For the last several months, my wife has watched a seemingly endless series of Chinese dramas. You’d think that if I sat down and paid attention, I’d get really good at it – but then again we have one on right now and I’m typing away at this. Gotta pick my battles.
But I must say that the quality of these dramas has improved significantly over the years, and the stories can be interesting. The ones she watches almost always deal with something mystical – I’ve seen my share of dragons and magic, and of course the obligatory kung fu tip-toeing through the treetops with magical swords or what have you. It seems that Chinese culture is making a bit of a comeback.
I’ve long been associated to China and I certainly love it. I’ve encountered some of its wonderful people, but I must admit there is one thing about the Chinese that I’ve seen in particular in a contrast with their Asian neighbors. The Japanese have always impressed me as quiet and orderly. Koreans are fierier and more passionate. But the Chinese have an arrogant confidence that comes with being from a country with its history and accomplishments. I’m not saying that in a bad way either. I’m just saying that I’ve walked through the palaces of Seoul and the Forbidden City in Beijing, and it’s not even close.
China is a beautiful big country filled with more culture and history than is imaginable to many. I’ve got a single, thin volume (about 250 pages) called The Genius of China by Robert Temple which is based upon Joseph Needham’s 27-volume work titled Science and Civilisation in China. Temple’s abridgement is quite enough. In it (as with Needhams’s work), you will find Chinese discoveries and contributions that range from the iron plow to deep drilling for natural gas to the circulation of blood to the use of negative numbers. And of course, you’ve got gunpowder, land mines, and flame throwers. So many Chinese discoveries pre-dated what we in the west thought we had discovered by centuries.
China was obviously the world’s leader in mathematics and engineering long before others. And despite recent times in which China was overpowered and humiliated by nations both far and near, the Chinese people today seem to understand something that is often overlooked by others – they’re still a great people and a great nation who deserve to be among the world’s leaders.
Now, if you’ve known me for a while, and especially from my Facebook days, you would know that I’ve been extremely critical of China. My criticisms still hold. The Chinese people are governed by a system that, to those who do not fall in line, is oppressive to the extreme. Because of this, I believe the Chinese in general (not necessarily as individuals) value life and certainly individuality far less than those of western cultures. The examples have been many since the founding of the People’s Republic in 1949: the Great Leap Forward and Cultural Revolution of the 50s and 60s; more recently the Tiananmen massacre; now the brutal oppression of religious minorities and those who seek freedom for Hong Kong. It’s undeniable too that what the Chinese are doing with the surveillance of its population is chilling to an extreme.
But while we condemn the government, we cannot condemn the people. While they vary in temperament as much as any other people, they are among the most beautiful and fun that I’ve met, and more so when you take the time to talk to them and get to know them. I wear a bracelet on my wrist with the four characters 祝福中国 – “Bless China.” It is my hope that this prayer come true for the Chinese people. I assure you, the future depends upon it.