The Mongol Khans also funded advances in medicine and astronomy throughout their domains. And their construction projects – extension of the Grand Canal in the direction of Beijing, the building of a capital city in Daidu (present-day Beijing) and of summer palaces in Shangdu (“Xanadu”and Takht-i-Sulaiman, and the construction of a sizable network of roads and postal stations throughout their lands – promoted developments in science and engineering [also see The Mongols in China: Civilian Life under Mongol Rule, below].
The Mongols also expedited and encouraged travel in the sizable section of Asia that was under their rule, permitting European merchants, craftsmen, and envoys to journey as far as China for the first time. Asian goods reached Europe along the caravan trails (earlier known as the “Silk Roads”
I love when people don't read the things they cite.
Gross exaggeration. North Korea. South Korea. Nukes. Kim Jong Il. US involvement. Samsung. Turtle Ship, Hwacha. Yi Sun-shin. Kimchi. Buddhism. Bulguksa.
And that's just skimming the top of the pinnacle.
In fact most people who know about Genghis Khan know surprisingly little about Mongolia.
, was established in present-day Beijing.[18], the "central capital."[1] Zhongdu was situated in what is now the area centered around Tianningsi, slightly to the southwest of central Beijing. Some of the oldest existing relics in Beijing, such as the Tianning Temple, date to the Liao.
This excerpt is from George Alexander Ballard's "The Influence of the Sea on The Political History of Japan" (1921) pp. 6667.
I'm going to have fun with this.
North Korea starving? So was the US several times. Great Depression and now, Great Recession. Doesn't mean they get crossed off the countries in Civ list. The mention of North Korea was to point out that it can only be false, your little statement that "people don't know anything about korea"
Nukes were not invented by Korea, but does that matter? These days all people care about is who HAS nukes.
Kim Jong Il was the North Korean dictator whom people like to make fun of. And you seem to have heard of him, given your little questions afterward.
US involvement. Pay or play them? Typo? Korea did pay the US in a way--they have trade rights in Korea and outlets for their commercial branches: Dunkin' Donuts, among them, lol.
Samsung. Sure. But Samsung is a big dog too. That there are other big dogs doesn't mean we should ignore this big dog of business.
Turtle Boat. What the heck is a dragonboat? Do you mean a Viking longship? Lol.
Hwacha. Civ 4. Yes, they were included for a reason. Even you must see that.
Yi Sun-shin. Never heard of? Well Japanese admiral Togo Heihachiro of the Imperial Japanese Navy knew him:
Most naval historians who write books on world naval history have heard of Admiral Yi Sunshin, and include him in their books. British historians are among them:
This excerpt is from George Alexander Ballard's "The Influence of the Sea on The Political History of Japan" (1921) pp. 66–67.
Several Civfanatics know of the Turtle Ship, whether it be from Age of Empires II, actually reading naval histories, or because they've visited Korean museums and know how much Koreans crow about them. The Turtle Ship, while not invented by Admiral Yi, was used as a weapon in the Imjin Wars and wrecked numerous Japanese ships with its high speed and multiple broadside cannons. it's also reputed to be the first ironclad in history.
Kimchi, you say Starbucks. I say kimchi is cultural, I also say that Starbucks is no more cultural than McDonald's or Dunkin Donuts or any commercialized "global" fast food chain is.
Buddhism. Zen. You do realize Zen Buddhism partly came about because of Koreans spreading Buddhism to Japan right?
Bulguksa is a UNESCO World Heritage site, along with the Seokguram Grotto. That you haven't heard from them makes it no less important for Buddhists in Korea and worldwide. When I visited last year, at the foot of the mountain, I saw many tablets with inscriptions from people all over the world: Australia and Finland among them.
I have pointed out that your ignorance of Korea doesn't mean that "nobody has heard of Korea." On the contrary, many people have, even if only in connection with kimchi, the World Cup (concerning the "Be the Reds" slogan on my T-shirt I was wearing: one Canadian I met hilariously asked if that meant I was Communist), Samsung, North Korea, and the Turtle Ship.
¡which one can be compared by the absurd Korea ?
Yes, Kim Jong Il was more infamous than famous--people do certainly know of him though! And that's why he was on my list. I personally think he was a horrible, brutal leader. But, he is well known. More of my friends from my American collegiate days know of him than they know of Roh Moo yung (the S. Korean president who committed suicide yet was hated during his presidency). That said, I suppose the current UN Secretary General was someone I forgot to mention on my list, hehe.
True, but most suspect they do. There is reasonable, if scant, evidence to the effect that they are working on developing them. For one thing, they do have nuclear reactors, and have constantly been talking about weaponization.
