Mi artículo del diario

Antes de proseguir con mi relato respecto al fin de semana pasado (y se viene la parte buena, je je) me doy este paréntesis para contarles (a los que no sabían) que estoy enviando artículos en calidad de Freelance a un diario chino en inglés, y que mi primer artículo salió en el diario hoy mismo. Así que lo reproduzco tal cual para que le echen un lookin. Está en Inglés, así que pa los que no le escurren a la lengua de chakespiare, entonces metanlo a wordereference y lean un mamarracho inservible.

Confucianism in daily Chinese life

If you go to the Renmin Park any Sunday afternoon, you will find many middle aged Chinese couples, talking and showing themselves papers with pictures and letters. In those papers they are trying to advertise their own sons, to get them a decent husband or wife. This is very shocking for westerners. How is it possible that in the year 2010 people are still arranging the marriages of their sons? The explanation may rely on a doctrine with more than 2500 years of history: Confucianism.

The spread of this doctrine came to the society from above. It was during the Han Dynasty that the emperors realized that the best way to keep the unity and control of China was to implement the Confoucionist system. This is because the doctrine establishes a series of fixed relationships that need to be respected: ruler-ruled, father-son, husband-wife, elder brother-younger brother, and friend-friend. In practical terms this means that the ruler protects the ruled, but the ruled follow his orders, the father gives orders and the son obeys, etc. So the Han realized that this fixed social organization could avoid revolutions and internal wars. In that way, the emperors saw themselves as virtuous parents seeking the best for their sons, and giving them orders in how to build a better society. And the sons had to obey their parents, and the ruled had to obey the ruler because they had a social duty. Mencius says that the duty was based on utilitaristic reasons: only if everyone accepts his duty, we can have a united and prosperous society.

This way of seeing things has, in a way, survived until today, and we can see it in the social relationships and political opinions of the people. In the above example, the sons have the duty to obey their parents and take care of them when they become old. Their social position implies that they should obey, so is not strange that sometimes the parents chose their son’s spouses, and the sons are willing to accept it. The parents are also very interested on the issue, because their son in law will have to take care of them when they become old. On the same line, people in China also have a high respect for the authority, which is more important than the rules and laws. For that reason, people are often not so respectful about the rules (just think about pedestrians crossing the street) but they will follow their boss or superior in everything they say, just because they have the duty to follow authority (which makes them also bad at thinking and deciding by themselves). The utilitaristic justification of duty is also something very common in Chinese people. For example: if you ask anyone what he thinks about the single child policy, he would probably say that it is good for society, so, even if he dislikes it, he has to support it.

The Confucian way of thinking is very useful on maintaining the unity and social stability of China, but it has to be equilibrated a bit of rebelliousness; because, has the story of Cristopher Columbus teach us, only those who sometimes go against their orders and advices, could achieve the greatest things.

Diego Castro