I arrived in Bloomington 24 hours ago, happily (using air miles) via First Class on American. It seemed a fitting way to end a First Class journey around the world—after a 6 hour train from Datong to Beijing.
There were two newsworthy articles this morning in the Wall Street Journal relevant to the trip. One was the slowdown in India (based partly on the slowdown elsewhere in the world), and the slowdown in China. You definitely have to read the non-Chinese press in particular to get that impression, though between the lines, you can tell there are some cracks in the picture of progress China presents.
The Chinese government vocabulary emphasizes the need for social stability; its contract is continued power in return for generating continued prosperity—even if that means stimulating the economy through an economic package that tends to favor domestic consumption.
The emphasis on social stability was visible in at least two places where one might not have expected it. In the Confucian temple in Beijing, we got there in time to see a dance performance based on the teachings of Confucius. Part of it was “social stability.” The Chinese phrase was, “Tian xia wei gong,” one of the teachings of Dr. Sun Yat-sen, roughly translated as “The Earth Belongs to the People.” You can find that on the gateway to almost every Chinatown in the United States (see Chicago’s, if you doubt me). That Confucius is revered today is a remarkable change from the Mao past, when the “New China” meant demolishing the old.
The second clue is the “Beijing Spirit” motto: “Patriotism, Innovation, Inclusiveness, and Virtue.” The last named is also part of the Confucian ethic.
The “New New China” with its emphasis on the “New Old” indicates to me that Mao in remaking China missed some of the good in the old. What sounds like thunder in China, in other words, is really Mao turning in his grave.
And so the adventure ends–and I’m ready for the next one!