9 Lessons on Power and Leadership from Genghis Khan

Genghis Khan (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Source: Forbes May 7, 2012


On one end of the leadership spectrum, there is Machiavelli–conniving, ambitious and ruthless. On the other there is Cyrus the Great–humble, generous and loyal. Along this spectrum of great leaders and motivators, used so often in business books, speeches and anecdotes, there is one unmentionable: Genghis Khan. A man so evil, unwashed and bloodthirsty that he is impossible to learn from.


Or so the efforts to suppress his influence would have us believe. (The USSR, for instance, cleared out Khan’s homeland in Mongolia and forbade any mention of him.) But I’m here to tell you that we can learn more about leadership and getting things done from Genghis Khan than just about any other historical figure. Because almost everything you know about him is wrong…

For starters: he abolished torture, embraced religious freedom, united disparate tribes, hated aristocratic privilege, ran his kingdoms meritocratically, loved learning and advanced the rights of women in Mongol society. He was also the greatest conqueror and general who ever lived, ruling a self-made kingdom of nearly 12-million square miles which lasted in parts for nearly seven centuries. (When United States forces captured Baghdad they were the first successful invaders to take the city since Khan.) Yes, he was violent and war-like, but never for its own sake. The Mongols found no honor in fighting–only winning. Victory was their aim and they did whatever it took to get it. Then they focused on building peace with equal intensity. So while other conquerors died violent, early deaths, Khan died an old man surrounded by his loving family.

9 Timeless Leadership Lessons from Cyrus the GreatRyan HolidayContributor

His great mission was simple yet audacious: “Unite the whole world in one empire.” But, as he said, “[Since the] calling is high, the obligations incumbent on me are also heavy.” Using the unparalleled biography Genghis Khan: and Making of the Modern World by Jack Weatherford as our guide, let us see how Khan–in his own words–managed to accomplish this great work and what he felt those obligations were.

Have An End in Mind

“For the Mongol warrior, there was no such thing as individual honor in battle if the battle was lost. As Genghis Khan reportedly said, there is no good in anything until it is finished.”

Lead from the Front

“When it was wet, we bore the wet together, when it was cold, we bore the cold together.”

Serve a Greater Good Than Yourself

“[A leader] can never be happy until his people are happy.”

Have a Vision

“Without the vision of a goal, a man cannot manage his own life, much less the lives of others…The ancients had a saying: ‘Unity of purpose is a fortune in affliction.’”

Be Self-Reliant

“No friend is better than your own wise heart! Although there are many things you can rely on, no one is more reliable than yourself. Although many people can be your helper, no one should be closer to you than your own consciousness. Although there are many things you should cherish, no one is more valuable than your own life.”

Be Humble

“The mastery of pride, which was something more difficult, he explained, to subdue than a wild lion. He warned them that, ‘If you can’t swallow your pride, you can’t lead.’”

Be Moderate

“I hate luxury. I exercise moderation…It will be easy to forget your vision and purpose one you have fine clothes, fast horses and beautiful women. [In which case], you will be no better than a slave, and you will surely lose everything.”

Understand Your People

“People conquered on different sides of the lake should be ruled on different sides of the lake.”

Change the World, But Change it Gradually

“The vision should never stray far from the teaching of the elders. The old tunic fits better and it always more comfortable; it survives the hardships of the bush while the new or untried tunic is quickly torn.”

As Weatherford writes, these tenets of leadership did not come to Khan as part of some princely education. He was born poor and illiterate in a world of conflict and strife. He taught himself to be a Khan:

“At no single, crucial moment in his life did he suddenly acquire his genius at warfare, his ability to inspire the loyalty of his followers, or his unprecedented skill for organizing on a global scale. These derived not from epiphanic enlightenment or formal schooling but froma persistent cycle of pragmatic learning, experimental adaptation and constant revision driven by his uniquely disciplined mind and focused will.”

We can do the same. And we can do it by starting with the example of someone who at first might make us a little uncomfortable. Genghis Khan’s reputation precedes him (a brutal pillager who shows no mercy to men, women or children), but that was deliberate. Khan allowed rumors of his atrocities to spread to encourage surrender and cooperate from enemies who might otherwise resist. Putting that aside, we can learn from the Great Khan how to be loyal, how to understand our people, how to induce change and how to have a vision.

