Domestic cats were brought from the west to China around AD 600. Chinese nationalists greatly underestimate how much of their culture originally came from foreign civilizations. Even their house cat is a "waiguomao".

Most Chinese people are unaware that the Mandarin language (Putonghua) is a modern 20th century creation. They don't realize that Confucius spoke a totally different language that had no tones and was structurally and phonetically different.

One racist tendency of the Chinese mentality is dividing the world into Chinese vs "foreign". Many Chinese assume Africans & Europeans can be lumped into a category called "foreign" and stereotyped as 1 group. This us-vs-them presents China as equal to the entire "foreign" world.

China's soft-power collapse will be led by the massive decline in Mandarin-Chinese speakers. Meanwhile, English will continue to be history's most dominant language.

The Temple of Heaven in Beijing is less than 140 years old, and it was constructed with imported wood from the United States.

China has less foreigners per capita than North Korea. The PRC is the world's most isolated and closed society in 2025.

PRC China's immaturity when dealing with major international crisis is partly because it is a new country with only 76 years of history (founded 1949). China has not accumulated enough institutional wisdom.

Nezha is not Chinese, he's actually an Indian deity named Nalakuvara. Stories related to him were brought to the region we now call China via Buddhist missionaries and scriptures. Despite the Chinese nationalism surrounding the Nezha films, they actually celebrate a foreign hero.

China's most cherished propaganda goes like this: 1. were four ancient civilizations 2. three of them "died", but not china 3. chinese people/culture are therefore superior Big factual problems: 1. hundreds of ancient civilizations 2. ancient china died harder than others

PRC China is a historiographical threat to the world. China believes that it is the "central country" (zhongguo) towards which all other nations should kowtow. This racist worldview threatens to contaminate all historical thought.

China is increasingly isolated. Estimates suggest there were about 115,000 foreign nationals residing in Beijing in 2018. That number had fallen to just 20,000 by 2024. That's an 82% decline in six years.

The Chinese language and its legacy are in steep decline. The historical remnants of Chinese imperialism are being erased in East Asia.

China's isolationist turn has resulted in declining English proficiency. China's ability to communicate with the rest of the world is collapsing as foreign residents exit and international businesses relocate. Meanwhile, English proficiency is improving in other regions.