> How about inherited wealth? Would that disqualify a Chinese fellow as a
> sage?
>
Chinese feudal practice required that inheritence to be shared equally among all male offsprings, with the oldest son getting a double share. Since all rich Chinese households had many conucbines and scores of legitimate sons, Chinese wealth seldom lasted more than 3 generations because of the sequential dispersion of capital and land. This is unlike Eropean practice where the oldest son got everything, and the second son went into the Church and the other sons became soldiers of fortune and brought about European imperialism. China did not develope imperialism largely because of this social practice. The Chinese elite had no incentive to go overseas. Those who went were the bottom of the social order. The growth of the Chinese empire was the result of neighboring tribes asking to be included in the center for economic and cultural gains. Historically, China was a reluctant empire.
Henry C.K. Liu