Home » Opinion » Chinese Views
Seeking a balanced view of the 'China model'
By Tan Chung |
December 9, 2010, Thursday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
I have come to Shanghai to take part in the Fourth Forum on China Studies, and have the good fortune to exchange views with learned scholars from all over China and abroad about the "China model."
My basic understanding is that we can study the "China model" to be reassured about what has been done rightly, and discover what has not been helpful (or has been harmful) in China's development processes so that we become wiser and smarter.
Confucius observed that guzhixuezhe wei ji, jinzhixuezhe wei ren, meaning: "In the olden days, people pursued learning for their own good; today, people do it for others."
What he meant by "pursuing learning for others" was learning for the sake of showing off, for winning others' appreciation or praise, deviating from the rightful and noble course of seeking truth and enlightenment for their own sake.
Noble souls
I grew up in my native province, Hunan, which was famous for the type of exemplary scholars who learned for their own benefit, often in seclusion, avoiding public exposure. (I have no idea whether this is the case today.)
I also lived in India for nearly half of a century and have been impressed by umpteen such noble souls in the past and even today pursuing learning as Confucius so desired.
Of course, there are also innumerable specimens of learners "pursuing learning for others" in India and other countries. I think China is no exception to this malaise as well.
By the same token, we should investigate the "China model" in China for China's own good, instead of showing off.
We build high rises, fast highways and railways, fast trains; we stage Asian Games and Olympic Games, we hold the World Expo (just as our ancestors constructed the Great Wall, the Dunhuang and Longmen caves, the Imperial Palace, etc) - primarily because they are for China's public good (and also for the world's public good) - while the attendant prestige and glory are of insignificant importance.
There is another aspect of cost and benefit to bear in mind. China has a gigantic population, 1.4 billion people, whose welfare should be paramount in the minds of the policy makers.
China is not yet a rich state, and every yuan of the exchequer and social wealth must be put into the slots where money is most needed and optimal benefit accruing.
Before we inquire into the "China model," we must realize that China never was or is a "nation state," which is a purely European concept born of the Westphalia Peace Treaty.
China was a millennial civilization, and has been a great "civilization state" from her unification (by Emperor Qin Shihuangdi in 221 BC) till today.
This great Chinese "civilization state" has a unique coverage in time and space.
Time-wise, it is like Shakespeare's description of Cleopatra - "age cannot wither her" - 22 centuries have gone by to witness the Chinese "civilization state" living younger and younger.
In space, she covers an extended area of the valleys of two of the earth's 10 great rivers (eight of which are international waters) - The Huanghe/Yellow River and the Yangtze River.
Self love
Here, I am reminded by the great modern Indian poet, Rabindranath Tagore (the first Asian to become a Nobel laureate in 1913), who wrote in 1899:
"The naked passion of self love of Nations, in its Drunken delirium of greed, is dancing to the Clash of steel and the howling verses of Vengeance ("The Sunset of the Century").
In these poetic lines, Tagore succinctly highlighted the wicked European civilization of a group of "nation states" ruthlessly pursuing the expansion of "Power," leading the world to war and destruction.
He appealed to the conscience of the world, especially China, to carry forward the Eastern spirit of "Love."
Today, I have the feeling that the same nightmare of pursuing the expansion of "Power" is lurking in the dark everywhere, not only among the developed states, but among the newly-emergent states as well.
(To be continued tomorrow. The author is a Sino-Indian historian who now lives in Chicago. The article is based on an interview with Shanghai Daily reporter Xu Qin during the Fourth Forum on China Studies in Shanghai in November. Shanghai Daily condensed the article.)
My basic understanding is that we can study the "China model" to be reassured about what has been done rightly, and discover what has not been helpful (or has been harmful) in China's development processes so that we become wiser and smarter.
Confucius observed that guzhixuezhe wei ji, jinzhixuezhe wei ren, meaning: "In the olden days, people pursued learning for their own good; today, people do it for others."
What he meant by "pursuing learning for others" was learning for the sake of showing off, for winning others' appreciation or praise, deviating from the rightful and noble course of seeking truth and enlightenment for their own sake.
Noble souls
I grew up in my native province, Hunan, which was famous for the type of exemplary scholars who learned for their own benefit, often in seclusion, avoiding public exposure. (I have no idea whether this is the case today.)
I also lived in India for nearly half of a century and have been impressed by umpteen such noble souls in the past and even today pursuing learning as Confucius so desired.
Of course, there are also innumerable specimens of learners "pursuing learning for others" in India and other countries. I think China is no exception to this malaise as well.
By the same token, we should investigate the "China model" in China for China's own good, instead of showing off.
We build high rises, fast highways and railways, fast trains; we stage Asian Games and Olympic Games, we hold the World Expo (just as our ancestors constructed the Great Wall, the Dunhuang and Longmen caves, the Imperial Palace, etc) - primarily because they are for China's public good (and also for the world's public good) - while the attendant prestige and glory are of insignificant importance.
There is another aspect of cost and benefit to bear in mind. China has a gigantic population, 1.4 billion people, whose welfare should be paramount in the minds of the policy makers.
China is not yet a rich state, and every yuan of the exchequer and social wealth must be put into the slots where money is most needed and optimal benefit accruing.
Before we inquire into the "China model," we must realize that China never was or is a "nation state," which is a purely European concept born of the Westphalia Peace Treaty.
China was a millennial civilization, and has been a great "civilization state" from her unification (by Emperor Qin Shihuangdi in 221 BC) till today.
This great Chinese "civilization state" has a unique coverage in time and space.
Time-wise, it is like Shakespeare's description of Cleopatra - "age cannot wither her" - 22 centuries have gone by to witness the Chinese "civilization state" living younger and younger.
In space, she covers an extended area of the valleys of two of the earth's 10 great rivers (eight of which are international waters) - The Huanghe/Yellow River and the Yangtze River.
Self love
Here, I am reminded by the great modern Indian poet, Rabindranath Tagore (the first Asian to become a Nobel laureate in 1913), who wrote in 1899:
"The naked passion of self love of Nations, in its Drunken delirium of greed, is dancing to the Clash of steel and the howling verses of Vengeance ("The Sunset of the Century").
In these poetic lines, Tagore succinctly highlighted the wicked European civilization of a group of "nation states" ruthlessly pursuing the expansion of "Power," leading the world to war and destruction.
He appealed to the conscience of the world, especially China, to carry forward the Eastern spirit of "Love."
Today, I have the feeling that the same nightmare of pursuing the expansion of "Power" is lurking in the dark everywhere, not only among the developed states, but among the newly-emergent states as well.
(To be continued tomorrow. The author is a Sino-Indian historian who now lives in Chicago. The article is based on an interview with Shanghai Daily reporter Xu Qin during the Fourth Forum on China Studies in Shanghai in November. Shanghai Daily condensed the article.)
- About Us
- |
- Terms of Use
- |
-
RSS - |
- Privacy Policy
- |
- Contact Us
- |
- Shanghai Call Center: 962288
- |
- Tip-off hotline: 52920043
- 沪ICP证：沪ICP备05050403号-1
- |
- 互联网新闻信息服务许可证：31120180004
- |
- 网络视听许可证：0909346
- |
- 广播电视节目制作许可证：沪字第354号
- |
- 增值电信业务经营许可证：沪B2-20120012
Copyright © 1999- Shanghai Daily. All rights reserved.Preferably viewed with Internet Explorer 8 or newer browsers.
