Eurasia-Episode VIII-The Mongol Conqueror Kublai Khan’s Dream(WTC-SWE)
Showing posts with label Mongols. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Mongols. Show all posts
Sunday, 1 April 2012
Relive Genghis Khan’s dark past at a new exhibit
Field Museum presents artifacts from the reign of Genghis Khan.
Relive Genghis Khan’s dark past at a new exhibit
BY DAVID B. NELSONAND KRISTEN KELLAR
MARCH 07, 2012
A new Field Museum exhibit brings the infamous, bloodthirsty Genghis Khan back to life.
The exhibit, named for the warrior, runs through September 3 and brings together weapons, clothing and even a mummy, called the “giant princess.”
“There are a lot of cultural artifacts from 13th century Mongolia, but also from today. So there’s kind of a broad history of Mongolia,” said Tom Skwerski, project manager at the Field Museum.
Other show-stoppers on exhibit include replicas of a trebuchet (a catapault) and giant crossbow, silk clothing, musical instruments and diplomatic passports.
Skwerski said what people know of Genghis Khan might only come from movies, which depict him as a bloodthirsty warlord, but there is a lot more to him than that.
"I knew he was a great warrior and I knew that the Mongolian empire had spread. I didn’t know much else about him,” said Kathy Hawkins, a math teacher from Houston who was visiting at the museum.
One of the things Hawkins said she liked most was learning that Genghis Khan was responsible for innovations such as libraries, minced meat and forks, among other things. “I didn’t realize his empire was the one that introduced money to the Europeans and the express ponies, like the postal service. It’s interesting to me,” said Hawkins.
“He wasn’t a creator, he was an adapter. He took the best parts of a lot of the cultures he conquered and adapted them into the Mongol empire,” Skwerski said. “The concept of diplomatic passports, he took the idea from the Chinese and said ‘hey, this is a really good idea. Let’s not kill all the envoys that come, let’s give them immunity when they come to visit.’”
“I like to know about the expansion and how the [mongol] empire grew and then collapsed,” Jamie Shick, a science and math teacher, added. Shick said she liked that the exhibit was able to tie-in history as well as science through artifacts and videos.
There is also a full-size “ger,” or a tent used by people travelling with herds, for people to explore. Even though gers were used in the time of Genghis Khan, Skwerski said one third of the people in Mongolia still reside in them.
Prior to working on the exhibit, Skwerski said he didn’t know much about the warrior, but he now knows a lot and hopefully the exhibit will do the same for people.
He said: “It’s interesting to learn the real story behind it and what he was able to do in a very short time. Twenty-five years to create an empire twice the size of the Roman Empire is just really amazing.”
The exhibit, named for the warrior, runs through September 3 and brings together weapons, clothing and even a mummy, called the “giant princess.”
“There are a lot of cultural artifacts from 13th century Mongolia, but also from today. So there’s kind of a broad history of Mongolia,” said Tom Skwerski, project manager at the Field Museum.
Other show-stoppers on exhibit include replicas of a trebuchet (a catapault) and giant crossbow, silk clothing, musical instruments and diplomatic passports.
Skwerski said what people know of Genghis Khan might only come from movies, which depict him as a bloodthirsty warlord, but there is a lot more to him than that.
"I knew he was a great warrior and I knew that the Mongolian empire had spread. I didn’t know much else about him,” said Kathy Hawkins, a math teacher from Houston who was visiting at the museum.
One of the things Hawkins said she liked most was learning that Genghis Khan was responsible for innovations such as libraries, minced meat and forks, among other things. “I didn’t realize his empire was the one that introduced money to the Europeans and the express ponies, like the postal service. It’s interesting to me,” said Hawkins.
“He wasn’t a creator, he was an adapter. He took the best parts of a lot of the cultures he conquered and adapted them into the Mongol empire,” Skwerski said. “The concept of diplomatic passports, he took the idea from the Chinese and said ‘hey, this is a really good idea. Let’s not kill all the envoys that come, let’s give them immunity when they come to visit.’”
“I like to know about the expansion and how the [mongol] empire grew and then collapsed,” Jamie Shick, a science and math teacher, added. Shick said she liked that the exhibit was able to tie-in history as well as science through artifacts and videos.
There is also a full-size “ger,” or a tent used by people travelling with herds, for people to explore. Even though gers were used in the time of Genghis Khan, Skwerski said one third of the people in Mongolia still reside in them.
