Part 2 of our series on the politics of China's economics. Today: the weight of history that hangs on every Chinese leader and limits his individual choices.
It is notewothy that, as have always been the case in Chinese history, the last stronghold of independece from the center is in Sichuan and that the final success of a centralizing force is catalyzed by its final conquest . It seems like we have witnessed the times of the Shu kindgom, of Chang Hsien-chung or Shin Ta-kai.
In the "Essay on Chinese Geography" of 1934 Liang Ch'i-ch'ao wrote "every time that there had been disorder under heaven, the Sichuan was help by an independent governor and he was always the last to lose its independece."
Might I suggest a fourth layer borrowed from a recent China Thought Express post featuring the work of philosopher Liu Xiaoguan? Essentially a classical argument that China is unable to settle on any political middle ground.
It is notewothy that, as have always been the case in Chinese history, the last stronghold of independece from the center is in Sichuan and that the final success of a centralizing force is catalyzed by its final conquest . It seems like we have witnessed the times of the Shu kindgom, of Chang Hsien-chung or Shin Ta-kai.
In the "Essay on Chinese Geography" of 1934 Liang Ch'i-ch'ao wrote "every time that there had been disorder under heaven, the Sichuan was help by an independent governor and he was always the last to lose its independece."
Are you referring to Xi conquering Bo? That’s complicated, as Bo was an outsider who clamped down on the local mafiosos
I was referring to another round of centralization in the Chinese history that goes through Sichuan. Many such cases.
Might I suggest a fourth layer borrowed from a recent China Thought Express post featuring the work of philosopher Liu Xiaoguan? Essentially a classical argument that China is unable to settle on any political middle ground.
https://substack.com/@1234458676/note/p-205822831?utm_source=notes-share-action&r=5hihj4