Three Things The Chinese Just Got Right
Logograms, Chopsticks, and a Heavenly Mandate … but a Lack of Curiosity
China bashing seems to have become a popular pastime in the West. I, However, think all this complaining about China isn’t justified. Sure a lot of garbage is produced in modern-day China, but is that all there is? I don’t think so. In fact, in my opinion, there are three ancient Chinese inventions worth of a moment of contemplation. Sadly enough, there is also an historical error to consider.
1. The Hànzì Logographic System
The earliest evidence of Chinese logographic script discovered so far consists of a collection of inscriptions carved on oracle bones from the late Shang dynasty (c. 1200–1050 BC). These early inscriptions gradually evolved over the the centuries and, during the Tang Dynasty (618-907), matured into the Chinese we know today.
To the Western eye, modern Chinese logograms might look complicated, but this is really just a matter of perception. Picture yourself looking at the number two (2) painted on a wall, how much effort does it take you to ‘translate’ the pictorial representation of this number? The ‘2’ might be twee in Dutch, zwei in German, deux in French or the exotic mbili in Swahili, in English it’s two. The Arabic numeral and the Chinese logographic systems are, of course, not really comparable, but it does paint a clear picture.
There are well over 50,000 Chinese characters and an educated person will know up to 8,000 of them. This is where the genius of the logographic system lies. To be able to read a newspaper, you would need to know ‘only’ about 2-3,000 characters, but to be considered educated 8,000.
This is where the Chinese got it right. With a logographic writing system, once you start learning how to read, you automatically become a lifelong learner, a skill much appreciated in modern Western society.
2. Chopsticks
Chopsticks were most likely invented in China well over 9,000 years ago. These first chopsticks were probably not used for eating, but for stirring fires and serving bit of food. It wasn’t until the Han Dynasty (206 BCE–220 CE) that people first started using them as eating utensils and only during the Ming Dynasty (1368–1644) did it become common practice to use chopsticks for serving and eating food. In my opinion, it was at this time the Chinese got it right once more.
Compared to the rather primitive Western style of eating, i.e. shoving large amounts of food into one’s mouth with either a fork or spoon, chopsticks are far more delicate. The skill needed to pick up pieces of food with two thin sticks slows down the eating, resulting in people eating slower — which might improve digestion — and probably less as it’s just not really possible to wolf down large amounts of food in one bite. This in turn will lead to more appreciation of the food. I don’t think it is a coincidence that the correct balance of sweet, sour, salty and bitter is essential in most Asian cooking.
Eating less with more appreciation for the food and with a remarkable simple design, a pair of chopsticks make another great invention for which we should thank the Chinese.
3. The Mandate of Heaven
The Mandate of Heaven (天命) is a concept used to justify the power and suitability of the Chinese emperor, the Son of Heaven. The idea is that the natural order of nature bestows its mandate on a just ruler. If rulers turn out to be unjust, they will lose the mandate and thus his power. In its own way this is a very democratic concept, a ruler loses the mandate and is replaced by whoever seems best. It was also believed that natural disasters signalled nature’s discontent.
If we accept this, it could be argued that the last time the Mandate of Heaven was withdrawn was in 1976 when, after the Tangshan earthquake Deng Xiaoping emerged as the new leader of Communist China and lead the country through far-reaching market-economy reforms, undoing most of Mao’s leftist policies. The question now is, when shall the Mandate be withdrawn again?
-4 Intellectual Curiosity
The one thing where I believe the Chinese went wrong was with a lack of intellectual curiosity. Two thousand years ago, the Chinese civilization was on top of the world, having invented such things as paper, printing, the compass and gunpowder. But then things went wrong. From 605 to 1905 China was administered by a caste of scholarly bureaucrats appointed through the imperial examination system.
These rigorous exams which mainly focused on ancient texts and the correct practice of rituals, over time, caused the Chinese to become inward looking and steer away from intellectual speculation and scientific experimentation. As a result, Chinese culture lost its vanguard position in history and even fell behind.
[T]here you are.
