Tommy Kapai: Maybe Sun Tzu had the answer

There is nothing in tikanga to suggest we have to compromise our culture by feeding kiwifruit a cocktail of poisons in the form of an annual hit of hicane and a monthly dose of copper sulphate.

Many people live by mantras and philosophies that keep them connected when they veer off the pathway of life. As do many others who live by scriptures or sayings to hold on to when the road gets a bit bumpy.

One of my favourites comes from the Chinese Art of War, penned by the great philosopher Sun Tzu: "The wise warrior avoids the battle."

There are more than 250 quotes by Sun Tzu, all of them worthy of a download into our own cranial hard drives. You never know when you may need them - as I did when a mate was struggling with his marriage and was trying hard to get it back on track.

That's when the Chinese art of war kicked in and, instead of Oprah on the couch or Dr Phil, it was Sun Tzu.

"Stand still and wait until what you want comes to you," says Sun and it really does work.

Applying the Chinese art of war in other areas of our lives, especially wealth creation, is worth a look.

When we consider how the world is bowing to the Chinese economy and all rich roads lead to Beijing when it comes to trading partners, perhaps we here in Aotearoa need to fully appreciate the silver lining in our long white cloud and stand still, and wait for the puku of China to come calling.

If the modern-day war is wealth and the weapon of choice is the chequebook, then perhaps we should apply a few philosophies from our own culture to lure the Chinese chequebook into our backyard?

If that is indeed what we want to do. I for one am not in the camp of putting all our eggs in one basket, or all our kumara in the one hangi.

I have visited Beijing and seen first-hand how cash is king and culture is a condiment.

We need to ask ourselves what is the downside of chumming up to China.

Are there long-term mutual benefits - besides the bottom line of the corporate cowboys who seem to be demand-driven and blinkered to what the rapid increase in nitrates and agri-chemicals are doing to Papatuanuku, our Earth Mother?

What we are seeing now is what many of our tohunga (ancestors) told us to be aware of many generations ago and not just in the Maori culture.

The North American Cree Indians were aware of the compromise of culture for cash when they based their beliefs on the prophecy.

"When the last tree has been cut down, the last fish caught, the last river poisoned, only then will we realise that one cannot eat money." Are we aware of the price we are prepared to pay by being seduced by the size of the $7.2 trillion Chinese GDP.

For me, the smart way to win the battle is to play the big boys, in this case China, at their own game. By creating the world's finest food basket, where the kai is spray-free and organic, the market we are chasing offshore will eventually show up at our doorstep, more than willing to pay the price of keeping our produce clean and green.

Sun Tzu was on to it when he said: "Begin by seizing something which your opponent holds dear; then he will be amenable to your will." We can be on to it now, if we whakarongo (listen) to our ancestors.

Maori could champion this kaupapa as they are rich in the key resources - land and labour and a deep respect for Papatuanuku.

There is nothing in tikanga to suggest we have to compromise our culture by squeezing an extra kilo of butterfat out of our farms by drowning our whenua in nitrates, or upsizing our produce by feeding them an annual hit of hicane and a monthly dose of copper sulphate.

If we really want to be global traders with a clean green brand that few other countries are capable of producing - and measure our currency of success by more than just money - then surely we can learn from the Chinese Art of War and wait for those who want it most to come here and get it.

It worked for my mate and it could well work for us.

broblack@xtra.co.nz