As the 70th National Golden Week comes to a close, allow me to end the discourse on a more positive note with the "second arrow" parable.

To use another weaponry analogy, a wooden arrow flies across a forest and hits a person on the back. This first arrow of misfortune causes great pain to the victim, or even a nation. Be it the pain and humiliation inflicted by the Japanese occupation, Nanjing massacre, or the Opium Wars instigated by the British centuries earlier. As victims in life, we may not see the first arrow coming, nor control its trajectory.

The second arrow, however, is the suffering in the psyche after being hit by the first arrow. The emotional turmoil lingering in the mind of the victim(s) afterwards. The archer of that second arrow is in actuality ourselves. We've been shooting ourselves with them since the dawn of human conflicts.

We internally fire the second arrow, perpetuating our own adverse reactions of suffering vis-a-vis the first. Negative reactions that lead to a cyclic chain reaction of retributions or suffering for others as well.

For the sake of humanity, and to avoid a nuclear winter or impending global warming catastrophe, we as individuals and a collective nation turning to the next chapter, should try to control life's second arrows by being more mindful, or "正念" (zhengnian).

The word "念" is the combination of now (今) over mind/heart (心).

Not being attached to the past, nor fretting the future.... drishta dharma sukha viharin.

My typo, good catch herenow.

Chinese has a phrase to describe contradiction similar to your oxymoron, called 矛盾 (maodun). The spear (mao) that penetrates all shields and the shield (dun) that blocks all spears. Therein lies the contradiction.

The ongoing arms race, as it stands on paper, no shields of missile dense systems (MDS) could deter faster than sound hypersonic spears.

Moreover, ally Russia is currently bolstering Mainland's early missile defense system to counter more traditional ICBMs. Only these three nations will have this early warning MDS tech.

Hence, the concept of mutuality is, at least for now, tilted in favor of China if in event of an unlikely military escalation. This shift in balance of power, to return to my Art of War nod, gives U.S. and allies more pause for thought for waging war over the disputed SCS.

Chessboard stalemate ensues. The status quo of China expanding military, fishing, and drilling presence resumes as planned.

In Sun Tzu's Art of War. The best military tactic is not engaging in actual war, but defeating your enemies in mental tactics without firing a shot.

The display of advance weaponry is correlated to China's long-term GDP stabilization.

Americans don't seem to have a defense system that can bypass a legion of hypersonic ICBMs with nuke warheads capable of hitting US mainland soil in 30 minutes. This type of weaponry gives MAD (mass assured destruction) leverage to China's claim to the USD trillion dollar gas and mineral resources in the SCS.

People forget that energy also drives the economy, without which we saw the eventual downfall of Imperial Rising Sun and Nazi Germany.

Right, Common camellia is simply 茶花. Own a pair of 5 ft camellia trees in the mountains. They bloom pink for a few months near wintertime.

perhaps soon to be in jeopardy.