The Life of Confucius – Part 4/5

May 4, 2010

His success and radical ideas were making him dangerous enemies.  The three warlords of Lu formed an alliance to get rid of Confucius.

They found the most beautiful girls in the state and sent them to the young ruler, who spent his days and nights with the beauties, and Confucius was forgotten.  Stunned and humiliated, Confucius took his loyal students and left the state of Lu to find another ruler to support his ideas.

Confucius traveling with his students.

At fifty-four, Confucius was tough. From 497-484 BCE, he walked great distances from state to state.

During this journey, he and his students witnessed the suffering of the peasants. He knew that only the nobility could end the suffering, but none of the rulers would listen to him.

It was during this time that Confucius met the philosopher Lao Tse, who warned him to keep quiet or he was going to be killed.

Return to Part 3 of “The Life of Confucius” or go  to Part 5

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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.

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1 Comment | China, Chinese Culture, Chinese history, Confucianism, politics, Uncategorized | Tagged: , | Permalink
Posted by Lloyd Lofthouse

The Power of Debate in China

April 29, 2010

“The news triggered a heated debate that was played out all over the Chinese-language media and on the Internet. Eventually, the government backed down, and it’s been left up to industry groups to figure out new guidelines.” Source: Gr-r-r-r! Why I hate China’s e-bikes

This quote from Adrienne Mong, an NBC News Producer, caught my eye. Gasp! Is this evidence from a Western Media source that the people of China have a voice and use it? I hope Adrienne doesn’t lose her job for this slip.

This sounds like America where public debates often have an impact on public policy even if that impact is negative since the majority rules—well, in theory, since in America the majority is often ignored while we constantly hear from “loud” minorities. Take the Tea Bag people, who represent less than 15% of the population, as an example. I wish they’d shut up.

Every time I’ve been in China, we walk, take taxis or use the subways.  We don’t bike, but I have admired the electric bikes.  This is the first I’ve heard of an e-bike without lights.

bicycle and an Audi 80 collide in China

Considering that America loses about 45,000 people a year to highway deaths and, according to Adrienne Mong, China loses twice that with almost five times the population, I’m surprised the numbers for road kill in China are not higher. Many of the drivers in China are crazy. The busy streets look more like an NFL game in the Super Bowl. I’ve often observed that red lights are ignored and crossing any street and sometimes even using sidewalks is risky.

Also see, Where Did All that Pollution Come From?

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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. 

If you want to subscribe to iLook China, there is a “Subscribe” button at the top of the screen in the menu bar.

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

Chinese Stereotype Alive and Rotten in America

April 29, 2010

I read a political opinion Column on Gather written by Devin Barber and ran into an example of the American manufactered Chinese Stereotype–not from Barber but from one of the comments to his column.

Devin Barber

To find that example, I suggest you read Devin Barber’s column “Left of the Right”. The particular column I was reading was TEA Partiers Say “It’s Time To Take Our Country Back” What Does That Mean?

I was enjoying myself (laughing at some of the inane comments from the ignorant and/or stupid people who keep bashing Obama and the Democrats as if they are devils) until I reached this from Bruce, “and then if we manage to survive I think we will either end up with a totalitarian regime where the citizens are slaves like China…“

My response to Bruce’s comment started , “Bruce, what do you know about China?  The image or opinion of China that most Americans have stuck in the gunk between their ears is the China of Mao. 

“Mao died in 1976, and the Cultural Revolution ended. China created a market economy that keeps growing, and the people of China are not slaves. Actually, most of those that live in the cities have almost as much freedom as Americans in the US.  That is about five hundred million people. (Eight hundred million live in the countryside and are not as fortunate at those in the cities, but they are still not slaves.)” 

If you are interested in reading the rest, please go to Devin’s column and read the comments. Devin’s column is not about China but that one comment demonstrates the dangers that come with being an uneducated voter like Bruce. It’s scary that anyone may vote in America regardless of how globally ignorant or stupid they are. There should be a knowledge test before one earns the right to vote.

Learn more about The American Assault on China’s Currency

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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. 

If you want to subscribe to iLook China, there is a “Subscribe” button at the top of the screen in the menu bar.

3 Comments | America, American culture, China, Chinese Culture, expatriates, media, politics | Tagged: , , , , , , | Permalink
Posted by Lloyd Lofthouse

Negotiating with the Chinese

April 28, 2010

From what I’ve read so far at “Chinese Negotiation”, the Blog offers sound advice for dealing with the Chinese in business or politics.

China’s historical and cultural foundations come from a different source than America and Europe.  People that come from Western democracies are also different and alien to the Chinese since Western roots grow deep into Judean Christian values, Roman and Greek philosophy and British Common Law, which also has its roots from the Romans and Greeks.

The Great Wall of China

Don’t forget, China’s roots grow deep in different soil and they stem from Confucius and Legalism. The Great Wall did more than attempt to keep out the barbarians. It also protected Chinese civilization from foreign devils and their strange ways.

“When Americans negotiate with Chinese counter-parties, they often run into the ‘Frenemies’ dilemma. US dealmakers in China are sometimes so concerned with building good relations that they don’t perform proper due diligence until it is far too late. They end up losing money, time, IP – and destroy the very friendships that they worked so hard to develop.” To discover more, visit the source at Chinese Negotiation.

Also see “Understanding How to do China Business” http://wp.me/pN4pY-tE

Lloyd Lofthouse is the author of the award winning My Splendid Concubine and writes The Soulful Veteran and Crazy Normal.

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Leave a Comment » | business, China, Chinese Culture, Christianity, Confucianism, politics | Tagged: , , , , | Permalink
Posted by Lloyd Lofthouse

Lin Yutang Explains Christianity in China

April 27, 2010

“For most Chinese the end of life lies not in life after death, for the idea that we live in order to die, as taught by Christianity, is incomprehensible, nor in Nirvana, for that is too metaphysical, not in the satisfaction of accomplishment, for that is too vainglorious, nor yet in progress for progress’ sake, for that is meaningless. The true end, the Chinese have decided in a singularly clear manner, lies in the enjoyment of a simple life, especially the family life, and in harmonious social relationships.

“The Chinese are a nation of individualists. They are family-minded, not social-minded… It is curious that the word ‘society’ does not exist as an idea in Chinese thought. In the Confucian social and political philosophy we see a direct transition from family, ‘chia’, to the state, ‘kuo’, as successive stages of human organization …

Lin Yutang

“The Chinese, therefore, make rather poor Christian converts, and if they are to be converted they should all become Quakers, for that is the only sort of Christianity that the Chinese can understand. Christianity as a way of life can impress the Chinese, but Christian creeds and dogmas will be crushed, not by a superior Confucian logic but by ordinary Confucian common sense. Buddhism itself, when absorbed by the educated Chinese, became nothing but a system of mental hygiene, which is the essence of Sung philosophy.” Source: My Country and My People, Lin Yutang. Halcyon House, New York. 1938. Pgs 94; 101; 103; 172, and 108)

Learn about Superior versus Civilized

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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. 

If you want to subscribe to iLook China, there is a “Subscribe” button at the top of the screen in the menu bar. 

1 Comment | China, Chinese Culture, Chinese history, politics, religion | Tagged: , , | Permalink
Posted by Lloyd Lofthouse

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