井底之蛙

Welcome to the third Asian History Carnival!

It’s traditional for blog carnivals to have some kind of internal organization…. Heh.

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I think we need a new word for the study of colonialism, imperialism and the post-colonial discourses, pro and con. Pro? Who’s in favor of it? Well, this is what makes it interesting, these days: there are a lot of former colonial powers out there whose citizens and leaders, in their heart of hearts, still believe that they accomplished something that was ultimately positive, who still believe that their developmental initiatives and their anti-communist (or anti-capitalist) positions were justified by subsequent developments. This is usually — explicitly or implicitly — intended to mitigate or cancel out any discussions of political repression, economic exploitation, military atrocities or strategic abandonment. Sometimes it’s just good historical sense, but then it usually comes with very careful caveats about not canceling out the other stuff.

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According to People’s Daily English Edition China has turned 5,056 years old today. 5,000 years of timeless Chinese civilization, plus 56 years of New China. Always nice to read these things to get the current line straightened out. Still lots of stuff about how China was freed from oppression by the CCP. A nice quote from a 7th grader who hates studying modern history because it was “so bitter.” (I always tell mu students Chinese hate studying this period. Now I have a citation) Some stuff on how Communism led to economic development. Most interesting to me was the emphasis on democracy and minority rights.

Stability and prosperity can in no way be realized without democracy. By proceeding from its own conditions, New China practices the “system of multi-party cooperation under the leadership of the Communist Party of China,”

Minorities matter too.

All the 55 ethnic minorities have deputies to the NPC, who take 13.91% of the seats, although their combined population account for less than 9% of the national total. And their development and prosperity have always been high on the agenda of the leaders of the People’s Republic.

All of this democracy and equality will lead to more development.

Ensured by democracy, stability has ensured economic growth and social progress nationwide. According to the National Bureau of Statistics, China’s GDP has grown at annual rate greater than 9% since 1979, reaching 13,651.5 billion yuan (8.27 yuan against the U.S. dollar) in 2004, nearly double that of 1998. China is producing enough to feed one fifth of the world’s population though its arable land accounts for only 7% of the world’s total.

GNP figures we would get in the U.S. Emphasizing that we now grow enough food to feed ourselves is China.
I liked seeing democracy being presented as a necessity for economic growth, rather than a luxury good that will have to wait on development. If hypocrisy is the tribute vice pays to virtue, it is nice to see the tribute system getting restored.

Via Simon’s World