Prior to working on the exhibit, Skwerski said he didn’t know much about the warrior, but he now knows a lot and hopefully the exhibit will do the same for people.
He said: “It’s interesting to learn the real story behind it and what he was able to do in a very short time. Twenty-five years to create an empire twice the size of the Roman Empire is just really amazing.”
In order to preserve the artifacts, the museum uses both high and low-tech options. The gallery is temperature and humidity controlled, said Skwerski. And, filters also cover the lights within the exhibit so the objects don’t deteriorate from the light. But, to control the humidity in the mummy’s case, silica gel packets are placed within the case.
The man who discovered the lost Great Wall
BEIJING, Mar. 28 (Xinhuanet) -- Recently, an Englishman who is possibly the world's most prominent Great Wall enthusiast has made headlines in over 40 countries around the world. His story regarding the "lost Great Wall" has been the most read story on National Geographic's website. He recently spoke at Beijing's Trends Lounge, where he shared stories and insights. In 1987, William Lindesay came to China to trek the wall's entire 2470 km length, where he was arrested nine times, and deported once. At the time, it was very difficult for foreigners to gain entry to China, and Lindesay knew that his goal of hiking the wall was technically forbidden. "I had to come to terms that if I wanted to succeed on my mission I had to have a philosophy of trespass I call it. Because I'm a very law-abiding citizen. Trespass is a crime, I suppose." Armed with a negligible grasp of Chinese and a small rucksack, he began hiking the wall. He also had a notebook in which he had a message written in Chinese, asking for the essentials for survival. "I just hoped that they'd give me the water, food and shelter that I needed. And they did. Day after day after day. Actually… my journey in '87 was 78 days and I stayed with more than 60 farming families, and they were all incredibly warm-hearted." The message also asked his hosts to write their names and village name for him. Incredibly, 20 years later Lindesay used his notebook to pay a surprise second visit to the families who had helped him before. They were amazed that the strange visitor hadn't forgotten them. Not only did Lindesay meet with families, he also was reunited with the police officers who had arrested and deported him. But this time, he wasn't a trespasser: he was a hero. He met the mayor and the party secretary, and was made an honorary citizen for his esteemed work preserving the Great Wall. Photos he'd taken on his first trip were exhibited in the Yulin cultural square. Lindesay's story was now a symbol for China's opening up, as Beijing Evening News ran a feature called "From Trespasser to Honorary Citizen in Yulin."
William Lindesay's research on the great wall was greatly influenced by another William: William Geil. Lindesay was amazed to receive a book by William Geil, which contained photos of the Great Wall taken in 1905. The book was passed on to him by Geil's widow, who knew that Lindesay could appreciate it. Not only did Lindesay appreciate it; it became the basis for his next research project. Lindesay knew that re-shooting Geil's photos of the Great Wall would concretely prove how well the wall was surviving, or how badly it was crumbling. Lindesay appreciated how he and Geil not only shared their given names and a propensity for Indiana-Jones-style hats; they also shared a love for China's Great Wall, often having photographed identical pictures of its curves and towers. Lindesay's appreciation for Geil called him to find Geil's relatives in the states. Lindesay knew Geil must have had journal writings, notes, and a large collection of photos. Lindesay combed the internet, called hospitals and funeral homes, but to no avail. He resigned himself to just one way to find Geil. "I thought the more stories I get out about William Geil, the more chance there is of someone realizing that this man is very important in China, [that] this man is very important for the conservation of the wall. And I hoped they would contact me." Incredibly, he was indeed later contacted by a historian at Doylestown historical society who informed him that he had just been given a collection of Geil's boxes. A quick Google search revealed to the historian that Lindesay was extremely interested in Geil. Lindesay was deservingly given full access to Geil's work, and was also given the privilege of informing Geil's family about the importance of their grandfather, who had been all but forgotten.
