During our debate, when Troy Parfitt wrote, “The essence of Confucianism is obedience,” and “The strains of despotism in these native [Chinese] ideologies speak to communism’s appeal,” I knew he was wrong.
The complexity of Confucianism is much more than just about obedience.
However, to understand Confucianism, it first helps to discover how wrong many Westerners are about so many things when it comes to China, which may explain Mr. Parfitt’s confusion.
To discover the depth of this ignorance, we will explore a few examples before focusing on the two-faces of Confucianism.
The China Law Blog says, “My mother thinks that people in China still ride around on bicycles wearing those green army suits and green hats with the red star in the middle. While there are still a lot of bicycles, especially in Beijing and Shanghai—where they are proud to wear their silk pajamas while riding their bicycles and smoking at the same time—there are not many people wearing those green outfits.”
Note from Blog host: In 1999, before I first visited China, I thought pretty much the same about the green army suits and green hats with the red star in the middle. Then I arrived in China and discovered there is a reason that Shanghai is called the Paris of Asia, and it has to do with fashion.
Misconceptions about China
At eChinacities.com, Sarah Meik shared, “8 Common Misconceptions about China Debunked“. If you want the details, click on the link to Sarah’s post. You might learn something.
Then Fred Dintenfass posted, “3 Things I Misunderstood About Chinese People Before I came to China.”
Fred says, “It is way too easy to generalize, to see a Chinese person spit and decide that all Chinese love to hock loogies in the street… I knew the media here was state run. I knew people might be cautious about expressing their political opinions. What I didn’t realize is that young people in the cities are content.”
Then at The Tree of Mamre, we learn from “China Owns Most of the US Debt, and other Misconceptions“.
“Misconception: Most of what Americans spend their money on is made in China.
Fact: Just 2.7% of personal consumption expenditures go to Chinese-made goods and services. 88.5% of U.S. consumer spending is on American-made goods and services …”
“Misconception: The United States owe most of its debt to China.
Fact: China owns 7.8% of U.S. government debt outstanding.
Continued on December 15, 2011 in The two-faces of Confucius – Part 2
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Lloyd Lofthouse is the award-winning author of The Concubine Saga. 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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Posted by Lloyd Lofthouse 
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