Yesterday 5:53 pm
The quote was a copy paste from my google search. I just linked the timeline of events when the statement originated. Like the international dateline wasn't fully established until the 1880's.Skans » Today, 4:31 pm » wrote: ↑ Blair respected Kipling, admired him even, yet was critical of much of Kipling's philosophy. You're quote from Kipling is misleading, since it is incomplete, and Blair was fully aware of this and of what Kipling meant.
China continues to evolve, however, it was transitioning both before WWII which resumed after. Japan was brutal to the Chinese. I would say that China turned "Red" when the CCP took control of most of it around '47-'48, but they were a key part of China's governance even prior to that. The Chinese are still Chinese, before and after Communism. They actually changed far more gradually than did the Japanese after WWII.
To answer your question, no I never thought Blair and Mao were ever on the same intellectual plain. Though they lived in the same time frame, Blair's writing was very much influenced by what was going on in the West. Mao was completely entrenched in China's wars and political affairs. One was a writer, the other a doer. If I had to guess, I would say that Blair's IQ was higher than Mao's, and their thoughts were very different from one another.
within 25 years Einstein created the relative time theory. Darwinism came around in the same time period. so many ways humanity invents reasonable doubt every generation gap forward.