Recently, Lindesay has again been making headlines, having discovered a section of the Great Wall outside of China, in Mongolia. He'd been pondering the possibility of its existence in the late 90s since he knew that sections of the wall approached the China-Mongolia border. Lindesay explained, "This has become a quest to ascertain whether these are ancient dynastic Great Walls of China marooned in inner Mongolia, or to take on board what the Mongolians say about these walls, a particularly interesting story about a wall being constructed to stop the gazelle from migrating off the steppe. Because as you know, during the time of Genghis Khan these were a great food and clothing resource, and the horn was used for weapons and decorative objects." With the aid of his Atlas of Genghis Kahn and Google Earth, Lindesay located a faint line in the desert which appeared to be a wall in Mongolia. Lindesay had to go there in person in order to make comparisons with the wall in China. Lindesay was exulted to find that the wall indeed looked like a wall, up to 2.75 metres in place. "It was a mash of mud and sticks. And the sticks were a very unusual drought resistant desert shrub called saxaul… so that was a great discovery and surprise." This wall stretched up to the peak of an extinct volcano, a single peak in a sea of flatness. The view from the top was panoramic, enabling viewers to see approaching enemies or to follow the movements of gazelle.
Having seen the wall firsthand, Lindesay was particularly pleased that he'd gotten his hands on some wood samples from the wall, which would be able to be radiocarbon dated.
He expected the samples to be 2100 years old, but he was amazed when the samples only turned out to be only 900 years old. "It kind of put the spanner in the works. Immediately I wondered, is this Han wall? From 2100 years ago? Then I thought because of the jigsaw theory, it matches up with the wall in China… so I'm adamant that it's Han dynasty Great Wall, but what I think the radiocarbon dating proves is that the wall was reused at some stage later."
Lindesay proposed that the Western Xia dynasty rebuilt the wall in preparation against the Mongols. But this theory was not without its problems. There's no record of the western Xia dynasty building a Great Wall, so Lindesay argued that as Genghis Kahn's legacy included annihilating those who opposed him and everything that they built, it would be unsurprising to find a lack of evidence.
If the western Xia dynasty's history was obliterated, Lindesay is well aware of the problems that would result from the damaged historical record. The existing history of the western Xia was written over a century later by Chinese historians employed by Mongol conquerors of China. "I think there must be a lot of questions about the accuracy, the comprehensiveness and authenticity of the records," Lindesay conceded.
Undoubtedly, some of the questions around this section of the "lost" Great Wall may ultimately be unanswerable. But perhaps in Lindesay's case, the questions may be more important than the answers.
"I like to either go out and prove history right or prove it wrong and dig up some questions, and this present trip from China to Outer Mongolia has been a classic case of that."Source: Xinhuanet.com
The real secret history of the Mongols?
Thank god for steppe hyper-patriarchy; it’s a model which we can test. Dienekes points me to a paper, The Y-chromosome C3* star-cluster attributed to Genghis Khan’s descendants is present at high frequency in the Kerey clan from Kazakhstan, which is notable for increasing sample coverage of the distribution of “Genghis Khan haplotype.” As you might recall in 2003 a paper reported that a particular Y-chromosomal phylogeny was extremely common in Central Eurasia, and, that it had expanded rather rapidly starting approximately ~1,000 years ago. The natural supposition was that this was connected to the rise of Genghis Khan, from whom male-line descent in particular has become a matter of pride and prestige across the former domains under his rule. Subsequent researchers have supported this finding insofar as the distribution of the haplotype does tend to drop off among the “Western Mongols,” who were for various reasons marginal during the time of Genghis Khan, and whose ruling class were subsequently diminished in part due to their lack of a Genghiside pedigree.
The new paper above presents the novel result that the Kereys of Kazakhstan have the highest fraction of C3* reported to date. This elite lineage claims descent from the Kerait tribe of 13th century Mongolia, which was by an large absorbed by the Mongols. The authors suggest that either the C3* star-shaped phylogeny is is actually a Kerait derived line, which piggy-backed on the rise of the Mongol Empire, or, that Keraits and Mongols share a common blood ancestry. In particular, they point out that the Khan of the Keraits, who was for a time the patron of the young Temujin (later Genghis Khan), was also the “blood brother” of Temujin’s father. Though this relationship was formed between notional non-relatives, it does not seem implausible that the Kerait and Mongol ruling dynasties were two branches of a common lineage. In particular, the Mongol elite may have been derived from the Keraits as a junior or cadet branch, as the former were relatively marginal at this period in relation to the Keraits, who as Christians of the Church of Persia (also known as ‘Nestorian’ in the West) were well integrated into the broader Eurasian ecumene.
