Charles Moyer wrote:

>Wei,
>     I know in the East a favorite saying is "The nail which stands up gets
>driven down." And for the running of a smooth society it probably has its
>usefulness. But, frankly, I don't like it. And would say that those nails
>which stand up may have a far-sighted vision which is incapable of those
>level ones around them.

We are fully agreed on this point.  As to the significance of the nail
saying, as far as I know, this is a Japanese saying.  Not being an expert on
Japanese culture, I cannot comment in depth.  I will say this:  Japan is, as
far as I know, one of the few mono-racial large nations on earth (or close
to being one).  Chinese culture, as you may know has (at least) eight
different regional-linguist manifestations.  The Northern
("Mandarin"-speaking) culture is as different from the southern or Cantonese
culture as the British are from the Russians.  In addition there are many
"non-Han" cultures in China, such as the Tibetan,  Uighur,  Miao, Mongolian,
Nakhi (or Naxi), and Manchurian cultures. So in China, the saying is "One
hundred Chinese, one hundred opinions".  Of course, centuries of oppressive
governments have obscured this in the minds of foreigners.  Confucianism has
been the main source of such oppression, and the of the tendency to try to
paint the Chinese to themselves ,and to others, as a people with a unified
vision and a uniform mode of thinking.  One of Pound's greatest intellectual
errors was to foster and propagate this notion further, during a period when
China was trying to free itself from Confucianist dogma.

You may have heard that recently Coca-cola in China created an advertising
campaign using a famous Chinese female rock star, who [unfortunately]
decided to sing at the inauguration of Taiwan's newly elected leader.  The
goverment in Beijing told Coke to cancel the campaign, and Coke, rather than
protest, or urge any sort of defiance, very compliantly oblidged.  They
destroyed millions of dollars of advertising materials (posters, newspaper
ad projects, tv. commercials, etc)  Would Pound have supported the Chinese
government or would he have backed those who support free speech?

[I admit neither side is a very attractive one, but Coca-cola and the
Chinese One party state seem to have the same interest here---  maintaining
ORDER, one of Pound's favorite goals]


>Afterall, "the artists are the antenae of the race."


Are they?  I don't think artists are the "anything" of the race.  The truly
great artists, like Shakespeare, do not enjoy their reputations because of
their relation to any particular race, rather they transcend nation and
race. They are universal.  As to being antennae, this is to reduce the
artist to being a mere sense organ, and not a mind or a spirit, which can
act and reflect dialectially on its material.  Part of Pound's limitations
may lie in these conceptions of the artist, as being bound to a "race" and
being a mere sense organ.


>If we Pound them all down we do ourselves a great disservice.
>     That Monty Python "stick" is an old chestnut. The way I heard it many
>years ago before Monty goes something like this;
>     "The socialist is haranguing the crowd. He bellows, "After the
>revolution we'll all eat steak and mushrooms".
>     A fellow in the back of the crowd meekly speaks up, "But I don't like
>mushrooms."
>     The Socialist now worked up to a fever pitch answers, "After the
>revolution we'll all eat steak and mushrooms, and we'll like steak and
>mushrooms."

I never heard this one, though it would be great critcism of the those who
follow the Marxist-Leninist vanguard theory of socialism, which I oppose.
Much of the  Monty Python group's humour was critical of all forms of
hierarchy, whether in capitalist or centrally planned economic orders.  In
fact, this is part of the nature of comedy, as defined by Kant, which must,
by its nature attack all unfounded authority, and even "that most tyrannical
of all masters, REASON itself"  Pound seemed primarily interested in
attacking authority (or authorities, like Churchill and "Jews"velt) who
stood in the way of the realization of fascist political authority.  Or in
the case of Chinese history, Pound opposes those movements which undermine
Confucian authority.  I find virtually no exception to this basic rule of
Poundian thought.  Do you?


(continued in next post)
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