The Top Chinese Sea Monster

I've just finished reading William H. Overholt's tremendously objective overview on the changes taking place in Asia's political structure. Given my inexperience in this field, I found myself surprised by many of his insights. What surprised me most was the continued momentum of the American leaderships' shared images of The Cold War -- this energy continues to drive our policies in Asia, despite a reality far removed from the circumstances of that conflict which ended twenty years ago. According to Overholt, it is the basic human desire to justify our own positions that drives these leaders in the opposite direction of reality. According to Overholt and most others who have dealt extensively in China, the Chinese government shows no indication of threatening The United States, now ,or ever. However, the Cold War apparatus exists, and it must justify this existence. So far, with plenty of resources at hand, it has done just that.

Another basic human desire is the need for an adversary. In China, many of America's elite find their justification not only for the continuation of the massive Cold War era military apparatus,but also for a convenient ideological adversary-- down with the USSR, up with China. This transition couldn't have been more natural, or more misdirected. China has adapted, opened its markets, and strives to provide for its people in a progressive, pragmatic manner, not at all reminiscent of the awkward ideologically strapped way the USSR conducted its policies in the 1970s and 80s. China wants to feed its people, then become more democratic, and history shows there is absolutely nothing wrong with this.

The influence of these basic human desires reaches far beyond these contemporary international issues-- the yearnings for self-justification and adversarial conflict create the foundation of the stories which inform our sense of right or wrong. Overholt doesn't spend much time contemplating the universality of these elements, but a recent article on China's top 5 Sea Monsters caught my attention-- all people share these a priori mythological desires. The symbols that represent these desires change over time. Though these symbols begin in the internal, ideological realm, once they have been accepted by a society, they often lead to seismic real world consequences.

We'll always need real bodies to fill these eternal mythological templates-- however, in the case of China we have unfortunately abandoned the most vital of those qualities which make us human during this pursuit. Instead of being reasonable, we've allowed the non-intelligent energies of bureaucratic collectives to dictate our foreign policy.

Oh, and the top Chinese Sea Monster?

'Qinghai Lake is located in the north of Qinghai-Tibet Plateau in China. It is the largest landlocked lake in China. Its area is 4583 square kilometers. The elevation of Qinghai Lake is 3196 meters; depth is 32.8 meters. The lake water is azure. Several dozen people have already witnessed the lake monster, but the Qinghai Lake monster is still a mystery. In 1947, a lama saw a monster like a dragon swimming in the Qinghai Lake. In 1949, a peasant saw a monster with snakes head in Qinghai Lake. The monsters scales glistened under the sunshine.' -- Top Chinese Sea Monster

William H. Overholt