Mandate of heaven returns home - Gore Vidal

Shanghaiist obtained a ticket and came back with this nice write-up of the session of the 2007 Shanghai International Literary Festival with American writer and celebrity Gore Vidal. One quote really makes this session into a historial one:

I was on top of the Westin Hotel being shown the sites of the city, and I had a sudden crisis as I looked out at the extraordinary skyscrapers the architecture and the art deco. I thought to myself, well, the mandate of heaven has passed from us and come home. And I did write that once, in the world as it was shaped after the war, it's quite clear that Japan [was]... only standing in for China.

Although he avoided a few "smaller" issues. More at Shanghaiist (who also made the picture.)