This is a fascinating share. Thank you! I believe you intentionally have left this essay neutral — beyond good/bad or moral judgment. In this game of cat/mouse (or perhaps cannablistic mouse games) — I wonder if the inherent natural end is a revolution that punches up.
Exactly. In the short term, this architecture allows the 'cat' to extract maximum efficiency. But without fail, the system eventually degrades into one of two states: collective apathy or meaningless, performative friction.
I feel it happens in both Chinese dynastic history and modern mega-corporations. Revolution might be the catastrophic final resort, but the chronic, everyday tragedy is profound alienation.
Yes yes yes. As part of the Chinese diaspora your share made me reflect on my own role in the healing.
Far enough to see what it is. But also the distance comes at a cost in a body that longs for something it cannot find. There’s a retracing and a whole house full of questions of
What else could be possible?
In between telos (vision) and manipulation of a web — what can emerge in between collapsing into either?
Dichotomy is a useful framework, like a sharp scalpel for analysis. But sometimes a scalpel is simply the wrong tool. Reality rarely collapses into neat binaries. It usually exists in a state of superposition.
Polycentric groups of talented leaders embedded in society and ruling and/or controlling administrative and governmental activity in some form of collective democratic form...(?) Or, something adjacent to the Singaporean model...(?)
Does this tie in, in any way, to the sort of relational structure described by Fei Xiaotong in his "From The Soil"? I was looking for similarities in his Differential Mode of Association premise, and was imagining some overlap in a few ways. Maybe not...but would you see any relation or similarities?
Thanks, Kurt. This is a brilliant connection! The 'Differential Mode of Association' (差序格局) might be a better framework to explain the underlying social fabric I had in mind.
Western 'Vision' implies a flat, contract-based 'organizational mode' (团体格局), like a bundle of straws. But traditional Chinese organizations operate like Fei's ripples in a pond. Therefore, the leader's job isn't to point to a distant horizon; it’s to sit at the center of the pond, manipulating the concentric circles of trust, obligation, and paranoia.
Hah! Thanks. I wasn't even making a hard connection, but I was reading your (excellent) piece and Mr. Fei's premise kept poking into my head...intersecting and overlapping concentric rings of relationships with obligations, responsibilities, beneficial and/or damaging codependencies, etc. So, I guess I'm not crazy.
Thanks, Leo! I’d love to tackle a book eventually if time allows. But the world is full of too many interesting distractions and topics to write about right now.
You've already got a book. A bound collection of your essays and observations with some great title that wraps them together and grabs that person walking by in the airport concourse. Seriously. It's a good time for it. The average Westerner doesn't know squat about China; a book of essays...not as challenging as some overarching thesis, able to be digested in chunks...might develop a reputation. The book publishing industry is a stinking mess right now, but the right combination of ideas in a tidy package might find its way.
this is something i’ve come to find existentially grating after years here. if china was supposed to adopt socialism, an ideology in which seeking to demolish alienation is paramount, why is a more dignified working and political life so out of reach for the average person?
this isn’t to say things are bad or that the system is too rigid; however, it feels like the (apparently holy) convenience of everything, streamlined services, material wealth… all tend to serve the alienation.
consumerism is promoted to fill the void between shifts - and serve the country!
people think little about the guy sending them a meal for pennies, who himself works ridiculous hours. well, so do i, so why should i care about him?
it’s not unlikely to get caught in a loop of time being dominated by work life, lacking energy to explore the world or oneself more deeply, and rely on convenience to soothe exhaustion.
when someone yaps on about how authoritarian china is, they generally have no clue what they’re talking about. it is, but not in the way they think. it also isn’t, and also not in the way they think. so i don’t bother.
you’ve tapped into the real issue of authority and its place in chinese society. thanks for the great piece.
The detailing of the concept of Shi (势), and "the focus is on identifying and harnessing the inherent trajectory of reality itself." is so enlightening.
This is a fascinating share. Thank you! I believe you intentionally have left this essay neutral — beyond good/bad or moral judgment. In this game of cat/mouse (or perhaps cannablistic mouse games) — I wonder if the inherent natural end is a revolution that punches up.
