7 CHINA- From Gobi to Aquarius Part One by Linda Gerber Quest, Ph.D. China scholars agree that the Chinese people are native to the land in which they five and that their culture is their own — that is, “the Chinese are autochthonous and their culture indigenous.” After the Ice Age and recovery trom it, civilization in China uleveloped independently of the emergence of civilization elsewhere in the world, ‘China had been both the Greece andl the Rome of the Far Eastern world, She gave the thought. the arts, the laws, and the system of government, Nothing essential to her civilization came from abroad. and when, many centuries after the mould has been formed, Indian Buddhism reached China, the pattern was too set to be remodelled. Budilhism, alone of all the foreign influences reaching China. made a deep impression, but Chinese culture transformed Buduihism more deeply still"? The Edgar Cayce readings indicate that Chinese culture and civilization are indeed indigenous and autochthonous — but much more complex than conventional history and archaeology suppose, ‘Similarities between ancient Gobi, as portrayed in the Cayce readings, and modern China suggest continuity of group purpose and group, karma trom pre-slacial culture and civilization in Gobi in terms of which present policies and developments in Chins may be rendered more intelligible than conventional scholarship permits.98 ARE, JOURNAL Entanglement and Indwelling ‘The readings are explicit that prehistoric Gobi was an entry point for one of the five simultaneous appearances (364-13, 1210-1, 5748-1) of individuated, or Adamic, man on earth. wwe find the entity was in the Gobi land, yes ~ one of the great places to which the Five Nations or Five Peoples came. 1580-1 (see also 31-1) ‘The entry of Adamic man establishes one line of group karma for China. In addition, Adamic man provides the group purpose for China, The purpose for the entry of Adamic man into earth was to show the Way of liberation from entanglement in the earth to those entities who were trapped here, unable to get tlemselves out. Archaeological evidence does in fact show that there were au- vanced pre-human or hominid types living in the China region tong before the time of the indwelling to which the Edgar Cayee readings refer. Hominid fossils estimated to be 100,000 to 500,000 years old have been found in northern China, These pre-humans had tools. speech, and fire; they walked erect and had animals ~ cither tame or domesticated — living with them. From these pre-Adamic dwellers in the earth another line of karma enters the Chinese pattern of cause-and-effect, sowing-and- reaping, action-and-reaction. An illustration of that line of karma might be this: Peking Man (500,000 years azo) and Upper Cave Man (50,000 years ayo) belonged to the Paleolithic Age and lived in caves ~ this is archaeological fact. In rural villages in China today a stone cave is regarded as a desirable form of housing. The reasons cited for this are that stone caves last S00 years without needing repairs, whereas ordinary houses last only thirty years without major repairs, and earth caves seldom last more than two or three gener- ations. This makes stone caves the most economical in the long run although they initially require more planning and more work. So stone caves are being built Does pure pragmatism explain this fully. or might an undercurrent of karma run through it also” Paleolithic men, who lived in caves and hunted, were the ancestors of Neolithic men who bred cattle, farmed, and made sharp tools of stone. They wove baskets and cloth, made much pottery, and used spears and bows and arrows as weapons. Many stone-age communities found in North China, Mongolia, and Manchuria provide archaeological proof of this, Would it make sense to theorize, in terms of the Edgar Cayce readings, that these were the ‘ones — call them the sons of man perhaps — among whom the Sons of God, of the Adamic men, came in order to show them the way of liberation from entanglement in the earth” Might the technologicalCHINA, 99 ibility of these pre-humans contribute a karmic strand to Chinese leadership of the world in technology until the Western Renaissance sound 1400 A.D. China came out of the Ice Age in extraordinarily ‘od order technologically. Was this accidental, or was it possibly karmic, with carry-over from both pre-human and Adamic men” IF it was indeed the purpose of Adamic men to show the way of liberation to those entangled in the earth, might the wars of “national liberation” which China fostets and sponsors today be low-vibration, confused expressions of that purpose? Is it any accident that the military forces in China are called “people's liberation armies”? The “liberations” seem often t0 be conducted with excessive force ind violence, yet destruction is typically the way in which purpose and power Hirst manifest in the physical-material world. Construction tukes longer to manifest. Gobi and China The country which today we know as China covers only a portion of the prehistoric land of Gobi. In former times. the sphere of influence of Gobi extended into India, Group purpose and group karma were joined between Gobi and India through intermarriage of group leaders (1SS4-2), Likewise. intermarriage joined group purpose and group kerma of Gobi and Indochina (2067-4). The Cayce readings say that the Gobi association with India preceded the sssociation with Indochina, Inasmuch as this occurred on the invok utionary path. the Chinese assoviation with Indochina would precede the association with India on the evolutionary path. Other readings also link Gobi and Indochina (1298-1, 1581-1. 2420-1). Tie heartlind of prehistoric Gobi or “the Sun land” (2067-4) coincided with the area we know today as Mongolia or the Gobi Desert region (870-1, 871-1, 873-1, 1167-2, 1219-1, 1298-1, 1301-1 1406-1. 