Earlier years, many of Chinese students did not have good speaking English. It do not mean they could not “grasp basics”.
As some one graduated with under graduate degree in China and graduate degree overseas, your statement is not true. In fact the opposite is true.
” China will develop and originate eventually but it’s still got a long way to go. ”
As Chinese who works with Chinese engineers who only hold degrees from China, this statement is also false.
I randomly pick 3 wellknown Chinese:
Jack Ma does not have a degree from foreign college.
Ren Zhengfei of HuaWei does not have foreign degree.
Liu Chuanzhi of Lenovo does not have a foreign degree.
As much as I distaste a communist party branch every where, it is not unlike that Churches, priest every where in the west. In fact, that is where Mao got the idea of how to brain wash people into communist party. Instead of bible study, Mao had red book study.
If they still “fake GDP number”, they obvious have to show development to back it up.
Your so called “The culture of face”, only tells me you do not know the culture.
It seems your 14 years in China did not change yours bias. People like you are dime a dozen, we see your kind often enough.
J, thanks.
I totally agree. Communal hatred, mistreatment of minority and women, honor killings, and best of all a claim “Indian prime minister claims genetic science existed in ancient times” is much more superior than what happening in China….
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/oct/28/indian-prime-minister-genetic-science-existed-ancient-times
Thanks, Anonymous. You’re right, in Mao’s talk on Culture, he wanted to retain culture as part of the revolution; but high culture is so elitist and difficult for the masses to understand, I’m not surprised if it’s gone. However, in poetry, Classical Chinese might have an eternal friend. Watch Red Pine on Youtube translating Chinese Zen poems from the masters. I’m not quite sure whether ‘Cold Mountain’s’ written in classical or vernacular Chinese though the translation’s definitely vernacular and simple to grasp.
At university I was surprised and entranced by the Nature Mysticism in Chinese paintings; is that Dao? A gentler, less stressful and more nourishing version of Sturm und Drang romanticism and Goethe’s strenuous Pantheism? Not that the Chinese are averse to hard work; Confucius teaches respect for work and study along with respect for other people — especially respect for parents, ancestors and tradition, which is the author’s theme. I find Confucius very Jewish; but Dao seems something more: Living tranquilly on Nature’s bountiful bosom, as opposed to Jehovah’s characteristically aggressive commandment to “conquer the Earth and subdue her”.
Don’t forget the Duke of Zhou – he is the one that created the theory of the Mandate of Heaven, which justified (successful) revolts against authority as approved by heaven (against Shang culture in his time), which allowed the Chinese political system to survive in a mostly continuous form for 3000 years! .. The original Zhou system of government was non-imperial, that had to wait for Qin/Han, but the aspect of revolution arguably remains within the CCP, so even the current political system is arguably still within the structure of the Mandate of Heaven – if only ‘Heaven’ is replaced with ‘citizenry’. The Duke is too often forgotten for his achievement imo.
And dont forget the dukes contributions to the I Ching!
Ilya G Polmandres, thanks. I believe China had successive revolutions each time the empire declined due to negligence of looking after human needs but the CCP revolution is radical and extreme in the sense that it wasn’t just about regime change but it involved phenomenal social, structural and national changes, The CCP , I’m glad to see, continually adapts and adjusts to China’s needs. The current CCP has gone beyond the’Mandate of Heaven’s paradigm. It is a socialist Marxist-Maoist democracy with Chinese characteristics.
Very nice presentation. I learned something very embarrassing, though. In my travels in China, I was amazed at their generosity. People almost always treated me to meals. And here is the really embarrassing part: While traveling, I was doing so on a shoe string budget. So people often gave me money which I, miserable ignorant greedy foreigner, accepted without hesitation though with obvious gratitude.
I once stayed at a famous temple for a few days and made a 500 Yuan donation, which is considered appropriate. Upon leaving the temple, the Abbot gave me an envelope, which I saw had 1000 yuan in it! Over several months of my travels, a number of Chinese, when added together, gave me well over $1000, which really helped, actually.
Chinese taught me a lot about what it is to be a gracious person, which I never learned in the West except as ‘good manners’. There is a difference between being polite, which I mostly was, and being gracious.
However, most foreigners, that is, barbarians that we are, have no clue about what China or Chinese people are. So we project our own barbarousness into ‘The Yellow Peril’. Which is a close variant of how we treat Russians, ‘the Red Menace’.
Whether the Western barbarians can be tamed by the Russian soul and Chinese dragon is the paramount question of our time.
