tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4413130168723738166.post3373833699499016054..comments2024-02-26T00:59:26.907-08:00Comments on Ana the Imp: Having a PartyAnastasia F-Bhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01284602529524462457noreply@blogger.comBlogger20125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4413130168723738166.post-47244766009389305772010-09-16T15:47:41.620-07:002010-09-16T15:47:41.620-07:00This comment has been removed by the author.Fletch's Bloghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16402507296202065300noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4413130168723738166.post-82464581111909049812010-09-16T15:46:29.272-07:002010-09-16T15:46:29.272-07:00Rainer, you are very kind. It's really nice t...Rainer, you are very kind. It's really nice to see you after such a gap. :-)<br /><br />There is a lot of truth in what you say and I really do wonder if the Chinese model - economic freedom coupled with political repression - is sustainable in the long term. But your description of the triumph of money over faith is probably true of most societies in the throws of great economic change. It's certainly true of Britain during the Industrial Revolution.Anastasia F-Bhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01284602529524462457noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4413130168723738166.post-5847596543574209812010-09-16T09:47:34.822-07:002010-09-16T09:47:34.822-07:00Thanks Ana, I am still in awe of how productive yo...Thanks Ana, I am still in awe of how productive you are and how centered your opinion is, considering your right wing stand. Go into politics Ana, the world does need people like yourself.<br />On China, the great communist state that is one of the worlds biggest crony capitalist country on earth, I wish all the commentators praising its rise as the worlds biggest super power would hold their breath; full of corruption, nepotism, controlled by a few neglecting the masses, I wonder how long this "miracle" can survive. Put in the mix the Asian philosophy of "saving face", which means pushing problems under the carpet until they blow up, I give China a fifty/fifty chance of making it.<br />Also, any society that has done away with faith and adopted money as their main religion must fail somewhere along the line.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4413130168723738166.post-40190626278973924572010-09-15T23:38:33.528-07:002010-09-15T23:38:33.528-07:00Thanks, yun yi; I'll check that. It's a t...Thanks, yun yi; I'll check that. It's a tremendously impressive piece of work, a shocking tale soberly told.Anastasia F-Bhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01284602529524462457noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4413130168723738166.post-7427535323149743562010-09-15T17:36:14.927-07:002010-09-15T17:36:14.927-07:00You are right Ana. The modern China's rising i...You are right Ana. The modern China's rising is all about materialism: a result of combining capitalism with a virtually functionalist Chinese cultural tradition. a perfect marriage!<br /><br />About Chinese history, what I have learned is, each dynasty, the first thing that almost every first emperor did was to "correct" history books (the most famous history book of Qing Dynasty "Comprehensive Mirror for Aid in Government" is a perfect example). And today I suddenly compared this the process of this "correction" with modern psychology "positive thinking style" - only remember what's good, forget about what's bad" and "look forward"... <br />Communist party of course knows how to handle this as well. And people feel good/"positive" about it too. <br />I found this review of the book today you may be interested:<br />http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2010/sep/05/maos-great-famine-dikotter-reviewYun Yihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06311104014692132715noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4413130168723738166.post-41384689127890210232010-09-15T17:18:06.853-07:002010-09-15T17:18:06.853-07:00Cue Napoleon. :-)Cue Napoleon. :-)Anastasia F-Bhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01284602529524462457noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4413130168723738166.post-17598603173108697082010-09-15T17:05:41.278-07:002010-09-15T17:05:41.278-07:00This comment has been removed by the author.Fletch's Bloghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16402507296202065300noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4413130168723738166.post-14200462859824724532010-09-15T17:03:29.979-07:002010-09-15T17:03:29.979-07:00I imagine he would be amazed that the Sleeping Gia...I imagine he would be amazed that the Sleeping Giant has at last awakened. :-)Anastasia F-Bhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01284602529524462457noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4413130168723738166.post-58075287929579599212010-09-15T16:44:39.815-07:002010-09-15T16:44:39.815-07:00This comment has been removed by the author.Fletch's Bloghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16402507296202065300noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4413130168723738166.post-22471692599162161922010-09-15T16:43:58.422-07:002010-09-15T16:43:58.422-07:00To be honest, Adam, the present Chinese leadership...To be honest, Adam, the present Chinese leadership