... to anywhere near the extent that the Dutch did. I think the historical evidence is pretty clear on that.

And Michael, I respect immensely your knowledge of Taiwan and commitment to Taiwanese identity and independence, but the argument that Taiwan is not culturally Chinese strikes me as pretty strained.

you should explore the book. I'm sure you'd love it.

Thanks Michael,

I think the problem here is the attempt to disassociate the topic of Andrade's book -- the original sinification of Taiwan -- from the political aspects of the question of "Chineseness" in terms of present-day China-Taiwan relations.

Andrade, in his preface, was taking pains to make sure that his title was _not interpreted_ in that context, and in doing so, perhaps got a bit casual in reiterating the taiwan-is-more-chinese-than-china trope.

Proving I think, that it will be _impossible_ to separate his title from current-day reality!

There is little doubt that in the 16th and early 17th century, the Chinese were aggressively engaged in trade throughout SE Asia, and part of a global network of trade, as pointed out by Andrade, centered on China's demand for silver. That this ended up turning out quite badly for China, as the Qing dynasty weakened, doesn't negate that China has its own role to play in these global networks.

How it came to pass that European powers aggressively colonized Asia while China and Japan turned their back on outward expansions is a really interesting question that is at the heart of Andrade's book.

"JHM-IV" ??? I happen to have a cousin with those exact initials... Could it be?

I was a big fan of "Complicated." I think "Girlfriend" sux.

"Parents Just Don't Understand" was OK.

But I still prefer Dengue Fever to all of them.

On which point, my 12-year-old daughter agrees with me entirely.

Also, although I'm no expert in Hindi, Smith's Hindi accent sounds a hell of a lot better than Lavigne's Mandarin accent.

So there!

but i wrote that display copy myself, so it was my own joke that was, alas, so horribly unfunny.

generally, you can hold me accountable for all headlines on my blog posts.

I'm working through the incredibly wonderful Dalrymple book right now -- there's really no substitute for spending four years working through primary sources in overlooked archives.

i have also been informed by a reader that I that Marathi is the language that the Maratha speak. I will correct the piece.

as for the "point"?

sometimes I just find the interconnections inherently interesting, especially on a Friday afternoon.

The early returns are in. I'm blogging from the bike ride.

Well, I've gotta say, the reaction -- even from the people who say "No" -- has energized me. In the shower this morning, I was already thinking of ways to organize things ahead of time that would allow me to create some real value in this exercise. And I'm looking forward to the ride more than ever.

Now, back to your regularly scheduled globalization explorations.

i'll fix the story

That's it!

Thanks so much. And I have to confess, "flying high in the sky sage-cow" was my own off-the-cuff translation.

Divine sounded a little too much, and super, too little!

silverback,

i have seen gapminder -- in fact,

I wrote about it for HTWW last July!

http://www.salon.com/tech/htww/2006/07/28/rosling/index.html

they do not bark, but they howl like crying human infants in a manner than can be seriously discomfiting.

http://www.canismajor.com/dog/basenji.html

I wish I could pretend that that had not happened.

But it did. It's now corrected. Thanks.

ha! you know, that came straight from the Financial Times. i think they made a mistake -- it doesn't appear to be a British spelling. i'll consult with the copydesk.

I think that is a serious misreading of my intent, which was to simply to suggest that people in mainland China, who do not currently enjoy the freedoms that the people in Taiwan do, will one day gain them, despite the oppressions that have already occurred in the past.

I did not mean to criticize Burke's call for more advocacy. I'm all for it! And I love my own bike, a Fuji hybrid touring bike made in Taiwan with a passion.

My main point, which apparently I did not express with the clarity I would have wished, is that even a bike, which we think of as a simple object, and which is, yes, I agree, much simpler than a car, is still deeply embedded in development-trade-global-supply-chain-high-tech-manufacturing dynamics.

Maybe my problem is I just don't think anything is simple.

really fabulous letters in this thread.

the maratha pirate lord gets about 45 seconds of screen time, tops!

sorry!

had a little cut-and-paste issue there. it's fixed now.

You frequently post interesting contributions to the discourse here, but the "jewspiracy" stuff is going to get deleted. Please stop.

if i write something that includes the words "was rumored to have said" and then wonder why the Congressional Quarterly did not record the comment, you can probably assume that I am being sarcastic.

The other option would be to have a blinking "THIS IS A JOKE" tag, but I find that kind of spoils the punch-line.

Catching up these letters after the weekend, I see that I mistook the implement of Trotsky's murder. Shame, shame on me. I will make a correction.

that's partly because of the shift in political priorities, but also because of an increase in emphasis on deployment rather than research and development, which other analysts believe is a bad long term bet...

read it, loved it, did not think of the parallel! thanks!

Sorry, I mistranscribed Lardy's comment. Of course it was 900 billion.

Ah, you see, this is what happens when I try to post in between picking my son from summer camp and making my kids dinner.

I lose contact with the physical reality of space and time.

Should be fixed, now.