Yu Dan and Confucianism

On the current strong interest in China's classical texts, in particular The Analects, Yu Dan said it is important not to see the ancient text as a panacea to all problems.

"现在要反对一种新迷信，就是对国学的迷信。有些朋友问我，我一天读一条 《论语》，每天都读，我都读完的时候是不是就能悟到些什么了？那样的话我觉得太像宗教了，我天天拜佛，拜到最后是不是佛就一定把好事都给我了？还有人下岗了，或者离婚了，也问我，我看 《论语》 中哪一段对我现在能开导？《论语》 再好，它也不是万能大典啊，我们不能抱着急功近利的心。"

("Right now we should oppose a new form of superstition about the ancient texts. Some friends have asked me, if I read a paragraph from The Analects every day, will I come to some form of understanding when I have finished reading the book? If so, then it would be too much like a religion. If I pray to Buddha every day, does it mean that at the end of it Buddha will give me everything that I ask for? There are people who were laid off, or divorced, they too have approached me and asked me, "which portion should I read that would be of most help to me?" No matter how good The Analects is, it is not a panacea to all problems. We should not approach the doctrine and expect immediate benefits.")

Reflecting an all-embracing nature, Yu pointed out that The Analects is not the only classic text, Chinese culture is not the only culture (中国文化不是唯一的文化), and learning the Chinese classical texts does not mean the exclusion of western texts.

But what I really appreciate is Yu's following argument.

"刚才那个学生问这一代年轻人怎么对待国学，其实所有好东西都是一辈子的事，这辈子你喝酒可能有一段时间你就喝腻了，有一段你戒了咖啡了，还有一段不喝浓茶了，但是水这东西，你虽然觉得它没味，可它是这一辈子喝的最多的。经典也是这样。别指望我们年轻这一代，二十岁的孩子都去咏读经典。我觉得这个东西你背不背它都没关系，你是不是都看懂也没关系，只要你二十岁的时候有二十岁的体会，四十岁时有四十岁的体会，六十岁有六十岁的体会，一辈子相伴相随，只要你对自己的生命足够真诚，那么你总会有机缘读得懂它。"

("Just now a student asked how young people should view these classical texts. I want to say that some good things are eternal. At some point in your life you will get sick of drinking wine, or coffee, or tea. But as for water, even though it is tasteless, it is something that you will drink the most of during your lifetime. The same applies to the classics. We should not expect our young, those in their twenties, to read the classics. I feel that whether you memorize it or not is not essential. It is also unimportant whether you understand it or not. What matters is that when you are in your twenties you have your twenties' reflections, when you are in your forties you have your forties' reflections, and when you are in your sixties you have your sixties' reflections. It is something that will always be with you. And so long as you are truthful to your life, you will always have the opportunity to understand it."

Yu Dan and the Revival of Confucianism in China

Am currently reading one of Yu Dan's (于丹) best selling books Reflections of the Analect of Confucius (《论语》 感悟, 中华书局2008).

Yu (pictured) is a Beijing Normal University professor who had popularized the teachings of Confucianism through - among other things - a series of televised talks known as 百家讲坛 on China's Central Television.

Towards the end of the book, Yu was asked about the revival of Confucianism.

Somewhat predictably, Yu said it was due to the need for many - given the massive changes within China over the past few decades - to find a new set of value system.

"儒家思想的遭遇意味着中国文化主体血脉在二十世纪遭遇了重创，出现了断层。那么要怎么去整合呢？在这片废墟之上，人们心中的困惑太多了。我认为，我们已经用整个二十世纪走过了这么长的苦难历程，我们对历史已经批判得很多。今天，我们要赶快完成一种文化建设工作。这种建设的呼唤，存在于每个人的心里。"

("The plight of Confucianism is a sign that a central tenet of Chinese culture had been badly damaged during the 20th century, and had shown signs of discontinuity. So how should the situation be salvaged? On this piece of wasted land, people are faced with too many doubts and anxieties. We have spent the entire 20th century walking through a difficult and torturous journey, and we had constantly critiqued history. Today, we have to quickly complete a work of cultural reconstruction. This desire for cultural reconstruction is in the hearts of everyone.")