1505-1, 1554-2, 2502-1, 2938-1, 3541-1, $000-1), In that heartland was ocated the City of Gold, which was built around 10,000 B.C. during the reign of Muzuen (877-12), It was one of the cities that have been obliterated by sand and insects” (3541-1 see ulso 1298-1), but may have been the legendary city of Shangri-la Rediscovery of it in the pear future is a distinct possibility (1167-2 2420-1, 2938-1). Is it merely coincidence that ancient Gobi finally succumbed to sand and insects and that one of the very first campaigns of the Communists upon taking over the government of China was a campaign (© eliminate pests — particularly insects, Plies and other Lisease-carrying insects, as Well as predatory ones, were special targets for extermination and clean-up. Because they carried diseas and were predatory. there were rational arguments for getting rid of100 AIRE, JOURNAL them, yet the emotional aspects of the campaign were very strong — strong enough to raise the suspicion that deep and ancient reactions were at work, Did these embody an instinctual reaction based on karmie memory from Gobi? Geographically, many changes — geological and, especially. climatological — have intervened between prehistoric and modern conditions in Asia (364-13), However. alterations in the appearances of the peoples and of the land would not break the threads of group purpose and group karma Purpose and karma have persistent effect on group activity but are peculiarly influential under certain conditions, which obtain in Chins today. Purpose is a strong factor in evolution. In order to evolve one must work toward achievement of the purpose for which one became involved in earth, Until one has become so involved in earth that one can sink no further ~ that is, hit the bottom, reached the nadir — and recognizes this, real evolutionary work is not begun Before then, purposeful work is a holding operation rather than an evolutionary activity. Such a holding operation ~ a very protracted one ~ has been cartied out by Ching and may be seen as part of the national group purpose. China has — just recently ~ hit the bottom and knows it. At the bottom, karma is exceedingly forceful Ching — at the bottom — but trying to salvage and remake itself — is meeting itself, from the best to the worst, and is reaping as it has sown. On the evolutionary path, the group purpose, or ideal, will have redemptive value strong enough to offset the draz of karma, if properly mobilized. Here. in the redemptive process. there is a role for people of goodwill throughout the world to play. They can use their prayers and meditations — their powers of invocation and evocation on the level of humanity — to call forth the best that is in China. Chinese culture provides that an individual can always convert himself and be redeemed. This concept is a very old one ~ fan shen Taking a new name typically went along with it. The process is embodied in the theory snd practice of re-education in the Communist regime, What it means is that anyone who chooses to purily himsel can do so ~ there are no permanent statuses of “elect” or “damned.” According to Chinese belief, man is by nature good, but his nature is corrupted by the world. However, he can redeem himselt by following the correct doctrine, This is something on which ole Confucians and modern Communists agree. Does this sound like restatement of the premise on which Adamic men entered Gobi The name China. in Chinese, means the center of the universe Sometimes China has called itself the Celestial Empire, sometimes the Middle Kingdom, in which rulers woverned by Mandate 1CHINA 101 Heaven, Unlike Russia, for example, or Germany which were named by others and even geographically defined by others, China identified itself, The Chinese have, from the earliest days of recorded history distinguished themselves, the Hua Hsia, from all others, the Yi Ti, barbarians. The distinction is cultural, not racial: Chinese who adopt the ways of barbarians are considered as barbarians, and barbarians who absorb Chinese culture are considered as Chinese, This holds true fo the present day.6 It persisted during even the most virulent anticforeign, antiAmerican, and antiSoviet phases of the Cultural Revolution, Race is not a factor in Chinese thought, and the peasantry, who comprise 80 to 85 per cent of the total population, have little or no concept of race. If asked to describe someone according to his skin, they reply in terms of his hairiness.” Non- Chinese are “foreigners” regardless of race, and individuals who share the Chinese culture are Chinese regardless of race.® What about the concept of China as the Middle Kingdom in which heaven and carth are joined? Is this a possible carry-over from Gobi? And the distinction between Hua Hsia and Yi Ti? Does this reflect he difference between the Sons of God and the children of Belial? Government and Society Most of the detail on civilization in prehistoric Gobi whieh was given by Edgar Cayce is found in the 877 series of readings. These include the readings on Muzuen, a prince in Gobi around 10,000 years B.C., whose jurisdiction covered an area almost as large as Colorado, the eighth largest state of the United States. This influence or force covered something like what would be termed now a hundred andl two thousand square miles of domain, 877-10 ‘This was a small portion only of the vast area of Gobi influence. but it was located in the Gobi heartland 0.3. What was the Pasie philosophy of that dav? A. He who eats must produce same: that was the material relationship, ‘The spiritual philosophy was that the relationships of the Father rhrough the soul forces manifest themselves in given periods or messages to those that were called to aet in the capacity of the priests S77 [As for the groups in its own land, as has been indicated, the worshipfulness was in a temple where those gathered that made for speech-anaking. There were ro priests as in many lands. They were all those that spoke and would be called 2 forum, or mote asa group known in thine own land as the Quakers ~ who spoke when they were moved by not anxiety, not wrath, but by the spirit of ‘houghefulness — oF the recognizing of Mind, the Builder. But the laborer was heard as well a those that were of eery trade as would be termed in the present, 87712102 ARE, JOURNAL ‘The right of each individual to a hearing — provided he was moved by’ the spirit of thoughtfulness — suggests that some elements of democracy were present in Gobi, perhaps something as close t0 a classless society as has existed in a civilized setting. with distinctions made along functional lines according to specialization of cralt or trade rather than privileve: ‘The peoples lived inthe main within themselves, oF among themselves. Those ‘of this particular group were les of class than in the Atlantean or the Indian, Hence the people were equal in their postions fom the social aspect. 