Of course another possibility is that cuckoldry of non-Genghiside lineages was rather common in the early years of the Mongol Empire by Genghiside princes, of whom there were legion, legitimate and illegitimate. Or, perhaps the Mongol ruling clan was cuckolded by the Kerait elite before the time of Genghis Khan. They were after all likely in a position of greater power and prestige. The social science suggests that high status male lineages can rely upon relatively high fidelity of their partners. Additionally, in terms of reproductive value it is likely that in a pre-modern world elite lineages were far more prolific than the masses. The expansion of the Genghis Khan haplotype may be due to direct slaughter of enemies and acquisition of their wives, but what if it is also through less ‘honorable’ means? That is, not only were the Genghisides prolific in their own right, but they took upon themselves the reproductive rights of other elite men.
This model is interesting as far as it goes, but the key question as Y-chromosomal databases expand is what patterns we will see beginning to emerge the world over. Are most of today’s men descended from elite lineages, or the bastards of elite lineages, or cuckoldry? A very particular Y-chromosomal distribution of lineages would then manifest itself.
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Friday, 23 March 2012
"Lost" Great Wall of China Segment Found?
Google Earth, carbon dating suggest wall network even bigger than thought.
Workers in Mongolia construct what may be part of China's Great Wall network around A.D. 1100.
Illustration by Ren Chao, National Geographic China
An eroded earthen wall section in Ömnögovi Province, Mongolia. Photograph courtesy James A. Lindesay.
Published March 19, 2012
A forgotten section of the Great Wall of China has been discovered deep in the Gobi Desert—and outside of China—researchers say.
With the help of Google Earth, an international expedition documented the ancient wall for roughly 100 kilometers (62 miles) in a restricted border zone in southern Mongolia in August 2011.
The defensive barrier formed part of the Great Wall system built by successive Chinese dynasties to repel Mongol invaders from the north, according to findings published in the March issue of the Chinese edition of National Geographicmagazine. (The National Geographic Society is responsible for both the magazine and National Geographic News.)
Preserved to a height of 9 feet (2.75 meters) in places, the desert discovery belongs to a sequence of remnant walls in Mongolia collectively known as the Wall of Genghis Khan, said expedition leader and Great Wall researcher William Lindesay.
Named after the founder of the Mongol Empire, the Wall of Genghis Khan usually survives only as "a faint trace," Lindesay said in an email.
But "we found a 'real wall', standing high and existing as a dominant landscape feature," he said.
What's more, it wasn't the work of Genghis Khan or his heirs but actually a long-lost segment of the Great Wall of China network, the team's findings suggest.
First to Investigate New Great Wall?
Close to China in the border region of Ömnögovi Province, the ancient structure hadn't been scientifically explored or studied before, said Lindesay, director of the International Friends of the Great Wall conservation group, based in Beijing, China.
"We're the first to investigate the ruins," he said.
"According to the army officers who minded us, we were the first outsiders to be allowed into the area," Lindesay added. "We assumed various local Mongolians had been to the area, but had not considered the structure of much interest."
At times seeking out topographic clues seen in Google Earth—the wall is visible on satellite images—the team located two well preserved but contrasting stretches of wall.
One section had been made mainly with wet mud and a woody desert shrub called saxaul, the other from blocks of black volcanic rock.
Along its vast length, Lindesay suspects, the wall originally stood at least 2 meters (6.5 feet) taller than it does today.
"What we found was just the last remaining piece of a 'fossil'—the skull or the large thighbone, with the rest missing," he said.
"One can expect the wall was both much higher and continuous for vast distances."
That dark basaltic rock seems to have been an obvious choice for the second stretch, which crosses the rugged remains of extinct volcanoes.
The clean, straight edges to the blocks indicate that the stone was quarried, which would have required a large, organized workforce and an efficient transport system, the team said.
Rewriting History
Ancient Mongolian texts suggest that the so-called Wall of Genghis Khan was built as an animal fence by Khan's son Ögedei to keep wild gazelle on his land. (Learn about National Geographic's Valley of the Khans project.)
But the recently explored Gobi Desert wall segment isn't in a region where large herds of gazelle occur.
"There would be no reason to build an animal wall in the Gobi," said anthropologist and Mongolia historian Jack Weatherford, formerly of Macalester College, Minnesota.
Chinese researchers, perhaps not surprisingly, have speculated that China's Han dynasty had erected these little-studied stretches in about 115 B.C.
But radiocarbon dating of partly exposed wood and rope remains extracted from the wall indicates that the saxaul-segment construction went on for more than a hundred years—and occurred about a thousand years later than thought, from A.D. 1040 to 1160.
