Why I can't like the Chinese New Year

 

IN a cockleshell, i do not like Chinese New Year.  I wish i could, but i can't.

It is predicated on sociopolitical apathy and social alienation that leads to people having little else to value other than money and making it, and thus learning to see all as an opportunity, not a sentient part of humanity.

It arose out of top-down oppression becoming the norm back in 220 b.c. with total subjugation of the population by the psychotic Qin Shih Huang Ti (Qin dynasty).  All books of alternative thought were burnt and their scholars were buried alive. 

Thereafter, it was impressed upon the chinese population that all opposition to government was evil due to the consequences rained down on them from the top being the epitome of evil.  One emperor, for instance, who suspected an official of plotting against him, killed him, his family, his relatives, all who knew them, etc, etc, with the death toll amounting to more than a 100,000.  That is how the Chinese were battered into submission, and with time, took such battering as alright so long as it delivered wealth.  That is why racism, fascism, is not an issue to them.  All that matters is if it delivers the 30 pieces of silver.  There was no more alternative to that, hence, no need for development in the arts, music, philosophy, and so on.

That is why, Chinese philosophy, unlike the rest of the world, stagnated from then till the present.  Even the allegedly 'CCP' isn't communist, but a 'legalist-confucian' party, and adopted the 'communist' term simply to give it a modern outlook as the authoritarian version of 'communism' in the USSR back then - which is more accurately, 'state capitalism'-cum-stalinism - is the closest cousin of Legalism-Confucianism.  The 'CCP' of China is actually just a sort of Mandarin, or Chinese Imperial Official, takeover of the Monarchy, nothing more. 

From this arises the Tyranny of the Strong, and the Tyranny of the Majority.  An emperor who can maintain his rule by any means is deemed to have the Mandate of Heaven, and which basically turns Heaven into a rubber stamp for validating any evil means to a prosperous and self-serving end so long as it is successful.  It is from there that the chinese develop their notion of, 'do whatever you want, but don't get caught', or, 'when you have the power, you can do what you want and don't have to worry about getting caught.'  That is when empathy and reason goes out the window.  Justice is validated by success, not morality, not ethics.  That is why in their history, a rebellion is justified by heaven if it is successful.  An emperor is justified by heaven if he can maintain his rule. 

That is why for instance, in singapore, the late and ex PM, Lee Kuan Yew, openly stated that he couldn't be bothered about people respecting him.  All he wanted was that they feared him.  That is reasonable enough, given that subjugation by fear is the best way to reduce people to the point of liking and respecting whatever you tell them is worth liking and respecting.  Once you can get the people's fear, that will lead to a reduction of those aspects of the human persona - such as empathy, compassion, etc - to the point that one mutates into a self-serving sort who can then respect someone like Qin Shih Huang Ti, to Deng Xiao Ping, to Lee Kuan Yew as 'fathers' and cultural icons. 

That is why when Deng Xiao Ping ran tanks over the democratic protestors in Tiananmen square, that only increased his stature amongst the chinese people who saw that as proof that he deserved to rule.  Those protestors today are largely viewed as 'troublemakers' in China today.  And similarly, Lee Kuan Yew at the time praised Deng for his actions, and he could do so with impunity as he knew the largely chinese population in singapore wouldn't deem anything amiss given that any means was viewed as alright for social stability and financial prosperity.  In such a statement, Lee further impressed upon the population that he too would run tanks over them if they opposed him similarly, and which, in chinese eyes, meant that he deserved to rule them.  

The law of sociopolitical evolution is simple. 

If you do not oppose top-down greed and oppression, one is left with nothing but to compensate for it by doing unto others what is done to them by the top.  

It is from there that just about all of chinese 'culture' takes its form and meaning.  It is basically a band-aid to cover the wound that arises from gross sociopolitical apathy.  That is why it is common for the chinese throughout asia to 'let the professional thinks for us'.  They do not engage in counterfactual or 'normative' thinking as that goes against the government's demand that the people just do as they are told and allowed to do on the basis of rules, not reason. When one can appreciate rules for itself without reason, that shows the person has 'come of age' and will not baulk in the face of the unreasonable when it comes to authority.  A complete suspension of reason, and with it, empathy.

Even filial piety is not observed out of love for one's family or parents, but out of an obligation arising from the state's position that they will take from the people while the people have to take care of themselves.  That is from whence the Chinese Family unit becomes the unit of surviving top-down oppression, and also the means by which the top can continue to exploit the people.  That is why the idea of the family, and abiding by the dicate of elders is so important in chinese society, as it is required to support the oppressive political to oppressive triads.  The emperor is the overarching father, with a whole load of such 'fathers' all the way down the line, from local governments, employers, teachers, triad societies, and parents.  One could say that the government is the ultimate 'triad' society, enforcing its will by force over reason, and it resonates throughout society through replication.

And that is also why the chinese aren't averse to calling their tyrants, 'fathers' and 'founding fathers'.  The Indians do it too, but only when it comes to people who give up wealth for a life of compassion and wisdom.  Hence, Gandhi is known as Gandhiji.  Whereas in singapore for instance, the racist, fascist, eugenicist, ex and late PM, Lee Kuan Yew, who amassed millions, if not billions, in fortune, who demanded that he be paid as much as CEOs of private corporations, and basically turned the whole state into a corporate possession, is revered by them as 'founding father'.  

