The Great Wall of China (one of the Seven Wonders of the New World) is a series of fortifications across northern China that served as protection against various nomadic groups (Xiongnu, 匈奴) from the Eurasian Steppe. The Chinese built several walls from as early as the 7th century BCE. Qin Shi Huang (220–206 BC), the first emperor of China, joined together selective stretches of these walls. Successive dynasties subsequently built and maintained multiple stretches of border walls, and the best-known sections of the wall were made during the Ming dynasty (1368–1644).
Our body has a natural defensive (immune) system. Scientists know that the body succumbs to illnesses rapidly without this natural protection. Take the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), which attacks the immune system. Patients with AIDS (acquired immunodeficiency syndrome) die from infections that the immune system would otherwise manage. AIDS patients also die from cancers because early cancer cells, usually detected and cleared by natural immunity, can increase. This observation also explains why some people remain asymptomatic with coronavirus while others die from the infection. It is all about self defence.
Professor Foo Keong Tatt reminded us (in the Shin Min Daily News review) we should not forget our immune system in this age of high technology medicine. We should take care of our health by supporting our immune system by living a healthy lifestyle – exercising regularly, eating healthily, and harmonise our lives emotionally. Like the Great Wall of China, our healthy lifestyle will serve us proactively as a “Great Wall of Self-defence.” We get ourselves ready for enemies of our health. And getting prepared is the heart of Sun Zi’s Art of War (孙子兵法).
When I was in Business School, one of the lecturers suggested reading Professor Wee Chow-Hou’s Sun Zi Binfa, with a subtitle “Selected Insights, and Applications.” Here are three selected axioms from the master military strategist:
以虞待不虞者胜
He who is proactive and well-prepared and awaits his unprepared enemy will win.
故用兵之法,无恃其不来,恃吾有以待也
Thus, in the conduct of war, one must not rely on the enemy’s failure to come but on the readiness of oneself to engage him.
无恃其不攻,恃吾有所不可攻也
One must not rely on the enemy’s failure to attack but on the ability of oneself to build an invincible defence.
The Great Wall of China, Sun Zi’s Art of War, and Professor Foo Keong Tatt have all reminded us we keep our defence in good shape. A healthy lifestyle is a key to this success.