THEN and NOW

Business conditions in the economies of greater china may change over time or they remain about the same. If the factors that determine business conditions don’t change much, then business conditions may not change much. For example, doing business with Mainland China is still usually with government officials rather than private business people. Officials have little interest in dealing a lot of business deals, since their salary remains the same if they conclude a few deals a year or many deals a year. Also if many deals are done, then many errors can occur. The more errors an official makes, the more chances he has of getting into trouble.

HISTORY – THEN I

China has one of oldest continuous histories in the world. Until about 15 years ago, most historians thought that written Chinese history began about 5000 years ago. Then a discovery in Si Chuan China pushed this date to about 7000 years.

The US has a history of just 233 years, yet students of US history know that is a tremendous amount of US historical facts to study. Chinese written history is more than 20 times as long.

China’s s long history slows business negotiations. Chinese officials often say don’t be in such a history. You Americans are always in a hurry. In Chinese historical terms, a few years more means very little.” In doing business, however, time is money. So, while you should always be polite and respectful, you should always try to accelerate the process.

It has been said that one thing we learn from history is that people do not learn from history. If you want to understand why Chinese people behave the way they do, you should study Chinese history.

NOW
For example, if you want to know why officials and private citizens in Mainland China behave the way they do, you must understand the history of Communism in Mainland China.

One example is knowing that the length of Chinese history slows negotiations in mainland China today. Another is understanding that, since China was ruled by kings (sometimes queens) for at least 5000 years, Chinese people still treat their leaders as kings (or queens). Thus, when the Chinese leaders talk, everybody listens. This is also somewhat true in the US, but somewhat less. Another example is that the kings (queens) of China were also called “Tian Zi” or sons (daughters) of heaven. So, they were treated like deities.

Then and Now
Confucian Analects
Sun Zi – ART OF WAR – Then: Wade Giles Romanization; Now: ping ying Romanization, even in Taiwan
Romance of the Three Kingdoms