Natural disasters in China Development Institute, the state-led nature of humanitarian aid in today's China traces back to these traditional beliefs. Chinese believed that natural disasters would foretell the end of a dynasty or the death of a great leader. This concept of cosmic linkage between natural disasters and human conduct was radically rejected at the height of Maoist years, when nature was represented as ‘an enemy to be overcome, an adversary to be brought to heel’. Propaganda posters were produced with the slogan, "Earthquakes cannot frighten us, the people will certainly conquer nature." China has had 6 of the world's top 10 deadliest
What Is to Be Done? (novel) Is to Be Done?" is one of the sources of inspiration for Rand's thought. For example, the book's main character Lopuhov says "I am not a man to make sacrifices. And indeed there are no such things. One acts in the way that one finds most pleasant." Vladimir Nabokov's final novel in Russian, "The Gift", ridicules "What is to Be Done?" in its fourth chapter. What Is to Be Done? (novel) What Is To Be Done? (; also translated as What Shall We Do? and literally translated as "What To Do?") is an 1863 novel written by the Russian philosopher,