An Unhealthy War of Words

March 17, 2010

Both China and America face a crises in health care, because many in both countries cannot afford it.

Emperor Wudi (Han Dynasty, 141 BCE) may have made the right choice. Wudi wanted to make sure that peasants could afford salt and iron so his government controlled the prices. The private sector that sold these commodities was upset, because they couldn’t amass the great fortunes they wanted.

Emperor Wudi - Han Dynasty

After Emperor Wudi’s death in 87 BCE, a great debate (similar to the debate over health care in America today) took place.  It was called the “Debate on Salt and Iron”.  It pitted the advocates of a strong central state against those favoring more autonomy for local elites—people who owned businesses in the private sector. In the end, the government program that controlled the prices of essential commodities was abolished.

The results—

1. The imperial court became more concerned with an extravagant social life and stopped doing their job running the country. Greed became rampant.

2. Powerful families manipulated the emperor and his ministers—like corporate and special-interest lobbyists in America today. For a few, fortunes grew while many peasants had to go without.

3. Revenues declined and military affairs were neglected.

4. The Han Dynasty collapsed.

Health is an essential commodity, and Bill Maher makes a good case for this in his piece at the Huffington Post.

To learn more, read “China’s Health Care During Mao’s Time” http://wp.me/pN4pY-br

Leave a Comment » | America, Chinese Culture, Chinese history, economy, health care, media, politics | Tagged: , , , , , , , , | Permalink
Posted by Lloyd Lofthouse

China Bashing

March 16, 2010

Americans need their boogiemen. Many Americans blame teachers when kids don’t learn. Many also blame liberals when the economy or a war goes wrong. Kids blame mom and dad for things the kid did. After all, mom and dad raised the child. It seems rare when an American takes the blame for anything.

China bashing is still popular as US lawmakers attack China ahead of November elections. source  The big difference between now and then is China’s standing in the world. In the 19th century, China was weak. Today, China is strong.

Dr. George Morrison (on the right)

Americans did not invent China bashing. That started in the 19th century. The man responsible was probably Dr. George Ernest Morrison, Peking correspondent for the London Times. He was the only full-time resident journalist in China’s Imperial capital, and his lies influenced the history of China for almost a century.

It is ironic that Sir Robert Hart, the main character in my novel, who was in Peking and witnessed Morrison’s conduct and read his inaccurate newspaper reports, saw him as lazy, self-indulgent, intolerant, racist and unprincipled.

Many of the London Times pieces Morrison wrote were littered with lies and deceit influencing people’s opinions toward China to this day.

To read another example of China Bashing, see No Political Machine

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Lloyd Lofthouse is the award-winning author of the concubine saga, My Splendid Concubine & Our Hart. When you love a Chinese woman, you marry her family and culture too. 

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2 Comments | America, China, Chinese history, media, politics | Tagged: , , , , , , , | Permalink
Posted by Lloyd Lofthouse

More than Money

March 16, 2010

The S’ung dynasty cautiously issued true-paper money in 1023, in small amounts in a limited area good for a specific time period. The notes would be redeemed after three years, to be replaced by new notes for a 3% service charge. source

Chinese money – Yuan

With the United States wanting (source) China to devalue their currency, China finds itself between a rock (1.3 billion Chinese) and a hard place (America). If China caves in and does as America wants, products manufactured in China would cost more. If that happened, demand for Chinese products from other countries would decline and Chinese people would lose jobs.

Labor unrest in China is already increasing. source People want jobs and higher pay so they can join the growing middle class and buy more things like Americans do. To get ready, China’s police  are undergoing special training to deal with expected social unrest over factory closings that have left millions of migrant workers out of jobs.

What’s happening in China today is similar to what happened in America during the 1860s and ’80s. source

It’s the same old story—the rich want to keep the money while workers want to earn more.

Discover Deng Xiaoping’s 20-20 Vision

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Lloyd Lofthouse is the award-winning author of My Splendid Concubine [3rd edition]. When you love a Chinese woman, you marry her family and culture too. This is the love story Sir Robert Hart did not want the world to discover.

His third book is Crazy is Normal, a classroom exposé, a memoir. “Lofthouse presents us with grungy classrooms, kids who don’t want to be in school, and the consequences of growing up in a hardscrabble world. While some parents support his efforts, many sabotage them—and isolated administrators make the work of Lofthouse and his peers even more difficult.” – Bruce Reeves.

lloydlofthouse_crazyisnormal_web2_5

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China’s Holistic Historical Timeline

3 Comments | America, business, China, Chinese history, economy, politics | Tagged: , , , , , , | Permalink
Posted by Lloyd Lofthouse

The Qianlong Emperor and Google

March 16, 2010

On Friday, March 12, the BBC reported that the Chinese Minister of Industry and Information Technology Li Yizhong adopted a tough stance during a legislation session. “I hope that Google will abide and respect the Chinese government’s laws and regulations,” he said.  “But, if you betray Chinese laws and regulations … it means that you are unfriendly, irresponsible, and you will have to pay the consequences.”

Qianlong Emperor

Google doesn’t get it.  If they read what the Qianlong Emperor (1736-1796) wrote in his famous letter to King George the III in 1793—when China was strong enough to resist external influence—they might understand.

China is a family oriented culture, and the individual is not as important. Public freedom of expression does not fit the Confucian, Taoist foundation that begins in the family where you do not publicly criticize your elders or your leaders and expect to get away with it.

Starting with the first Opium War in 1840 until Mao won China in 1949, China was weak and was bullied by Imperial powers. Now that China is strong, they are saying “NO” as the Qianlong Emperor did.

Discover The Influence of Confucius

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Lloyd Lofthouse is the award-winning author of the concubine saga, My Splendid Concubine & Our Hart. When you love a Chinese woman, you marry her family and culture too.

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2 Comments | business, Chinese Culture, Chinese history, Confucianism, family values, politics, Taoism | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , | Permalink
Posted by Lloyd Lofthouse

Chinese Herbalism

March 15, 2010

If given a choice, I will use herbal medicines when I’m sick instead of modern Western medicine, which will be my last resort.

The use of herbal medicines in China has been traced back to the Zhou Dynasty, late Bronze/early Iron Age, about 2500 to 3000 years ago. The video at the end of this post will give you a better idea how herbalism came to be.

Li Shizhen

In 1596, hundreds of years before Western modern medicine, Li Shizhen spent decades writing down the vast knowledge of herbal lore.

His book, the Ben Cao Gang Mu (1596), has been used as a pharmacopoeia, but it was also a treatise on botany, zoology, mineralogy and metallurgy.

 
Ben Cao Gang Mu

The Ben Cao Gang Mu mentions 1,892 different herbs and is divided into 6 sections, 52 scrolls and 60 different categories.

It has been reported that Darwin had a copy of the Ben Cao Gang Mu with him on his voyage of discovery in 1831.

In fact, the World Health Organization reports that about 80% of people worldwide use herbal medicines for their healthcare.

Discover more about Health Care Without Drugs

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Lloyd Lofthouse is the award-winning author of My Splendid Concubine [3rd edition]. When you love a Chinese woman, you marry her family and culture too. This is the lusty love story Sir Robert Hart did not want the world to discover.

#1 - Joanna Daneman review posted June 19 2014

Where to Buy

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1 Comment | Chinese Culture, Chinese history, environment, health care | Tagged: , , , , , , , , | Permalink
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