Ryan Holiday is the author of Trust Me, I’m Lying: Confessions of a Media Manipulator (Penguin/Portfolio). More of his writing can be found at RyanHoliday.net, and you can sign up for monthly reading recommendations through his reading list email.

IDP Conference Kingdoms of the Southern Taklamakan

ARCHAEOLOGY OF THE SOUTHERN TAKLAMAKAN: HEDIN AND STEIN’S LEGACY AND NEW EXPLORATIONS

The British Library and SOAS, London 

8th-10th November, 2012 

Organised with the Xinjiang Institute of Archaeology
新疆文物考古研究所

This conference will take place as part of Asian Art in London 2012

Over the past three decades there have been systematic archaeological excavations of sites belonging to the ancient kingdoms of Khotan in the western Taklamakan and Kroraina in the eastern Taklamakan and Lop Desert, in modern-day western China. These have been carried out by Chinese archaeologists, some in conjunction with Japanese and French teams.

The exploration of these kingdoms, however, began much earlier. Early in the 20th century Sven Hedin and Aurel Stein uncovered significant archaeological remains and archives and brought the importance of these cultures to the attention of an international scholarly public. The materials they excavated are now in various collections in Europe and worldwide, and their influence on modern understanding of Central Asian history and society is without parallel.

The conference will set the sites in context by looking at the historical geography and environment, the transmitted and excavated historical records, and archaeological archives in China and Europe. It will bring together an interdisciplinary group of scholars, including field archaeologists from the Chinese, Sino-Japanese and Sino-French excavations of recent decades, archivists, curators and historians working on the Hedin and Stein collections, and historical geographers, art historians, and historians from universities with a strong research record in this area. This is the first conference on this topic.

The conference is being organised by the British Library, SOAS and the Xinjiang Institute of Archaeology. The opening lecture on November 8th will be held at the Khalili Lecture Theatre, SOAS. Proceedings on the 9th and 10th will be at the British Library Conference Centre.

There is a registration fee of GB£40 (£20 for students/OAPs) which will also cover refreshments over the two days. For further details or to register see the conference webpage.

The image above shows Niya, N.VIII., from the east, 12 November 2011. Photo 1235/2(153)

Discovery and Excavation of the Beiwuzhuang Buddhist Statues

From Chinese Archeology, 4 May 2012

Although we reported about this a few months ago and also published these photo's, its good to publish the story again but now by "Chinese Archeology".

During 2012 Spring Festival, the Yecheng Archaeological Team made up of archaeologists from IA, CASS and Hebei Provincial Institute of Cultural Relics has jointly carried out a salvaging excavation to a pit buried with Buddhist statues at the east of the Yecheng City-site in Linzhang County, Handan City, Hebei Province, which are of great researching value.

The pit is found on the river beach on the north side of the southern dam of the Zhanghe River, administratively belonging to Beiwuzhuang Village, Xiwen Township, Linzhang County, Handan City. The location is 3 km east of the east wall of the Yecheng city-site, the capital city of Eastern Wei and Northern Qi dynasties. In early January 2012 some traces on the sand beach of the Zhanghe River attracted archaeologist’s attention and some explorations have been undertaken. On 10th January archaeologists discovered buried Buddhist statues. Due to their great value, a salvaging excavation was at once underway. The 16-days work uncovered a nearly square pit, which was dug especially for containing Buddhist statues.

The pit yields totally 2,895 pieces of statues and several thousands of tiny pieces sealed in 78 bags. Those with inscriptions overpass one hundred. Most finds are made of white marble, and some of them green stone. According to carving styles and inscribed dates they are mainly assigned to Eastern Wei and Northern Qi dynasties. Several of them are from Northern Wei period or Tang Dynasty. The yields are rated as one of the most important discoveries in Chinese Buddhist archaeology. They are of great academic, artistic and historic value, which could be summarized as following.

