From
Russia’s frigid borderlands to Indo-China’s tropical forests, China in its
heyday spanned 3.7 million square miles. It was twice the size of another known
empire in the West, that of imperial Rome. Never was it called “The Middle
Kingdom” for nothing – given the political, military and cultural sway it held
upon its neighbors for thousands of years. Both Korea and Japan were to borrow
heavily from its influence, their respective cultural heritages almost
mirroring it. Some Southeast Asian kingdoms were to have Chinese loan words in
their language or reflect Chinese habits in some of their traditions. But near
the turn of the 20th century, its fate took the turn for the worst.
It is to suffer nearly a century of Western encroachment. A devastating world war
and a civil clash battered it. Then, a debilitating 1958 crash economic program
crippled her – starving millions in the famine that followed. If that weren’t
enough, the horror of the Cultural Revolution came to mercilessly beat upon an
already downtrodden Chinese society. It seemed that China was meant for worse
things to come.
But since joining the World Trade
Organization in December 2001, the world was to witness its remarkable
turnaround. Back in 2003, its economy was worth $1.24 trillion – the sixth
largest then, in just two years after becoming a WTO member. Now, its economy
is the 2nd largest in the world, next of the US of A. It’s the
world’s largest market for industrial commodities today, like oil and steel; as
well as being the largest producer and consumer of technological products,
ranging from cars to mobile phones. Such is China’s economic clout nowadays
that it helped rally for the have-nots in the 2003 WTO talks in Cancun, aside
from the US owing a considerable portion of its debt to it (contrary to
statements of pro-US critics).
China has at its disposal an estimated 3
million-man military force, the world’s largest military force to date. With
its present industrial capability, it can now duplicate military hardware at
par with the West - courtesy of the diligence and nationalism of its spies
pilfering know-how from US military contractors and its other agencies. China
is also a member of the UN Security Council, an international body responsible
for matters pertaining to global peace and order. It also happens to be one of
the top arms exporters in the world. It is never farfetched to assume China can
use force to maintain its survival, in light of the recent actions in the
Spratly territory and other disputed regions. Did I forget to mention that it
develops and makes its own nuclear weapons?
Filipinos,
then, should turn to Oriental history to understand and improve themselves.
They
should put special focus on Chinese history.
But that isn’t a subtle hint to embrace
anything Chinese. Besides, who says their invasion is welcome?
The world
gained more from Chinese civilization than its gunpowder, silk and paper (cheap
cellphones were to arrive centuries later). The 3,000 years of its existence
imbued its experience onto generations of Chinese. Their histories record the
fools and warriors who respectively showed folly and valiance. The fates they
each received spurned the minds of readers on who to emulate…or whose example
shall be the reminder to “do what not to do”. The thoughts and actions of
crafty ministers and generals were to be penned for posterity as well. Chinese
political thinkers, military strategists and social philosophers drew their
wisdom from it. They then were to preach it unto the farthest ends of The
Middle Kingdom. Even now they still preach to young minds through the writings
they left behind. From that civilization also sprung various faiths that
offered its society both a focus for worship and social creeds that were to
dictate what the Chinese would be. (Though Buddhism is an Indian import, it was
through China that the faith came to spread throughout the Orient.) All those
served as the social conditioning to forge China into the superpower that it is
today – a status that it seems reluctant to embrace (as to why it does so, that
will be explained in future issues).
Any civilization, like Rome and China,
that left a wealth of information about their society bequeathed a great boon –
for the breadth of human experience cannot be fathomed in a mere few centuries.
A resilient and enduring society having 10 centuries or more has much to tell –
provided it has prolific and objective chroniclers. Enlightening wisdom never
is limited to cultures and language; it is human thinking that transcends it
all. That fact had Machiavelli (and other political thinkers after him) base
his insights on histories from cultures other than his own. More importantly, what
goads a Roman soldier to act bravely – or a Japanese scoundrel to contemplate
cowardice – is the same for any hero or villain in every culture. In spite of
cultural differences they are all the same; they are all human – and so are
those who read their tales translated in their mother tongue.
Yet,
I would agree that our history is inadequate.
Imperial Rome now exists as broken
archaeological ruins scattered in 40 European nations that once comprised it.
But thanks to centuries of Roman historians, written firsthand and secondhand
accounts survive. Though imperial China now has morphed into a Communist state,
their predecessors knew the value of preserving their historical heritage, not
just their culture. Nevertheless, a modern global generation is blessed for the
wealth of antiquity they retained; the latter being the most detailed.
On the other hand, we have the misfortune
of an obliterated early past.
What
befell upon the heritage of the Aztecs and Incas, ours suffered the same fate.
The Spanish conquistadores stamped out anything native, deeming them Satanic.
They retained only our tribal languages to further divide us then imposed their
own culture. Whatever past we managed to hold on has been distorted into
propaganda justifying colonial rule. Only recently have we begun to take an
objective look at our past. As of now, recently unearthed documentary evidences
are questionable, if not confusing. Case in point is the disputed first
Filipino Christian mass, the facts still being disputed. We have yet to know
where Bonifacio’s remains are in the mountains where he was allegedly executed
- and the many other mysteries in the early periods of this nation.
History
for us then largely has become an archaeological affair. Circumstance has
robbed us of any accurate and objective firsthand historical accounts.
As a nation, how then can we approach our
history now?
From what
we have at hand can be put in comparison to another.
With our
histories lain side by side (those of the nations in the Orient and ours) we can see similar faults and how it has mired many
in misery, or how wise actions has served for the good of all.
Like a mirror, we can see what is proper
or where we are found wanting.
For that
is how history’s purpose must be.
– Cebuano Word
Trivia –
Bai – “Friend” (English); “Kaibigan” (Filipino);
From the Hindu word, “Bhai” meaning “brother”.
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