Bill King is a former opinion writer and editorial board member for the Houston Chronicle.  He publishes at BillKingBlog.com. 

It is hard to grasp the timescale of Chinese history and culture, which can be traced back nearly 5,000 years. The Chinese psyche is dominated by three obsessions, each of which is borne in the country’s history. Without understanding these, it is impossible to understand why China acts the way it does.

Fear of Anarchy

In "The Better Angels of our Nature," Steven Pinker examines violence throughout human history. He includes a table based on the work of historian Matthew White, which lists the most deadly conflagrations in history.

Number-one on the list is the An Lushan Rebellion in the Eighth Century, in which 36 million Chinese died. That would be the equivalent of over 400 million people dying in a single war today, eight times the number that died in World War II. There have been scores of other rebellions and uprisings throughout Chinese history. In fact, the last 60 or so years of relative domestic tranquility in China is almost unprecedented.

The predominant belief system in China is Confucianism, which emphasizes order, respect for authority, and community harmony. It is easy to see how China's violent history would lead to such a belief system and why an autocratic form of government would be more acceptable to the Chinese people than it is to us. Ingrained in the Chinese psyche is a greater willingness than in Western countries to put the perceived good of society ahead of the good of the individual. The willingness of the Chinese population to endure government’s absurd response to Covid is a classic illustration of the difference.

Fear of Invasion

At nearly 14,000 miles, China has the longest land border in the world. And throughout history China has been invaded countless times from almost every direction. Anyone who doubts the Chinese historical obsession with being invaded need look no further than the existence of the Great Wall, the most extensive engineering project mankind has ever undertaken. By the way, the second deadliest war on the Pinker/White list is the Mongolian invasion of China in the 13th century (278 million fatalities adjusted for today’s population).Of course, the Chinese do not have to go as far back in history as the Great Wall to have their fear of invasion reinforced. In the lead-up to and during WWII, the Chinese were subjected to a horrendous invasion and dystopian occupation by Japan. Some estimates put the number of Chinese killed at 30 million, and describe the period as the Asian Holocaust. Only the Soviet Union’s fatalities during WWII were greater.

Century of Humiliation

For almost all of its 5,000 years, China has been one of, if not the most powerful, advanced, and affluent countries in the world. Its accomplishments easily matched or eclipsed those of any Western empire. Americans do not appreciate this reality because our education is so focused on Western history. However, China did not embrace the Industrial Revolution as the West did, which resulted in it falling far behind Western powers, especially with respect to military technology.

In the mid-19th Century, there was a thriving trade relationship between Great Britain and China. A crucial part of that relationship involved British merchants importing and selling opium to the Chinese. The Qing Dynasty, which had ruled China since the mid-17th Century, came to realize the terrible toll the widespread use of opium was having on its people, and in 1839 moved to outlaw its importation or use.

The British responded by waging war on China, now known as the First Opium War. Because of Britain’s militarily superior ships and equipment, it easily defeated the Chinese, and in 1842 imposed a treaty with China that allowed the continuation of the importation of opium, required China to pay reparations, and ceded Hong Kong to the British. To this day, the Chinese refer to the treaty as the “Unequal Treaty.” Many of the treaty terms were replicated in a treaty between the U.S. and China in 1844.

However, relations quickly broke down and the British again invaded China in 1857, in what is now known as the Second Opium War. This time with the help of France and Russia, Britain quickly prevailed, ultimately sacking the summer palace of the Qings. Even more ignominious treaties followed, in which China was virtually carved up between the great Western powers and Russia. China was forced to cede 600,000 square miles of territory to Russia along its border.

These wars left the Qing dynasty so weakened that it was overthrown in 1912. In the chaos that followed, China became an easy target for the Japanese invasion.

Conclusions

There are several things we need to understand about these obsessions.

First, they are valid. If America had been subjected to a similar history, we would have similar scars on our national psyche. As a country that has not suffered an invasion since the War of 1812 or a civil war for over 150 years, we cannot imagine how we would respond to similar circumstances.

Second, we are not going to change Chinese minds about these obsessions. We are not going to persuade them that their concerns are not valid or that they should move on. We are not going to coerce them into changing their views with economic or military pressure. In fact, those approaches will likely have the opposite effect.

Third, the current Chinese leadership is acutely aware of these national obsessions and plays on them to maintain its control. By amping up the anti-Chinese rhetoric, American politicians play directly into the hands of the Chinese leadership to exploit the fears of the Chinese people and tighten their control. This is a situation where we should take Teddy Roosevelt’s advice to speak softly and carry a big stick. But that is not likely because so many of our leaders are more concerned with social media followings than the long-term interests of our country.

None of this is to suggest that we should not pursue our own national interest or push back when China threatens our interests. We should. But, it is useful to understand why an adversary acts the way it does. This will sometimes lead to accommodations that can serve the interests and concerns of both sides. But even if that is not possible, it provides a strategic and tactical advantage.

Given the vast cultural and value differences between China and the U.S., finding livable accommodations will be difficult. Certainly we should never tolerate China’s abusive conduct because of its history. But, China is not going away, and a war between the U.S. and China would be the greatest calamity of human history for both sides, and the world. We are going to have to find a way to live together. That begins with both sides better understanding each other.