Jack Ma, the billionaire founder of Chinese ecommerce giant Alibaba, today claims he want to help more American businesses access the Chinese market. The Internet let out a collective gasp of disblief. Could he actually mean it? Is this a big bad Chinese trick?
I do not know. But first consider the following background about Jack Ma and China.
1. Jack Ma graduated from a relatively obscure Chinese teacher's college in Hangzhou.
2. The Chinese Confucianism traditionally honors the teacher as the 5th most honored relation, ranked right below Heaven, Earth, Emperor/King, Parents, Teacher (天地君亲师). This deep respect for the Chinese teachers permeated the Chinese history for 3000 years, even through hundreds of years of enslavement, wars and famines. Rewards for teachers were institutionalized, similarly the betrayal/murder of a teacher was punished institutionally as regicide, patricide and matricide.
3. The Chinese Taoism honors the "Genuine man" (真人) as the highest level of wisdom humanly achievable. Hence the Chinese tradition retains a deep respect for true-speak, rather than the hypocritical double speak that is sadly fairly common in Western media/political circles.
4. The Chinese tradition suffered a extended and barbaric attack in the years 1894-1945. American educators and funding helped start the prestigious Tsinghua University and other modern educational institutions in China. During the 1937-1945 2nd Sino-Japan War (WW II Chinese theatre), America helped fund the mass evacuation of Chinese universities from the Japanese occupied zone into the safer Kuomingtang government zone in Sichuan. It was one of the greatest evacuation of educational institutions ever attempted. Most educated Chinese people understood that Americans' help was vital in Chinese culture's survival. This Great Debt was widely known and acknowledged.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yale-China_Association
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Southwestern_Associated_University
5. Generations of Chinese like Jack Ma grew up learning from American ideas and technology. They respect the Americans of all civilized people, as teachers and as friends and allies. By extension, American brands engender great goodwill among the Chinese consumers.
6. Jack Ma picked a nickname for himself Feng Qin-Yang 风清扬“, a character from a martial art novel by Jin Yong. Feng Qin Yang was a teacher and a master of swordsmanship, apparently from the Taoist tradition. Two other characters from this novel were more famous. Yue Buqun entered the lexicon of East Asia as the architypical hypocrite, while the protagonist Ling Huchong became a gentle master who does not seek power or supremacy. Ling Huchong was raised and taught by Yue Buqun for a decade, before their relationship degenerated into suspicion, slander and multiple murder attempts by Yue Buqun. Faced with clear evidence of his teacher Yue Buqun's dangerous nature, Ling Huchong could barely fight back (in this Ling Huchong was clearly influenced by Confucianism). Feng Qinyang taught Ling Huchong for only days, yet the trusting bond between the two remained a powerful force throughout Ling Huchong's adventures. Both Feng Qinyang and Ling Huchong were clearly going the track of "Genuine Man" rather than the opposite, and they are widely admired in Chinese business/political leadership.
It is extremely hard for the westerners to understand Chinese business/political leadership, but I think martial arts novels, Taoism and Confucianism could have shed a lot of insight. They exercised a deep influence that I am barely scratching the surface here.
Now back to my original question.
Is Jack Ma sincere or faking it?
I will let you reach your own conclusions.
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