Translations

[Damien]

The purpose of that thread is to provide meanings of stuffs related to history.
Genghis Khan=Universal Ruler
kamikaze=god wind
Führer=leader
Charlemagne=Charles the Great
Islam=submission to God
moslem=the one submitting to god
Jerusalem=the town in peace
Zulu>amazulu=those from the sky

 

[Knight-Dragon]

Kamikaze means divine wind, rather than god wind. In remembrance of the storms which destroyed the two Mongol expeditionary forces sent to conquer Japan in the 13th century CE.

 

[Damien]

Yep,read it on fsmitha.Japan was untouched till 1945.It's incredible...till the 19th century,Japanese fought with swords n now it's the most advanced nation in Asia.

 

[Sodak]

Why would you need to include placenames? The list would grow incredibly long. (tho interesting)

Oxford = where the oxen ford the river
Israel = land of god
Amsterdam = dam on Amstel river
's Hertogenbosch = the gentry's forest
Carthage, from Carthago, from Kart-Hadesh = new town
etc...

 

[Sodak]

Originally posted by Damien
Yep,read it on fsmitha.Japan was untouched till 1945.It's incredible...till the 19th century,Japanese fought with swords n now it's the most advanced nation in Asia.

But they did have knowledge of guns, they even manufactured them for a time. But feudal lords banned them because they threatened the samuri's position. Thus they were still fighting with swords by choice.

 

[Knight-Dragon]

Originally posted by Sodak
But they did have knowledge of guns, they even manufactured them for a time. But feudal lords banned them because they threatened the samuri's position. Thus they were still fighting with swords by choice.

Indeed. It was during the period just before the Tokugawa shogunate reimposed order on the whole country. The Japanese were producing the best muskets in the world, for a short while.

Didn't work out too well since it enabled even the lousiest peasant to kill samurai who spent years training at their military crafts. It was a social rule, imposed by the Tokugawa shogunate to consolidate its hold.

 

[Damien]

Incredible decisions were made throughout history,changing completely what would've been logical.For example in china the fact that women had their feet stripped because it was considered as erotic prevented em from workin in the fields.
Spain made different railroads to prevent another french invasion.
Everytime goods had to be loaded from one train to another which slowed down trade.
Confucianists resented war n trade;they had a great influence in China.When a merchant grew richer he didn't develop manufacturing but bought lands n became a landwoner because trade was scorned.
Well,the list could be long as history is full of stuffs like that.

 

[Knight-Dragon]

Originally posted by Damien
Confucianists resented war n trade;they had a great influence in China.When a merchant grew richer he didn't develop manufacturing but bought lands n became a landwoner because trade was scorned.

Confucianism is about cultivating the moral character and knowing your place in society. As such, obviously it'll be at odds with commercialism and war since these activities are hardly moralistic as viewed by the Confucian mandarinate. Remember too Confuciansim itself had changed and evolved in the 2500 yrs since the dead of the Old Master.

Still, Confucianism has held together the Chinese for millenia thru bad times and good and as such, it's not merely a 'bad decision of history' or such. It's an entire philosophy on life and society. And still relevant even today, some aspects of it.

 

[Damien]

The problem is that it calls for respect for the authorities n leads to fatalism.

 

[Knight-Dragon]

Originally posted by Damien
The problem is that it calls for respect for the authorities n leads to fatalism.

The way I see it, there's nothing wrong with respect for authority in itself. It's when authority is being misused/abused; then we'd have a problem. There's a fine distinction betw the two. You can still have respect for authority in a democracy, so long as you can pick the authority to respect.

Like in these forums, you do respect the authority of the mods and admin, if you want to cont posting here. Did it lead to 'fatalism'? Nope. So long as the 'authorities' maintain the site well enough; everything seems to be OK as far as I'm concerned.

 

[Damien]

True but the authorities are only respectable if they follow the people's will n are controlled by the people.It was not the case.

 

[Knight-Dragon]

Respect for authority is a strong trait in the democracies of East Asia as well, as in Japan, S Korea, Taiwan, Singapore etc. What do you mean by 'it's not the case'? China isn't the only place influenced by Confucianism you know.

Respecting authority doesn't always mean we'll always vote for the party in power. Just respecting their right to exercise power for the duration of their 'time in the sun' on behalf of the electorate.

 

[Damien]

I was talking about Ancient China(modern China is not democratic as well anyway)

PS:C U in 2 weeks.

 

[Sodak]

Originally posted by Damien
The problem is that it calls for respect for the authorities n leads to fatalism.

Kinda like christianity, islam, and judaism. What is your point?

 

[Adebisi]

Finland = Land of finders (hunters and gatherers)

 

[Hitro]

The title "Kaiser" derives from the Roman "Caesar".
"Panzer" means nothing else than "armor" or (surprise) "tank".
"Luftwaffe" means (another surprise...) "Air Force".

 

[Herr Falle]

Tzar do also derivate from Caesar.

 

[Locutus]

Originally posted by Damien
Genghis Khan=Universal Ruler

Actually, I must correct you there. Genghis means so much as 'large body of water', so Genghis Khan means so much as 'Oceanic Ruler', not 'Universal Ruler'. As the Mongols saw it, water is a very strong, unconquerable element, yet also it is also very flexible and the softest of all substances. Genghis found this to be a suitable description of himself.