An Honor to the Chinese
Within the quotes below is the narrative of a World War II
documentary about China's involvement in this war. I will let it speak
for itself. The last few paragraphs are my mention of some of the other
points made by the documentary. This is obviously prior to the
Communist Revolution, but, nonetheless the Chinese people
are amazing.
"Of every 5 persons on the face of the earth one is a Chinese.
And since one fifth of all the human beings in the world is Chinese
we should know what sort of people they are.
Well, in all their 4000 years of continuous history they have never waged
a war of conquest. They are that sort of people.
They developed the art of printing from movable type. They invented the
mariner's compass, without which no ocean could be crossed. They were
among the first astronomers, and their observations of the stars and planets
made possible the accurate measuring and recording of time. They are
that sort of people. And why do we call our dishes "China"? Because the
Chinese invented the art of making porcelain. And as we all know, they
invented gun powder; not as a weapon of war, to celebrate their holidays
and religious festivals. And it was one of China's greatest philosophers
who, 500 years before the birth of Christ, gave mankind these words,
"What you do not want done to yourself, do not do to others." (from the
Analects of Conufucus) They are that sort of people. Enriching the world
in which we live.
Yes, China is incredibly old. Incredibly big. Incredibly populous.
Yet it was until recently a land with which few of us concerned ourselves.
But now a great change has taken place. (war) China is now our ally, or
more accurately, we are China's.
China has been fighting our enemy, Japan, for seven long years. Why is
this? Why have the Chinese, when all of their 4000 year history they have
never waged an aggressive war, been forced to fight? Fight and die by the
millions. Because China is land, four million square miles of it. And because
China is people, 450 million. And because Japan had a plan to use them both."
The episode, while some may deemed dated, goes on to show how China
finally became united through the vision of their Founding Father, Dr. Sun
Yat Sen, and this horrendous invasion by Japan.
China's valiant and inspired war effort included the Great China Wall, which
to me bolstered the claim that China never waged an aggressive war, because
the Wall was built to keep invaders out. And this illustration compared China's
massive evacuation of millions, away from the attacking Japanese, to the
mountains and the building of their cities and manufacturing underground to
give them time to recover and build their army and fighting capabilities.
Japan's blockade of China made the Burma Road project a necessity.
However, Western planners estimated it would take 5 to 7 years to build,
with the aid of machines that China could not provide. China built the Burma
Road with their hands. The hands of millions of workers built the Burma
Road in twelve months!
Ruby and I watched in awe. I would not have taken the time to post this
entry if I had not been so thoroughly impressed with the Chinese people!
documentary about China's involvement in this war. I will let it speak
for itself. The last few paragraphs are my mention of some of the other
points made by the documentary. This is obviously prior to the
Communist Revolution, but, nonetheless the Chinese people
are amazing.
"Of every 5 persons on the face of the earth one is a Chinese.
And since one fifth of all the human beings in the world is Chinese
we should know what sort of people they are.
Well, in all their 4000 years of continuous history they have never waged
a war of conquest. They are that sort of people.
They developed the art of printing from movable type. They invented the
mariner's compass, without which no ocean could be crossed. They were
among the first astronomers, and their observations of the stars and planets
made possible the accurate measuring and recording of time. They are
that sort of people. And why do we call our dishes "China"? Because the
Chinese invented the art of making porcelain. And as we all know, they
invented gun powder; not as a weapon of war, to celebrate their holidays
and religious festivals. And it was one of China's greatest philosophers
who, 500 years before the birth of Christ, gave mankind these words,
"What you do not want done to yourself, do not do to others." (from the
Analects of Conufucus) They are that sort of people. Enriching the world
in which we live.
Yes, China is incredibly old. Incredibly big. Incredibly populous.
Yet it was until recently a land with which few of us concerned ourselves.
But now a great change has taken place. (war) China is now our ally, or
more accurately, we are China's.
China has been fighting our enemy, Japan, for seven long years. Why is
this? Why have the Chinese, when all of their 4000 year history they have
never waged an aggressive war, been forced to fight? Fight and die by the
millions. Because China is land, four million square miles of it. And because
China is people, 450 million. And because Japan had a plan to use them both."
The episode, while some may deemed dated, goes on to show how China
finally became united through the vision of their Founding Father, Dr. Sun
Yat Sen, and this horrendous invasion by Japan.
China's valiant and inspired war effort included the Great China Wall, which
to me bolstered the claim that China never waged an aggressive war, because
the Wall was built to keep invaders out. And this illustration compared China's
massive evacuation of millions, away from the attacking Japanese, to the
mountains and the building of their cities and manufacturing underground to
give them time to recover and build their army and fighting capabilities.
Japan's blockade of China made the Burma Road project a necessity.
However, Western planners estimated it would take 5 to 7 years to build,
with the aid of machines that China could not provide. China built the Burma
Road with their hands. The hands of millions of workers built the Burma
Road in twelve months!
Ruby and I watched in awe. I would not have taken the time to post this
entry if I had not been so thoroughly impressed with the Chinese people!