877-12 Similar values exist in China today and aim at a society in which people are equal from the social aspect. Various prozrams have been implemented in Communist China to promote equality and eliminate job-snobbery. Communist party cadres and government officials are required to participate in manual labor. and some. with their tamilivs are sent to Work in the countryside among rural farmers. Educated youths are required to do some work, usually on new collective farms, Assignments 10 rural communes were tried. but regular commune members were unenthusiastic over their experiences with the youths Little information is available on the effectiveness of this policy of transforming students through labor." The policy nas, however. precipitated defections from China among youths who do not like it#1 Nevertheless, the alternation of laboratory — or equivalent work with manual work in fectories or on farms is 4 continuing policy currently in force.1? If the struggle to establish social equality requires. centuries, then the Communist regime is determined to persist that Jong in the struggle. They ask, does 2 dragon only beget a dragon. a phoenix only beget a phoenix. and are those begotten by rats good only at digging holes? This they deny.12 Some results of the policy marriages between professional women and peasant men, making “peasant” a proud designation, as examples Tbespeak reduction of class or jobsnobbery. Also, women are obtaining jobs — with equal pay and promotions ~ alongside men, in industry and in the professions, which is a notable reversal of traditional Chinese patterns.14 Might events come to mateh this Cayce prophecy? the eventual conquering of self in China will be brought about ... 1598-2 In Gobi ‘There was equality between the sexes during that experience . . . The rights of each were the rights of the other. 877-12 This exists as a goal and largely as a fact in Ching today. In 1945CHINA 103 Mao Tse-tung instructed Communists on this score: “Protect the interests of the youth, women and children — provide assistance to young student refugees, help the youth and women to organize in ‘order to participate on an equal footing in all work useful fo the war effort and to social progress. ensure the freedom of marriage and equality as between men and women, and give young people and children a useful education . ..°18 This was reprinted in “the little book” as a rule of conduct. ‘The liberation of women was a highly expedient policy for the Chinese Communists. for, through it, much labor and. political support could be gained for the Communist cause. Still, improve- ments are impressive, especially in contrast to the subordinate and suppressed role of women in traditional imperial China.1® The women’s liberation movement in China owes something to the West and the example of the United States, although karmic influences rom Gobi would tend to reinforce and support it The bases of civil and criminal law in Gobi were simple: ‘The forming of the moral and the penal codes... First, this would be a literal interpretation, and not what would be in that speech in that day — ‘though this may be given i itis sought: He that labors with the hands is deserving of the fruits and advantages of the labors Do [:ot?| to thy neighbor as thy neighbor does to thee; but as ye would that he should do, then do to him. 87712 ‘The “anticipatory Golden Rule” was taught elsewhere in the contemporary prehistoric world. It was. for instance, espoused by Vistua, the princess in India whose husband came trom Gobi [And a saying of that period was as law and order tothe entity, which is just as true in the present experience: AS YE WOULD HAVE THY NEIGHBOR DO, THAT DO THYSELF! 15542 The anticipatory Golden Rule recommends itself from the angle of political socialization: we know that direct example, which begets imitation, particularly in primary-group associations such as family and neighborhood, is exceedingly potent in setting the pattern for individual and group behavior. Although Confucianism taught the Golden Rule in China ~ in the preventive sense of not doing to others what you would not want them to do to you — law and justice were intricate in imperial and Nationalist China, As such, they did not resemble the Gobi model. In present-day China, however, the legal profession and the lgal cadres have been charged with the task of simplitying law and the administration of justice.*7104 ARE, JOURNAL Economic Factors Economic theory and institutions in Gobi were in tine with the material aspect of the philosophy quoted earlier. Yet the economic conditions were kept in what would be called in the present as the usage and activities that made for such that only those who applied themselves and as they applied made for the receiving ofthe benefits from same. Here was the entity's coinage of that “He that labors not eateth not,” 877-11 This economic principle from Gobi is almost exactly restated in a contemporary Chinese Communist slogan: “Everyone should be reformed through participation in manual work. He who does not labor shall not eat.” The fact that all able persons worked produced 2 situation in Gobi in which the need for taxes never arose (877-12), Extraction was based on “from each according to his ability.” The willingness of the individual to work was assumed, Or, should he prove unwilling to work, although able to do so, he would be cut off from supply. Neither “equal pay for equal work” nor production incentives appear to have been used — both of which are used in modern reckoning. Yet, in Gobi, the principle of “to each according to his needs” was applied with a goodwill and a fairness, apparently, which few, if any, modern states can match, regardless of the social or economic doctrines they advocate. Moreover, the needs of those who were unable to work were financed without taxes. This system worked in a technologically sophisticated, civilized society — accord- ing to the Edgar Cayce readings, Such systems might be imagined in utopian novels, but we do not have recent examples of them in everyday life. Experimental communities which have tried similar economic arrangements have typically eschewed technology and have been small or shortived or both, It may be that modern China intends something like the Gobi plan, with the commune system."8 In the late 1950s and early 1960s, the “labor brigades” carried out their computations in terms of days’ work and avoided conversion of these units into yuan as much as possible, But the fact that interest in individual compensation still had to be overcome is reflected in this economic direction:?0 “With regard to the system of distributing good for individual con- sumption, the Party and the Government carry out the principle “to each according to his work’ while at the same time teaching the masses of the people to struggle for great future objectives without being particular about personal remuneration,” The Gobi readings descrihe a noncompetitive economic system. which was co-operative and highly collective, Because of modernCHINA 10s connotations of the word, it might be misleading to label the Gobi system “communistic,” although it had definite “communalistic™ features: [As to the exchanges — af there developed the various types or characters of labors — the hewers of wood, the drawers of water, the dressers of skins, the hunters, and then to be sure the agricultural activities as would be termed in the present — there was the one common storehouse, and the dsily labors in each of the activities were as the labors of those that worked or labored in others” activities, and were as one against another. 