Chinese antiques arrived in the west to awe and great admiration, and eventual copies. As the Ming vase appearance of blue and white "bone China" pottery came to England, the initial English versions created by Josiah Wedgewood Bone China would have been offered to the Queen. As Queen Victoria took to articles of Chinese antiques, this interest followed on down through the ranks of nobility, until Wedgewood became vastly rich by making such fine China available to the public in a relatively modest smoke burning factory in England.

All this time really as war booty by England over China during the infamous Opium Wars, in which England forced China to accept opium addiction soon up to millions where British ships traded. Britain held control of Shanghai and built it into a modern European city, where the city parks had signs "No Chinese Allowed". Hong Kong was granted to Britain on a ninety nine year lease as it was a vast empty harbor in south China that would serve as the west Pacific repair base for the British Pacific fleet: near quickly settled English Canadians into Victoria in now west coast Canada would be east Pacific base.

Now to now. Hong Kong showed China that to be free and capitalist was to make you gloriously rich, as their leader finally admitted in 1979. So, as in early civilized Greece, a council of 30 agreed to stay in power, use the word socialism but in a special Chinese way. That is, test by creating special economic zones on the coast, little capitalist Hong Kongs, and see how that works. Well! It has rather taken over all of east China until the world color CO2 coal filthy air map shows east China as the most vast sea of unhealthy polluted air on earth.

The dirty unfiltered coal dust air is so intense that the ash is now falling on the lungs and food plants of California and up the west coast of North America. Enough, fire breathing dragon, enough. They are adding one new coal burning factory a week in this area, while we line up with our huge buggies at the mega stores to buy their junk we don't need, which within the decade will be at the yard sale you neighbors have. Until you realize you all bought the same modern fake versions of the same type of stuff.

Not you. You noticed that like Japan before, who at least sold us smaller more efficient cars that smartened our car makers up, Japan got rich and bought up many of our treasures. So, while the soon to be rich individuals of China work for one dollar an hour now, but are thrilled with their government monitored cellphone, is there anything wise we can do? Yes, there is. Check each net site you can, and buy Chinese antiques ahead of the curve.

Clear your mantle, Mickey, and start picking up bargains in authentic Chinese antiques, which they are not making any more of. Let lead head Ned push that huge buggy around consuming, the ruin of debt, while you invest, in the best, and wait the test, of time. And add several zeros to the price one day, and let it sit serene on some net, but enjoy it each day. And in this uncertain world, when rich Susie Wong wants her great grand mother's Ming vase back, you might agree.

Be inscrutible though, on the price for her Chinese antiques. Higher, your eyebrows imply.