Chinese View of the World


21st Century

Which bloc will be the winner of the economic warfare in the 21st century?

EU, US, Japan?

According to Economist, perhaps China may become a leader. GDP growth rate of China had been over 10% during the 1990s. And by 2020, China may be No. 1 in GDP. Since GDP statistics generally favor high income countries, IMF suggests that purchasing power parity (PPP) rather than exchange rates should be used. When PPP is used, in 1992

#1: US = $5.6 Trillion
#2: Japan = $2.37 Trillion
#3: China's GDP = $1.66 Trillion

In 2005, based on CIA estimates of per capita incomes,

#1: EU = $12.8 trillion (456 million × $28,100)

#2: US = $12.4 trillion (296 million × $41,800)

#3: China = $8.1 trillion (1,306 million × $6,200)

#4: Japan = $3.9 trillion (127 million × $30,400)

Experts estimated in 1992 that GDP of the Chinese economic bloc by 2020 = $9.8 Trillion, based on 7% growth.

Even in 2002, China's growth rate exceeds 7%. It now appears that China will beat the US by 2015, 10 years earlier than the experts expected in the 1990s.

Why are Asian countries growing faster than others?

A page from Women's Reading published in 1885 during Meiji period (1868-1912). Lesson 28 describes how Mencius' (372 - 289 BC) mother had to move three times in order to give good education to her child. First, they moved next to a cemetery and Mencius' play was an imitation of funeral ceremonies. Next, they moved to a market place and Mencius was playing with children, imitating merchants. Finally, they moved to a school neighborhood, and Mencius was imitating students learning in the school.

Apparently, only Japanese women, not men, were absorbing Chinese culture. Sexual discrimination in education may have contributed to Japan's militant attitude during the 20th century.

Here are some cartoons that illustrate Chinese view of the world. These cartoons are by Tsai Chi Chung, reproduced with express permission of http://www.asiapacbooks.com.
Lao Zi (c. 550), the first Taoist, precedes Confucius. They met once.
The policy of "nonintervention" or "laissez-faire" was popularized in the 19th century.

The more constraints imposed, the less national income. This is a central result of all constrained maximization problem in economics.
 
 
Origin of All Things

Truth. The only other historical figure that has emphasized truth is Jesus. Pilate confronted him, "Quod est veritas?"
   
Zhuang Zi (c. 370 - c 280 BC), a contemporary of Mencius.
Utility of A Useless Tree
Han Fei Zi (- 233 BC) was a classmate of Li Si, who served as the prime minister under Qin Shi Huang Di. He was invited by the ruler of Qin, but later was ordered to drink poison by the conspiracy of his classmate.
The impact of income growth.

Freedom, fairness, and democracy are important in the Western culture. These concepts are almost absent in Asian culture. Even in this episode of Han Fei Zi, the story is intended to illustrate the wife's disloyalty, rather than unfairness of the husband or the sagacity of the wife.

Of the world's Top 10 Worst Dictators (Parade Magazine), the top 3 are Asians, including Hu Jintao in China (The rest are mostly Africans). If one is to be fair to all, such ideal necessarily leads to democracy.

Stop your busy routine. Look up the sky and ponder upon eternity.
Be a happy laborer and smell flowers once in a while.
Money making is a recent craze that will go away in a few decades.
On Dragonback Trail, Hong Kong, August 2003.