The pro-China camp in Taiwan is apparently displeased with Nvidia Corp founder and CEO Jensen Huang (黃仁勳), and an Internet celebrity even searched for and disclosed his personal information online. Such disapproval was not only due to Huang using the word “country” to describe Taiwan or his praise for the nation’s technology industry, but also because his very existence implies support for Taiwan.
After reforms in the Tang (唐) and Song (宋) dynasties, the class system of the “four occupations” — academic, farmer, worker and businessperson — took shape in China.
Prior to the changes, businesspeople held influential roles in China. The powerful merchant Mi Zhu (麋竺) sponsored Liu Bei (劉備) — a warlord in the Han Dynasty (漢) and the founder of the Han kingdom of Shu (蜀漢). As a result, Mi was treated with great courtesy by Liu.
A CULTURAL DIVIDE
As times changed, businesspeople fell to the bottom of the pile of the four classes, and engaging in business was at most a “means,” rather than a “goal.” After businesspeople made some money, many of them might enter politics through imperial examination or public donation, turning from merchants to officials.
Taiwan is different.
An old Taiwanese saying goes that “the best job is to sell ice and the second best is to become a doctor,” with “selling ice” referring to doing business.
“Good academics are easy to find; good businesspeople are hard to find,” another old Taiwanese saying goes.
The proverbs show that Taiwan’s occupational hierarchy historically contrasts with China’s academic, farmer, worker and businessperson framework.
ISLAND OF TRADE
Since ancient times, Taiwan has been an island of trade beyond the reach of the Confucian regimes.
Huang’s visit to Taiwan as an international entrepreneur has drawn a great deal of media attention. The question of why Huang did not turn away from a life as a businessman to become a politician demonstrates the different cultures and histories between Taiwan and China.
Taiwanese society’s embrace of Huang is in stark contrast to China’s use of “common prosperity” to deal with Alibaba Group founder Jack Ma (馬雲). It is no wonder that the pro-unification and pro-China camps in Taiwan are annoyed by Huang’s visit.
SPORTS AND BUSINESS
More than a decade ago, retired Taiwanese diplomat Kuo Kuan-ying (郭冠英) voiced his disfavor of baseball as it was brought to the country during the Japanese colonial era, but said he preferred table tennis, which is popular in China and has become symbolic of its diplomacy with the US.
Different phenomena occur naturally in business and sports, and they have nothing to do with insulting China or supporting Taiwanese independence, but instead come about as a result of the different historical contexts that exist on both sides of the Taiwan Strait.
It is a pity that some people are uncomfortable simply because of the different phenomena. However, Taiwan cannot engage in communal wealth or a cultural revolution for the sake of making those people feel comfortable. The government, the public and businesses would not agree to it, and even the pro-China members of the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and Taiwan People’s Party dare not agree to it.
Jimway Chang is a high-school history teacher.
Translated by Eddy Chang
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