The China Syndrome
In his Foreword for Morton and Lewis' China: Its History and Culture (4th Edn), Emeritus Professor of Chinese Philosophy and Culture at Dartmouth College, Wing-tsit Chan, dispels the myth that China is ancient by drawing the distinction between the country - ideologically founded in 1949 - with the political structure of provinces and counties and of superimposed cultures of some 2000 years.
"When a Chinese talks about friendship", Mr Chan argues, "he or she will quote Confucius, from the sixth century B.C." The Chinese apparently always look back to history "for concrete evidence and past experience, not much different from the American legal system, which insists on precedents to show why a certain decision has been made."
"It is not an exaggeration", he concludes, "to say that the Chinese are among the most historically minded people to be found anywhere."
"When a Chinese talks about friendship", Mr Chan argues, "he or she will quote Confucius, from the sixth century B.C." The Chinese apparently always look back to history "for concrete evidence and past experience, not much different from the American legal system, which insists on precedents to show why a certain decision has been made."
"It is not an exaggeration", he concludes, "to say that the Chinese are among the most historically minded people to be found anywhere."
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