Due to history and culture, the Chinese think differently to us. In this episode, we look at the background events and influences that have shaped the Chinese.
Why do a podcast on China?
From John Menadue blog
Recent articles in Pearls and Irritations, …  have highlighted the nonsensical nature of much analysis, reporting and opinion, particularly in relation to a trenchant and sustained bias against China. A fascinating question is to ask what is behind this trend.
Several answers on different levels are possible. One is outlined here.
As in many instances of prejudice, three interrelated underlying forces can be identified: fear, ignorance and projection. 
… Whilst ignorance is not a direct cause of fear, it certainly feeds it. We all know people vehemently against some group, who abruptly change tack when they come to know more about members of that group, through sharing the workplace for example. It is simply human nature.
… Dispelling ignorance about China is a major problem, not the least because Chinese culture is so different from Western culture. 
When people are ignorant, there is a tendency towards projection. If we don’t know about others’ motives, in the absence of alternative information we tend to assume that they must be similar to ours. In relation to anti-China, there are now commentators questioning why we automatically assume certain things. We may ask ourselves certain questions. For example, why does China’s positioning of its naval forces directly off its own coast imply aggression or military posturing and not simply securing safety of shipping lanes or defence? Why is a warning from a Chinese ambassador about possible consumer backlashes in China a threat and not a piece of friendly advice?
The Guardian reported a few years back that America dropped more than 25,000 bombs in 2016, mostly in Syria and Iraq, and had special operators in 70% of the world’s nations. If that’s how powerful countries operate, then surely China must operate that way as well, right? For people projecting their own values, the answer must surely be yes.
It is tempting to think that these personal factors could not be so dominant in professional commentators, such as personnel in the mass media, academia, bureaucracies or public policy advisory circles. In my opinion, there is no reason to assume that fear, ignorance and projection aren’t equally prominent there, especially when they are swept along through public discourse.
So what can be done to counter fear-based narratives based in ignorance and projection? It is positive to note that there are commentators attempting to disrupt these narratives, … Perhaps ignorance is the central factor in the above argument, but it is hard to see how such a deficit of understanding could be broached.
The Fist: one way would be to listen to this special podcast on China
 
Geography, size, climate, neighbours, population, demographics
 
1.4 billion people
China has the longest combined land border in the world, China borders 14 nations, more than any other country except Russia, which also borders 14.] China extends across much of East Asia, bordering Vietnam, Laos, and Myanmar (Burma) in Southeast Asia; India, Bhutan, Nepal, Afghanistan, and Pakistan[r] in South Asia; Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan in Central Asia; and Russia, Mongolia, and North Korea in Inner Asia and Northeast Asia. Additionally, China shares maritime boundaries with South Korea, Japan, Vietnam, and the Philippines.
Ancient and Modern History since 1850 – esp how this shaped modern-day China
1839-42 – Opium wars.
First in 1839.
Opium had been used in traditional Chinese medicine for a long time before the British came, mostly to treat disease.