2020/8/9
The following is from a separate issue of the September issue of WiLL, the monthly magazine.
China is the world's largest racist nation.
Arthur H. Smith talks about it.
Now and in the past, there is no word for "liar" in China.
China is planning to shift the blame for the Wuhan virus.
Generally considered "brazen and unashamed," their behavior has always been "perfectly normal" in China.
From the book by Arthur H. Smith, an American missionary who analyzed the Chinese in the late nineteenth century, some Chinese characteristics have not changed.
(Published in the June 2020 issue of WiLL)
*This paper is a must-read not only for the Japanese but also for people worldwide.
Kissinger, in particular, is a must-read, although it is too late in his case.
The social organization of "Chinese kin"
In this way, we can see that the principles of Chinese behavior that Smith observed are indeed accurate and have not changed in the slightest.
However, it is important to note that Smith was observing Chinese society from the outside (from the eyes of Western society).
Of course, Smith does not have a grasp of the inner workings of Chinese society.
A different aspect emerges if we look at Chinese society from the inside.
Since ancient times, China has valued the social organization of "Chinese kin" above all else.
The family in which my father was born belongs to one of the "Shi" kin.
The ancestors of the Shi kin drifted to Sichuan Province from a specific place 300 years ago, established a family, and brought their descendants to prosperity.
By my grandfather's generation, hundreds of Shi families lived in several villages in the same region.
In the case of large kin, the number of houses could be in the thousands.
Then, a religious temple (shrine) would be built to worship the family's ancestors and serve as a center for ancestor worship.
It is also a place where the entire kin gathers to strengthen their sense of solidarity.
The most famous person in the kin becomes the kin leader and leads the kin.
The larger the kin becomes, the more money is generated, which is used to pay for the education of the kin's children.
In the days when there was no compulsory education, the kin took care of the children's education because there was no school system.
They would invite a teacher to teach the written language and open a cram school to give the children a primary education.
Other times, the family would take in orphans whose parents had died early and care for them.
There were also sometimes trials.
Someone caught committing a crime within the kin would be brought to the shrine to be judged.
Within the religious kin, Chinese people trust, mutually support, care for each other and develop a sense of solidarity.
Therefore, they cannot lie to each other.
From birth to death, they live within their kin, so once they lie, everyone no longer trusts them, and their place is taken away.
There are sometimes disputes and quarrels within the kin, but the kin leader acts as a mediator to calm things down.
In other words, the five precepts of "benevolence, righteousness, propriety, wisdom, and trust" are lived out in the kin.
However, once you step outside the kin, their world becomes a wolf's den of wolves.
They do not trust political power, social institutions, or the public at all.
They think it is OK to lie and commit crimes.
More to the point, if a person commits a crime outside the kin, the entire kin will do everything possible to protect that person.
Therefore, a public spirit is not fostered.
The "public" is within the kin and no one else.
Corruption is common among Chinese bureaucrats.
Why is this?
To become a bureaucrat, one must pass the Imperial examination.
The family of the head of the kin provides thorough education for passing the examination.
Therefore, if even one person passes the examination and becomes a bureaucrat, they must make the family prosperous.
However, the bureaucrat's salary alone is not enough to make the entire clan prosper.
Therefore, there is no other way to take bribes to line their pockets.
From the family's perspective, taking bribes makes the family prosper, so all the best for the family.
The clean bureaucrats are not at all welcomed by the family.
There is no profit in it, so there is nothing to do but to get rid of them (laughs).
Smith could not see through to the reality of the Chinese.
However, there is an unavoidable aspect.
It would have never occurred to him that the Chinese lived in such a small world.
This article continues.
