morganacademyfp

In one of our Fora we dabbled a bit in whether or not the East had led the West and why things may have changed. That thread, quite rightly, petered out as contributors went back to the main thread of that Forum. With Laird in Japan and Ian in China and most of us in the “West”, that topic seemed to have potential. So I have posted it as a Forum. I did this mainly because of a BBC podcast I listened to last night. It’s a Radio 4 program called Thinking Allowed hosted by Laurie Taylor and broadcast on 3 November 2010. The host, Laurie Taylor first discusses “Supermax prisons” but then goes on to discuss the hegemony of 'the West' with Professor Ian Morris whose new book 'Why The West Rules-For Now' examines East/West power play through history and suggests an unpredictable future. You can listen to or download the programme at http://www.bbc.co.uk/podcasts/series/taMorris’s book, Why the West Rules--for Now: The Patterns of History, and What They Reveal About the Future, comes up with an overarching theory for the sudden spurt of progress that put the west ahead of China and Japan, in technological terms.
Maybe Ian and Laird – and other FPs out there with experience -- will have more to say from the perspective of the “East”. What can we say from the perspective of the “West”. Are we destined to lead forever?

Don't put yourself down, Jester! Anyone who survived the Morganb to run several boutique cinemas successfully is a pretty smart businessman! Listen to that bit of the Radio 4 program that deals with the China and the West issue I gave you the url above. It is short and interesting. If you don't fall asleep, you will be intrigued, I assure you!

I listened to Kirsty Young's BBC Desert Island Discs. (I still love BBC and find it the best radio in the world). Her guest was Frances Wood a China specialist in the British Library. She spent time in China during the Cultural Revolution in the 70s and has written several books about China. In her latest book, she doubts that Marco Polo ever reached China. You can still listen to the podcast at http://www.bbc.co.uk/podcasts/series/did Her entry in the British Library register is pretty cryptic:
Name Dr Frances Wood
Department Chinese collections
Position Curator of Chinese collections
Research interests My current research interest is the history of the Chinese collections in all departments of the British Library. I am still involved in some research on Marco Polo, on Treaty Port residents and Chinese historiography. I am working on a book about the Forbidden City.
Related offices held Editor of the Transactions of the Oriental Ceramic Society
Publications View publications by this researcher
Contact details Telephone: +44 (0)20 7412 7650
Fax: +44 (0)20 7412 7641
Email: frances.wood@bl.uk
She has written two books: The Silk Road and Hand-grenade practice in Peking: my part in the Cultural Revolution

The latest on this topic could be Niall Ferguson's "The West and the Rest". We gave it to our son for Christmas so now I am waiting to read it after he does.

OK Ronald. I will certainly contribute as I have lived in China now for 6 years and read a great deal about chinese history and culture including Frances Wood's book but I just returned from UK and am still jet-lagged so will need a few days to gather my thoughts.Meantime Happy New Year

Wow - what a 365-day delay can do for thoughtful feedback! Looking forward to hearing more.