[Zhang Fei]

[Looks like it!

I’ve read elsewhere that the proximate cause of at least some of these were Grand Solar Minimums affecting food production/distribution.]

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Weather affected everyone in the world. Only China had successful peasant revolts. Elsewhere, regimes either stayed in power or had elites replaced (i.e. wiped out) by other elites. Prior to the modern era, Spartacus was the most successful European non-elite rebel I can think of and he failed miserably. In England, Wat Tyler’s revolt was basically an oversized riot. Whereas these Chinese rebels had financiers, cavalry and all the paraphernalia of the regime’s army, except they were led by peasants. This suggests that China is a vast storehouse of cognitive talent, such that even the dregs are pretty sharp cookies.

[Black Agnes]

The fact that there were SO MANY chinese peasants didn’t hurt their chances either.

Population density sometimes has its benefits.

And the chinese elites tended to be bureaucrats who flew desks and abacus’s (abacii?)

I have my own theory about why western peasants were seldom even close to being successful...

[Tolerance Sucks Rocks]

The FACT that Asian average IQ is a little higher than European/White average IQ could have something to do with that.

(Now I’m gonna be called a racist.)