Thank you to everyone who supports these projects on Patreon. I wouldn't be able to devote so much time and so many resources to one video otherwise. I'm trying to make the best work I can, and the donations really do make it possible. If you'd like to chip in and support me, check out www.patreon.com/rchapman. Video notes below. It occurred to me that I should clarify what I meant at the end, saying 'the basic story of China is the story of a country that's kept to itself.' I was feeling pressure to wrap up the video and was probably too brief there. 1) I was referring to the last, say, 2000 years of Chinese history, roughly since China unified under the Qin dynasty. 2) That's a relativistic argument, saying that China has been remarkably nonaggressive considering its size and power throughout history. China has, throughout most of those 2000 years, mostly kept to itself. It has been aggressive on occasion, particularly to countries bordering it, but those instances are rare when comparing China to other great powers. Also, like I said in the video, that might be changing. China might be becoming more aggressive in the 21st century. That's yet to be born out in a hot war, but many argue that we're seeing signs of it. Hopefully that added some clarity and nuance. I saw many comments taking issue with me saying the CCP is above the law. Most seem to be coming to the conclusion that the law is above the CCP by pointing at cases where members of the CCP are tried by the court system (like when members are tried for corruption). If that's your view, it seems that you're not understanding the concept of rule of law. I made a follow-up video elaborating on that: kzfaq.info/get/bejne/iLFli5ClrqfDcX0.html Also if you're wondering why I didn't cover Legalism in this video, I saw that as being one 'ism' too far for an introductory video. The basic dynamic between Legalists and Confucians was that Legalists tried to push China towards a country governed by law (though this never translated into rule of law, where even the highest political authorities are constrained by law), and the Confucians tried to push China in a direction where elders and leaders ruled via their discretion, not law. Influence from Legalists meant that China had a fairly strong legal tradition from fairly early on, but never rule of law, which is still true to this day. In hindsight, I probably should have cut about a minute of 'linear vs. lateral' and added a little section on Legalism. - Ryan

Don't be embarrassed to promote yourself! You're awesome (researched, well spoken, without being overly emotional) The world needs more people like you!

Really great content. We have an old saying here in China "当局者迷，旁观者清" can be loosely translated to "the chess player cannot see the whole view, while the bystanders are capable of having a better take". Sometimes we need other perspectives from people from different cultures and political atmospheres, it helps us grow!

I am a Chinese who both absorb from not only east but west, I read the ancient classics of both in China and West. Your observation is so detailed and you unveil the nuances between China and USA, thank you for making this video.

I absolutely love your videos. They're informative and lead to proper understanding of things. The kind of understanding that can be effectively applied if in the hands of the right person. This actually helps contextualize another video I watched recently and gives a much deeper understanding of it, which can be used in used in future discussions on the subject. Thank you!

Such a well-made video. Its rare to see a Westerner who actually tries to understand the Chinese and their way of thinking, and not just blindly criticize and regard them as a threat. The world would be a much better place if people are more educated and more understanding to different cultures and values.

As someone who teaches Chinese language, I find the lateral thinking part is reflected in the language itself. Chinese languages (regardless of regional varieties) rely heavily on context. In European languages, a verb as simple as it is, can carry a lot of information. For example, "to go" is the infinitive form, it only bears the semantic meaning. No other information can be extracted from it. But when you conjugate it, like "goes" you instantly know when this action happens (present), how many people are doing the action (only one and it has to be the third person). English is one of the least "flavourful" ones, comparing to Spanish, French, Greek, Portuguese, Russian, German etc. If you add Latin to that mix it is even crazier. But in Chinese languages, a verb is a verb. No tense, no number, no subject-verb agreement. If you ask how do you know when the action happens? You will get this answer "depends on the context." "How do you know whether it's a he or a she?" "Well, from the context, duh?" "How do you know that the person means 'to cause' and not 'faeces'?" "Again, from the context! Why would faeces suddenly appear in a sentence about good news and excited?" Kidding aside, it is very true that there isn't any inherent dualism or dichotomy in Chinese culture. Things are never either back or white. This extends to the our inventions. Why invent so many different knives when you can have one that does everything? Why invent so many pots and pans when a wok can do all those things just fine? Why have a dessert fork, dining fork, salad fork, pitchfork when you can have a pair of chopsticks? Because in the end, if you only allowed to choose a wok or a pan, wok can always accomplish more. When asked is a wok a pan or a pot? The answer is always "it depends."

