Lots of work in this article, including the historical maps.
I really like to get into a subject and answer questions that I have.
Who does Xi Jinping admire?
Just did a little reading: Mao and traditional Chinese values (Confucius) it seems. Also a general from the Northern Song Dynasty, Yue Fei. I think this last 'hero' tells us a great deal about Xi's character. The general was strategically brilliant and brave, but was ultimately betrayed by weaker, less astute people. He ultimately was killed because of that weakness.
Thanks for asking the question...I just learned something :)
Thanks for the answer! I wonder if that characterization is what Xi and China approved of and propagates. Seems like it, they are certainly great at that. But where I agree is that China, whether because of Xi or not, had a long-term plan that the West ignored for a long time, and now they are wondering how to counter its growth and domination in certain domains or potential domination in others.
I will admit here that about eight years ago I did a deep dive into China's history as I attempted to write a book on Chinese Literati art. China has often been underrated in its history, but one thing has remained constant: It has a reverence for tradition. It has a sense of itself as being a superior civilization because of its long and accomplished history. That Xi should look to a general from the Song Dynasty does not surprise me. When you speak of long term, that's the only way the Chinese think:)
I don't understand politics, or finance as they are played in the real world. When I guess at an outcome, I always get it wrong. But I do understand history. China is more a product of history than any other country on earth. While Putin talks of Peter the Great and Catherine the Great, Xi talks of Confucius. The Russians are merely hundreds of years old. Confucius goes back thousands. There is no contest.
Thanks for the discussion.
You made some great points about history. They are also (or have been) patiently following their decades or longer term goals. Go was also invented in China, and that's a game where one wins by controlling the most ground, and is often not confrontational to the end, unlike chess.