Firstly, the pit is located outside the south city of Yecheng, featuring clear sequence of stratum and containing statues with confirmed dates, which provides an important clue for researching layout of Yecheng, confines of its outer city, history of its eastern part during Eastern Wei and Northern Qi dynasties, and activities of destroying Buddha and Buddhist statue burying system.

Secondly, the pit contains a great number of Buddhist statue pieces, totally reaching 2895, which is the largest since the foundation of new China.

Thirdly, the Buddhist statues are exquisitely made, well shaped and various in kind. Most statues have a screen-like back-halo. There are also some unaccompanied Buddha and bodhisattvas figures carved in high relief. Main depicted motifs include Sakyamuni, Amitabha, Maitreya, Sakyamuni and Prabhutaratna, Contemplative Prince, Guanyin and twin Bodhisattvas. On many figures color and gilding are well preserved. These new findings are indicative of the historical status Yecheng possessed in late Northern Dynasties as a Buddhism and artistic center in North China.

Fourthly, the statues with inscriptions of clear-cut date cover a long span of time from Northern Wei, Eastern Wei, Northern Qi to Tang dynasties, providing reliable samples for studying types and themes of Buddhist sculptures from late Northern Wei to Sui and Tang periods.

Though the excavation to the site has already ended, archaeological work in this region is waiting for further steps, especially to make certain whether there are some relations between the pit and the ancient Buddhist monastery, what information it gives for studying the area outside the south city. Presently the most urgent task is how to preserve and arrange the valuable findings scientifically and entirely. The preservation of surface color, reinforcement of gildings, restoration of broken pieces are especially formidable tasks.      (Translator: Tong Tao)

Chinese archaeologists restore over 50 Buddha statues

Source: Chinese Archeology, May 4, 2102 Chinese archaeologists have finished restoring over 50 Buddha statues from thousands of fragments unearthed in north China's Hebei Province, an archaeological researcher said Thursday. "The restoring task is arduous, as it involves complicated procedures to protect the statues' coloring, reinforce their gold foil and join their pieces together," said Dr. He Liqun, a researcher with the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS). He said his team created a detailed restoration plan based on the original features of the statues, adding that more statues are expected to be restored using the unearthed components. A team of archaeologists from the CASS and the Hebei Provincial Institute of Cultural Heritage in January unearthed 2,895 Buddha statues and statue fragments in Yecheng, a 2,500-year-old ancient city located in what is now Linzhang county, according to He. The Buddha statues, mostly made of white marble and blue stone, are believed to date back to the Eastern Wei and Northern Qi dynasties (534-577). The archaeological finding is thought to be the largest of its kind since the founding of the People's Republic of China in 1949. The city of Yecheng, built during the Spring and Autumn period (770 BC-476 BC), served as the political center during the Three Kingdoms period (220-280) and the Northern Dynasty period (386-581).

The Search for Immortality: Tomb Treasures of Han China, Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge, UK

This is the largest and most significant exhibition of ancient royal treasures ever to travel outside China

Jade coffin from the second century BC, Western Han Dynasty

Following its terrific Vermeer show, which broke visitor records last year, the Fitzwilliam launches another potential blockbuster today – the largest and most significant exhibition of ancient royal treasures ever to travel outside China. The subject is the fight for imperial legitimacy conducted by the Han dynasty, which established the basis for a unified China and ruled the country for four centuries, from around 206BC to AD220, giving its name to the Chinese language (“Hanyu”) and script (“Hanzi”), and defining Chinese culture. Contemporaneous with the Roman empire, the Han is considered the classical period of Chinese history, and its sculptures, jewellery and craftwork, many excavated in the past two decades, are of a superb quality and refinement. Like any imperial rulers, the Han leaders also constantly felt the need to assert their authority, symbolically and militarily, in death and in life. Among the greatest treasures from the period therefore are those from two spectacular tombs belonging to warring factions in the north and the south, brought together for the first time here.