People can read about one trip I took at https://www.yourowntreasurehouse.com/zen-masters-china-path/
There you have it !! THAT is the difference a HUGE, GIGANTIC difference, because to bring a society to this a long cultural development is necessary compared to the Western sh..hole China is a garden where HUMANS life and not animals or machines as with the pit ! What is even more remarkable that this basic attitude was maintained throughout the various strives and misfortunes which befell China in the past two centuries !!
In Europe it will take atleast two generations to only become human again on a societal level. You can destroy something within months which needed generations to build, GO watch some churches or great works of Arts !!! The everything is changing cult IS NOW PURE DESTRUCTION and leaves desert or swamp or both mixed, burned earth policy in essence. Soon the mass graves will be dug and filled, IF they are allowed to commence.
Eric, thanks for sharing to. You’ve travelled like Red Pine – Youtube, who was searching for Zen hermits in the mountains… Yes, from my observations of kids and adults, I conclude the Chinese are hesitant at taking but are glad to give ( which is about sharing). I also notice how the Chinese Takeaways are always so generous! There’re kind an gentle people everywhere but I do agree with you, China’s an open and friendly country. Its people don’t discriminate on racial grounds. It used to have pure equality in Mao’s time and though poor, the people were much happier, and nicer, I’m sure. if only China can work to keep perfecting Mao’s, Peng’s and Xi’s developmental work on equality, prosperity and happiness. Yes, Russian song and music express such soulful feelings.
This historical analysis is incredible considering that Western global history is silent on Chinese history, The West needs her for life-blood.
@Ann: at the Versailles peace conference, the German concession in Weihaiwei, Shandong, not Manchuria, was handed to Japan.
This was despite China being on the Allied side, sending workers to run the supplies and logistics on the war front in Europe.
At least one ship of Chinese workers were drowned when their vessel was struck by German torpedoes, according to J Nehru’s letters.
The head of the Chinese delegation Wellington Koo staged a walkout under pressure from public opinion at home.
The callous treatment of China by the Western allies was an inspiration for the May 4th movement that called for modern science and knowledge to strengthen society.
China and its people have endured much in the past 200 years.
It is so gratifying, despite the bitter history, that it has leaders who are respectful of history and visionary for the future
:gracious, cultured and measured in behavior, unlike others.
SuzaanneM DeKuyper; awesome. Thanks. One needs aware-people speak in history.
LittleWhite Cabbage, Thanks for the correction. You’re right, it’s Shandong, the German concession given to Japan in The Versaille Treaty. China sent bout 300,000 to help the Allies. This was made public in the last 2-3 years and was reenforced with a celebration and press release last year. What saddened me most was the execution/deaths of so many young Chinese intellectuals by the allies/Japanese and KMT. Thanks for your support.
Did Confucius said : ” Within the four seas all men are brothers. ” ?? I think he did. That, is all under heaven are brothers. In Confucius time, their concept of the world is within the four seas. This is the difference between the Chinese and the Westerners. It explains the presence of about 50 nationalities, each with their own culture and language. Even the Han Chinese is an amalgam of various tribes, the northerner versus the southerner. During the time of Confucius and the Qin Dynasty, the areas of Fujian, Guangdong, Guangxi , Yunnan and North Vietnam were called Nan Yueh and the people there ( cantonese, etc ) were known as the Yueh people. Even to-day the different dialects are as different as German is from English. As Martin Jacques said: ” China is not a nationstate, it is a civilizational state.”
Where are the American Indians now in the US ?? That is the difference between a civilizational state and a nation state. .
Chan Pooi Hoong,
Thanks. Confucius ‘s teaching covers so many aspects of social cohesiveness, family unity and civilised nationhood. Benevolence, righteousness and Virtue are the golden rules. Many westerners share this universal love – it’s the imperialist politicians who encourage racism, especially in the days when there was no social media and emails.
I’m so grateful for everyone’s comment which are an edition or extension to my presentation… I love your comments. They bring the topic alive!
“However, it’s evident that the concept of ‘Above as Below’…”
This is a secular and demagogic inversion of the traditional “as above so below.” In other words earth reflects heaven, the spheres of ceaseless change, the cosmic phenomena, reflect the immutable and transcendent celestial archetypes and principles.
I find the article has too much idealization, as in “they will all understand which food is yin or yang, how to speak to the elderly, refusing to take anything unless almost forced upon, vying to pay for hours till someone’s already paid and in China, having the same knowledge of the lengthy Chinese history.”
With all the good will in the world, the masses of any population are hardly virtuous and learned sages.
Mark, Thanks for comment.
It’s not an idealisation. Chinese people do always consider the yin-yang elements in most aspects of their lives, especially in food; and. filial piety is widely in practice. There ‘re exceptions, like everything else in life but there’s an 80% cohesiveness.