Those dates hint that the Western Xia dynasty built the walls—or at least rebuilt old Han walls on the sites.
Holding Back the Mongol Tide
This northwestern Chinese dynasty isn't known to have contributed to the Great Wall system, but in at least one aspect, a Western Xia origin makes sense.
During the Western Xia period, Mongol tribes were rising in strength and making forays south, Lindesay noted.
"If one imagines the wall as a platform, with some kind of battlement—perhaps of wooden stakes, functioning as a shield to those manning its top—then it would have been an effective defense installation," he said.
But, mysteriously, the expedition team found no pottery, no trash, no coins, no weapons—nothing to prove the wall was ever actually manned. Nor did they find any of the watchtowers that mark surviving sections of the Great Wall within China.
"The wall system was incomplete," Lindesay said. "It not only lacked the signaling capability [to make smoke signals]—it didn't appear to be capable of accommodating troops."
Unfinished Business
"I believe the wall here is only half built and that there was, for some reason, a rethink on locating the wall here," Lindesay said.
It isn't difficult to imagine how the purported Great Wall segment's harsh desert location might have led to the remote frontier defense being abandoned, he added.
Weatherford, the Minnesota-based anthropologist, agrees with Lindesay's conclusion that the newfound remains were Chinese constructions.
There's a good reason, Weatherford added, that the stretch nevertheless carries Genghis Khan's name.
Mongolians, he said, are sensitive to the idea of "Chinese structures built on their land, since it carries the possible claim that the land was once Chinese.
"By calling it the Genghis Khan Wall, the name makes the place Mongolian and rejects foreign influence," Weatherford said.
He also describes the expedition new findings as "very important, because to my knowledge this wall has not been studied."
"I would risk saying that it is the largest human-made structure or artifact in all of Mongolia," he added. "It is amazing to me that it is not already much better analyzed."
From National Geographic "Daily News" March 19, 2012
From National Geographic "Daily News" March 19, 2012
Thursday, 22 March 2012
Lecture Gengis Khan at the National Museum of Mongolia
GENGHIS KHAN’S MONGOLIA-LIFE IN THE GREATEST EMPIRE
Lecture about new exhibition in USA
An innovative new exhibition “Genghis khan’s Mongolia-life in the greatest empire” has just completed in Denver CO. Exhibition creator Don Lessem give an interesting lecture on February 19th, 2010 in Ulaanbaatar. On this exhibition showing of more than 200 objects from the collection of the National Museum of Mongolia, Institute of Archaeology Mongolian Academy of Sciences. Additional artifacts provided from the Russia, Hermitage museum – Golden Horde and Khubilai Khan era treasures by international collectors.
According to minister of Culture, Education and Science Yo. Otgonbayar The exhibition is unlike any others titled Genghis Khan exhibitions in closely portraying Great Chingiss khan in closely portraying Great portraying Genghis's overlooked contributions to world civilizations via video, moving maps, and large original murals. According to Culture, Education and Science, Otgonbayar. The exhibition is unlike any others titled Genghis Khan in closely portraying Genghis's overlooked contributions to world civilizations via video, moving maps, and large original murals. Elaborate sets reconstruct the grasslands origins of Genghis, Ogudei's capital in Karakorum, and the lavish Yuan palaces of Kublai in Beijing. Children can dig for replica artifacts, fire toy catapults, and take on computerized roles in Genghis's empire. The exhibition highlights traditional Mongolian arts with live performances by Mongolian throat singers, dancers and morin khuur players, while visitors make Mongolian traditional hats and step inside a traditional ger.
Author, television personality, and exhibit-maker Don Lessem, whose specialty is paleontology, says "I learned of Genghis's true genius 20 years ago when I first came to Mongolia to write on dinosaurs, and have wanted to be a part of changing international prejudices about this great man ever since." Lessem spent 7 years arranging permissions and constructing the exhibition. "I think the response in Denver, drawing 25% more visitors than expected, testifies to the fascination so many in the West have with Genghis and Mongolia." The Genghis exhibition will appear in summer 2011 at the Irving Arts Center in Dallas, Texas. Lessem and officials of the Ministry of Culture, Education and Science will formally announce the Texas appearance as well as preceding international museum venues at today's conference.
