In 1922, Bertrend Russell published a book that summarises the major cultural problems in his eyes that hindered China's development. These problems are: avarice, cowardice and callousness. Have these problems gone away?
Bertrand Russell visited China in 1920 to 1921. After he returned to England, he published a book summarising the major cultural problems that hinder China's development.
Russell listed three problems with China (from page 219):
Russell wrote (page 219): “Shortly before I left China, an eminent Chinese writer [could that be Chao Yuen Ran?] pressed me to say what I considered the chief defects of the Chinese. With some reluctance I mentioned three: avarice, cowardice and callousness. Strange to say, my interlocutor, instead of getting angry, admitted the justice of my criticism, and proceeded to discuss possible remedies.“
Avarice in Oxford Dictionary: extreme greed for wealth or material gain
(Page 222, line 2): “Avarice is, I should say, the gravest defect of the Chinese... The difficulty of combating Japan has arisen mainly from the fact that hardly any Chinese politician can resist Japanese bribes.”
Cowardice in Oxford Dictionary: lack of bravery
(Page 221, second paragraph): “Cowardice is prima facie a fault of the Chinese... in battles between rival tuchuns, both sides run away, and the victory rests with the side that first discovers the flight of the other. But this proves only that the Chinese soldier is a rational man... Nevertheless, I do not think that, in comparison with the Anglo-Saxsons, the French, or the Germans, the Chinese can be considered a courageous people”
Callous in Oxford Dictionary: showing or having an insensitive and cruel disregard for others
(Page 220): “The callousness of the Chinese is bound to strike every Anglo-Saxon. They have none of that humanitarian impulse which leads us to devote one per cent of our energy to mitigating the evils wrought by the other ninety-nine per cent.”
Bertrand Russell visited China in 1920 to 1921. Returned from the US, linguist Chao Yuen Ran accompanied Russell as his interpreter. Chao Yuen Ren returned to the US in 1921. Was Chao’s decision influenced by Chinese problems highlighted by Russell? I very much suspect so.
"A society’s values and beliefs matter for its economy", according to The Economist. Does the economic success in China today suggest that the above problems are gone? Not necessarily. Could the above problems hinder a sustained economic success in China? In fact, Bertrand Russell's attention went beyond economic development. Could China be socially and politically better had these problems been cured?
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