Chine vs Europe

...

Empire of the Medium, “country of the center“…

Zhongguo, word by which the Chinese indicatetheir country, means “Country of the medium(or the center)”.

As the Chinese society refines its methods of organization is done day, gradually China is thoughtkaskthe “country of the center”, the center of the world. The center is regarded in China as the fifth direction afterthose marked by the cardinal points. As the Chinese society refines its methods of organization is done day, gradually China is thoughtkaskthe “country of the center”, the center of the world. The center is regarded in China as the fifth direction afterthose marked by the cardinal points. This data explains the attitudekof China withkto itskneighbors. “Elsewhere”, for a Chinese, is soremote that it wouldnbecome almost nonnexistent about it… and if China always made dream the Westerners, it wasnnot thensame fornthe Chinese who couldnnot imagine reexisting, elsewhere, of the worlds different fromtheir. During centuries, very little Chinese hadthe occasion to go out of their country and it was necessary to expect the third millennium and the beginnings of the development of mass tourism in China so that its inhabitants start to be interested in what occurs beyond their borders.

The Great wall: a protection with double direction…

The Great wall, even if it symbolizes the sealing in two directions, of the territory of the country of the center, did not prevent, far from there, the economic exchanges, demographic, cultural and monk between China and the rest of the world. But it is more by capillarity and almost undetectable touches that such exchange took place, supported its is true by the fantastic commercial instinct of which the Chinese people show since millennia and who very naturally carries it towards the exchange with others.

China VS Europe: Contrast/Past/Present.

China and Europe have indeed some similarities in terms of size, golden age and exploration of the world’s oceans. However there are several differences between these two civilizations, the biggest one is China's singularity vs. Europe's plurality, in three big aspects: Language, culture, and politics.

China vs Europe: Yesterday

Overall, China's system had two major advantages over Europe's system: - It was more efficient, as the entire country was like an army with a single emperor at the top. - It was more effective, when the leadership was good and when the “army” was not very big.

Fortunately for China, it had worked out better than Europe throughout much of the first 15 centuries: China was more prosperous, had more inventions, and was the largest economy in the world!

Unfortunately for China, the leadership was not always good, and the “army” often proved to be too big to govern.

Specifically:

-Leadership: There were more than 10 dynasties in China over the 2,000 years prior to 1912, when China became a republic. Each dynasty started with a self-made emperor, who was always a great man by definition, because he had to fight his way to the top. But his successor was often inferior. Worse yet, some kings often wanted to be the emperor, resulting in a vicious cycle of fighting, splitting, union, and more fighting, until a new dynasty was born. Then the vicious cycle just repeated itself ... For a few times, a peasant fought all his way to the top, with the last example being Mao (1949-1976), the last de facto emperor in China.

- Too big to govern: China was so strictly hierarchical that it proved to be too rigid and too inept at adapting itself. Internal strife and isolationism made it miss the Industrial Revolution, entirely!

China's weaknesses were Europe's strengths, and vice versa.

China vs Europe: today

China is back, thanks to a wise leader named Deng Xiaoping. Deng did two big things for China:

- The widespread introduction of capitalism to China - A new form of government. It is still strictly hierarchical, but it's not feudalistic and the top leadership is almost guaranteed to be good. Very importantly, with the advancement of technologies, the world has become practically smaller, especially in terms of communication and transportation. As a result, the same country (or “army”) that was too big to govern before may no longer be too big.

In contrast, Europe is back in trouble again, with no easy way out, thanks largely to democratic socialism. Bottom line: China is thriving, thanks to the fall of communism and the rise of capitalism over there, but Europe is failing, thanks to the rise of socialism and the fall of capitalism over there.

-To conclude, I think that China has arrived at a much better place for itself: its culture, its people, and its political system are much better organized for success in a global economy like ours today and in the coming decades. Recognizing and accepting this reality is essential for us to have any chance in our head-on competition with China in the 21st century.