[chaostheory]

> Look back at old Chinese teachers or masters of particular arts or culture.

The Shaolin masters and their philosophy are pretty much gone. Today those who train just end up leaving the temples and either joining private security or the military for money. Culture and society's values aren't static. I'm describing what is reality today, and not in a past century.

> Simply attributing the way things are in certain areas during certain times to cultures is simplistic and naive.

This isn't isolated to just exports. There's fake food, specifically rice and noodles made from plastic. Dangerous blood transfusion services. There's fake and poor quality meds. These exist regardless of market pressures and demand. There's a nothing else matters but my family and I mentality and a social hierarchy model that's hard to understand unless you grew up in it; living there for a year or a few months isn't enough.

[jzwinck]

Fake rice does not exist. It's a persistent rumour aided and abetted by social media in Asia ("Rice from XYZ in China is made from plastic, forward this message to everyone you love!" is the text of one message I received).

You will not find anyone who actually ate any of this mythical rice. Just friends of friends of cousins.

http://www.snopes.com/plastic-rice-from-china/

[chaostheory]

Fake food and fake pharmaceuticals are not rumors. They are real and well documented. It's old news. Even pets and babies are affected. It's so bad that people who can afford it import baby formula.