Lessem will also be introducing a book he sponsored to coincide with the exhibition, "Genghis Khan and the Mongol Empire." This book features essays by 30 leading Mongolists worldwide, including Professor Shagdaryn Bira and other Mongolian scholars. Smithsonian archaeologists William Fitzhugh, Yale University professor William Honeychurch, and Columbia University professor Morris Rossabi edited the 330-page illustrated work.
Says Dr. Fitzhugh, "This book is a unique illustrated scholarly work that presents Mongolian archaeology and history from Ice Age times to the present with a major focus on Genghis--the man, the conqueror, the statesman, the empire he created and describes his legacy in the modern world." The book is available through the University of Washington Press in Seattle and is co-published by Lessem and the Arctic Studies Center of the Smithsonian, headed by Dr. Fitzhugh, and the Mongolian Preservation Foundation, an international non-profit for cultural support founded by Mongolian art impresario Natsag Ganhkuyag, Fitzhugh, and Lessem.
Please click for more information: HERE
From: National Museum of Mongolia March 21, 2012
Sunday, 18 March 2012
Globalization through the eyes of a Nomad
Posted by 
Mongolian nomadic man standing above the Shirinbot mountain at sunrise (photo credit Albert Lin).
I recently had the opportunity to speak at length with one of Mongolia’s greatest historians, Professor Shagdaryn Bira, an academic scholar recognized as a State Hero for his lifetime achievement in the preservation of knowledge. It should be noted that this effort was not an easy task through the long periods of cultural repression and struggle that he and his generation endured. Sitting across the table from me, his eyes peered through wrinkles of wisdom with a youthful vibrance that highlighted a fire, continually burning within his mind. We had wandered into a conversation about the concepts of international globalism, from the mindset of the nomad. And as he spoke, his body leaned forward, intensified by the embers of thought that spread outward, challenging my understanding of the universe with every insight.
“Without the past, we have no present, and without the present we have no future,” he stated.
He hypothesized that the practice of modern globalization can find itself rooted in the perspective of the ancient nomad. It may seem strange to suggest that the motivation behind our global economies, wars, cultures, and politics can be summed up within the mindset of the herdsman on the grassy steppe. But then again, the largest contiguous empire in human history was created by one of those nomads, and his name was Chinggis (Genghis) Khan.
To the nomad, survival on the steppe has always required the constant pursuit of fresh grass to feed a roaming herd. Prof. Bira explained that under the great blue sky the shaman religion of Tengrinism viewed the nomad as simply the child between “Mother Earth” and “Father Heaven”. An outlook that at first may seem simple, but is in fact deep in its simplicity. In this thought borders should not exist; there is no concept of an outsider, everyone is simply under the sky and above the earth, where the universe is infinite. Thus, at the geographical boundaries between the tribal steppe and the great powers of the 13th Century, a conflict of ideology naturally inflamed. While the nomad believed himself to be part of an infinite universe, those within the walls of the great stone empires saw the universe as centralized. Anyone foreign to those walls was alien, “barbarian”. Understandably, this would be frustrating.
Sitting around the table with Prof. Bira, it was hypothesized that Chinggis Khan’s pursuits in war were manifested from a desire to eliminate those borders, a part of the shaman global outlook. And indeed this did occur. The remarkably rapid expansion of the Mongol empire, while ruthless, brought in an era of unprecedented global commerce, intellectual transfer, and spiritual exchange. Under the shaman outlook even religions fell between the concept of the sky and earth, and thus subjugated cultures were able to continue their religious traditions. Yet, the largest and fastest single military globalization phenomenon in human history is also marked by an equally rapid decline.
With incredible insight, Prof. Bira described his thoughts on why the rapid decline occurred then, and why it may occur again. He stated that the hope for a globalized world is as basic as the nomad’s outlook on the universe, but the failure to achieve sustainable globalization by the 13th century was due to the method under which it was established, by force. This, he explained, was the only way it could not be sustained.
Later that evening, I was left with the haunting realization that global force is no longer in physical warfare alone; it exists in domains such as economics, information, resource management, etc. If the methods in which we bring the world under one banner are done by force, the empire we create today will face the same fate as that of the great empires of the 13th-14th centuries. Yet if we find a way to look beyond the societal concepts of “borders”, “walls”, and “outsiders”, we will find the ancient understanding of the nomad, that we are all in this together.
These were the inspiring insights of the great Prof. Bira, which left me striving to live up to my given name, Yu-Min. A name which translates into English as “universal citizen”.
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March 31st, 2012 at 7:52 am
March 31st, 2012 at 1:25 pm