Yes, it was truly a mistake that China invented these two things. It unleashed great harm to the world. If only Europe would have just been content and stayed in its part of the world, what would the world be like now? Flourishing Amerindian and Australian aboriginal civilizations? Maybe. Too bad Star Trek wasn’t a popular show back in 1492 or whenever. The West might have developed a version of the Prime Directive and spared the world some grief. But, alas, no, history did not play out that way. Such shameful inventions. Worse than the nuke.
stuart wrote:
“If Europeans had left that continent alone, who do you suppose might be there now?”
I don’t know. A strong aboriginal civilization that might be able to repel invaders? An imperial Japanese colony? Part of an Incan southern hemispheric empire? We’ll never know.
stuart wrote:
“Do you really think China would leave all that mineral wealth unearthed?”
China might still be under Qing rule; be mired in internal conflict; or be in isolation and ignoring the outside world.
stuart wrote:
“China took warfare on a westward adventure first. The Yuan dynasty set a great example.”
If you are referring to the Mongol conquest of much of Eurasia, that wasn’t China, but China did inherit some of what the Mongols conquered.
Anyway, I see no fault in what the European civilizations did to weaker civilizations. History is full of examples of stronger civilizations conquering and absorbing weaker ones. It’s how it was then, and it’s how it is now. It’s just fortunate for China that it (under Mao) was strong enough to repel foreign conquest, regain some of its lost territories, and maintain its territorial integrity.
“If you are referring to the Mongol conquest of much of Eurasia, that wasn’t China”
I hear that denial quite often; but I don’t think a country that holds that a chunk of Mongolia is a part of greater China can so easily distance itself from the history of the region. Besides, Mongolians and Chinese were pretty much assimilated by the time the rampage began.
“Anyway, I see no fault in what the European civilizations did to weaker civilizations.”
You’re just about the only one.
“I don’t know. A strong aboriginal civilization that might be able to repel invaders?”
That would be nice, but not really possible without a renaissance of their own.
What I often sense – reading between the lines of Chinese criticism of aboriginal treatment – is a resentment that ‘western’ colonial influence came to dominate a continent that China feels should be under its own sphere of influence.
November 29th, 2009 at 1:29 am
Yes, it was truly a mistake that China invented these two things. It unleashed great harm to the world. If only Europe would have just been content and stayed in its part of the world, what would the world be like now? Flourishing Amerindian and Australian aboriginal civilizations? Maybe. Too bad Star Trek wasn’t a popular show back in 1492 or whenever. The West might have developed a version of the Prime Directive and spared the world some grief. But, alas, no, history did not play out that way. Such shameful inventions. Worse than the nuke.
November 29th, 2009 at 8:37 am
“Australian aboriginal civilizations”
If Europeans had left that continent alone, who do you suppose might be there now?
Do you really think China would leave all that mineral wealth unearthed?
“If only Europe would have just been content and stayed in its part of the world”
China took warfare on a westward adventure first. The Yuan dynasty set a great example.
November 30th, 2009 at 6:27 am
stuart wrote:
“If Europeans had left that continent alone, who do you suppose might be there now?”
I don’t know. A strong aboriginal civilization that might be able to repel invaders? An imperial Japanese colony? Part of an Incan southern hemispheric empire? We’ll never know.
stuart wrote:
“Do you really think China would leave all that mineral wealth unearthed?”
China might still be under Qing rule; be mired in internal conflict; or be in isolation and ignoring the outside world.
stuart wrote:
“China took warfare on a westward adventure first. The Yuan dynasty set a great example.”
If you are referring to the Mongol conquest of much of Eurasia, that wasn’t China, but China did inherit some of what the Mongols conquered.
Anyway, I see no fault in what the European civilizations did to weaker civilizations. History is full of examples of stronger civilizations conquering and absorbing weaker ones. It’s how it was then, and it’s how it is now. It’s just fortunate for China that it (under Mao) was strong enough to repel foreign conquest, regain some of its lost territories, and maintain its territorial integrity.
November 30th, 2009 at 8:54 am
“If you are referring to the Mongol conquest of much of Eurasia, that wasn’t China”
I hear that denial quite often; but I don’t think a country that holds that a chunk of Mongolia is a part of greater China can so easily distance itself from the history of the region. Besides, Mongolians and Chinese were pretty much assimilated by the time the rampage began.
“Anyway, I see no fault in what the European civilizations did to weaker civilizations.”
You’re just about the only one.
“I don’t know. A strong aboriginal civilization that might be able to repel invaders?”
That would be nice, but not really possible without a renaissance of their own.
What I often sense – reading between the lines of Chinese criticism of aboriginal treatment – is a resentment that ‘western’ colonial influence came to dominate a continent that China feels should be under its own sphere of influence.