In 1988 the CCTV broadcast He Shang (River Elegy) used the theme of China’s early development centering on the Yellow River to criticize “the mentality of a servile, static, and defensive people who always meekly hug to mother earth to eke out a miserable living, rather than boldly venturing forth on the dangerous deep blue sea in search of a freer more exalted existence.” He Shang asked, “How