China, the New Paper Tiger

China has been China for four thousand years; concealment may be a reaction to a past redolent of autocracy, but it seems prevelent in all aspects of Chinese life. Confucious' idea of keeping the masses ignorant in order to make them easier to govern remains in force. We in America have had, or had until just recently, an underlying assumption that things are going to get better and better. This idea of long-term success is alien to Chinese culture, however, where dynastic decay is an historical fact and a constant threat.