It refers to a balanced relationship between
men and society, between mankind and nature,
and among men.
The Western world uses a number of ways to
resolve problems, but most of them are bipolar
and allow for confrontation, differing interests
or points of view. Westerners are not neces-
sarily aware of what they have in common
because there are degrees of nuance between
a “cards on the table” confrontation and a well-
conducted negotiation.
In contrast, theChinese views go beyond
black and white, since yin and yang are depen-
dent on each other instead of one replacing the
other. This also gives rise to today’s win-win
proposals fromChina.
TheChinese, by a great majority, are the Han
ethnic group. Han ancestors are the agricul-
tural tribes emerging fromCentral andEastern
Asia, and they enjoyed the abundance of land
and rich resources.Because of this self-suffi-
ciency and availability of unlimited resources,
the Han were very contented and never needed
to invade or conquer.
On the contrary, nomads often invaded the
Hans from all other directions, greedy for their
richness, forcing the ancient Han into self-
defense battles against invasion.
In fact,China has always been a peace-loving
nation. The best proof may be the invention
and use of gunpowder.As early as in the Tang
Dynasty (618-907), there was a gunpowder for-
mula recorded in the bookTaiShangShengZu
Jin Dan Secret.Chinese invented gunpowder
by chance in the pursuit of immortality.
Ironically, it is the West that used gunpow-
der as a weapon against theChinese who
discovered it thousands of years ago but had
never thought to use it to hurt people. TheEastused gunpowder to further develop fireworks,
whereas the West used gunpowder to make
weapons.
Today’sChina regards itself as a member
of the international community and aims to
build a harmonious world of durable peace
and common prosperity and work with other
countries on international relations and for-
eign policies, as clarified in a white paper in
September 2011.
For instance,China respects the rights
of other countries’ people to independently
choose their own social system and path of
development, and does not interfere in other
countries’ internal affairs.Chinese leaders
have emphasized time and again that no mat-
ter how strong its economy grows,China will
never seek hegemony, expansion or sphere of
influence.
The “China threat” theory has long beencirculated but to no avail.China has been tak-
ing a path of peaceful development, upholding
national sovereignty and territorial integrity
while avoiding the enhancement of national
interests through aggression.
Skeptics like Mearsheimer work on suspi-
cion and not facts. They rely on speculation
rather than analysis. They have little under-
standing of the Han ethnic culture but wrongly
base self-claimed conclusions upon a belliger-
ent and confrontational Western way of think-
ing.
Instead of containingChina, cooperation
should be the main thrust ofChina-US rela-
tions.The authorisabarristerin Hong Kong
andvice-chairman ofthe Hong Kong Legal
Exchange Foundation. Theviewsdo not
necessarilyreflectthose of China Daily.WesternersseekingtocontainChinahavelittleunderstandingoftheHanethnicculture
Skeptics:
FROMPAGE 1
Editor’snote:Box-office collectionsfell 2. 3
percentyear-on-yearto 3 1. 2 billionyuan
($4.5 3 billion) inthe firsthalf ofthisyear.
Whatmeasuresshouldthe filmindustrytake
toreviveitsfortunes?Twoexpertsshared
theirviewsonthe issuewith China Daily’s
Yao Y uxin. Excerptsfollow:
Goodmoviescanincrease
footfallsincinemas
InChina’s film industry it is typical in
the first half of the year for blockbusters to
contribute most to box-office profits.Chinese
science-fiction filmThe Wandering Earth
andMarvel’sAvengers: Endgametogether
accounted for about 30 percent of first-half
revenues at the box office, while 77 films
earned less than 1 million yuan each.
Due to a dearth of successful movies in the
first six months,China’s box-office earnings
dropped compared with the same period last
year. Yet it is understandable that after years
of growth, the world’s second-largest film
market is witnessing a fall in revenue. Since
the film industry is not free of bubbles, the
movie market is exhibiting signs of a slow-
down, especially in small and medium-sized
cities.
Many film companies’ profits dropped in
the first half, not least because audiences
seem less interested in superstars and films
with extraordinary visual effects but little
substance. So it’s time film companies real-
ized “content is king”, and started making
movies with rich content, and good acting
and production qualities.
Marvel andDCsuperhero films have
become big money-spinners inChina because
the comics on which they are based originat-
ed in theCold War days and gradually caught
the imagination of readers in the United
States, as well as other countries.
As such,Chinese filmmakers should
make movies on meaningful sub-
jects which can promoteChinese
culture both at home and abroad.
For example,Chinese sci-fi novel
The Three-BodyProblemhas
sold more than 21 million copies
around the world, and therefore
can be made into a powerful film.
Films based on realistic topics
close to people’s hearts, such asDying
toSurvive, which shows the difficul-
ties a group of patients face in getting
cancer medicines at affordable prices,
have not only been appreciated by audi-
encesbut also earned good revenue.Sun Jiashan, aresearcheratthe
ChineseNational Academyof Arts.Filmindustryneedsto
changebusinessmodel
To grab a larger share of the
market,China’s online film ticket-
ing platforms used to scramble to
subsidize viewers; as a result, one
could buy a movie ticket for as little
as 9.9 yuan.And that attracted huge audi-
ences to the cinema over the past few years.
But the withdrawal of the subsidy after the
NationalDay Holiday last year, along with a
dearth of good movies, has made even many
regular moviegoers reluctant to go to the
cinema. This partly explains why box-office
collections and the film industry’s profits
dropped in the first half.
Also, the record 60.98 billion yuan ($8.
billion) box-office collection last year suggests
the film market is reaching saturation point.
Besides, the film industry is in the process
of adjusting to the regulations implemented
after investigations last year revealed thatmany celebrities had been evading taxes
using fraudulent means.
Interestingly, the movie market in smaller
cities showed a higher slowdown rate in the
first half of the year because more foreign
movies were screened in the first-tier cities.
Moreover, since the number of cinemas
has been continuously increasing, it’s like-
ly that some of them would either merge
or go bankrupt in the next few years if
enough content-rich and well-made
films do not hit the screens.
It’s good to see the introduction
of foreign capital in the domestic
film industry.But cinemas could
face tougher competition as the
number of screens is expected
to reach 80,000.
Therefore, filmmakers have
to make films with not only
good content but also on varied
subjects using creative ideas
that would attract more audi-
ences and, consequently, help
cinemas — in fact, the entire
film industry — to overcome
the difficulties they are facing.
Plus, domestic film com-
panies and cinemas have to
change their business model.
For instance, they should aim
to not only earn profits by
selling tickets but also develop
the entertainment industry in
such a way that it keeps yield-
ing dividends in the long run.Chen Shaofeng, a professorof culturalstudies
and entertainmentatPeking University.Thevie wsdonotnecessarilyrepresentthose
of China Daily.Moviemarketshowingsignsofaslowdown,butcreativeideaswillwinaudiencesback
Content-richfilmscanreviveindustry
LIMIN/CHINADAILY20 COMMENT August 2-8, 2019 CHINA DAILY GLOBAL WEEKLY