http://www.bigwowo.com/2011/01/martin-jacques-understanding-the-rise-of-china/

Martin Jacques: Understanding the Rise of China

http://video.ted.com/assets/player/swf/EmbedPlayer.swf

Thanks to the Alpha Asian, who posted the TED talk above in which Martin Jacques talks about the rise of China.  From my own perspective as a Chinese American dude, this TED talk was among the most interesting I’ve heard.  The thesis of the talk is that Americans fail to understand China for three reasons:

1. The Civilization State vs. The Nation-State

2. The Chinese Perception of Race

3. The Chinese Relationship with Government

I don’t know what the commenters on this blog think, but I highly recommend this talk.

What resonated with me especially is how he says “unity” is the most important political value for the Chinese, how the Chinese government has never been seriously threatened, and how while Americans see government as a power that needs to be contained, the Chinese view it almost as a patriarch, part of the family.  I’ll have to take his word for it–almost all of the Chinese people I know are those who now live here in the States.  Just living here makes one distrust government, big corporations, and all the other decision-makers that have influence in the typical American person’s life.

I’ve got fifty million other thoughts going through my head right now, but I’m going to quit before I say something that sounds crazy and disjointed.  Check out this video.