My principal is a very generous and visionary man. In 2018 he invited a big group to gather at Wuyishan (in Fujian, renowned for its great tea and scenery) to talk about East-West possibilities. Many of his scholar friends from all over the world – promptly met in the most popular hotel in December that year to brainstorm things. I was fortunate to be involved in the organisation work, which was chiefly coordinated by my colleague CD Liang.
CD's team came up with the above logo. I thought it was most appropriate – very creatively done depict two broadest global mindset representations – the Chinese characters of East and West, and the alphabets of E and W.
As one who had the benefit of having primary education in Chinese and English all the way later, and who has worked for big western-styled corporates and huge Chinese conglomerates, and who has been living variously in Malaysia, Singapore, and Australia, I truly believe East-West is the way to go for humanity to live and prosper.
2018 was perhaps the end of my great hope. Soon after our function, protests turned to riots in Hong Kong, and no sooner, Donald Trump was accusing China as if it was responsible for starting the pandemic. Scott Morrison, hitherto someone who was seemingly rationale in his pronouncements on China, suddenly turned hostile and began to poke China’s eyes wherever he could. Now with Biden in charge, my entire optimism about how good East-meets-West would bring to the world has been totally shattered.
And this goes beyond geopolitics. I am particularly concerned about the degree of divisiveness amongst people of Chinese descent today.
I am no racist, but I am extremely proud of our Chinese heritage. To many, Confucianism (or Ru-ism, 儒 school of philosophy) is archaic, but I firmly believe it is the very pillar of Chineseness. However, I admire the West for their curiosity – their leaving no-stone unturned way of doing fundamental research, which has led them to come up with titanic scientific breakthroughs – and their general etiquette in public, on roads, and toilet use. The former has also helped them to build up great institutions of learning. The Japanese were quick to adopt these change imperatives.
I must confess that I was a very harsh father. My two children must have been traumatized by my “Confucian” demands when they were growing up. The way they are bringing up their children now tells me that they have not agreed with my “way”. Nonetheless, I take pride in the way they conduct themselves in society. They certainly will not agree with me, but I think they personify quintessentially Confucianism.
But I am less sanguine about our future generations. Many who have been brought up in the West and even in Hong Kong and Taiwan do not even think they are Chinese. We know the reasons, among them: (a) A sense of shame arising out of China’s pathetic state since the dying days of the Qing dynasty to the madness of the Great Leap Forward movement during the Mao era, (b) The lack of etiquette exhibited by mainland Chinese after the country opened up for foreign travels, and more recently, (c) The relentless efforts by the West (and Western-educated Chinese journalists and naturalized politicians) to demonize China.
Children during their formative years are most vulnerable to societal and peer influence. They tend not to be able to differentiate spirits and culture’s philosophical roots from religious beliefs and Deep State’s grand designs.
Let me try to illustrate my contention a little. Abhorrence of Chinese superstitious practices and “born-again” callings have prompted many to turn to Christianity. To me, that is entirely fine and to be respected. However, by being Christians, some have totally turned away from Confucian rituals. Yes, they may seem incongruent with Biblical teachings, but is ancestral worshipping anti-Christianity?
My second point, which to me, is most damaging to Chinese as a people, is about the Deep State’s unseen hands. The Deep State is gathering and directing all the dark forces Chinese against Chinese. They have quite successfully painted China as an evil empire, and Xi Jinping is its evil emperor. And you must help eliminate them, just the way the Falung Gong wants us to do. Many have been indoctrinated to prosecute, like those ethnic Chinese in Western and West-loving media, think tanks and government bodies.
There is a ray of hope, though. Biden and his administration’s hypocrisy may finally serve as the wake-up call. Even America’s hitherto indispensable ally Saudi Arabia is now distancing itself from Uncle Sam. And I find increasingly number of friends are quite anti-Biden nowadays. If China continues to demonstrate to the world that it is not the China the West it has portrayed it to be, we Chinese can stand tall anywhere we go.
Be that is it may, humility, which is one of the pillars of Confucianism, must always serve as the soul of our culture. Ditto the virtue of 吃苦 (“eating bitter”, which I understand evolved from the idiom 卧薪尝胆 (wò xīn cháng dǎn, sleeping on a hard bed and tasting animal bile - to remind oneself of the need to endure extreme hardship, especially when one is down and out.)
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