may pay lip-service to Marxism while running an economy that would have been envied by the high priests of capitalism. As I said before, Smiles is the man, not Marx.Anastasia F-Bhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01284602529524462457noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4413130168723738166.post-72985893197348351502010-09-15T16:21:22.198-07:002010-09-15T16:21:22.198-07:00This comment has been removed by the author.Fletch's Bloghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16402507296202065300noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4413130168723738166.post-6004683536532129752010-09-15T16:18:57.530-07:002010-09-15T16:18:57.530-07:00You know, Yun yi, some of the information in Mao&#...You know, Yun yi, some of the information in <i>Mao's Great Famine</i> almost defies credibility: homes being destroyed for fertiliser, the forced labour that meant the farmers could not attend to their fields, the export of cotton that meant that some people had to go naked. It's as if history had stood still in China, that there had been no progress at all in the treatment of people between the time of the construction of the Great Wall and the so-called Great Leap Forward, which in practice was a massive leap backwards.Anastasia F-Bhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01284602529524462457noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4413130168723738166.post-39611776005024698782010-09-15T07:47:28.874-07:002010-09-15T07:47:28.874-07:00i know ana. peasants have been absolutely at the b...i know ana. peasants have been absolutely at the bottom of chinese social hierarchy for thousands years. even now when many chinese people mention the word "chinese", it still doesn't include those peasants which is still majority of chinese population. the "glory" of modern china has nothing to do with them. <br />i have not read the book but i believe those horrified happenings were all true. many chinese people still don't know much about it. Lu Xun said chinese people were the most oblivious people in the world. he was right. the reason chinese people still remember what japanese did during ww2 is only because communist government need them to remember. anything government don't want to people remember, they could easily succeed. like 6.4 of 1989.Yun Yihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06311104014692132715noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4413130168723738166.post-40880975868607515862010-09-14T23:54:18.230-07:002010-09-14T23:54:18.230-07:00What a hard road it was, Yun yi. The details in D...What a hard road it was, Yun yi. The details in Dikotter's book really are terrible. The peasants were treated worse than slaves, and I don't say that lightly. Even slaves have a 'value'. For many of Mao's cadres the peasants had no value at all.Anastasia F-Bhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01284602529524462457noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4413130168723738166.post-37075266889586520062010-09-14T17:25:01.714-07:002010-09-14T17:25:01.714-07:00Mr.Garrie's One Nation, that link is so cute:-...Mr.Garrie's One Nation, that link is so cute:-)Yun Yihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06311104014692132715noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4413130168723738166.post-84904688233005184722010-09-14T16:55:31.090-07:002010-09-14T16:55:31.090-07:00Not only overtaking UK, Ana, but also US. At least...Not only overtaking UK, Ana, but also US. At least the slogans said so (you guys' names were always together). China is an "ambitious" country, so ambitious that she wouldn't mind "sacrifice" millions millions of lives. And these millions of lives were/are so easily/willingly fooled by such "patriotic ambitions". <br />Party will be huge next year. I am sure. Thanks for the reminder:-)Yun Yihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06311104014692132715noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4413130168723738166.post-62246933356383113012010-09-14T16:35:11.391-07:002010-09-14T16:35:11.391-07:00Thanks for that link, Adam. :-)Thanks for that link, Adam. :-)Anastasia F-Bhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01284602529524462457noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4413130168723738166.post-2319438308547480392010-09-14T16:13:29.290-07:002010-09-14T16:13:29.290-07:00The surprising thing about the Great Leap Forward,...The surprising thing about the Great Leap Forward, as I'm discovering from reading the recently published <i>Mao's Famine</i>, is that it was an attempt to overtake Britain, still considered a great powerhouse at the time, as one of the leading industrial economies. How things change!Anastasia F-Bhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01284602529524462457noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4413130168723738166.post-54753796287041776692010-09-14T16:03:07.291-07:002010-09-14T16:03:07.291-07:00This comment has been removed by the author.Fletch's Bloghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16402507296202065300noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4413130168723738166.post-79336691430385939572010-09-14T15:28:30.307-07:002010-09-14T15:28:30.307-07:00This comment has been removed by the author.Fletch's Bloghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16402507296202065300noreply@blogger.com