China isn’t continuous as it had two cataclysmic breaks in 221BC and 1966AD, the first was decisive as all the books were destroyed except for the I-Ching and a handful of others. There are three spheres (celestial. mundane, chthonic) not two. The author’s claim that there are mainland Chinese Feng-Shui masters is very dubious as these traditions were systematically destroyed by the Communists. Feng-shui is as old as the proto-shamanic roots of Taoism, which is a great deal older than 3500BC. The I-Ching is no older than 1000BC. TCM and acupuncture are not ‘throughout the ages’ as the former was created in the 1950s and the latter in 221BC (both are due to the obliteration of preceding medical traditions). The fourth tradition, Mohism, though extinct, was equally influential on Chinese thought. The reluctance of Imperial China for expanding its borders was not due to ‘disinterest in taking from others’, it is due to there being optimal parameters of the Empire; if it includes additional territory it becomes unstable. None of the ancient arts and accomplishments of Imperial China have a ‘continued existence’ in modern mainland China. The academically authoritative figures are 30-46 million for the GLF and 2-7 million for the CR. Tibetans and Uighurs are not Chinese ‘dialect’ communities as they are not Chinese. The notion of a single Han race is a Communist invention and it is neither historical nor scientific. Chairman Mao despised religion. Otherwise, thank you for a very interesting article.
Pure Langley agit-prop. Xinjiang has been part of China, more or less continually, since the Han, and Tibet for many centuries. Chinese culture is well and truly alive and flourishing with ancient forms, techniques and artistic traditions not just well preserved, but in some cases resurrected from ancient sources after centuries of neglect. Moreover, these ancient traditions are still evolving, as in all healthy cultures, but organically, not driven by commodification, as in the West, a process that leads to abominations like an unfinished da Vinci bringing hundreds of millions, and frauds and non-talents like Damien Hirst celebrated because he makes money from selling crap to rich barbarians.
I would consider this article only for geopolitical purposes..chinese government is not peaceful at all..remember the Tibet invasion, they destroyed their temples under Maoism and tried to destroy their culture..a lot of tibetan monks and masters escaped to the West to survive and thats why the buddhism spread across europe between the 70-80..to let their culture survive from that invasion..also check their moves on Spartly islands.. chinese are belligerent, they do not integrate well in foreign countries, they have little spiritual (empathy) sense and always put work and business before relationship.. so if you think they will arrive to save us you are committing a big mistake..they will do worst than US if they put their hands in europe..that said : “the enemy of my enemy is my friend..” so if they needs to stop US domain they are welcome, but stay away and do not touch our countries..you can eat wallstreet markets, thats the prey..not us
The Chinese have not invaded any other country, killing millions and destroying whole societies, as the West, led by the USA does regularly. China merely restored central control in Tibet, after a period of weakness and English intrigue, and ended the vile theocratic tyranny, whereupon the CIA asset, the Dalai, and a rabble of theocrats and brigands fled to India, while China introduced modern amenities, health, education and the emancipation of the serfs and of Tibetan women. The Spratley Islands (Chinese Nansha)are claimed by China and Taiwan, and disputed with Vietnam, Malaysia, the Philippines, all of which have settlements on various islands and cays. So why are you concerned with China, only? The Chinese are fully integrated here in Austfailure, and I know of no country where they do not intermarry with the locals or become devotees of local customs and cultures. Moreover, in my invariable experience, Chinese make good and firm friends. I suspect there is just a great deal of psychological projection in your Sinophobic diatribe.
Not surprised, BJP online trolls have invaded the thread.
Too bad, Tibet will forever be in China, and India will be balkenized in no time.
India will be uninhabitable in a few decades, as ‘wet bulb’ temperatures pass the point of human tolerance.
We will have to see what that will bring to the neighborhood. We will make sure Kashmir and North East breaking off, Nepal and Bhutan get their territory back, rid their occupation army.
India’s shifting to political foresight and wisdom – the latest I heard from mSN is that Modi’s team are meeting up with the Chinese team to discuss bilateral co-operation on several projects. Let’s work on the win win and positive side of human nature. I do understand though, why the pessimism… I had the same outlook till this morning. I’e to keep telling myself, Hold on to Peace and humanity. But the expertise and integrity you guys have is the rock we stand on; I’m humbled and grateful.
Yes, of course. a year ago, their soldier march into your territory uninvited, refused to leave, to win election; a year later they demand your financial concession so they can win the next election. Win, Win.
MM and J, Thanks for supplying the right information. Great help clearing the cobwebs of regurgitated fake andpropaganda!