Very much appreciating your content Ryan. Incredibly informative and thought provoking. Looking forward to more to come!

In the past 2 days, I have watched more than 10 of your videos, including the longer one. I just want to appreciate you and your efforts in preparing these excellent resources. Thank you, Ryan.

To understand Chinese politics you need to understand "Socialism with Chinese characteristics" So what are the CHINESE characteristics to socialism? To put it simply, it's a combination of Confucianism and Legalism (surprised the video didn't even mention Legalism, which is just as important to Chinese politics as Confucianism) Confucianism relies on people knowing their place to attain social harmony, but of course that is not always the case, So Legalism uses the Law to MAINTAIN social harmony, so the aim is the same as Confucianism, but the method is different. Legalism is realist thinking, Confucianism is Idealist thinking Mao's social campaigns often uses Legalism to attack Confucianism. Fun fact, Mao is a great admirer of Qin Shihuang, the first Emperor of China that instituted Legalism to China in 221 BC Although the description about Deng's idea of "crossing the river by feeling the stones" is well explained, but it does NOT explain the entire implications of it. Due to the ambiguity of Deng Xiaoping on Laws rules and pretty much everything, has led to massive problems of corruption and nepotism. Where unwritten rules or unspoken laws might be prioritized over actual laws. Xi Jinping, on the other hand hates these unwritten and unspoken rule and laws, If he wants to extend his terms, he does not do what Deng did, which is to pull the strings behind the screen and PRETEND not to be in power, Xi could easily done that without touching anything, HOWEVER, that would continue the cycle of nepotism and corruption. Some say that Xi is power hungry for doing it, but I beg to differ, Xi is not Mao and never will even if he tries, Mao can turn on the Party, but Xi is no where near as powerful, he is a product of the Party, So what he does MUST have the general blessing of the Party, and the way I see it is that his term extensions were agreed upon by the Party to fix the problems the Party and the country might have. To extensively reform China, and the Largest political party in the world is no easy task, and 10 years is nowhere near enough. So, my prediction is, the before Xi Jinping retires, he will institute a more rule based power transition, due to his disdain about unwritten rules and retired Party elders engaging in nepotism.

As Chinese, I’m amazed by the accuracy, objectivity, and depth of this video. Hope can see more videos like this.

What a delightful take on various subjects without obvious bias. I look forward to viewing all of your videos.

What an excellent video....especially the linear and lateral thinking explanation. The Chess vs Go comparison. The extractions from "The art of War" You truly have insight.

British/Australian here who spent nearly 30 years living in Asia, nearly 20 of those in China. Love your channel; always learning something new. Unfortunately, due to ill health, I'm retired and living on a disability pension, otherwise I would happily support you on patreon. Keep up the great work and if I'm ever in a position to donate to a channel, yours will be the first 👍

Brilliant content. It's so rare to find a Westerner acknowledging the fundamental but equally valuable differences between US and Chinese political thinking. Bravo!

So impressive and comprehensive!!! Thanks a lot!

Thank you for a thoughtful and illuminating video. I am so happy to have found your channel, you open my mind.

Interesting take. Though I am not usually a fan of general statements of cultural characteristics like "Americans are vertical thinkers" or "Chinese are lateral thinkers," I think in this case there's a certain truth to this observation, overly simplistic as it may be. I would argue that this is less an artifact of some essential cultural difference but rather the immediate consequence of two very different political systems. In two-party electoral systems like the United States, political actors must frame their policies and platform IN OPPOSITION to those of other political actors. This invites a sort of cycle where confrontational politics make their way into confrontational media, and so on. Hence, American political strategy is simple and straightforward precisely because of the need to make it easily digestible and discernable. On the other hand, one-party rule in China has meant that the CPC is the only legitimate authority in China. To get anything done, one must go through the party. This is not to say that political discussions do not occur in China, but rather that they take place in the context of party rule. Without the need to pander to voters, policymakers are free to design more elaborate, flexible, and contextual strategies and carry them out over much longer periods. Another thing that should be emphasized is the internal governance mechanisms of the party. This is a massive topic deserving a video of its own but something like party discipline and unity (a huge priority of the current administration) which means that party members are not so much above the law but rather subject to a different set of (often stricter) rules of behavior.

