China: Unlike a Nation

As indicated in Chapter One, China is not a nation in the usual sense, which is one of the characteristics (i.e., the eleventh) of Chinese culture. So, why is China so special? In general, a country is under the rule of a dominant class. But China tends toward professional distinctions, rather than class divisions. In this chapter, I put forward my view on the issue.

China's dissimilarity from most nations can be first observed from its lack of the functions it is usually acknowledged a nation has. This explains why China has always been politically passive and inactive. As a widely followed practice from generation to generation, “not disturbing the people” is its ultimate creed and “doing the least possible government work and ensuring the fewest possible criminal cases need to be handled” is the supreme ideal. Lu Xinwu, an official in the Ming Dynasty with a wealth of political experience and outstanding achievements, said in his book On Governance :

This was what the author had learned from his own experience, rather than from empty talk. Though it was a personal view, it accurately represented what people generally thought at the time. The only difference was that it portrayed such a negative attitude so starkly. Consequently, in the county government office one could often see this couplet: “Scholars and farmers, devote all your time to your own affairs; workers and traders, never come through this door except on an errand.” How “individual-oriented” the official was at the time, especially when the county magistrate proclaimed publicly that there was no need to contact the officials, can well be imagined.

In fact, contact between the public and officials takes the form of either tax payment in rice or lawsuits. As the proverb among the folks in Hebei Province goes, “Having made your tax payment in rice, you feel as well at ease as the king.”