(What you can see today...a dragonfly and a rainbow ball.)Lente Dimanche
There is one mystery about China.
Today's China is influenced by the last Chinese classic dynasty Ching (Qing). But Qing is the only dynasty established by Manchus.
Manchus are originally very different from the Han Chinese, a major culture group of China. Manchus are akin to Mongolians, Koreans, and other North Asians. The Han Chinese are originally those who occupied territories along the Yellow River.
Accordingly, a type of clothes today we call the Chinese dress is of the Manchu style. But, before the conquer by Manchu Qing, Chinese people, namely mostly the Han Chinese put on the Han clothing. This original style of clothes for Chinese is somewhat akin to Japanese kimonos or the traditional Japanese style of clothing. Yet, today, the Chinese people do not put on the Han clothing, though they wear the Manchu-origin Chinese clothing on a special occasion or in special places, say, by Chinese entertainers.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Han_Chinese_clothing
The above Han clothing is sometimes mistaken as a Japanese kimono, but they are different. In the cartoon titled Samurai Jack, the hero Samurai Jack wears another version of the Han clothing but not a kimono. Hollywood cannot make a difference between the two styles.
The Japanese kimono is said to be formed mostly through an influence of culture of the Tang Dynasty (618-907) of China. The Imperial court of Japan sent an official envoy to Tang 13 times. Unofficial trade and exchange of people must have been more frequent.
Anyway, the original clothing of the Han Chinese has not been carried on by the Chinese people. The era of the Manchu Qing Dynasty in China caused critical disconnection and severance from the traditional culture in the Chinese society, though the Qing court respected some advanced cultural assets of Han people.
What is worse, after the Manchu Qing Dynasty, the Han Chinese had to suffer half a century turmoil and then another half a century rule by the Chinese Communist Party. As a result, like the Han clothing, most of the spirit of the ancient Chinese Civilization was lost in modern China.
Just like kimonos still being widely used on various occasions in Japan, virtue based on the ancient Chinese philosophy looks like being observed still widely in Japan, but rarely in China of today.
If Chinese today observed the teaching of ancient Chinese philosophers, they would realize that it is very fair that they had no right on the Senkaku Islands (which their ancestors had sometimes watched from ships though not as many times as Okinawa people did), since they invaded and occupied Tibet and Islamic regions by force.
APPENDIX. Samurai
http://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E6%AD%A6%E5%A3%AB
APPENDIX II. Tokyo in the Samurai Era
Tokyo was called Edo more than 200 years ago when samurai governed Japan that closed the door to the world.
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A disciple of Confucius asked, "Does a master respect valor, Sir, Master?"
Confucius answered, "A master is expected to most respect justice."
"If a master respects valor only but not justice, he would revolt," said Confucius.
"If a man of small caliber respects valor only but not justice, he would steal, Friend"; So Confucius said.
Indeed, China today has a large population and a wider land. But, caliber of its leaders looks small.
But what if there are any masters who do respect valor but not justice among the Chinese people, whether of the Han origin or the Manchu origin?
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So, the time is running out tonight.
Yet, I have two cups of yogurt in my humble refregirator, all for myself, however.