The exhibition follows the layout of the funerary goods, recreating a sense of walking through the tombs: pottery guardians with bronze weapons greet you, you then proceed to the main chambers, peopled by pottery officials, servants, dancers, musicians, and musical instruments, before reaching the inner sanctum of the burials of the monarchs. Here is the stuff of fairy tale: armour suits made from thousands of plaques of polished, fitted jade sewn together with gold and silk thread; jade vessels to ward off demons or promise immortality, such as a cup to catch the morning dew; exotically decorated gold belts, seals and jewellery – a dragon pendant, an animal mask – and objects considered necessary for everyday existence in the afterlife: a toilet, a ginger grater. Thus the Han emperors, dreaming of eternal power, left a fragile legacy of lasting beauty.

Source: Financial Times, May 6, 2012 by Jackie Wullschlager

For more information: www.tombtreasuresofhanchina.org or www.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk

Ancient Buddhist temple found in Taklimakan Desert

KERIYA, Xinjiang, May 7 (Xinhua) -- The ruins of a Buddhist temple dating back 1,500 years ago have been discovered in China's largest desert, offering valuable research material for historians studying Buddhism's spread from India to China. The temple's main hall, with a rare structure based around three square-shaped corridors and a huge Buddha statue, has been uncovered after two months of hard work in Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region, Dr. Wu Xinhua, the leading archaeologist of the excavation project, said Monday. "The hall is the largest of its kind found in the Taklimakan Desert since the first archaeologist came to work in the area in the 20th century," said Wu, also head of the Xinjiang archeological team of the Chinese Academy of Social Science. The ruins are located in the south of the Taklimakan Desert, in the Tarim Basin, known as the Damago Oasis in the ancient kingdom of Khotan, a Buddhist civilization believed to date back to the 3rd century BC. Temple halls with square-shaped corridors stemmed from early Buddhist architecture in India, and gradually disappeared after the Northern and Southern Dynasties (420AD-589AD), when Buddhist architecture in China began to pick up its own characteristics, according to Xiao Huaiyan, a member of the excavation team and a former researcher at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences. Judging from the layout of the ruins, and the artifacts uncovered at the site, Wu and his colleagues believe the temple dates back to the Southern and Northern Dynasties. It is so far the best Buddhist site for scholars to study how the religion arrived in China from India, and its early development in the country, said Wu. Judging from the size of the pedestal on which it would have rested, the missing Buddha statue should be at least three meters tall, reaching the size limits of the hall when its roof was intact, he estimates. The innermost corridor extends six meters from both south to north and from east to west, the second corridor is 10 meters long and 10 meters wide, while the hall's wall surrounds an area of 256 square meters. Still visible on corridor walls are mural paintings of items including the Buddha's feet, Buddhists and auspicious animals. They are painted in a Greco-Buddhist artistic style, which was seldom seen after the 6th century. Ruins of several residential structures were found to the southwest of the main hall, along with some pottery kilns and ancient coins. There is still a scripture hall, a stupa and residential houses for Buddhists to be uncovered, Wu added. The southern end of the ancient Silk Road, a major historical trade route, went across the 337,000-square-km Taklimakan Desert, and a wide variety of cultural heritage items have been buried in what is now known as the "sea of death." In 1901, British explorer Marc Aurel Stein trekked far out in the desert and into the ruins of Niya, an ancient Pompeii-like city with homes, Buddhist stupas, temples, pottery kilns, orchards, tombs, waterways and dams. Since then, more than 10 Buddhist sites have been discovered by archaeologists from China and abroad in the Damago Oasis.

The Magician’s Map

 
From the series: Sino-Platonic Papers No 218 from Dec. 2011


A five-thousand-year-old water pitcher on display for a limited time (1999 to 2000) during an exhibit titled The Golden Age of Chinese Archaeology shows the figure of a human framed in a panel. The human panel is one of four painted panels surrounding the belly of the pottery water pitcher. The other three panels are filled with repeating images of pictographs forming a pictographic inscription. Pictographic inscriptions are like complex characters — the meaning derives from the multiplication and manipulation of pictographs in a group.

Decoding the pictographic inscription reveals a map of the Yellow River made with symbols that represent the landscape in three directions around the homeland in the middle: the great mountains to the west, a great river to the north, and the great marshland filled with plants to the east. It appears the modern theory of five elements is rooted in spatial associations such as four lands around a middle land. It seems certain that the pottery jar is a written document at least a thousand years older than writing found on Shang oracle bones.