Silat of kungfu, kungfu of silat
KTEMOC KONSIDERS
“The trouble with us Chinese,” he said, “is that we are not as skilled in politics as you Malays. We Chinese play politics like kungfu. We just charge and whack. You Malays use silat. You smile and dance and make graceful moves and we don’t know when the keris is going to stab.”
Once an old (Chinese) pal of mine confessed to me how much he saluted the Malays for their amazing and sophisticated political skills, which were/are subtle as silk – silk of course is also an effective garrote.
He lamented how raw the Chinese were by comparison. When I asked him why, he pointed out to a tradition of Malay court intrigues dating back to the legendary days of Hang Tuah and his best mate/nemesis Hang Jebat.
When I countered by reminding him of equally diabolical Chinese court manoeuvrings, with its legends, history, eunuchs, imperial concubines, traitors and whatnot, he smiled and crushed my arguments by stating:
“Those imperial ar$eh%les were northerners. The Chinese in Malaysia came from the south, and were of ignorant bumbling peasant stock.”
I was outraged and protested vehemently, declaring that my ancestry could be traced back to the bloodthirsty pirates looting, pillaging and raping in the Formosa-Fujian-Guangchow region.
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| Chinese pirate Sao Feng wakakaka |
Bloody hell, calling me, a descendant of swashbuckling Chinese pirates, a descendant of country yokels! 😉
Oh, BTW, Chinese victors in a dynastic struggle ordered dethroned royal families to kill themselves and avoid the shame of public execution, by presenting the unfortunate victims with a sash of fine white silk, for them to hang themselves.
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| Chinese peasants – photo from Greenpeace East Asia |