877.12 0.3. Did they have a Government Bank, and if 50, how di it funetion and war were its powers? 3. As each labored, as each saved, this was given as to each individual It was not Government — for it was of all the people, and there was only ‘one source of the exchange or the supply, that all belonged to all 877.12 Although individuation had occurred, possessive individualism \was not a part of Gobilife. Ostentation was not practiced, even among the leaders — of especially not among the leaders ~ as this description of Muzuen gives: [A description of the entity, and of the household and of the ruling forces, In dress: leather, linen, cotton, silk — in their varied seasons, their varied activities. Not given to ornaments as much as many, and this gradually turned ‘the peoples from personal adornment to their home, their cities, their recreation places, theie preparations for defense, their preparation for offense, 877-10 ‘This hints that individuals did at times put luxury items to personal use but quickly and readily moved in the direction of applying these to mutual and collective purposes. Example sufficed to promote this. The anticipatory Golden Rule worked, Photographs and eye-witness accounts from China today report personal lifestyles which are frugal and simple, In a poor country such as the Chinese Communist inherited. the fashion of simplicity makes a virtue of necessity. When affluence comes, this will be put to the test Adornment of the body was taught in Gobi, in the City of Gold the entity was a teacher; and there was the beginning of those experi> ‘ences where there were the attempts to adom the body and to make portions fof same appeating to the senses as well as to the eye of the opposite ex. The entity gained theough the experience, because of the aid and help given — in the activities for the beneficial effect upon the nation as a whole. and not for self alone. 19s There, then, is the criterion for the Chinese people — or any others106 ARE. JOURNAL who permit or encourage personal adornment: What aid and help is given, what beneficial effect is produced, for the whole, not for self alone. (To be continued) FOOTNOTES 1. Chiu Chat and Winders Chal, The Changing Society of Chins (New York: Mentor, 1062, 9.25 2. CP. Fitgeald, The Birth of Communist Ching (Bakimore: Pelican, 1964), p, 22, 3. Jan Myrdal, Report from a Chinese Vilage (New Yark: Pantheon, 1965), reporting ‘onvectation with Mau Keryeh on houting in "good village foe 4. Joseoh Needham, Science and Civilization in Chins, Vol WV, Part 2 (Cambria, Engl Cambridge University Pree, 1968). 602, 5. Fitzgerald. 264 1. Aucrey Topping," Return to Chenging Ching," Nation! Geographic, Osembar 1971 7. Now York Times, December 18, 1988, 8. Fitegerald, 9. 30, 42,273. 8. New York Times, December 1, 1968, Apel 6, 1968, Octobe 5, 1969, 10, New York Time, Juiy3, 1971 11. New York Times, September 12,1971 12, New York Times, September 23, 1971 13, Now York Times, Api 30, 1987 14. Topping, po. 814, 822,833. 15. Mao Tse1ung, "On Cosltion Government” (April 24, 1945), Selected Works, Vo. 1, p. 288. Quoted in "tho lite fed book,” compile by Lin Bao, 1988, Lin Pio, onasime heicapparent ta Mg poliealy, was ramoved from hit easerahip postion In 1971 through th etorts of Mo Tse tung and Chou Era to smoke aut ond get rd of Lin Pip and others, {Soweto him who, in thar extrar Mapien, were fostrng the concept opposed by Mao fn Chou tet "erivsn, persone of superar intaligene, spiral force, and Innate Knowledge make history and iad the masies” Aw York Times, Novenber 8, 1571 ‘The Chinese language version of "hs lila rea BOOK" was taken of the markt in early Novernber 1977, New York Times, November 9, 197%, Milions of cones, detbuted since 4966, remain in erelation, homaver 16. Myre’ Helen IFcrtrl Snow, Women in Modern Chine (The Hogue, Paris ‘Mouton 1967), 17. New York Times, ly 29, 197% 1B. Arthur W, Galton, "Down on the Commune,” Natura! History, October 1972, pp 50-89, 19. Myre 20, Quoted in Edear Snow, The Other Side of the River: Red China Today (New ork encom House, 196115. 347162 CHINA- From Gobi to Aquarius Part Two by Linda Gerber Quest, Ph.D. Home and Marriage Home life was invented in Gobi at the time of man's first indwelling in the land ... the entity [was] among those who first assisted in the building of home as home, setting same apart from the gatherings of groups and making home home, as would be ‘known in the present experience, This in the land now known as Mongolia 3I-L (ee also 4185-1) This and other readings (2108-1, 3781-1) corroborate the one-family house, or single-family dwelling, as the basis of home life. Another basis was monogamous marriage. based on choice, as told in the following excerpt There was only, as has been indicated, monogamy; not polygamy ever practiced among these peoples. The rights of each were the rights ofthe other. When by injury, wrath, acident the mate was destroyed or killed, or by death tien the choice was made by the individual and seconded by those that were in the authority as to judgments. 