Really impressed with this foray into understanding the differences. I observe these gaps in understanding all the time, unfortunately even amongst most of my foreign policy peers who only frame society and history in a linear/vertical way.

Ryan, I only came upon your channel recently and it already became my favorite content on youtube. You really have a deep and balanced understanding of all the topic matters, and you explain in a clear manner. Well-done, please keep it up. I will support it going forward.

Your content is amazing! looking forward to warching every video of yours. Very instructive! Thank you!

Congratulations for this great video. I have been living in China for the last 2 years, after living 3 decades in Europe and 2 decades in the US. I can tell that the reality of China has nothing to do with the depictions in the mainstream Western media, according to which Chinese people are oppressed under a dictatorship and can't wait for the US to "liberate" them. In fact, what I see is people overwhelmingly supportive of their government and their political system. In my 2 years here I have never witnessed any human rights violation nor any oppression. On the contrary, I feel much safer in China than I ever did in the US. Chinese people themselves feel that there is no lack of democracy in China and that their human rights are very much valued and respected. Obviously, the expressions "democracy" and "human rights" have different meanings in China, due to a very different culture, which Westerners tend to not understand. Globally I feel that Chinese society is healthier than the US society, with much less violence and divisions.

This is the first time that I have really looked into Chinese philosophy and I am blown away and intrigued by the differences. Thank you Ryan.

My placeholder comment! Keep up the good work!

Love your work. Always well researched and intelligent stuff

Brilliant. Finally some quality intellectual content. Doesn’t dumb anything down to an absurd level and makes information accessible with clear and precise definitions and examples. If you are the one who wrote the script then truly you are someone who is on such a level that many scholars and politicians would respect. Making such a complex topic into a 20 minute video essay with high level commentary. Amazing. Not even going to mention the charisma of a man that does not try to speak bs or to play on emotion. These days it’s rare to see in any media.

This was very well researched and presented. I always wondered about China's political philosophy but most sources are very Anti Chinese so I am happy to find someone who can explain it in a more Neutral way.

I really enjoyed this video! Great explanation and delivery- you do a good job of making a complex topic very easily palatable.

What a great effort you bring in your videos. Such complex things explained in such ease and brief. Continue enlightening us

This is probably my favorite social/political commentary channel because Ryan is so even-keeled, careful, and yet thorough to a good extent given his video durations.

You wanna know if you found a good person making video essays about controversial/divisive topics? they put in disclaimers, they tell you flaws, they tell you to take things with a grain of salt. they are intellectually honest, like this guy.

I have been devouring your videos non stop since I stumbled across this channel yesterday.

Thanks for the work you're doing here. Really useful

I generally learn more about a topic in a 20-minute video from Ryan Chapman than I've known in my prior 71 years. This is especially true for topics like China, where I didn't know much to begin with, but also for topics like liberalism, where I thought I knew a lot.

As a Chinese, living in US for many years, I have to say that this is the best video I have ever seen comparing the culture between Chinese and western

This is just what I've been looking for. Thank you for citing all of those books. Wonderful job

Seriously very well explained. I love the diversity of the sources and the manner of explanation. Thanks and keep these videos coming!

As a southeast Asian Chinese who's studied in the West, your explanation and arguments are succinct and clear. You've just earned my sub. Looking forward to more!

I definitely would love to see more content from you. This, for me, is one of the better channels to expand or even explain certain topics in a way that is more concise than my own observations.

Very valuable content. Thanks for creating it!

