WhytheworldhastostudyChinesehistory,and

howChinaviewshistory
JeanPierreLehmannsaysthecountryscentralityinour21stcenturyworldmakesitimperativethatoutsidersunderstandwhatis
shapingitsviewsanddecisions,andHongKongcoulddomoretofacilitatesuchlearning

PUBLISHED:Tuesday,08August,2017,5:31pm

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JeanPierreLehmann

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Farfromusheringinanewworldorder,sofarthe21stcenturyhasbeenmarkedbyturbulentuncertainties.Thereareveryfew
thingsonwhichaconsensuscouldariseevenonthemostcriticalissues.Forexample,willtherebewar,ornot,and,ifso,
betweenwho?Thereis,however,onethingthatseemsincontestable:instarkcontrasttothe19thand20thcenturies,whenChina
wasaperipheralpassiveactoringlobalaffairs,inthe21stcenturyitsroleisandwillbeabsolutelyprimordial.Thatpointrequires
nofurtherelaboration.Whatthatrole,orthoseroles,willbeisanentirelydifferentmatter.

Inthatcontext,itisdispiritingandindeedalarmingtoseehowignoranttheWestisaboutChinaand,fromwhatIcansee,intends
toremainso.Hereareafewrandomanecdotestoillustrate.

IflyhalfadozenormoretimesayearbetweenEuropeandChina.Iinvariablyflybusinessclassandinvariablythemajorityof
thepassengersarewhitemalemiddleagedexecutives.Alsoinvariably,themajorityofthesewhitemiddleagedglobetrotting
executives,whennotsleeping,arewatchingasininevideosorescapistfilmsratherthanreadingbooksonChinesephilosophy,
Confucianism,Chinesehistory,ChineseliteratureorindeedeventheChineseeconomyandbusiness.

Theharmfuleffectsofthisvideoaddictionandapparentallergytoknowledgearevisible.Inmyexecutiveeducationcourses,I
oftenstartwithaliteracytest,posingprettybasicquestionsaboutChina.Theresultsareinvariablypoor.And,asIsay,its
prettybasicstuff.
Chinahasreachedaturningpointinitshistory,Xisays

Onarecentoccasion,twoBritishexecutiveswhogotoChinaadmittedtheyhadneverheard,oronlydimlyheard,oftheOpium
wars.AtapreparatorysessioninJanuaryforabout100executiveswhoweregoingtoChina,manyforthefirsttime,onan
educationtrip,Ifocusedonthequestion:inordertoknowwhereChinaisgoingto,wherehasitcomefrom?Sowelookedat
Confucianism,includingtheimpactithadonEuropeanenlightenmentphilosophers,suchasImmanuelKant;Chinastraditional
viewofitsplaceintheworld;thevoyagesofZhengHeandtheirsignificance;andsoondowntocontemporaryissuesfor
example,thepositionofTaiwan.Asthiswasafourhoursession,itwasimpossibletogointodepthonanyoftheseissues,butin
thecourseofthepresentation,Igavereferencestoalotofbooksforfurtherreading,includingChinesenovels.

Itwentdownlikealeadballoon.TheycomplainedthatIdidnotfocusenoughoncontemporaryrelevantstuff.Onewrote,
Whydidhegiveusallthesebookswhenheknows90percentofuswillneverreadthem?

WhenIgavethepresentation,IhadnotyetreadHowardFrenchsoutstandingbook,EverythingUndertheHeavens:Howthe
PastHelpsShapeChinasPushforGlobalPower.Frenchmakestheimportantpointthat,inthecurrentera,notonlymustwebe
knowledgeableaboutChinesehistory,butalsohowChineseviewhistory.Forthepasttwocenturies,theWesternviewofhistory
hasdominated.Aviewis,bydefinition,biasedandselective.AsweareintoanerainwhichChinaloomslarge,itisimportantto
heedFrenchspoint.

InmyMBAclassesthatcombineChineseandWesternstudents,IoftenfindthattheChinesearemorelikelytohaveheardofthe
MonroeDoctrinethanmyWesternstudentsare.Whyisthat?Ostensibly,theMonroeDoctrinehadnothingtodowithChina.A
bookIalsorecommend(tothe10percentwhoareinterested)isGeoffDyersTheContestoftheCentury:TheNewEraof
CompetitionwithChina,whichaddressesthequestion.

Thisisnot,Ihastentoadd,todeterminewhohastherightorwrongviewofhistory,butitiscriticalforproperdiscourseto
knowwhattheseviewsare.
Inthemid1960s,footlooseandfancyfree,IwaskickingaroundEastAsia.ThiscorrespondedtheTokyoOlympicstookplace
in1964towhatbecameknownasthepostwarJapaneseeconomicmiracle.IbecameintriguedbythequestionofwhyJapan
wastheonlynonWesterncountrytohavesuccessfullymodernisedandindustrialisedinthe19thcentury.SoIwenttoOxfordand
wrotemydoctoralthesisonthetransformationsofMeijiJapan(18681912),fromwhichIalsopublishedabooktitledTheRoots
ofModernJapan.

JapansMeijinarrativeistrulyremarkableandremainsrelevanttothisday

Japanhadbeenaclosedcountryfortwocenturies.WhentheWesternmenacebeganappearingoffJapansshoresinthemid19th
century,thepoliciesofthexenophobesweretoexpelthebarbarians,whiletheprogressivesarguedthat,onthecontrary,ifonly
forthesakeofsurvival,JapanshouldopenupandlearnfromtheWestasanindispensablemeansforstrengtheningthecountry.
From187173,oneofhistorysmostimpressiveinternationallearningexpeditionsoccurred,inwhatwasknownastheIwakura
mission,afterthenameoftheleaderoftheexpedition,IwakuraTomomi.

JapansMeijinarrativeistrulyremarkableandremainshighlyrelevanttothisdate.Itisavividillustrationofthequoteattributed
toCharlesDarwinthatitisnotthestrongestspeciesthatsurvive,northemostintelligent,buttheonesmostresponsiveto
change.IntheprocessoflearningfromtheWest,inordertobecomestrongmilitarilyandeconomically,culturallyJapanwas
alsogreatlyenrichedwith,forexample,theemergenceofpainterssuchasKurodaSeikiandnovelistssuchasNatsumeSseki.
(JapanscontemporarywoescanbepartlyattributedtosocietyhavingabandonedthespiritofMeijiandbecomeinward
looking.)

ForHongKongpartChinese,partWesterndestinyawaits

So,havingadeeperunderstandingofChinawillhavematerialbenefits.AstudybytheBrookingsInstitutionestimatesthat88per
centofthenextbillionmiddleclasspeoplearelikelytobeintheAsiaPacificregion.LearningaboutChinesephilosophy,history,
music,painting,calligraphyandliteraturewillbringculturallyenrichingrewards.

HongKong,itseemstome,coulddofarmoreinactingasaglobalhubofChineseculture.

HongKongpeopledontneedanyhistorylessonsfrommainlandChina,thanks
Ofcourse,IambynomeanssuggestingthatoneshouldlearnaboutChinaattheexclusionofothersocieties.LearningaboutIndia
andhowIndiansseetheworld,dittoaboutIndonesians,Vietnamese,theArabs,theNigerians,thePeruvians,andsoon,areall
enrichingandfascinating.ButChinastandsoutasanabsoluteglobalstrategicandeducationalpriority.

JeanPierreLehmannisemeritusprofessoratIMD,founderofTheEvianGroup,andvisitingprofessorattheUniversity
ofHongKong