Sat, Nov 18, 2000 page8

• Letters

  China's past

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  I am a scholar who specializes in the mythological aspects of Chinese written history and I have argued that the historical records of the Xia Dynasty (夏朝, now dated to ca. 2070 BC to ca. 1600 BC) are based upon a later myth. However, it is not unreasonable to hypothesize that the extensive archeological evidence of a bronze age culture in this period tends to support a historical Xia. This is an academic question, not a nationalistic one.

  Two points are at issue. One is the supposed attempt of the Xia Shang Zhou (夏商周) Chronology Project to push Chinese history back into the mists of time. If this were so, it would not start with the relatively late Xia Dynasty, but with the Yellow Emperor (黃帝). More-over, the dates of the three dynasties as determined by the project are later, not earlier, than the traditional dating.

  The other is the date of the Zhou (周) conquest of the Shang(商). Here it is worth noting that the two Western scholars you quote, Edward Shaughnessy and David Nivison ("China claims to have filled in its missing 2000 years," Nov. 11, page 6) are not neutral observers, but have vested interests in their own calendrical reconstructions. The Chinese project conscientiously translated, published, and considered their theories, but came to other conclusions based on a large amount of new archeological evidence that neither could possibly have had time to consider when they spoke to the New York Times. An important feature of this project is that it is publishing all of the evidence and many different opinions in a series of more than 30 books, so that everyone can make up their own mind.

  The debate will go on. And why not? Is it somehow inherently suspect for the Chinese to research their own past?

  Sarah Allan

  Professor of Asian Studies

  Dartmouth College

  New Hampshire

  Well done, A-Bian

  It is really nice to see that A-Bian (阿扁), by scrapping the Fourth Nuclear Power Plant (核四), has suddenly become an international household name for the growing army of Greens, environmentalists and all those who care just a tiny bit about planet Earth. The recall action will only enhance Chen's (and the DPP's) international standing as "green heroes."

  Also, Chen and Vice-President Annette Lu's (呂秀蓮) decision to set up a Human Rights Advisory Committee can never be praised enough. I think, nevertheless, that the A-bian administration should go one step further to enhance its international prestige and make sure that on the international stage Taiwan becomes synonymous with green policies and human rights.

  They should do this by setting up a world class university (equivalent to Yale, Harvard or Oxford) with the best researchers and professors from all over the world, providing both undergraduate and post-graduate courses in the following areas: green technologies (of all kinds, agriculture, transport, etc) and environmentally-friendly sources of energy; actuarial studies with a specialization in ethical investments and fund management; world development -- with a strong stress on social, political, environmental, economic and human rights situations and changes.

  The lessons should be held in English and the venue should be somewhere like Pingtung or Hualien, where land is cheaper, and where there is a more urgent need to create jobs.

  I understand that, given the current political climate, this idea is not feasible, but I hope that something similar will be adopted by the DPP administration once the Legislative Yuan has been disinfected of all those KMT parasites in the next legislative election."

  George Dukess

  Guildford, Surrey, UK

  Not about economic growth

  William Hoyle's letter critical of Chen's nuclear policies ("Nuclear pros and cons, Nov. 15, page 8) makes an error common among observers of this controversy. It is not and never was about economic growth. Critics of the plant have demonstrated over and over again that Taiwan does not need such a dangerous white elephant. Merely upgrading Taiwan's existing conventional single-cycle generators would provide the greater power output with much less risk. Alternatives have not been well-explored, despite Taiwan's potential for the Ocean Thermal Energy Converter (OTEC), geothermal, wind and other systems. Every day over 100 public and private incinerators on the island pollute the air, most without generating a single watt of power to compensate. All that trash is just so much wasted energy.

  No, the nuclear plant is a symbol in a political struggle over what kind of place Taiwan will be. The KMT is angry because of the disappearance, as a result of Chen's decision, of fat contracts for KMT-owned and KMT-connected companies. Perhaps Hoyle is right and Chen's timing was wrong. But his economic instincts, and his heart, are in the right place.

  Michael A. Turton

  Leander, Texas
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