This is a very interesting, insightful and helpful video. Thanks and keep up the good work.

I never heard of this term but as a mainland Chinese I have to say the "lateral thinking" thing is spot on. I grew up with my dad always saying things like "the only thing certain is uncertainty". Chinese people deal so much with flexibility and human relations, thats probably why we have a hard time accepting religion, democracy or so called "universal values". I guess the linear way of thinking is great for science or specific study, lateral thinking is good for handling complex human relations, morality etc which are difficult to be solved by law.

The Mandarin word for "America" being "Mei Guo = Beautiful Country" is likely because "Mei" is a cognate of "aMERica"

Thank you very much for all the great videos that you've made and I've learned A LOT from; keep up the great work, educator!

What an amazing video. Wow. Thank you for this.

Ryan, this was a real good, unbiased, examination and comparison of two conflicting political philosophy without saying one is more correct than the other. i really liked your analogy between chess and gungho when comparing lateral and linear thinking. amazing video!!

I'm seriously so impressed with your content. You blow me away every time. Bless you for doing the research and teaching so effectively. I will definitely share this wherever I can.

i found your videos today and I'm enjoying them. they seem well balanced and insightful. thanks.

Thanks for taking the time to make these. It's rekindling my interest in these topics

I think this channel is so important and hope it gets the popularity it deserves. Just in this video I learned so much and it makes me excited to learn more. Thank you for covering all these ‘taboo’ topics in a way that allows for the viewer to think for themselves. It is rarer and rarer to find information like this online.

I am Chinese. I have to say your explanation of China, in general terms, is pretty good. Yep, the US vs China is kind of binary thinking vs spectrum thinking. You did a good job to help different cultures to understand each other better so we all can get along. Thank you.

Listening to Shawn Ryan discuss China and then going through your series of videos contrasting the two societies gives one much to consider. Thanks for putting this out!

This was great! Really well done

The origin of the Chinese word "美國” seems to have come from the word "亚美理驾" (ya mei li jia) which is the Chinese language pronunciation of "America", which was later shortened to "美國”. In translated names like these, the usage of these characters is not literal, but instead only for the sound they make. (I am a native Chinese speaker)

I really like your stripped down analysis of essential concepts. I've been struggling to make the Chinese case to Americans, and you handed me all tools and analogies. Excellent work. Solid writing.

Thank you and i appreciate the efforts you have put in

Good video and nice, calming voice. Very often I go to sleep listening to you. Thank you for your work and time!

Please keep doing what you do, Ryan. Your sober analysis of typically contentious topics is so refreshing.

I really like the way you condense incredibly broad topics into a clear presentation of the main points. Comparing and contrasting American and Chinese thought could easily take decades to understand thoroughly, but your explanation gives a comprehensible view in under a half hour. It is a great starting point to be able to allow discussion and exploration of points of view between people who may think they disagree. Thank you for this potential foundation for a rebuild of decent and civil society.

Great work. Thanks so much!

Interesting insights. Thanks for the work to put it all together.

Your channel is one of a kind. The algorithm stuff as you requested is the least i can do. Looking forward to your next video!

Excited to hear more of this China content. As always, thrilled to hear your insightful and objectivist takes on... everything you've covered so far.

this is such a high-quality, well-explained video! loved it

Great video. Thank you for this interesting deep dive 😊

I’ve always been interested in other cultures and this was excellent and informative. I’m not good at articulating others content but I enjoy watching your videos. You’re calm and concise

i’m an american undergraduate student studying political science, with a particular concentration on national security. after learning about clausewitz and sun tzu, about disputes in the south china sea and re-engineering the supply chain, about the strategies of biden versus xi- i have not seen a more important video than this one here. u present such critical and messy information so clearly and with nuance, while making it accessible and engaging. i still have a lot to learn, but i’m grateful to say that i wish i watched this video sooner, i’m glad i watched it now, and i can’t wait to watch it again and connect it to what i’ll continue to learn. thank you ryan!!!

Excellent, succinct video! Thank you!