8771 First marriages were made at the stage we would call adolescence (877-10), Monogamous marriages, with elements of choice a 10 mate, and one-family housing units are standard throughout the Western world and tend to be adopted where Westernization occurs. Only recently, however, have these practices come to China. Formerly, polygamy and coneubinage were practiced by men who had the financial means. This involved buying and selling women, and home conditions which made life burdensome for the majority of women.163 Family life was stressed in traditional China ~ the idea being to have as many generations as possible under one roof. In the present regime, the nuclear family is becoming the norm, but grandparents often live with the young family, providing child-care services while the parents work. Monogamy and the nuclear family in China are imports ~ like women’s liberation — from the West, but imports which, though expedient in Communist terms, have roots and find karmic rein- forcement in the Gobi experience. Early marriages, common in imperial China, continue among rural peasants, although Communist policy discourages early marriage and poses obstacles to it? The People’s Republic of China has introduced various forms of modern birth control to the population and makes them available atless than cost. These are used more among intellectuals than among, peasants, largely because peasants still think in terms of additional hands for labor. Formerly. children were regarded as social security, but now social security and welfare functions are fulfilled by the government. The two-child family is defined as ideal It is not clear whether the practice of eugenics should be classified under social policy or technological capability for Gobi. According to the readings, eugenics was an imported technique, practiced a8 a matter of social policy, with adverse political consequences: Aso that which would be called very out of the way in the present, there were those applications of eugenics ~ as would be called that by the entity ~ in relationships with those peoples. This, to be sure, brought not only a great peoples but rather brought great dissension These we find the entity carried on much more in those directions after the associations with the various lands and teachings, a8 has been indicat stirring up, a hasbeen given, dssensions in some, peace in others, binging many into the own environ — and to the own undoing of the peoples later. 877-11 1s something along the line of the eugenics policy of Gobi found in the assimilation policy of China toward national minorities? This policy in China points toward the obliteration of minority types and has surely been associated with disturbances and dissensions Minorities in China have never been safe from any regime strong enough to force sinicization on them, but in contemporary China the specific policy toward minorities has been imported, chiefly from the Soviet Union. It is an assimilationist policy, which is what the Soviets have been trying on their own minority nationalities, rather than an extermination policy, which is what the Nazis tried. Recent Chinese policy — as applied to Tibetans — moved the International Commission of Jurists in Geneva to find and report, in “The Question of Tibet and the Rule of Law” (Geneva, 1959), prima facie164 ARI JOURNAL evidence of violation of Article 2 (e) of the Genocide Convention — in the form of systematic intention to destroy in whole or in part the Tibetans as a separate nation and the Buddhist religion in Tibet. Does it look as if China is still falling over the “eugenics” stumbling block and has not yet made it into a stepping stone” Technology Technology in Gobi appears to have been craft-based rather than industrial, It included use of wood for construction and omamental purposes, stone-carving and metal-working, with broad applications infine art, use of radium, production of natural-fiber textiles, tanning and working of leather, and development of explosives (877-10, 1042-2). Use of stone for building purposes was planned and possibly had been implemented around the time Gobi was being invaded by animals that were fleeing before the oncoming Ice Age, 15,000 years to 5,000 years B.C. (1715-3). If this were the extent of Gobi technology, it might be considered relatively primitive. However, use of energy was sophisticated, apparently, in fields of transportation and communication, which suggests that science and technology in Gobi were advanced, although along different lines than the ones familiar to us in the Western world: ‘As to the manner of locomotions in the experience, the entity injected much of that which — when there is the discovery of the Temple of Gold — will be found; lifts or elevators, the onecline electrical car, the very fast aerial loco- motion ~ these were a portion of those experiences with which the entity had much to do ‘The communications — not the telegraph as is known today; more of that of the voice transmission of quite a different type and nature. S771 All in all, the readings suggest @ scientific and technological component of some complexity, in a quality- rather than quantity: oriented production situation. Reference to conservation of resources (877-10) speaks for ecological awareness. The same reference emphasizes the use of resources to advance peace and happiness and to facilitate realization of the purpose for which earth was entered, which argues that prudence rather than profit was the motive behind applications of science and technology. Attention to conservation is a world-wide trend today, so we must be wary of ascribing much Gobi influence to the present emphasis in China upon thrift and conservation. Similarities do exist, however. Current programs are afoot in China to salvage the “three wastes”CHINA 165 from industry — gas, liquid, and slag — and to convert them into new industrial products.22 China, industrializing late in comparison with the Western world, hopes to avoid the pollution problems now plaguing other nations.2? A Cayce reading reports that medical and health care practices in Gobi provided patterns for later application during the time of Solomon and that correspondences existed between health services in Gobi and in Atlantis and between the work done in the Temple Beautiful and the Temple of Sacrifice in Egypt and that done in Gobi (1957-1), If so, was it then in Gobi that the groundwork was laid, or the scientific work done, on which was based the revival or rediscovery in China of the healing arts in the second millen- nium B.C.?24 Those ancient healing arts are now officially encouraged and fostered by the government of China, alongside Western medical techniques.25 Whether or not carry-overs from Gobi are embodied as to technique, there is definite similarity in philosophy and style — interchange, correlation, synthesis, China led the world in science up to the Western Renaissance, but fell behind at that