It's true Korea owes a lot to the U.S. I think the reasons why many Koreans resent the U.S. though, include:
Um....I really have to disagree about this. In his own day and age, the countryside peasants watched Yi Sunshin dragged to the capital to answer for treason, and they protested that he be released. Chen Lin, a Chinese admiral, openly admired Yi Sunshin, and his fellow Korean commanders (even rebellious Won Gyun, for a time) followed his orders. He was the Korean El Cid, and thus when he died, he too, to sustain the morale of Korean soldiers in the final battle of Noryang Point, asked that his death be concealed until the battle was over. He died, basically, at the height of his glory. Dunno where you're getting the ignominy aura from. Yi Sunshin was only unpopular among some factions of the Korean court, which was full of intrigue and backstabbing (and to some extent the Korean government remains that way to this day, unfortunately).
The Turtle Ship wasn't invented during Admiral Yi's time, if that's where you're getting this from. It was invented much earlier in the Choson Dynasty, and that's where most people get the "it was the first armored ship in world history" bit from. That said, Yi Sunshin is so often tied to the Turtle Ship that people assume he invented it (some South Koreans I met recently thought so, and I corrected them. They didn't believe me, lol).
Agreed. I don't eat kimchi often myself. Quite a few of my friends, including one from Pakistan, eat it as often as they can and praise its spicy taste. I do like kimchi when it's been cooked though. Can't stand the regular fermented taste. Personal preference though. Nearly all my Korean family members love it to bits.
Yes, but Korea was a major proponent of Buddhism, and its trade with Japan stirred its rise there quite a bit. The first metal type in the world (invented by Koreans) was expressly used to type out Buddhist texts (Tripitaka Koreana). Furthermore, several of Korea's most famous wonders, Hwangnyongsa Pagoda, Bulguksa, Seokugram among them, were centers of Buddhism. They were the Korean equivalent of Christian cathedrals. The Seon Buddhist movement during the Silla period I believe, bears strong similarity in its beliefs and textual emphasis to Zen Buddhist texts. Also, there is proof that Silla had relations with Yamato Japan, and I believe this is around the period where the earliest Japanese texts about Buddhism date to (early ADs). If I were Buddhist I'd probably know more about this than I do. XD
My uncle and aunt had their honeymoon there. The blossoms were very impressive in those photos!
I'm going to have fun with this.
North Korea starving? So was the US several times. Great Depression and now, Great Recession. Doesn't mean they get crossed off the countries in Civ list. The mention of North Korea was to point out that it can only be false, your little statement that "people don't know anything about korea"
Nukes were not invented by Korea, but does that matter? These days all people care about is who HAS nukes.
Kim Jong Il was the North Korean dictator whom people like to make fun of. And you seem to have heard of him, given your little questions afterward.
US involvement. Pay or play them? Typo? Korea did pay the US in a way--they have trade rights in Korea and outlets for their commercial branches: Dunkin' Donuts, among them, lol.
Samsung. Sure. But Samsung is a big dog too. That there are other big dogs doesn't mean we should ignore this big dog of business.
Turtle Boat. What the heck is a dragonboat? Do you mean a Viking longship? Lol.
Hwacha. Civ 4. Yes, they were included for a reason. Even you must see that.
Yi Sun-shin. Never heard of? Well Japanese admiral Togo Heihachiro of the Imperial Japanese Navy knew him:
Most naval historians who write books on world naval history have heard of Admiral Yi Sunshin, and include him in their books. British historians are among them:
This excerpt is from George Alexander Ballard's "The Influence of the Sea on The Political History of Japan" (1921) pp. 6667.
Several Civfanatics know of the Turtle Ship, whether it be from Age of Empires II, actually reading naval histories, or because they've visited Korean museums and know how much Koreans crow about them. The Turtle Ship, while not invented by Admiral Yi, was used as a weapon in the Imjin Wars and wrecked numerous Japanese ships with its high speed and multiple broadside cannons. it's also reputed to be the first ironclad in history.
Kimchi, you say Starbucks. I say kimchi is cultural, I also say that Starbucks is no more cultural than McDonald's or Dunkin Donuts or any commercialized "global" fast food chain is.
Buddhism. Zen. You do realize Zen Buddhism partly came about because of Koreans spreading Buddhism to Japan right?
Bulguksa is a UNESCO World Heritage site, along with the Seokguram Grotto. That you haven't heard from them makes it no less important for Buddhists in Korea and worldwide. When I visited last year, at the foot of the mountain, I saw many tablets with inscriptions from people all over the world: Australia and Finland among them.
