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Macro-Historical Paralellism and the China “Puzzle”
beginning from the 12 th century, did the stagnant Medieval
Europe begin to revive and grow.
If for fortuitous reasons the Industrial Revolution
happened first in West Europe, it is natural that it will be
increasingly harder for the West to retain the advantages the
revolution had brought it initially. If partial globalization in
the past could constantly have resulted in shifts of power,
the present-day globalization on such a massive scale will
surely do a similar job. After all, parallel growth of East,
South and West Asia had kept these regions at a
development level fundamentally equivalent to West Europe
before 1800. Thus, if a civilization-state like China has been
‘modernizing’ itself at such a dazzling speed in recent
decades, we should regard it as a translation of one type of
modernity into another rather than as some kind of magic of
turning out a flying white pigeon out of nothing. From a
macro-historical point of view, when Western ‘modernity’
intruded upon that of China, its economic and social
development level, its efficient government and its
intellectual and artistic sophistication had essentially been
on a par with the West. In this sense, the concept of
modernity really needs reexamination.
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