point and remained behind the Western nations, Both the pre-eminence of Confucian values and the ideal of amateurism worked against industrialization of science and technology in imperial China.26 In contemporary China, however, science and technology are being supported. Expertness is cultivated and rewarded ~ provided the expert does not become alienated from the people. By choice, the Chinese would prefer to “Rely on our own, effort,” but they freely admit they have much to learn from the advanced countries of the world. Although in principle China does not welcome foreign technologists, it does in fact accept them.2? It purchases the best in scientific instruments abroad and uses them for prototypes in manufacturing its own. Many leading Chinese scientists have been educated abroad or have done some study in whatever place the best work was being produced. Through such means, China is modernizing its science and technology. These means are obvious, available, and expedient ones, but they also are reminiscent of the Gobi pattern of scientific and cultural exchange among civilizations. Today, China tends to be aid-receiving — not perhaps in the economic sense, but in the scientific and technological way. Gobi, on the contrary, tended to be aid-giving. Is this an illustration of group karma at work? What Gobi gave during its period of strength, is China receiving in its time of need? Not only the People’s Republic of China, but also the Nationalist government have been recipients of massive aid.166 AR.E. JOURNAL International Relations Gobi was a place to which immigrants came from elsewhere, The standard of living in Gobi was as high as that obtainable anywhere in the world at that time. The following excerpt indicates that there may have emerged some resistance to welcoming immigrants, but that, nevertheless, immigrants were well-received and given help in settling: inthe land now known as Mongolia, The entity then among those peoples ‘who were in the defense of those coming in from the western land . . . The entity then among those who builded as builders of homes, as builders of cities, as builders of those that decorated homes, 2108.1 ‘The standard of living and the policy toward immigrants — as well as its climatic livability in comparison with other areas which were then experiencing climatological and geological changes — made Gobi attractive to outsiders. China today is in relatively the opposite position, Itsstandard of living is poor in comparison with the affluence of such nearby places as Hong Kong and Japan. Thus, whereas people came as refugees to Gobi, people go as refugees from China, Leaving China is against official policy, which aims to retain and employ Chinese citizens in building up the material, moral, and mental standard of living within China, However, an estimated 20,000 persons escaped from China to Hong Kong in 1971 — most of them by swimming, most of the swimmers being between the ages of seventeen and twenty-five, These young people had some education which they received in China under the Communist system — and they typically reported leaving China in opposition to the work pro- gram, seeking better terms of employment elsewhere.2® Another reason for leaving is to obtain more latitude in marrying.?9 Additional numbers of refugees leave China to escape forced Sinicization— such as Tibetans who go to India, some to remain there, some to resettle elsewhere.30 The point to be registered in comparing China with Gobi in world affairs is that Gobi was one of the nations which established the world standards — one of the “Big Five” — of its day, although eventually, Gobi’s leading position was superceded by other, emerging civilizations (490-1). The most important element in the international relations of Gobi was gathering and correlating the tenets of the great teachers who came into earth with the five nations (774-5, 870-1, 871-1 877-10, 1042-2, 1167-2, 1210-1, 1219-1, 1298-1, 1387-1, 1397-1 1423-1, 1432-1, 1437-1, 1549-1, 1648-1, 1938-2, 2946-2).CHINA 167 Correlation, synthesis, “holding in one hand” have been pervasive traits in Chinese national character down to the present day. In Gobi, the efforts at correlation and synthesis were aimed at establishing and maintaining in earth the philosophy of Oneness, the Law of One, as this illustrates: The entity aided in bringing about the counsel of the five nations, oF the five centers in the experience, and thus brought to man in those experiences that which must be as it were in its own day, in its own age, repeated in the experiences in the present. Not the differences then but the onenesses with the knowledge, not without but from within, i the real source, 12104 Did this commitment to Oneness in Gobi, this emphasis upon oneness set in motion a trend which manifests persistently and concretely in Chinese experience? Is the great interfaith conference convoked 700 years ago by Kublai Khan in Peking an example of follow- through on the “correlation impulse” from Gobi? Failure to adhere to the Law of One was the basic factor in the tvreak-up of Gobi. Those portions which adhered best lasted longest, according to the Cayce information (877-10). A question is lo attempts to produce unity within China — which sometimes be- come drives for uniformity — represent an effort to reverse the trends that led to the disintegration of Gobi? Is there an instinctual, ‘or karmic, reaction in China against anything resembling those Livisions within Gobi which led to downfall? Cayce readings refer to the struggle in which Gobi was involved, at home and abroad, to maintain the Law of One against the influences of the children of Belial (832-1, 1938-2). How much of the insistence by the Chinese Communists on doctrinal orthodoxy canbe explained in terms of group Karma and group purpose rooted in Gobi? Is the traditional view held in imperial China that it must be the one center of paramount virtue in the world a materialization of the preoccupation in Gobi with the Law of One? C.P. Fitzgerald states that “the Universal Empire . .. embraced the civilized world as known to the Chinese and beyond whose frontiers were only barbarians, and beyond them, faint and hardly known, remote peoples whose activities had no political significance and little cultural influence... The Empire must be universal because it must be the only source of power, of orthodox doctrine, and of civilization. Any rival or equal ‘would’ be @ competitor, ‘two suns in one sky’ and