The Search for the One Who Knows Everyone
The Cult of Prosperity
A Goddess of Mercy becomes a Goddess of Fortune
I wandered into a Buddhist Temple in the famous water town Zhujiajiao in the Qingpu district of Shanghai municipality. People were charged admission to the main temple grounds, a fee of 10Y, but in the annex worshippers got a freebe. Before paying the fee, one could kneel on a padded bench before a glass-encased Laughing Buddha (Maitreya Buddha) covered in gold paint, with a mischievous-looking Haibao peeking around the corner of the case. The little blue mascot for the Shanghai World Expo and the golden Buddha are emblems of the same aspiration among the Chinese: conspicuous wealth and a global showcase of modernization.
The Lifecycle of the Village
Zhu Xi’s Canonization of the Life Cycle of the Village in “Family Rituals” (家礼 Jia Li)
In the 10th Century, the famous philosopher, Zhu Xi, undertook the task of gathering the rites and rituals of passage, and recorded them for future generations. Little did he know that this book would capture more than just the customs of the day; the “Jia Li” went on to become a classic in its own right, and would dictate almost a thousand more years of custom in China, Korea, Japan, and Vietnam. It was mainly the adherence to its code of conduct that defined the particular lifestyle of “Neo-Confucianism”.
The Leaping Carp Becomes a Dragon
An Omen of the Middle Kingdom’s Rise in Middle America
In the last few years, fishermen in the United States have started to notice that the old bluegill, sunfish, bass, and catfish of the Illinois, Mississippi and the Ohio rivers have been disappearing. In their place a new kind of fish is gobbling up resources, feeding on the other species, and reproducing at an astonishing rate. The problem has become so intense that officials are now afraid that the Great Lakes are doomed to fall in the onslaught. They call these ferocious invaders “Asian carp”. The Chinese call them “Li Yu” (鲤鱼), “Black” or “Silver” carp, and have cultivated these breeds for their amazing reproductive vitality and hardiness for thousands of years. Read the rest of this entry »
The Chinese Thrill of Giving
Understanding one of the most important aspects of Chinese culture
The Chinese can be very generous people. In fact, they are some of the most generous people I know. They never arrive empty-handed, and won’t let you leave without taking gifts or food. From fighting for the check at a restaurant to playing the gracious host, the Chinese’ spirit of generosity is one of their greatest cultural treasures. Stemming from the old village traditions, this attribute continues to impact everything from the birthday of an Anhui farmer’s baby to Foreign Ministry negotiations in western Africa. Read the rest of this entry »
The Power of Poverty
A little-known jewel of Chinese wisdom that is opening doors to great opportunity
China has a historical tradition of great old sages. However, they generally weren’t characterized by the flowing silk robes and serene walled gardens that the Western mind imagines. Instead, art and history always depict them as wearing tattered rags and living in mountain caves, cold and poor. Lao Zi, Ji Gong, Zhuang Zi, and the Seven Sages of the Bamboo Grove are all models for this stereotype. They were men who “Saw the Tao,” and realized that because entropy was inherent in all things, poverty was the only “sustainable” lifestyle that could be proposed. In this philosophy, therefore, the building of palaces and the ruling of nations was pointless – unless one realized that they are pointless, at which point they become great fun! Read the rest of this entry »
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