Interestingly, Yu noted that the castigation of Confucianism during the Cultural Revolution was much more damaging than criticisms of it during the May Fourth Movement, as the latter was simply an "elitist movement." (精英化的运动)

Voluntary Unemployment in China

Still on 韩秀云's book 看不懂的中国经济 (中信出版社,2008) .

In a chapter on "What Has Happened to China's Labor Force" 我国劳动力出了什么问题？", Han pointed to the emergence of what she called "voluntary unemployment." (志愿性失业)

"Voluntary unemployment" stems not from a lack of jobs, but from mainly young people who refuse to work because the pay is low, the work is considered too strenuous, or simply because they prefer to stay home.

A young person who refused to work after completing college reportedly said "My plan is to tour the world within the next few years, and then study English before studying overseas." When asked by the parent to look for a job, the young person replied, "你赚钱多没人花，这不太好吧？还是我帮你花吧。" (Or "you earn so much money but there's no one to spend it. That's not good. Let me help you spend it.")

Apart from preferring not to work, this group of young people live at home and depend financially on their parents. To make things worse, they do not exactly have frugal spending habits.

Aged between 20-30, they are also known as 啃老族 or 傍老族, or a group which sponges off or depend on the elderly.

Characteristics of 啃老族:

1. Fussy, picky, and never satisfied with any job.

2. Think that working is too tiring and stressful, and that staying at home is more comfortable.

3. Some have entrepreneurial dreams but lack real talent.

4. Prefer to job hop, eventually hopping back home.

5. Some are laid-off after working for companies that had closed down.

6. Not well-educated or highly-skilled.

Silent Revolution by Chinese Migrant Workers

In Han Xiuyun's （韩秀云） book 看不懂的中国经济 (中信出版社,2008), the author has described the exposure of Chinese migrant workers (pictured) to city life as a "silent but real educational revolution." (一场悄无声息的真正的教育革命)

“如果像西方那样由政府出钱把农民都请进课堂进行职业培训，是不现实的。但是中国十年农民工大潮，竟不知不觉完成了这一场教育农民的伟大革命，农民工的经济意识和民主意识都有了空前提高。他们边学边干，成了亚洲高素质的劳动力，雇主的付出同样功不可没。但经济出现新的机会时，他们选择留在老家，选择自己创业，开个理发店，做个包工头，开个小餐馆。”

"It is unrealistic for the government to come up with the money to train rural dwellers in classrooms. But during the decade-long wave of migrant workers working in urban areas, they have unknowingly received a great revolutionary educational experience.

"The economic and democratic awareness of migrant workers have been raised to an all-time high. While working and learning, they have emerged as Asia's high-calibre work force (hmm, somewhat questionable claim). The contributions made by their employers should also not be overlooked.

"When new economic opportunities emerge, they can decide to remain at home and become entrepreneurs by opening a barber shop, becoming a contractor, or opening a small restaurant."

Weaknesses of the UN

As Paul Kennedy noted in The Parliament of Man (Penguin Books, 2006), one of the key weaknesses of the United Nations laid in its poor financial state.

The UN is trapped in between the twin pressures of rising operations costs "and the unwillingness or inability of major states such as Russia, Japan and the United States to pay their dues on time."

Developing countries rightly complained that as more funds went to conflict prevention and humanitarian relief, less was available for investments in education and infrastructure for poorer countries.

"Right-wingers wanted the UN stables cleansed, the bureaucracy cut, the budgets - regular and peacekeeping - drastically slashed. They were in no mood for generosity. What was the point of the Secretariat urging large and decisive operations, and the Security Council agreeing, when both knew that member states would not pay?"

Accentuating the cash crisis is the increase in peacekeeping and peace enforcement operations, and the quality of the peacekeeping troops as newer member states were pressed to contribute forces.

"It was one thing to insert a battalion of Gurkhas or Royal Marine commandos into a country ravaged by youthful gangs and see the public violence shrink when the heavy men came in. But to expect ill-equipped and scarcely trained units from many newer nations to perform under pressure far from home was too much to hope for; some of their governments had contributed troops simply so that they would get the foreign currency for themselves," Kennedy wrote.

Limited UN Role

An entry that is not in line with the East Asian nature of this blog.

In Paul Kennedy's fairly riveting book The Parliament of Men (Penguin Books, 2006), Kennedy wrote about the limited role of the United Nations in resolving conflicts.

