The Useless Tree

So, tell me again how Confucianism and Daoism influence consumption in today’s PRC…

    Three stories, and some pictures, from today’s China Daily are a reminder of just how alien Confucianism and Taoism are in contemporary China (and just about everywhere else for that matter):

1.  Here’s a thought: "artificial beauty"

Artificial_beauty

   Here’s the caption for this picture:

Hao Lulu (L), reportedly China’s first
man-made beauty who has undergone a series of surgeries to land a
winning look, performs a song after her vocal instructor Han Jing at an
artificial beauty carnival to celebrate the Lunar New Year in Beijing on
Sunday. More than a dozen of whose, both men and women, who went
under knife in pursuit of a charming appearance attend the special
gathering. [Xinhua]   

    The black cowboy hat is especially reminiscent of the rugged individualism of Confucius…

2.  Colored Dogs

    I know there are a lot of pet nuts in the US, but I have never seen a dog’s hair dyed like this (maybe I don’t get out enough):

Colored_dogs

    The caption reads:

A miniature poodle, coloured with yellow, pink
and purple dye, rests after having its hair trimmed at a pet beautician
school in Beijing January 13, 2006. Amid China’s current pet boom, dog
owners are flocking to such shops to pamper their pets with everything
from shampooing to hair trimming, and nail care to hair-dye for the
upcoming Lunar New Year festival beginning January 29, which will be the
Year of the Dog. [Reuters]

     Confucius, of course, did not like animals all that much:

  One day the stables burned down.  When he returned from court, the Master asked: "Was anyone hurt?"  He didn’t ask about the horses.   (Analects 10.11)

3.  Big dinners

    No comment really needed for this story:

A restaurant in Hangzhou, capital of Zhejiang Province, will provide an
extremely luxurious banquet worth 198,000 yuan (24,444 U.S. dollars) for the
traditional Spring Festival, or the Chinese lunar New Year, spurring debate
among citizens.

    Maybe Bernie Ebbers and Ken Lay are in the house…

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3 responses to “So, tell me again how Confucianism and Daoism influence consumption in today’s PRC…”

  1. Taras Balderdash Avatar
    Taras Balderdash

    There is a strong materialism in modern China, but is this really far from the ancient ways? People seek to benefit their descendants and reflect back honor upon their ancestors in their own way.
    True, it is sad to see so little attention paid to the Classics. But for millenia very few people could read the ancient books. There are perhaps more now, rather than less, who are literate and interested. Before there were many who studied just to get positions and make money. Now those who study the 13 books do it for love of righteousness.
    I guess what I am trying to say is that cultural fads are fleeting, but people change slowly. The city changes, but the Well remains the same.
    China has had many long, hungry years. It is understandable that many young people are sating themselves on the ‘fat, glistening meat’ of western culture, as shown in gua 3.5 which I received about this article.
    Regards,
    Unworthy Hermit Taras

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  2. Sam Avatar
    Sam

    Taras,
    Yes, Chinese life has long had (always had?) a powerful materialist aspect to it. My point is to suggest that Confucius and Taoists push against this materialism. Thus, to the extent that materialism has always defined Chinese life, I think we can then question the extent to which Confucianism or Taoism define, in some essential manner, Chinese society. These systems of thought are, basically, oppositional in both political and economic terms. And the kinds of materialist excesses seen in modern China (and most other places) are certainly not what either school of thought would accept as a “good life.”

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  3. Taras Balderdash Avatar
    Taras Balderdash

    Sam,
    Perhaps it comes down to a differentiation of terms. For instance the Daoism many of us in the West learned from the translations of Legge, Giles, Wilhelm, etc. differs widely from both many Chinese people’s perceptions and from the historic Daoism that is beginning to be revealed from material coming ‘back from the grave’ through archaeology.
    So too with Confucianism. Does the term mean what we read in the Lun Yu and the Spring and Autumn Annals? Or the Song Dynasty writings? Were the Qing rulers Confucianist? I think it is too wide a term, and thus loses some degree of meaning.
    The situation is in transition and the superior minds of China are watching and waiting.
    This is described in Gua 13.3:
    “Conceal your weapons in the high grass.
    Climb the barrow.
    Wait three years.”
    No one wants to reveal their hand and be shipped off like their fathers, uncles and aunts to the camps and farms for carelessly being free with their words too early.
    The three religions are certainly a counterfoil to excesses in politics and society, but they are only effective in an age where they can take root. Master Kong himself did not live in such an age, to his great sorrow.
    Taras

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