Their approach toward life is to 'leave the system and rulers unaddressed, and just work hard around it', 'don't complain, just do', 'don't question the government, just follow', 'don't question rules, just obey'.  Hence, The only way they are left with to pay the bill for the (governmental) greed of another is to exercise the same greed in the face of their neighbour.  So in such a society, the Christian exhortation to 'love one another as you love yourself' becomes a logical impossibility and 'not pragmatic'.  Thus, is a pragmatically evil system built.  

That is why, for instance, it is a common chinese practice to increase the price of things during chinese 'new' year.  If it has anything to do with demand and supply, it is in terms of the demanding the money, and you supplying it without question.  It is all to do with opportunism.  Even a cup of tea costs more.  And if you ask them why?  They'll say, 'because it is chinese new year'.  Well mate, there is nothing 'new' about selfish self-centred opportunism.  I find that practice disgusting.  That is no different from keeping the price the same, but giving you 2/3rds of a cup of tea instead of a full glass 'because it is chinese new year'.  "It is our New Year, so like last year, we are going to give you less for your money." It is gross disrespect and telling people they are there to be taken advantage of.  No place for reason, respect, or dignity.  That, lies at the heart of 'Chinese New Year', and the idea of 'Prosperity'.  

I'm sorry, but i abide by, 'love your neighbour as you love yourself'.  Unless you tell me that is wrong, i have no choice but to think the premise upon which this season is based on is abhorrent.  Integrating with any people doesn't have to mean taking on their wrongs as right because they've been doing it for thousands of years as compensation and strategy to get round elitist evils, as opposed to getting rid of it.  They've been using the abacus for thousands of years too.  So why use the calculator now?    

That is why gambling on the eve of chinese new year, where they take money off each other through Mahjong doesn't come across as antisocial - i have joined my chinese friends for such an event myself back in the 80s, won most of the money, but thereafter, paid for everything that night to the point i was just left with the $10 i started the day with, as i felt that friends shouldn't do that to each other.   But i did wonder why they weren't averse to doing this, and some whom had won quite a bit, kept it.   

Being antisocial and opportunistic influences cultural development anywhere were one kow tows to top-down oppression.  To kow tow to evil is to learn to accept it as a moral value, and which in turn logically leads to one devaluing all others.  That is why they can eat anything, and are unscrupulous and extortionate in business and government.  

Even in temples, at the stroke of midnight, the gates are opened, and the chinese will push and shove each other to be one of the first to get to the temple urn to be the first to stick their joss sticks into it so that their wishes will be granted.  The later you plant your joss sticks, the lesser the chance of it being granted.  How do they conceptualise a 'heaven' and 'gods' who pit the people against each other just like their rulers if not for a history that extols the value of 'me first at your expense'.  It is capitalist economics in a 'cultural' form.  To not be able to conceptualise a heaven without human evils is a testament to the normality of human evils.  

I suppose it is natural.  If you are taken advantage of and can't do anything about it, you will tend to compensate by doing likewise to others, first, out of necessity, then, out of tradition.  If you are taken advantage of and taught to actually respect those who do it (like the government), you will feel it even more justified and even ethical to do similarly.  Then all is lost.

That is at the heart of Chinese culture, ever since china had its heart ripped out in 220b.c.   I often wonder what sort of Chinese culture would have emerged if Shih Huang Ti had fallen down the stairs as a kid and didn't become anything more than an organ grinder.  The 100 schools of philosophy in China prior to his arrival from down under would have thrived, and Chinese New Year might have meant something completely different.    

Firstly, There is no 'new year' when one transports one's previous opportunistic morals to the next year.  All that is 'new' in such a case are 'victims' and strategies for victimisation.  

Secondly, when one ceases to effect control over one's sociopolitical system, and just focuses on working around it, one loses all control over one's destiny.   And that's when feng shui, lucky numbers, cute cats waving money into a shop, oranges symbolising gold, gambling, economic opportunism from the government to the people, buying lottery after lottery, and seeing everything as for consumption, becomes a culture of compensation, as opposed to being a culture of truly self expression of the best aspects of human potentials.  

That is when people logically cease to have a history as history is like the minutes of a meeting that indicates who did, said what, and when, not whom kept quiet throughout the time or didn't turn up.  History is for the making, not for the following.  That is for the sheep and chicken en route to an abattoir.  Such have utility, but not a history.  History is for those who make it, not those who leave its evolution and movement to the greedy few emperors and mandarins.  Such a people, logically, cease to have a history, but only a phylogeny.  Once you move from having a history to having a phylogeny, logically, you cease to have 'new' years, only a replication, reiteration, and regurgitation of old ones.  So i never understood the relevance of 'new' in Chinese 'New' Year.

With globalisation comes the obligation to consider contradiction.  If not, one ought to go back to where they come from to avoid it, not silence those who do.  That isn't harmony, it is arrogant assimilation and domination.

This isn't a critique of culture, but an effort to rejuvenate it, as all intelligent people will agree.  One cannot subject oneself to any idea without scrutinising it for its negative impact on human development.  Just as we do that for ideas in a company meeting, or planning a Christmas party or wedding, same thing applies to culture.  Cultural critique is a feasibility study of an idea.  We don't refrain from it just because some people are used to doing things a certain way because they never considered it for its right and wrong because they got used to it.  That is idiocy.

edX

#cny #chinesenewyear #chineseculture