I have pointed out that your ignorance of Korea doesn't mean that "nobody has heard of Korea." On the contrary, many people have, even if only in connection with kimchi, the World Cup (concerning the "Be the Reds" slogan on my T-shirt I was wearing: one Canadian I met hilariously asked if that meant I was Communist), Samsung, North Korea, and the Turtle Ship.
Thormodr, you raise some interesting points. It seems you've taught in Korea at some point. Some responses:
Yes, Kim Jong Il was more infamous than famous--people do certainly know of him though! And that's why he was on my list. I personally think he was a horrible, brutal leader. But, he is well known. More of my friends from my American collegiate days know of him than they know of Roh Moo yung (the S. Korean president who committed suicide yet was hated during his presidency). That said, I suppose the current UN Secretary General was someone I forgot to mention on my list, hehe.
True, but most suspect they do. There is reasonable, if scant, evidence to the effect that they are working on developing them. For one thing, they do have nuclear reactors, and have constantly been talking about weaponization.
It's true Korea owes a lot to the U.S. I think the reasons why many Koreans resent the U.S. though, include:
a) Some Americans/Western historians love pointing out the U.S. aid, without really recognizing that recent innovations were entirely Korea's own. U.S. (and to some extent, even Japanese) infrastructure helped with the initial push, but Koreans were responsible for actual continued growth. I think some Koreans are miffed that people mention U.S. aid more than recent Korean achievements, and they'd rather have it the other way. Both approaches are wrong, of course.
b) American soldiers killed South Korean civilians during the Korean War. Several of the most infamous incidents of this remain in memory, but the incidents in total found so far number over 100: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/10/world/asia/10comission.html
c) Koreans dislike big powers (and some Koreans are very xenophobic for this reason). This was true historically because Koreans kept getting invaded by China and Japan, and usually won by the skin of their teeth, thus preferring to be vassals to China than deal with more invasions. When they were conquered, they always rose up and ousted them eventually, even the Mongols, even the Manchus.
Um....I really have to disagree about this. In his own day and age, the countryside peasants watched Yi Sunshin dragged to the capital to answer for treason, and they protested that he be released. Chen Lin, a Chinese admiral, openly admired Yi Sunshin, and his fellow Korean commanders (even rebellious Won Gyun, for a time) followed his orders. He was the Korean El Cid, and thus when he died, he too, to sustain the morale of Korean soldiers in the final battle of Noryang Point, asked that his death be concealed until the battle was over. He died, basically, at the height of his glory. Dunno where you're getting the ignominy aura from. Yi Sunshin was only unpopular among some factions of the Korean court, which was full of intrigue and backstabbing (and to some extent the Korean government remains that way to this day, unfortunately).
The Turtle Ship wasn't invented during Admiral Yi's time, if that's where you're getting this from. It was invented much earlier in the Choson Dynasty, and that's where most people get the "it was the first armored ship in world history" bit from. That said, Yi Sunshin is so often tied to the Turtle Ship that people assume he invented it (some South Koreans I met recently thought so, and I corrected them. They didn't believe me, lol).
Agreed. I don't eat kimchi often myself. Quite a few of my friends, including one from Pakistan, eat it as often as they can and praise its spicy taste. I do like kimchi when it's been cooked though. Can't stand the regular fermented taste. Personal preference though. Nearly all my Korean family members love it to bits.
Yes, but Korea was a major proponent of Buddhism, and its trade with Japan stirred its rise there quite a bit. The first metal type in the world (invented by Koreans) was expressly used to type out Buddhist texts (Tripitaka Koreana). Furthermore, several of Korea's most famous wonders, Hwangnyongsa Pagoda, Bulguksa, Seokugram among them, were centers of Buddhism. They were the Korean equivalent of Christian cathedrals. The Seon Buddhist movement during the Silla period I believe, bears strong similarity in its beliefs and textual emphasis to Zen Buddhist texts. Also, there is proof that Silla had relations with Yamato Japan, and I believe this is around the period where the earliest Japanese texts about Buddhism date to (early ADs). If I were Buddhist I'd probably know more about this than I do. XD
Being the middle man isn't impressive per se, but it does grant you a certain influence and power. During the Ancient Choson days, the Ancient Choson kingdom was able to gain much trade from southern Korea and Japan, blocking the Han Chinese. This is one speculated reason as to why the Han Chinese eventually invaded and toppled the Ancient Choson (until the Korean kingdom of Goguryeo later ousted them and took over huge swathes of land in Manchuria).
My uncle and aunt had their honeymoon there. The blossoms were very impressive in those photos!
