If a picture is worth a thousand words, what about two pictures? We set them side-by-side in figure 1. Figures 2, 3, and 4 supplement three more pictures.

They encapsulate an eye-catching story of our times. From academics to investment bankers, from governments to New York Times columnists, from philosophers of history to cable news commentators, all Western eyes seem to be focused on a faraway subject, that China is facing a meltdown of its banking system.

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