30 December 2010 - prisoner

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Cultural Absolutism

The Chinese character meaning “prisoner” depicts a person inside a box. The character meaning “nation” depicts a king inside a box. Do you think the box represents a cell and the symbolism is that the king is a prisoner of the needs of the nation? No way, you’re thinking like a Westerner! The box represents the country; the whole population is held prisoner.

clue:

The Chinese name of the box part of the character actually means only “square frame” and is usually translated into English as “enclosure”.

take oh take this clue away

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