Ian McDonald
CHINA IS again taking centre stage in the world. Before the Roman Empire and then other European empires held sway, China was pre-eminent in human affairs. Before Christianity and Islam spread across the world, Confucianism and Buddhism informed the governance, intellectual outlook and spiritual values of a very large part of mankind.
Now China is again resurgent. Last month, it has been calculated, China overtook Britain as the fourth largest economy on earth. And it is the speed of development that is breath-taking. China is growing at the rate of nearly 10 per cent annually. Soon, measured in history's long-term view, China's economy will be larger than America's.
ECONOMIC TRADING
It is devouring more and more of the world's resources. It's super-competitive exports are shaking up world trade. It's super-savings, invested heavily in American bonds, are playing a big part in preventing dislocation in world currencies.
The modernisation of its military is proceeding apace. In the coming 20 years only India seems at all likely to begin to match China's rise to a dominant share of world power.
With China's return to economic, trading, financial, military and diplomatic prominence come, it is interesting to note, a complete reappraisal of its ancient role in world affairs. One recent aspect of this I find particularly fascinating. It now seems likely that before Columbus 'discovered' the New World in 1492, before Bartholomew Dias 'found' the Cape of Good Hope in 1488, before Vasco de Gama travelled to India, before Magellan journeyed in 1519 to circumnavigate the world - before them all, a Chinese admiral named Zheng He was exploring the world between 1405 and 1435. His extensive voyages are well documented in Chinese archives, but such evidence remained neglected while China retreated to the periphery of world affairs and then for long hid its secrets when the Communists came to power.
But the great admiral brought back information which allowed Chinese cartographers of the time to draw maps of America, Africa, Australia and India well before the maps drawn by European explorers. Those maps are now coming to light.
This revision of history is interesting in itself, but just as thought-provoking is the question why China apparently made no effort to proselytise or to exploit such discoveries commercially or in any way colonise the places they 'discovered'. It seems their ambitions were not exploitive or imperial. Interesting.
REVISION OF HISTORY
I am waiting for an artistic, intellectual, literary and cultural renaissance in China to match the other achievements of this colossus reborn. I have no doubt that such a renaissance rivalling the distinction and glory of China's ancient dynastic civilisations will emerge. China resurgent without such a soul would be a frightening and barren force in the world.
I am particularly looking forward to a new flowering of Chinese poetry. I have long been a lover of the poetry, in translation, of the ancient Chinese poets so full of simple humanity and a sense of ordinary yet eternal beauty.
China's huge wave of the future must, I am sure, contain one-day composers of verse which can be mentioned in the same breath as the great masters of their ancient dynasties.
Ian McDonald is an occasional contributor who lives and works in Georgetown, Guyana.
