The Myth of the West: Part 2 – Xianjin
In a smoke-filled room, a diminutive old man selects medicinal herbs with swift assurance from a tall cabinet of drawers, piling them together on a sheet of paper. In another room, an equally old man sticks thin needles into the body of a sickly young woman. Elaborate water clocks keep time while sages carefully track the movement of the stars in their eternal march across the sky. Monks in deep trances meditate on the mysteries for decades before emerging from their caves, enlightened. Orientalism is profoundly associated with harmony with nature and spiritual well-being. In China, however, xifang—Western—has equally profound connotations.
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