Thanks Ryan - your videos are super informative and balanced - much needed

Thanks for making these videos Ryan, very succinct, articulate and educational - most importantly impartial. More people need to understand the foundations of political thought and philosophy and how it’s led to the modern dynamics we’re observing today. I think it’ll help develop a more peaceful way forward for the world. This is valuable work in need of support!

Terrific overview. I've been interested and have studied China for the last 10 years and was really impressed how you were able to get it so right given you've never spent any time at all there. Keep up the great work with everything you're doing, I truly love your channel.

Very helpful, particularly the lateral-vs.-linear. Thanks.

Thank you for the hard work you put into making your videos Ryan, they’re always thought provoking and eye opening

As a Chinese national, I have to say that I'm impressed by your effort trying to understand the different mentality of not just the Chinese politics, but the Chinese culture in general, instead of simply generalizing the US and China into 'democratic' or 'authoritarian', 'us' or 'them', 'good' or 'evil'. The two types of mentalities are just different, and we approach problems and have them solved differently, as you've mentioned. And if all the politicians on both sides make more effort to understand each other's positions and to find common ground, there will be much less animosity and antagonism, and the world would be a much better place than it is today. I seriously appreciate your effort.

Great stuff man, been binging your videos and I’ve been thoroughly enjoying them.

I’m so grateful that I found your channel. My engagement in politics has always been from a visceral place, but over the past few years I realized that I need to engage in a more intellectual understanding of the subject so that I can be critical of my own opinions and more understanding of others. Your presentations are incredibly clear and thorough, and have helped me immensely. THANK YOU!

This was very informative and I look forward to the rest of the series!

Wonderful video!

Thank you for creating this !

Terrific! I’ve been in China many times, spending about a year there in the aggregate, and know many Chinese people from many walks of life, many quite educated. For someone who’s not a China expert, acknowledging the generalizations, you nailed it. Love your channel. I think your research and presentations are exceptional.

I'd also like to explain here the real fault of, and correction to capitalism = Socialism With Chinese Characteristics (SWCC). A long post, but worth the read. So, the original foundation of Marx's development of the idea of socialism and communism comes from his study of Hegel's philosophy and a concept we know today as dialectics. Dialectics says that, very simply put, all things have within themselves inherent contradictions that, over time, would cause constant change and development into a new being. Think of an acorn becoming a seed becoming a sapling, becoming a tree, then eventually withering away, simultaneously being a seed and a tree, living and dying, growing and withering. Well, this was applied to the way in which we organize our society economically and politically, and Marx traced it from Hunter gatherers to agriculture and slavery to feudalism to capitalism. Then, what? Obviously it would continue. So Marx believed that capitalism was so powerful that it would develop the technology and means by which humans had to do little work and could still eat three meals a day and have a roof over their heads, but class society and the other contradictions of capitalism would prevent the success from being used for the betterment of all of society, holding back the masses of the people upon whose backs it was built, so it would then develop to communism. So, from feudalism you get capitalism, but you have to have capitalism to develop to move past feudalism entirely. This is where China comes in. At the time of the revolution, China was in its feudal stage, and mao and the CPC tried to mostly go straight to communism. Well, after a bumpy start, China began to grow a bit, at record pace in fact, but industrial development by the 1970s was not where it needed to be and people demanded more. So, in comes Deng, who, along with the party, was able to see clearly back to the tenets of dialectical materialism (the dialectical development of history through the stages of organizing human production, as explained above) to arrive at the result that skipping the phase of capitalist development was what was holding them back. However, it wasn't just 'everyone decides capitalism is the best way to go and that's it'. No, they knew very well, from their own traumatic recent history with Western imperialist powers, that introducing capitalism also meant introducing new power dynamic that incentivized people to derail from human progress in order to pursue profits and personal power over society. This is where we get Socialism with Chinese Characteristics. The state and the party are left in place to ensure the continued movement down a path of progress to achieve communism, and to prevent capitalists from taking over the state to use as their own force, as has happened almost everywhere else. The country was opened up for capitalist investment and production, but is regulated by the party to reduce the harsh effects of the contradictions within capitalism and to prevent Monopoly power and the overtaking the state apparatus by wealthy individuals. The State has developed programs to help the masses of the people with health, education and economic prosperity, even helping back new businesses and allowing stock trading to help inject money into new business. China, since then, has had a growth rate 3x that of the US (6-9%GDP annually vs 2-3%) WHILE bringing more than double the US population out of poverty completely, and entirely eradicating "absolute poverty" (during the year of COVID on top of it all) and has raised life expectancy from the early 40s to among the highest in the world, with many people in China seeing their own life expectancy raises 30+ years in their first 30 years of life. If you removed China's numbers from the rest of the world's statistics, the number of people leaving poverty would actually go DOWN during some years, and mostly stay flat in other years. China's economic success is a modern day miracle that the West wants to keep under wraps by focusing on fake stories about "social credit scores" and imprisonment of terrorists backed by the US being shown as 'genocide'. China has issues and personal restrictions that many people would say are big issues, and many in China would agree and show you what they're doing to solve those issues, but it is FAR from the dystopia portrayed in the Western media as they ignore the dystopia they've helped to foster in the West, by painting itself with emotional trigger words like 'freedom' and 'democracy' without having the outcomes that those concepts would deliver, were they truly present.

