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Why The World Has To Study Chinese History
Why The World Has To Study Chinese History
howChinaviewshistory
JeanPierreLehmannsaysthecountryscentralityinour21stcenturyworldmakesitimperativethatoutsidersunderstandwhatis
shapingitsviewsanddecisions,andHongKongcoulddomoretofacilitatesuchlearning
PUBLISHED:Tuesday,08August,2017,5:31pm
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JeanPierreLehmann
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Farfromusheringinanewworldorder,sofarthe21stcenturyhasbeenmarkedbyturbulentuncertainties.Thereareveryfew
thingsonwhichaconsensuscouldariseevenonthemostcriticalissues.Forexample,willtherebewar,ornot,and,ifso,
betweenwho?Thereis,however,onethingthatseemsincontestable:instarkcontrasttothe19thand20thcenturies,whenChina
wasaperipheralpassiveactoringlobalaffairs,inthe21stcenturyitsroleisandwillbeabsolutelyprimordial.Thatpointrequires
nofurtherelaboration.Whatthatrole,orthoseroles,willbeisanentirelydifferentmatter.
Inthatcontext,itisdispiritingandindeedalarmingtoseehowignoranttheWestisaboutChinaand,fromwhatIcansee,intends
toremainso.Hereareafewrandomanecdotestoillustrate.
IflyhalfadozenormoretimesayearbetweenEuropeandChina.Iinvariablyflybusinessclassandinvariablythemajorityof
thepassengersarewhitemalemiddleagedexecutives.Alsoinvariably,themajorityofthesewhitemiddleagedglobetrotting
executives,whennotsleeping,arewatchingasininevideosorescapistfilmsratherthanreadingbooksonChinesephilosophy,
Confucianism,Chinesehistory,ChineseliteratureorindeedeventheChineseeconomyandbusiness.
Theharmfuleffectsofthisvideoaddictionandapparentallergytoknowledgearevisible.Inmyexecutiveeducationcourses,I
oftenstartwithaliteracytest,posingprettybasicquestionsaboutChina.Theresultsareinvariablypoor.And,asIsay,its
prettybasicstuff.
Chinahasreachedaturningpointinitshistory,Xisays
Onarecentoccasion,twoBritishexecutiveswhogotoChinaadmittedtheyhadneverheard,oronlydimlyheard,oftheOpium
wars.AtapreparatorysessioninJanuaryforabout100executiveswhoweregoingtoChina,manyforthefirsttime,onan
educationtrip,Ifocusedonthequestion:inordertoknowwhereChinaisgoingto,wherehasitcomefrom?Sowelookedat
Confucianism,includingtheimpactithadonEuropeanenlightenmentphilosophers,suchasImmanuelKant;Chinastraditional
viewofitsplaceintheworld;thevoyagesofZhengHeandtheirsignificance;andsoondowntocontemporaryissuesfor
example,thepositionofTaiwan.Asthiswasafourhoursession,itwasimpossibletogointodepthonanyoftheseissues,butin
thecourseofthepresentation,Igavereferencestoalotofbooksforfurtherreading,includingChinesenovels.
Itwentdownlikealeadballoon.TheycomplainedthatIdidnotfocusenoughoncontemporaryrelevantstuff.Onewrote,
Whydidhegiveusallthesebookswhenheknows90percentofuswillneverreadthem?
WhenIgavethepresentation,IhadnotyetreadHowardFrenchsoutstandingbook,EverythingUndertheHeavens:Howthe
PastHelpsShapeChinasPushforGlobalPower.Frenchmakestheimportantpointthat,inthecurrentera,notonlymustwebe
knowledgeableaboutChinesehistory,butalsohowChineseviewhistory.Forthepasttwocenturies,theWesternviewofhistory
hasdominated.Aviewis,bydefinition,biasedandselective.AsweareintoanerainwhichChinaloomslarge,itisimportantto
heedFrenchspoint.
InmyMBAclassesthatcombineChineseandWesternstudents,IoftenfindthattheChinesearemorelikelytohaveheardofthe
MonroeDoctrinethanmyWesternstudentsare.Whyisthat?Ostensibly,theMonroeDoctrinehadnothingtodowithChina.A
bookIalsorecommend(tothe10percentwhoareinterested)isGeoffDyersTheContestoftheCentury:TheNewEraof
CompetitionwithChina,whichaddressesthequestion.
Thisisnot,Ihastentoadd,todeterminewhohastherightorwrongviewofhistory,butitiscriticalforproperdiscourseto
knowwhattheseviewsare.
Inthemid1960s,footlooseandfancyfree,IwaskickingaroundEastAsia.ThiscorrespondedtheTokyoOlympicstookplace
in1964towhatbecameknownasthepostwarJapaneseeconomicmiracle.IbecameintriguedbythequestionofwhyJapan
wastheonlynonWesterncountrytohavesuccessfullymodernisedandindustrialisedinthe19thcentury.SoIwenttoOxfordand
wrotemydoctoralthesisonthetransformationsofMeijiJapan(18681912),fromwhichIalsopublishedabooktitledTheRoots
ofModernJapan.
JapansMeijinarrativeistrulyremarkableandremainsrelevanttothisday
Japanhadbeenaclosedcountryfortwocenturies.WhentheWesternmenacebeganappearingoffJapansshoresinthemid19th
century,thepoliciesofthexenophobesweretoexpelthebarbarians,whiletheprogressivesarguedthat,onthecontrary,ifonly
forthesakeofsurvival,JapanshouldopenupandlearnfromtheWestasanindispensablemeansforstrengtheningthecountry.
From187173,oneofhistorysmostimpressiveinternationallearningexpeditionsoccurred,inwhatwasknownastheIwakura
mission,afterthenameoftheleaderoftheexpedition,IwakuraTomomi.
JapansMeijinarrativeistrulyremarkableandremainshighlyrelevanttothisdate.Itisavividillustrationofthequoteattributed
toCharlesDarwinthatitisnotthestrongestspeciesthatsurvive,northemostintelligent,buttheonesmostresponsiveto
change.IntheprocessoflearningfromtheWest,inordertobecomestrongmilitarilyandeconomically,culturallyJapanwas
alsogreatlyenrichedwith,forexample,theemergenceofpainterssuchasKurodaSeikiandnovelistssuchasNatsumeSseki.
(JapanscontemporarywoescanbepartlyattributedtosocietyhavingabandonedthespiritofMeijiandbecomeinward
looking.)
ForHongKongpartChinese,partWesterndestinyawaits
So,havingadeeperunderstandingofChinawillhavematerialbenefits.AstudybytheBrookingsInstitutionestimatesthat88per
centofthenextbillionmiddleclasspeoplearelikelytobeintheAsiaPacificregion.LearningaboutChinesephilosophy,history,
music,painting,calligraphyandliteraturewillbringculturallyenrichingrewards.
HongKong,itseemstome,coulddofarmoreinactingasaglobalhubofChineseculture.
HongKongpeopledontneedanyhistorylessonsfrommainlandChina,thanks
Ofcourse,IambynomeanssuggestingthatoneshouldlearnaboutChinaattheexclusionofothersocieties.LearningaboutIndia
andhowIndiansseetheworld,dittoaboutIndonesians,Vietnamese,theArabs,theNigerians,thePeruvians,andsoon,areall
enrichingandfascinating.ButChinastandsoutasanabsoluteglobalstrategicandeducationalpriority.
JeanPierreLehmannisemeritusprofessoratIMD,founderofTheEvianGroup,andvisitingprofessorattheUniversity
ofHongKong