Sunday, March 24, 2013

China's Incendiary Chessboard


China has dominated the manufacturing sector. It has historically been one of the imperial superpowers of the ancient world as well as a rich apparatus of culture. Its government was rooted in Confucianism, the key thread to the Communist foundation of its government. It also had ties—not threads, but ties—to Sun Tzu’s book Art of War. For centuries it had practiced a restrained, manipulative, if not deceitful manner of practicing foreign relations. In this world contrastingly are two civilizations: the West and the East; the east practicing “Wei Qi” whereas the West practices “chess” in foreign relations.
            The differentiating factor is the characteristic maxims of each governing hemisphere. The West is direct, and goes for total victory, emphasizes the tenet of glory, or the tenet of mettle in battle. The East is principled in the “Eastern style.” Its character espouses attrition, deviation, which are the tinder for a humane fire, or war. The Art of War states, “anger can turn to pleasure, Spite can turn to Joy. But a nation destroyed Cannot be put back together again; A dead man cannot be brought back to life.” When a fire is lit, it should be short, quick, and effective in its end. The means of course should be aimed with humane as the driven axiom.
            One of the let downs of Confucianism as the root of governance is that it attributes food production to the source of industrialization. This is not the case, as Germany would show in the late 1800s, or Britain even earlier with its navy and supreme dominance of the sea in the mid 1700s. Indeed, China’s rule as the Middle Kingdom and center of Earth would apex. Its decline would begin with the explorative inquisitions of the British in the 1700s. Growing steadily, it intended to expand its power and trade—the wo inextricably linked-in the Eastern hemisphere. Macartney was an ambassador sent by King George II.
            The primary purpose of his journey was the provocation of Sino interest. The British wanted to ostensibly open trade relations with China. He brought with him a composite of Britain’s finest goods and displayed—through commerce—the apparatus of British value and industrial strength. Diamond watches, weapons like mortars, and even a hot air balloon alleged to be tested through Beijiin did not impress the Chinese. Rather, they condescended the goods as foreign and barbaric by the (temporally relative) Chinese maxim that Europeans were barbaric. A plethora of racial slurs developed, a resultant due to the presence of European traders ensuing Macartney’s arrival. Macartney. 




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