That's especially when "a permanent member was directly involved and would not let any criticism or hostile resolution advance in the Security Council."

For example, there was no UN intervention in Algeria because of France.

There was also no role for the world body in the Vietnam War because of American sensitivities, or in Cambodia because of China.

Kennedy pointed out that the UN's incapacity to intervene in these disputes might be something of a blessing in disguise.

"Both the Algerian and Vietnamese wars were extraordinarily violent, complex and expensive. Even if there had been no threat of a veto, the idea that the Security Council might send in peacekeeping forces to either struggle, as it had done in the Congo, beggars the imagination; they would certainly have been blown away in the fighting," Kennedy wrote.

But as Kennedy pointed out, since the UN's beginning, "its high ambitions have contrasted sharply with the constant jostling of peoples and governments and with the assertive claims of sovereign states."

"It was, perhaps, President Dwight Eisenhower who offered the best justification for the world body when he said: "With all the defects, with all the failures that we can check up against it, the UN still represents man's best-organized hope to substitute the conference table for the battlefield."

How Chinese Reform Has Changed Ethnic Koreans in China

Still on Prof Kim Si Joong's article.

He noted that ethnic Koreans in China have enjoyed greater mobility since the reform and opening up of China.

The first wave was during the 1980s when they moved towards the coastal, urban and larger cities in Northeast China, such as Beijing, Tianjin, Dalian, Qinhuangdao and Shandong. There, they were either engaged in non-agricultural work or started small businesses, initially retailing in the Korean staple food kimchi (pictured).

The second wave was during the 1988 Seoul Olympics when South Korea received extensive media coverage in the Chinese media. More ethnic Koreans in China were exposed to information about South Korea that was different from the Chinese and North Korean propaganda which they were subjected to in the past.

When China and South Korea established diplomatic ties in 1992, many ethnic Koreans in China were allowed to visit relatives in South Korea. And with more South Korean visitors to China - businessmen, tourists, students etc (1.6 million visits in 2002) - ethnic Koreans in China played the role of translators, tour guides, information providers, and even business partners.

The role of ethnic Koreans as an intermediary between South Korea and China was indispensable due to their ability to speak both Korean and Chinese.

However, the assessment on their performance had not always been positive, according to Kim.

"Although there have been many success stories, there have also been many failures ending in serious conflicts between South Koreans and ethnic Korean-Chinese residents. The key problem in these failures seems to have been the differences between expectation and reality."

"Often, South Korean business people expected quite high levels of performance from their ethnic Korean workers or partners which were not met - such as a high proficiency in the Chinese language, sufficient understanding of Chinese government and laws, and even loyalty to the South Korean firm."

"Conversely, many ethnic Korean-Chinese residents working for South Koreans expected to receive a special award for their contributions at a similar level as did South Koreans, which was not possible."

"Also, the subtle differences between the two forms of the Korean language - particularly the use of foreign-language terminology by South Korean people that ethnic Koreans mostly do not understand had become a source of miscommunication and/or mistranslating."

Contrast Between Ethnic Koreans in China and Russia

Unlike their counterparts in Russia, ethnic Koreans in China are said to have retained their culture and identity.

According to Prof Kim Si Joong from Yeungnam University, Koreans headed mainly to the Russian Far East during the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

Apart from losing their language and culture, they were also persecuted by the Russian regime, and forced to settle in central Asia in the late 1930s.

In contrast, ethnic Koreans in China earned relatively higher incomes in rural China by growing rice, said Kim in an article titled Ethnic Koreans in China.

Illiteracy rate was low and college attendance high due to the Korean emphasis on education, which according to Kim, is one of the most outstanding characteristics of ethnic minorities in China.

Prior to China's reform and opening up, ethnic Koreans in China enjoyed closer interactions with North Korea due mainly to geographical proximity, family ties and lack of information about South Korea.

When ties were soured between China and North Korea (pictured - old China-North Korea border bridge) during the Cultural Revolution, some ethnic Koreans returned to North Korea in order to escape famine and persecution.

But overall, ethnic Koreans in China are said to be too small in numbers and living too far away (presumably from the centers of power) to take on major roles in society. This is exacerbated by their inadequate command of the Chinese language as they were allowed to preserve and focus on their own language as an ethnic minority in China.