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You might have noticed for about two weeks or so I have been if not constantly, but regularly ragging on that clown Bill Hayton. It's really more about standards, than any personal vendetta, I don't even know him personally (thankfully). So let me tell you why he annoys me.
It's way past midnight here and I'm still up and will be as I usually am until about 2 AM reading one or another Chinese work of history or philosophy. Right now I have the 尚书 and 春秋左传 with me and the reason for this is Hayton himself. But that's not the point.
The point is for two years now I have been studying the Chinese language, China's history and philosophy for more than five, but there came a point when I realized that if I want to understand it any real depth, I will need to learn the language as best I can, as a non-native.
This is not some huge revelation, I've always been open about me learning the language and not being actually Chinese. I know that even as best I will ever learn this language, I won't ever be able to fully penetrate it's depth and vastness as a non-native speaker.
I still try to do my best. Right now I have my historical and philosophical studies wrt China on the back-burner because the next level of Chinese language proficiency exam for non-natives (汉语水平考试, or HSK) is coming up. Really nervous about this 4th level I have to take.
Whatever I do I can barely push my percentage above 65 which is a pass, but damn, I don't only want to pass, I want to do good. So all day I exercise and do mock tests, try to talk, think even dream in Chinese (two nights in a row I dreamed I was in Beijing and Xi'an). 
Due to this, the only time I have for what really interests me - Chinese philosophy and history - is nighttime, until about 2-2:30 am at which point I cannot keep up anymore and go to sleep. But because of this, during the day when I have to exercise for the test, I'm tired af.
For me, at 34, this is an immense struggle. Albeit a struggle I so thoroughly enjoy that I can barely find words for it. Starting to study the history, philosophy, literature and culture of China and finally the Chinese language has literally changed my life for the better.
Anyone embarking on the study of this absolutely amazing and tremendously beautiful language and cultural sphere will instantly know what I am talking about, and those who don't know, I could say a million words and it still would be for nothing.
Chinese is my fourth language. I also have my maternal Hungarian, Romanian and English, yet, Chinese is the one I love the most of them. Maternal language will always be the first as it is for anyone, but regarding the rest, Chinese is the one I started even thinking in lately.
So at HSK4 level I am sitting here in the half-light my eyes bugged out and my nose in the 尚书 and 春秋左传 because I think that in order to have the right to speak on something, I first ought to investigate what I aim to speak on. A good man once taught me this lesson.
Then to see someone like Hayton come along, who not only showed himself to be completely ignorant on everything he writes and talks about wrt China, put out a book so flawed in its premise, that it boggles the mind and then be as arrogant as he is, is irritating, to say the least
I am a non-native semi-speaker of the Chinese language, but NEVER in my wildest dreams would say something that a language going back thousands of years didn't have such an everyday words as "territory" for those thousands of years. Can you fathom the stupidity of this claim?
Time and again it was pointed out to him he is wrong, example upon example was brought up where 疆土, the 文言文 equivalent of 领土 can be found in some of the OLDEST classics of the Chinese language and yet he persists. It is understandable, he has a book to sell, it's just sad.
Like, damn, 疆土 can be found in poems in the 诗经 dating back to the 11th centruy BC, and here comes Bill Hayton having zero knowledge of the Chinese language saying the ever first mention of "territory" in the Chinese language is the 19th century.
This is just one example. And the annoying thing is that websites like Chinese Text Project let you word search EVERY classical Chinese text in Chinese and some even in English. All it takes is ten minutes online to find what you need. But there's something so much sadder.
A lot of people who might have a genuine interest in China might pick up his book as a first and they will get such an insanely skewed, false, disgustingly ideological view of China and its rich and wonderous history that maybe no amount of counteracting will heal their mind.
At this point I'm quite sure this is by design in the sense that this was one of Hayton's goals and the goal of those to whom his kind of "China-watcher" grift appeals and panders. It's just sad, because Chinese history is beautiful and these pigs trample it into the dirt.
Plot twist: they try, but they will all ultimately fail. With China's ever stronger rise, these ugly clowns with smeared make up retching into the ether will sooner or later disappear and the dirt they try to shovel on China will be blown away by the wind.
The entire point of this - probably full of typos, sorry for that, it's 1:43 AM here again - is that people like Hayton should humble themselves, but of course they never will. They are shown to be ignorant time and again and all they ever do is double down on their ignorance.
The reason I have the 尚书 and the 春秋左传 here now is that I want to look up very early examples - aside from the He Zun well known bronze ritual vessel - for 中国 which he similarly claimed is as recent as the 19th century. You see this? This pattern.
That claim is so ridiculous to anyone who knows at least as much of China's history as I do - and do believe me when I tell you I have HUGE white spots - that it's strange to even consider replying to something like this. And this clown put out an entire book on this premise.
I have some knowledge of Chinese history, mainly the Spring and Autumn, Warring States, Qin, Three Kingdoms, Tang and socialists-modern periods, but NEVER in my life would I claim 中国 is first ever a thing in the 19th century. Was sitting there wide eyed and in disbelief.
So I decided to write an article which you will be able to read shortly on some of the most ridiculous claims of this sad little man who talks nonsense, but because he's ex-BBC and fellow here and researcher there, he gets away with it, with honors to boot. Fuck western academia.
I think I will stop here. It's infinitely unjust. My Chinese teachers at the local CI both were 25 years of age and they know infinitely more about Chinese history than Bill Hayton will ever scrape together. Do they get book deals from fancy publishers? Of course not. Sigh.
Hayton's book should come with this warning sticker on the cover. Best would be if it wouldn't exist, but alas, the world is an unjust place:
A beautiful thread giving yet more reasons why people like Hayton should simmer down and humble themselves: https://twitter.com/Mihlii1/status/1329299061631975425?s=20