thus a source of war and disaster.”21 Might such a viewpoint have been reactionary — against the harm done by the children of Belial, against outside influences which had produced division and ruin in Gobi? Might the same viewpoint have also been affirmative — of the Law of One, from which it had been disastrous to depart?168 ARE, JOURNAL Today there exists in China a language policy which aims at establishing a single spoken dialect throughout all China so that Chinese can speak with each other, regardless of their provinces of birth. For this purpose, the Mandarin dialect is being used — a dialect formerly spoken only by wealthy, well-educated southerners 32 Inaddition, effortsare being made to use a single standard alphabet — there have been some uncertainties as to which one, but probably the Roman — to write the language phonetically. Would this, so to speak, reverse the effects of Babel” Likewise, might the effects of the schisms and divisions produced by the forces of Belial be reversed through “collective positive thought” — the power by which the Chinese Communists intend to “move mountains, with teaspoons, turn deserts into arable land, change the direction of rivers, and harness the tides."33 Not only correlation of the tenets of the great teachers of the Five Nations but also co-operative, conciliatory relationships with those who disagreed characterized the foreign policy of Gobi (491-1 774-5, 877-11, 877-12, 1042-2, 1466-1, 1505-1, 1604-1, 1969-2, 2163-1, 2420-1, 3102-2, 3202-1, 3237-1, 3245-1, 3633-1, 3000-1, 5037-2). Gobi attempted to achieve harmonious relations with the very outside influences which divided Gobi, and was interested, evidently, in any effort which might unite them in a common purpose. Is the hope that all might work together harmoniously and co-operatively, which the Gobi policy embodied, reflected in this traditional Chinese world-view?: “The harmonious cooperation of all beings arose, not from the orders of a superior authority external to themselves, but from the fact that they were all parts in @ hierarchy of wholes forming a cosmic pattern, and what they obeyed were the internal dictates of their own natures.”34 Is the same hope reflected in the Bandung spirit, with which Chou Enlai is particularly identified? Is it reflected in the Pancha Shilla, incorporating the five principles of coexistence which China holds as ideals: mutual respect of sovereignty, noninterference in domestic matters, equality Of states, nonaggression, peaceful coexistence? Does ‘contemporary ‘Chinese foreign policy embody the ideal of co-operation found in the foreign policy of Gobi, combined with a degree of caution, prompted by karmic memory of dissension and disintegration” Likewise, does it embody the purpose of salvage and redemption of the souls entangled in the earth, combined with a demand for social, or group, practice, prompted by karmic memory of individuals moved to speech more by self than by the spirit of thoughtfulness? “Where do correct ideas come from? Do they drop from the skies? No. Are they innate in the mind? No. They come from socialCHINA 169 practice, and from it alone; they come from three kinds of social practice, the struggle for production, the class struggle and scientific experiment . . . It is man’s social being that determines his thinking, Once the correct ideas characteristic of the advanced class are grasped by the masses, these ideas turn into a material force which changes society and changes the world."35 Is there an instinct, or karmic sense, in China that the way of liberation is the way of entanglement run in the opposite direction? If this were so, how might it be manifested in the international relations of China, compared with Gobi? Here is one pattern which would bear watching: Gobi took the posture merely of “prepared pacifism” during the reign of Muzuen — a time when upheavals throughout the world were already occurring. AS to the manner of defense and offense, as has been indicated, much that i yet to be found again was a part of those preparations in those periods. For these had to do with the setting of long-period drums for defense in which there might be any attempts by others to interfere, to cause their own undoing Hence we find in the present experience the entity while a pacifist, not only with that of offense but defense as well, is rather innately a prepared pacifist. 877.11 In time this yielded to a more offensive posture: In the one before this, in now the far easter countries of the Mongoloids, when the peoples were becoming united as groups to guard against the invasion of beast and man, 4734 That is to say, Gobi went from defensive to offensive, from pacific to vigilant. In’ China, we would look for movement in the reverse direction, Vigilance and offensiveness were propagated as recently. jin China as the 1960s in such activities as the supervised play of children in school. Their games included “Blow up the enemy fortress,” “Destroy the invading warship,” “Support the Vietnamese people in their patriotic struggle against American aggression,” plunging dummy bayonets into make-believe American foes, and throwing dummy hand grenades.26 Might some movement in the direction of a defensive policy with pacific preferences be found in events in the 1970s, such as including the United States table tennis, team in the invitation to teams of several nations to make a playing tour of China, such as treating individual American visitors to China with courtesy, despite an anti-American atmosphere? such as distinguishing the American people as a people from those individuals who have been responsible for the anti-Chinese policy?38 The question from the angle of group karma as between prehistoric Gobi and contemporary China is not whether China will follow170 E, JOURNAL step-by-step the Gobi experience, but whether it might go through the Gobi experience, taking the steps in reverse, with enhanced accumulation of tested wisdom, What Gobi did in an involutionary direction, is it possible that China might do in an evolutionary direction? Mandate of Heaven Between the last information we have on prehistoric Gobi from the Edgar Cayce readings and the beginning of recorded history in China, there is @ gap of pethaps seven millennia. The idea of rule by “Mandate of Heaven is the basis for legitimacy of governments in China. The Mandate of Heaven is documented in the Shang (or Yin) epoch (which may have begun as, early as 1766 B.C, or as late as 