Exactly. In the short term, this architecture allows the 'cat' to extract maximum efficiency. But without fail, the system eventually degrades into one of two states: collective apathy or meaningless, performative friction.
I feel it happens in both Chinese dynastic history and modern mega-corporations. Revolution might be the catastrophic final resort, but the chronic, everyday tragedy is profound alienation.
Yes yes yes. As part of the Chinese diaspora your share made me reflect on my own role in the healing.
Far enough to see what it is. But also the distance comes at a cost in a body that longs for something it cannot find. There’s a retracing and a whole house full of questions of
What else could be possible?
In between telos (vision) and manipulation of a web — what can emerge in between collapsing into either?
Dichotomy is a useful framework, like a sharp scalpel for analysis. But sometimes a scalpel is simply the wrong tool. Reality rarely collapses into neat binaries. It usually exists in a state of superposition.
For me, returning to classical texts sometimes becomes a personal cure. I actually wrote a piece about finding that exact healing space in Classical Chinese: https://www.oldnorthwhale.com/p/forget-meditation-try-classical-chinese
Stunning article. Love it!!!! Thanks ❤️ makes me want to take to calligraphy and write poems all day.
Polycentric groups of talented leaders embedded in society and ruling and/or controlling administrative and governmental activity in some form of collective democratic form...(?) Or, something adjacent to the Singaporean model...(?)
Spitballing here...
Does this tie in, in any way, to the sort of relational structure described by Fei Xiaotong in his "From The Soil"? I was looking for similarities in his Differential Mode of Association premise, and was imagining some overlap in a few ways. Maybe not...but would you see any relation or similarities?
Fantastic piece, as always, thanks much.
Thanks, Kurt. This is a brilliant connection! The 'Differential Mode of Association' (差序格局) might be a better framework to explain the underlying social fabric I had in mind.
Western 'Vision' implies a flat, contract-based 'organizational mode' (团体格局), like a bundle of straws. But traditional Chinese organizations operate like Fei's ripples in a pond. Therefore, the leader's job isn't to point to a distant horizon; it’s to sit at the center of the pond, manipulating the concentric circles of trust, obligation, and paranoia.
Hah! Thanks. I wasn't even making a hard connection, but I was reading your (excellent) piece and Mr. Fei's premise kept poking into my head...intersecting and overlapping concentric rings of relationships with obligations, responsibilities, beneficial and/or damaging codependencies, etc. So, I guess I'm not crazy.
Awesome stuff, as always. These should be a book project.
Thanks, Leo! I’d love to tackle a book eventually if time allows. But the world is full of too many interesting distractions and topics to write about right now.
You've already got a book. A bound collection of your essays and observations with some great title that wraps them together and grabs that person walking by in the airport concourse. Seriously. It's a good time for it. The average Westerner doesn't know squat about China; a book of essays...not as challenging as some overarching thesis, able to be digested in chunks...might develop a reputation. The book publishing industry is a stinking mess right now, but the right combination of ideas in a tidy package might find its way.
this is something i’ve come to find existentially grating after years here. if china was supposed to adopt socialism, an ideology in which seeking to demolish alienation is paramount, why is a more dignified working and political life so out of reach for the average person?
this isn’t to say things are bad or that the system is too rigid; however, it feels like the (apparently holy) convenience of everything, streamlined services, material wealth… all tend to serve the alienation.
consumerism is promoted to fill the void between shifts - and serve the country!
people think little about the guy sending them a meal for pennies, who himself works ridiculous hours. well, so do i, so why should i care about him?
it’s not unlikely to get caught in a loop of time being dominated by work life, lacking energy to explore the world or oneself more deeply, and rely on convenience to soothe exhaustion.
when someone yaps on about how authoritarian china is, they generally have no clue what they’re talking about. it is, but not in the way they think. it also isn’t, and also not in the way they think. so i don’t bother.
you’ve tapped into the real issue of authority and its place in chinese society. thanks for the great piece.
Another brilliant article, Jing Yu.
The detailing of the concept of Shi (势), and "the focus is on identifying and harnessing the inherent trajectory of reality itself." is so enlightening.
(oh, and thanks for the shoutout!)