So, the recent nomination of my friend Derrick’s page Mask of China in a UK Web magazine has made me realize a simple, painful fact; I need to start adding value to this site if I want anyone more than family to read it.
Adding some useful sections has been something I’ve been tossing around for some time. The trick is, as might be imagined, figuring out what ‘useful’ means. I’m thinking a brief overview of key Chinese language, a bit of a guide to Dalian (though I might need to do some more research on this, as going there involves leaving my apartment for long lengths of time, and getting rid of the agoraphobia that the Northeastern Chinese winter drove into me is proving a slow process) and some other random tidbits that deserve their own pages all might be on order.
Oh, and so… to spark up some opinions. What do we all think about the recent protests in China towards the Japanese and their businesses located here..
In my not at all humble opinion, I’ll state this: In no way can I attest to being any sort of expert about the history of China, but I’ve always been pretty good at seeing patterns in things. China, it would seem, tends to frequently look beyond its borders to place blame for any troubles it seems to be encountering – yet at the heart of it seems to be one simple fact: the Chinese tend to like fucking themselves over. I mean, there’s no denying that the Japanese performed some horribly atrocious crimes towards the Chinese during the first half of the last century, and that those responsible have largely gone unpunished and unscorned by anyone other than the Chinese for these war crimes. In so far as that, I agree with the Chinese anger.
What I don’t agree with is the fact that this has largely bred generation after generation of blind racial hatred towards the Japanese, or rather those that committed the crimes against humanity in China, whom for the most part would all be dead or dying by now. Nearly everyone I’ve met in China has mentioned at some point that they dislike the Japanese for this reason, yet when I ask them if perhaps they think that it’s time that bygones be bygones … many, of this generation at least, seem to agree. Yet, the somewhat violent protests continue.
And the fact that China on a whole has performed more horrible acts towards its own people over the centuries than Japan could ever compete with leaves the whole argument a bit depthless.
Now, I realize I’m probably saying all this at the risk of deportation, so let me be clear on one thing. I think China is one helluva cool country. Right or wrong, things are going well for the place and it’s good to see people who have struggled with so much finally have hope for a bright future full of mobile phones and useless appliances.
There’s lots of opinions on what the future of China will be, but I don’t think it can be argued that whatever it is, next super-power or fallen giant, it will impact the rest of the globe on a massive scale – and like series finales and SuperBowls, even if you’re not into it all, it’s worth the watch.
