Politeness, meekness, and eloquence won't help, Chen Dingding

Thorsten J. Pattberg

Politeness, meekness, and eloquence won't help, Chen Dingding. Your thoughtful response to David Shambaugh reminds me about Gu Hongming's 1922 genius attempt to explain to Sir Arthur Smith why the West was wrong about China. Next thing you know China lies in the gutters. That's because "a peaceful rise" is not China to decide. I say this a thousand times to Chinese scholars that nobody in the West cares what you think. Not even if its the truth. Scholarship, in fact, the history of the world, is not a string of truths, but a chronology of survivors. Chinese scholars either "westernize" or they will be ignored, marginalized, or, if they caused trouble, ostracized. You may take comfort in the fact that China isn't the only victim. There's nothing that those non-Western nations, governments, and their people can do; although, of course, most are still trying to please. The reality is, it never was about what they did or do; their mere presence (or shall we say "existence") as non-Western nations, governments, and people was (and always will be) the single most important factor as to why they were routinely patronized, coerced, and, if need be, attacked. 

Comment on Chen Dingding's "Sorry America, China is NOT going to collapse", National Interest