Favorite Asian Culture?

[Jacob]

And yeah, I think they have a better and more ethically organized society than PRChina, Iran, or Indonesia.

... and Korea, Taiwan, and Polynesia as well?

[Ideologue]

No, the RoK and RoC are roughly on the same level, albeit until recently this was not the case (took a while for democracy to really happen in both).  Any qualitative differences are not readily visible to me now, however.

Polynesia is a bunch of places.  I'm sure they have fine cultures.  Though Easter Island didn't have a particularly sustainable one.

[Jacob]

Anyhow, it doesn't matter. I reject your arbitrary reasons and substitute my own, as was the initial intention of the poll as per Valmy.

[Queequeg]

Neither the RoK nor the RoC have warshrines for men who participated in war crimes.  Japan is all kinds of fucked up.

[Malthus]

Anyway, I let Monty Python answer for me:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NH2P_pVze6s

[Ideologue]

Anyhow, it doesn't matter. I reject your arbitrary reasons and substitute my own

I was making a Danish/Canadian joke about moral relativism anyway.

[Queequeg]

Philosophy?  OK libarts.

One of my best friends did a lot of work on Taoist philosophy and I know enough about it to have a huge amount of respect for the tradition.  It is extremely modern, generally relatively practical and not as obsessed over by Western hippie-types, at least compared to Buddhism or Hinduism.

[Malthus]

Philosophy?  OK libarts.

One of my best friends did a lot of work on Taoist philosophy and I know enough about it to have a huge amount of respect for the tradition.  It is extremely modern, generally relatively practical and not as obsessed over by Western hippie-types, at least compared to Buddhism or Hinduism.

Pilosophical Taoism is a perfectly respectible form of mystic thought, but only ever of interest to a tiny handful of intellectuals. Taoism as it is actually practiced by the vast majority of Chinese believers is essentially an aspect of Chinese folk religion, having very little to do with philosophical Taoism. 

[Queequeg]

What did I say to contradict that?

[Savonarola]

I visited Japan and was struck that in metro stations they'll have racks of comic books for children to read.  There's no sign out or anything, children just take them out and return them when they're done.  Being from Detroit I couldn't ever conceive of that working, but there it does.

I quite enjoyed my trip to Nippon and would wholeheartedly pick Japan, but I've also visited China.  I blame the Japanese for losing the war and for not re-militarizing.     Though I guess the United States was largely responsible for that; what was FDR thinking?   

[Malthus]

What did I say to contradict that?

Nothing.

I'd only point out that philosophical Taoism is very similar to philosophical Zen Buddhism (influenced via Ch'an). They have more in common with each other, than either do with the popular religious traditions that bear the same name.

So both China and Japan share a lot of their philosophical traditions.

[Norgy]

Food-wise, they're all brilliant. Kimchi, sushi, curries, satay sauce.

[Queequeg]

What did I say to contradict that?

Nothing.

I'd only point out that philosophical Taoism is very similar to philosophical Zen Buddhism (influenced via Ch'an). They have more in common with each other, than either do with the popular religious traditions that bear the same name.

So both China and Japan share a lot of their philosophical traditions.

By "share" I think you mean "Japan adopted Chinese and Chinese-influenced Indian" philosophical traditions.

[Admiral Yi]

What exactly do you mean by folk/popular taoism Malthus?

[celedhring]

Mainland Chinese cinema is really meh. Even once vibrant Honk Kong has been dying since the reincorporation. Only Taiwan does interesting stuff anymore.

Korean and Japanese filmmaking is way more interesting.

Zhang Yimou's late 80s/early 90s stuff is classic.

Nah, he just aped Western "prestige" filmmaking, which is not that interesting on itself. His later, less westernish, films are actually more interesting. But they don't get nowhere near the stuff made in Taiwan or Honk Kong. Yay for free societies.