I would argue that the last hundred years are a mere scratch on the time line of social history. Chinese culture was and continues to be very much ant-like, IMO. Well organized and orderly, with a warrior class. Homogeneity is the rule. One could argue that they reached an evolutionary plateau and then leveled off into a period of cultural stability that lasted perhaps thousands of years (4000 years with a common language). The only exceptions would be intermittent changes of power at the top from marauding princes, but followed by a general absorption into the mass Chinese bureaucratic ethic. Greek and Roman culture had similar attributes in many ways, but for shorter periods of time. The last 100 years are much more of an anomaly than they are disproof of Cosmic's First Law of Conformity, namely, that individual rights are unlikely (and will continue to be unlikely) to be volunarily and enthusiastically tolerated by any system of governance, political or social.
acc6.its.brooklyn.cuny.edu
Excerpt:
A significant aspect of China is its long cultural and national history. The Chinese people have shared a common culture longer than any other group on Earth. The Chinese writing system, for example, dates back almost 4,000 years. The imperial dynastic system of government, which continued for centuries, was established as early as 221 BC. Although specific dynasties were overturned, the dynastic system survived. China was even ruled at times by foreign invaders, such as the Mongols during the Yuan Dynasty, from AD 1279 to 1368, and the Manchus during the Ch'ing Dynasty, from AD 1644 to 1911, but the foreigners were largely absorbed into the culture they governed. It is as if the Roman Empire had lasted from the time of the Caesars to the 20th century, and during that time had evolved a cultural system and written language shared by all the peoples of Europe.
|
