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“For a son to strike a parent was an offense punishable by decapitation, even if no injury was caused to the parent. But a parent could beat his son with impunity, and would suffer only the mildest of punishment if the son were to die. A parent could have his son punished by beating or banishment for drunkenness, laziness, gambling, disobedience, or almost any behavior inimical to him, such behavior being unfilial.”

”No parents in the world are wrong” is a very popular adage in China.

From Chinese Family and Kinship by Hugh D R Baker 


 

Travel books for western tourists in China warn that most of the history, architecture, traditional and fine arts, temples and palaces were destroyed, virtually erased, by the Chinese cultural revolution. In other words, not much to look at . . .

Cultural Revolution. It’s not a terrible idea. Though I acknowledge it ran tragically amok in China. Still, why not? Just wipe out everything and start fresh.

What would that look like in the U.S.?
No more pop song top-forty countdowns.
No more TV evangelists.
No more hot-dog eating contests on the Fourth of July. (No more Fourth of July.)
No more fake stucco Mexican restaurants with life-sized mechanical mariachis.
No more Old-Tyme photo shops where Walmart managers can dress up like Confederate solders.
No more earring trees.
No more silk-screened unicorns on black velvet.
And ladies, you will wear your hair long, uncolored, braided down the middle of your back.

In other words, not much to look at …