T.H. White's "The Once and Future King"-Chivalry

My mom handed this book to me in my adolescence, while I was going through my "find my chinese half" phase which lasted for about ten years. Because of the thickness of the book, I put it to the side. I found it again in a pile of used books and still did not buy it. Only recently have I started reading a copy borrowed from the library. One of the first things I wondered once I got to the part where Arthur was about to invent chivalry was whether Reggie Wong had ever read this book and whether it was this book that made him name his volleyball team the Knights. I had always thought it strange that Hung Mun people would use the Western version of a Knight in shining armor for their namesake and symbol. I thought it was just a translation of the Chinese Hero, but then the icon is of a western knight. If I am right about this book influencing the name of the volleyball team then it is easier to understand what Reggie was trying to do by using that name, trying to use Might for Right etc.

I'm almost finished with the book now and I'm almost certain  to the point where I want to ask someone that grew up with him if he read this book. If he were still alive, even though I didn't know him that well, I would definitely ask him. The main thing is the whole laying out of what Chivalry is supposed to be, the theory of the round table etc. Of taking the innate human nature to want to go around and hacking at each other and using it for something positive.
I suppose that's what sports and even Kung Fu is about in general, sort of. But the fact that the name Knights is used for a Chinese volleyball team is striking and I feel like the something behind it that is more than just a cool sounding name is this book. Why not the Dragons, or Tigers for instance?

There are similarities to Chivalry and Yi Hei, but there are also a lot of differences. I used to think Chivalry is holding doors open for women. But hearing T.H. White's version of it was kind of eye opening.
Now this is not my favorite book. In fact if you are any parts Irish, White's meta-narrative will probably rub you the wrong way but still, it is interesting to read about it. (I definitely prefer Bernard Cornwall's version of the Arthurian legend.) But I did enjoy White's book too, even if it is racist. (the n word is even used which is weird because almost everyone is white. I didn't think racism of that sort had been invented yet seeing as how White people were Saxons and Normans etc.) The book was written in the 1940's and references modern events constantly. From that time period's perspective, it isn't racist at all I guess. Still it's weird that the n word should even come up even if it is just in passing. That word has nothing to do with the story. Maybe it was to show that even the heroes were not all that enlightened? I don't know.
White seems to argue that Arthur created law and that's why the British are civilized and why they have gone around civilizing other people by force. Sort of like a Imperial apologist. But he simultaneously makes an argument for how our civilization is very much like the middle ages. Well more similar than different. As far as I can see, we are now much more like the time before Arthur in White's book, the Might is Right as opposed to Chivalry, except that the Kings and Baron's are Big Businesses and corporations. Instead of the idea of Chivalry, there is the idea of Philanthropy and people like Bill Gates and Warren Buffet seem to be the champions of that. But there's no Round Table. Well instead of Oaths there are Pledges by this rich people to  donate most of their wealth etc.  In any case I've basically realized that the Arthur legend is the Three Kingdoms of the the British. So it's pretty important to understanding how they think of themselves. And since our law is derived from theirs, it's pretty much how Americans think of themselves too. Perhaps subconsciously because even if we haven't all read versions of the legend the ideas are all up in our culture whether it is stories about knights, cowboys, or sports.