Balance

Had a very interesting talk with a friend here in Shanghai the other day about finding "balance." His theory was that the goal in life, and in civilization, was not to get somewhere, or to single-mindedly make enough progress to achieve this or that, but rather, to find the right balance and be in harmony with the way things naturally are.

Sure, this sounds like a very vague and kitchy, but he followed it up with some interesting examples. For instance, China has been obsessed with growth for the last couple of decades, thus resulting in growth rates unprecedented for such a large country. This, however, cannot last forever, and obsession with growth results in sacrifices in other areas - deteriorating environment, social problems such as the widening gap between the rich and the poor, loss of culture due to a fixation with materialism and all things Western, etc. What China ultimately needs to do, is find it's own center again, to balance and harmonize competing national interests rather than go to extremes to pursue this or that. For that's the only sustainable path, the equilibrium that would strike the correct balance. He believes, for example, that the current imbalance has resulted in projects like the Three Gorges Dam (長江三峽大壩), which, while would generate a great deal of "clean" energy by utilizing the force of the Yangtze River, will wreck havoc on the natural ecological environment of the area, not to mention it will also flood historical & cultural relics, and force millions to relocate. For comparison, we only need to look to another great river project in China's history, that of Dujiangyan (都江堰), first built in 256 BC, and still in operation. Dujiangyan is an irrigation project that splits the Min River (岷江) into streams for irrigation. Unlike other dams and river projects, it allows water and fish to flow through naturally. It's ingenuity lies in the fact that because the diverted stream is narrower and deeper, while 60% of the water flows in during normal periods, only 40% will flow through during flooding season, thus ensuring ample water for irrigation during normal times, but allows excess water to be diverted during floods. Furthermore, the main dike in Dujiangyan was built from the earth that was hollowed out to created the diverted stream, leaving nothing to waste. It's that kind of harmony and balance that China ought to look for, not the Western styled artificial dams and projects that seeks to merely accomplish some goal, without taking into account all the other factors.

But the idea of balance extends beyond just that of a nation. It's a precious dynamic that one should strive for within a family or even within oneself. Having balance in life, between work and play, and at work between big picture and small details are all important things to keep in mind. It extends to our economies as well - instead of these boom-bust business cycles, we ought to look to more conservative growth with sound money, rather than inflationary policies designed to expand our economy beyond what it could naturally support. It matters in medicine too, when we decide to treat symptoms with certain drugs and overlook its side effects or teir longterm effects, before even considering more natural, alternative Chinese therapies. Balance is an idea that seems to get lost these days in a results-oriented, attention deficit, instant gratification world.