1523 B.C,), This Mandate has been called the Chinese constitution. Does the Communist regime have the Mandate? If group purpose as traced from the Adamic indwelling and if group karma continued from Gobi ~ but on the evolutionary curve — are fulfilled, that may indeed evoke the Mandate, ‘There can be no question that the activity of the Communist party in China and the policy of the People’s Republic of China have been directed toward far shen — undergoing the process of conversion, or changing the body over — on the nationalgroup level. China today is a nation with a purpose, This is a purpose to which — despite defections — overwhelming numbers of Chinese are attuned, During his journey through China in July and August of 1971, James Reston reported an active stage of transformation, with all workers constantly challenged to self-criticism and self-improvement. He reported his impression that there was enthusiasm for this3® Another observer, E. Van Heuvel, witnessed a relaxed mood brought on by self-confidence, progress in consumer goods, pride in craftsman- ship, and a new aura of freedom.4 Equalitarianism in attitude and relationships is reported, backed up with guaranteed minimums in the standard of living. These have been achieved by authoritarian means" and it is uncertain what would become of these and other achievements if the means broke down. Observers who have had dual socialization, in both China and the West, and can therefore appreciate the differences in the cultures and speak sensitively about each to the other, seem to believe that China will succeed in changing its body over.42 On domestic relations within China, Chester Ronning reports that “Harmony between its people exists now as it did in ancient China."43 Such harmony may be an improvement over theCHINA im situation in recent generations, but it is not up to the Gobi norm. The fact is that relations among diverse national groups within China have been contentious, with intermittent war and atrocities, through out Chinese history. AS long as coerced intermarriages, mass executions, and forced relocations are imposed upon minority nationalities,¢ more work remains to be done in the area of human relations ‘This item from the Edgar Cayce readings does offer hope, however, concerning eventual perfection of human relations in China: ‘This, here, will be one day the cradle of Christianity, as applied in the lives cof men, Yea, itis far off as man counts time, but only a day in the heart of God ~ for tomorrow China will awake. 3976.29 After all, what is applied Christianity if not brotherly ~ and neighborly — love? Additional reinforcement of this interpretation is found obliquely in this excerpt from the world affairs readings: I there is not the acceptance in America of the closer brotherhood of man, the love of the neighbor as self, civilization must wend its way westward — and again must Mongolia, musta hated people, be raised 3976-15 Either the United States will be the world example of brotherhood — E Pluribus Unum — or a revival of the Gobi, or Mongolian, nation will be the example. In either case, according to the Cayce prophecies, China will be moving in the direction of better and better human relations, although this movement will take some time to achieve fulfillment “Bring Our What is Best in Man" Rational explanations and expedient justifications can always be found for any action or policy. In any given situation, then, this makes it difficult to say positively and unequivocally that karma is, involved. It would only be in the accumulation of a significant number of situations which could not be explained except through assuming the operation of karma that the case for karmiic cause-and- effect could be made. We have looked at a number of trends and situations which coutd be karmic. Have we looked at enough of them to establish a solid presumption of karma? This is something on which each individual must satisfy himself. Have we established a line of analysis which aids us in understanding China and in making reasonable guesses about the future in China? This would be helpful, if so. Have we devised a framework for cultivating in ourselves those attitudes and those activities which will be evocative of the best — the best in ourselves, in our nation, in humanity toward China, the best in Ching toward us?m ARE, JOURNAL After his visit to China, James Reston discussed it on television in Tokyo, One of the things he said is that China is making a concerted effort to “bring out what is best in man.""45 Could we ask for more? Or dare we settle for less? What are we doing about it? FOOTNOTES 21, Jacques Marco, “The Love Affi of Comrade Wang,” New York Timer Magezine, ‘Time Panning Early Marvage,” New York Timer, Septamber 18, 1968; Toop, Po 1906, 825; New York Timer, June 10, 1965, 24, Chai and Chai 9.27, 25. Arthur W. Galton, "Attitudes on Acupuncture,” Natura! History, March 1872, pp. 14 #1 George G. OMaley, "Orient! Madicine” ALE. lourel, duly 1912, pe 40186: G.L-Wilox. “Contemporary Chinese Heath, Medical Practee and Philosophy ‘Contemporary Chin, od. Ruth Adams (New York: Vintage, 1966), op. 105-120. 28. Joreph R. Levenson, Modern China and ts Confucian Pst (Garcan City: Doubleday Anchor, 1968) 21, New York Times, July 7, 1971: CHG, Oldham, "Science an Education in China in Contemporary Chins, po. 261-217; Lahn MH, Lindbeck, "Chinese cians. It's Not par Atom,” New York Times Mapvzine,lanary @, 1967, pm. 28 1" 28. New Vork Times, September 12,1971 ‘Lila Tht in Switzerland,” National Geographic, November 1968, 59, 168-208. " Fitzoerla, p20, Topeina 608 Topoing p. 811.916 Needharn, Vol. Mitor of Seite Thouaht (1968. 582 Mao Teetung, Where Do Corect Jaees Come trom? Mey 1969, 1st pocket ac 1 Quoted in the ite red book.” ‘ew York Tins, ue 1, 966, lees Reston, New York Times, August 6, 1971 ow York Times, Novenbe 24, 1971 New York Times, ly 28, 1971 ‘ow York Times, sly 25, 1971 ‘ew York Tes, Augest 2, 1971 42. There would include, among authors cited here, Audrey Topping an her father Ccnesier Ronning. In adation, CP. Fitzgerald, Edger Snow, and Helen (Poste Snow hove ved or lang periods of time In China “3. Now York Times, duly 11,1971 Section W 44, See stement by Senator James 0. Esstand, bat on records ofthe US. Senate Ingest Security. Subcommittee, reported in New York Times, August 13, 1971, i wich he ‘eploes the "positive hacs" in which reporters had been Gerding” China 145, New York Times, September 1, 1971 gegee reeees