THE CHINESIFYING OF EUROPE

~ Rudolf Steiner
Some time ago -- and you will see from this that the lectures I have given
here in recent weeks ( "The Karma of Untruthfulness' ) have not been without
a wider context -- I mentioned John Stuart Mill, and the Russian philosopher
and politician Herzen, have both pointed out that in many ways a kind of
'Chineseness' is beginning to manifest in Europe, as though Europe were
becoming 'chinesified'. This was no idle remark on my part. If John Stuart Mill,
who was a keen observer, considered that many people in his vicinity were
beginning to show noticeable Chinese traits, then in certain respects he was
quite right.
Consider the following: Souls exist who, as a result of their former lives, are
inclined to incarnate in Chinese bodies during the nineteenth century or at
the beginning of the twentieth. Now since the Chinese population is nowhere
near as great as it was in former times, it is, in any case, not possible for all
these Chinese souls to incarnate there. In Europe, on the other hand, the
physical population has increased considerably in recent times, and so many
souls can be accommodated here who were really destined for incarnation in
Chinese bodies. This is one reason why keen observers are beginning to
notice that Europe is becoming "chinesified'.
But this alone would not have sufficed to prepare Europe for that European
karma which was to come about. A helping hand was needed to assist a
certain aspect of the great laws of existence. Now if over a long period
something is brought about of the kind I mentioned yesterday, namely, that
very many bodies in a whole population are caused to become emaciated,
then a situation will arise in which souls who were inclined towards that area
will not, after all, incarnate in those bodies. By bringing about the
"opiumising" of Chinese bodies and causing generations to come into being
under the influence of opium's forces, it was possible to condemn the Chinese
to take in, to a certain extent, some very immature, sub - standard souls,
whose qualities I shall not discuss. But those souls who had themselves
decided to incarnate in Chinese bodies were therefore prevented from
approaching these "opiumised' bodies. They were diverted to Europe where
they brought about among the European population those traits which have,
meanwhile, been noted by those keen observers I mentioned.
So you see that an event on the physical plane such as the Opium War has a
quite definite spiritual background. In the first instance, its purpose is not to
help certain people make millions and grow rich but to prevent certain souls
who would have come from the spiritual world round about now, to
strengthen the cultural forces of Europe, from incarnating yet, and instead to
surreptitiously fill European bodies with Chinese souls. This is really so,
however paradoxical it may seem. This momentous event has truly become
fact. In a great many European people a disharmony between soul and body
has been brought about in the way I have just described. Such disharmony
between soul and body always has the consequences of making it impossible
to use the tools of the body properly. This makes it possible, instead, for
others to busy themselves with errors and untruths. It would not be so easy to
work by means of errors and untruths, if those who see throughout these
errors and untruths were not condemned, by the conventions of the day, to
preach in the wilderness.
...And today I have sought to demonstrate the kind of result one discovers
when one observes not only the physical events but also the spiritual
background of what human beings bring about. Seen in this way, the Opium
War meant the switching of a soul element from a part of the earth to which it
belonged -- and where it might have been of use, because it would have been
untied with bodies into which it would have fitted -- to another part of the
earth where it could become a tool for forces whose designs are by no means
beneficial for mankind.
We must realize, of course, that an ordinary historian will only notice some
degree of degeneration in certain strata of the Chinese population resulting
from the Opium War. But one who, in addition, observes the spirit aspects of
cultural history will have to look more deeply in order to see what is brought
about by this degeneration for the whole of mankind. For only in this fifth post
- Atlantean period, which is entirely permeated by materialism, is it possible
to observe things in a manner so deeply Ahrimanic -- a manner which
pervades all thinking and all ideas -- that if something good or something bad
is done to a part of mankind, people really can believe that this will not effect
mankind as a whole. Whatever is done in connection with, or by, a part of
mankind, will always effect the whole of human evolution because of the way
the forces behind the scenes of physical existence arrange things.
Not until the sixth post - Atlantean period will a sense of responsibility
become general among mankind so that each individual feels responsible for
what he does, not only toward himself but towards mankind as a whole.
Today we are surrounded by such a mood of catastrophe because the very
opposite of this is the general trend, and from the attitudes prevalent today
mankind will prepare to crystallize out the opposite as the right view.
So this is an example which can show you that what takes place on the
physical plane really does effect the spiritual world, and is therefore not only
significant for the physical plane but is also echoed in the events of the
spiritual world and thus of the whole universe.
...Think of all that was disseminated in America in connection with Europeans
life during the build - up to this war! ( WW1 ) Much that has echoed back to
Europe reveals what is believed in America. Why are these things believed?
They are believed because people over in America have, of course, just as
little possibility of understanding Europeans life as did the English with regard
to life in China after the Opium War. Pangs of conscience might inspire
someone today to admit that the Opium War was a faux pas. I should like to
remind such a person that among those in the British Parliament who sang
the praises of the outcome of the Opium War as 'an achievement of British
culture' was old Wellington himself -- not one of the worst.
The Karma of Untruthfulness Vol 1
{ Lecture 13 }
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