Super insightful. Thank you for putting this out.

Thank you. Well organised, clear & balanced explanation makes this video time well spent. D

This video is very meaningful, thank you for uploading. The discussions in the comment section are friendly and interesting. I love it so much.

This seems to be a pretty fair unbiased presentation, which is difficult to come across. It's nice to know that there are people in the US curious about China and actually going through great length doing all that research. The points are solid. I am literally amazed by the knowledge you had to acquire to back all this up. I'd very much like to see your chanel grow.

Absolutely wonderful- so grateful for your work!

all your videos are so clear and informative. thank you!

Ryan, your analytical ability to explain incredibly complex topics is just amazing. I've watched most of your channel and it has helped me understand and put in context our complicated modern world. Thank you for your effort and willingness to research and communicate your points of view.

It's rare to find an even-handed, dispassionate video on this topic. Well done.

I am so glad I found your channel. Like honestly this is amazing, you have managed to interest me in something my teachers never could.

I am glad I found your channel. Trully great stuff.

2:55 this doesn't translate into much more than symbolic niceties 😅 China's name for most western countries are phonetic transliterations, using different preexisting characters that sound like each countries' name: Faguo ("lawful country", 法国) is short for Falanxi (France, 法兰西), Yingguo ("outstanding country", 英国) is short for Yinggelan (England, 英格兰), and here Meiguo ("beautiful country", 美国) is just short for Meilijian (America, 美利坚). They're not perfect transliterations, but they sorta sound like the original and they get the job done 😅. I suppose unsurprisingly nice characters specifically were chosen to denote these names. I imagine it'd cause quite a stir if some country's name were translated into shit-land. But good observation anyway, and great video!

I just want to say I appreciate the editing on your videos. I love that you display the cover art of the books you highlight in the bottom corner, makes it easy to snap a screenshot for reference later as needed. Looking forward to seeing you delve into the topic further, given the nature of these politically tense and confusing times!

Thanks for the very helpful summary!

Great video. Thank you!

Only seen a few videos, but they are extremely well researched and I think you do an excellent job at taking as objective of a look into these topics as possible. Ill definitely be looking into more of your content.

As a Chinese, I really appreciate your work and got impressed by your understanding on China and Chinese mentality. It’s surprisingly accurate, even though there’s a lot inferring based on literal resource due to lack of actual experience living in China. I am one of those who don’t usually leave comments. But I just wanna leave this to tell you that this video is very helpful for me to explain Chinese cultural mentality to westerners. Thank you very much for the effort on learning all this.

great analysis, thanks so much for your research and clarity in presentation.

Great video. A complex topic discussed in a very clear way

Not bad for an American who's never been to China. I'm American and I've lived in China for the past 6 years and I still learned something. I also appreciate your disclaimers. It's true, if you want to tell the whole story about both sides you would need an entire archieve not just a book haha.