Although the Communist Chinese government has made it illegal to spit on those statues for public health reasons, hundreds defy that law on a daily basis, and continue to insult those traitors while honoring Yue Fei.
There is another moral hero from China’s history. During the Three Kingdoms era (220-265 A.D.) after the fall of the Han Dynasty, there was a long period of civil war. Out of this era came the story of Guan Yu, who was another model for loyalty and righteousness. Guan Yu lived almost eighteen hundred years ago, yet it is easy to find carvings and statues of him in China today. I have bought several hand carved from wood.
It doesn’t matter if one is a member of the Communist Party, because role models like Yue Fei and Guan Yu still play an important part in how ‘most’ Chinese behave and what they believe. Anyone in China holding a position of power is measured against men like Yue Fei and Guan Yu.
To help gain a better understanding of what honor means to the Chinese, here’s a link to a piece published in the Los Angeles Times.
“Beijing – China suspended military exchanges with the United States and threatened sanctions against American defense companies Saturday, just hours after Washington announced 6.5 billion in planned arms sales to Taiwan.” by Cara Anna, Associated Press Writer
The private sector’s American Military Industrial Machine thrives on wars like Korea, Vietnam, Iraq and Afghanistan. Military industrial tycoons would have strokes if America didn’t have any enemies to scare the public with. Without fear of the boogieman, would America need the second-largest military on earth? Would America need to spend more money on weapons than the rest of the world combined? These Military Industrial types are like greedy Christmas morning kids who pout when there aren’t enough presents to open.
Don’t read me wrong. We need to fight the nasty Al Qaeda terrorists (the ones hiding in Pakistani caves like flea ridden Neanderthals) who want to burn our underwear and sink our cities from global warming.
Now, slip into China’s shoes. During the 19th century, China was the victim of Western Imperialism. The Chinese emperor didn’t want his people to have access to opium. The West did, and the British and French waged war against China forcing China to allow opium in. American merchants benefited from those wars too. Then China fought with Russia, Germany and Japan and lost more territory. Then along came WWII and a Japanese invasion that cost at least thirty million Chinese their lives.
Is it any wonder that China is upset that the United States industrial military machine is selling Taiwan $6.4 billion in weapons. Geez, these industrialists should be making enough off Iraq and Afghanistan and this “war” (oops, we aren’t supposed to say that—political correctness you know) on terror. Prior to 1949, Taiwan was part of China. After the Nationalists lost China, the people in Taiwan lived with martial law under a dictator for thirty years before being forced to hold democratic elections.
Think about this from the Chinese point of view. The Chinese want was lost to Western Imperialism in the 19th century and the early 20th century. Check China’s maps to see what was lost. Mao reclaimed Tibet, and China has been badmouthed in the Western media ever since. With this history, how would you feel if you were Chinese?
How many wars has China started with other countries in the last century? Make a list and compare it to the wars started by the other major powers (don’t forget America). Once you finish the list, tell me who should worry the most? China or America.
Of course, the Chinese could change the name of their political party to Republican or Democrat. They could do away with the yellow stars on their flag and replace those symbols with a red ass or a blue pachyderm. They could even vote to join America as the next state, but that would make the dreaded double “L” happy. No, not me—Lawyers and Lobbyists. Right now, China has about 110,000 lawyers for 1.3 billion people while America has more than a million to rob less than a quarter of China’s population.
Isn’t it bad enough that we’ve already given China fast food and Ford?
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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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Terrible things did happen under Stalin and Mao. Tens of millions died due to the policies of these dictators. However, that isn’t true today.
Most Chinese do not like to display their dirty laundry in public for the world to see. I believe I talked about this on the The Dr. Pat Show, or one of the other radio talk shows I was a guest on in 2008.
The primary reason for the way the Chinese handle embarrassing situations like these is that most Chinese do not like to lose face. If one Chinese citizen does something wrong and gains the attention of the world’s media, most Chinese feel as if they are seen as guilty too. To learn more, See what Lin Yutang wrote about face.
Two recent pieces in the news focused a spotlight on how most people in the West misunderstand China and the Chinese. On January 19, Time published a piece comparing China’s handling of its earthquake in May 2008 in Sichuan with the way Haiti is handling its current catastrophe. There were striking differences—mostly making China look good.
Today, the Associated Press published a piece about China slamming US criticism of its Internet controls, and it was mentioned how a “few” Chinese bloggers were upset by content controls in China. Don’t forget that China has 1.3 billion people.
Both pieces miss the point because they both assume that Western values should be applied to China. This also goes back to a conservative friend whom, during an e-mail conversation, said Communism was evil. I’m sure many Americans may believe this statement, and they would be both historically correct and currently wrong. To learn more, see what I said in A Media Slugfest Using Taiwan.
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.
Why is it that everything that happens in China is the government’s fault? At least that’s how the Western media and politicians tell it. If the Chinese government is to blame for what every Chinese citizen does, then every senator, congressmen, Supreme Court justice and the president of the United States are responsible for everything happening in America.
China has every right to deny they are responsible. After all, where is the evidence? I always thought people were considered innocent until proven guilty. Shouldn’t governments have the same right. Isn’t that the foundation of American justice? China has a huge population using the Internet. Anyone could be doing this. How would you like to keep track of 1.3 billion people? Heck, the government of the United States can’t even control its people, and I know that China does not control their people as much as Westerners believe.
Here’s an example of what happens when Western Yellow journalism and politicians stir the pot. One Blogger Who Found Them Guilty Evidence that “simple” minds jump to conclusions based on propaganda, which is a two way street.
Posted by Lloyd Lofthouse 
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