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I've never personally felt guilty for imperialism, but if I were to visit my brother I would meet a number of native Americans who's ancestors were beat down by

by astine 9y ago

I've never personally felt guilty for imperialism, but if I were to visit my brother I would meet a number of native Americans who's ancestors were beat down by people of the same race as my ancestors. Those natives still suffer the consequences of that. The Mongols are now more at the mercy of the Chinese rather than visa-versa. It's less crass for them to reminisce about there glory days and triumphs against a people who now dominate them, than it would be for white men in my country to reminisce about conquering a people whom they still dominate. That said, there are still people pissed about the Mongol conquest. Genghis Khan is still hated in China, and central Asia and especially the middle east.

k_sze 9y ago
I'm not sure where you get the idea that Genghis Khan is hated in China. As far as I know, he is considered one of the national heroes, I guess partly because China controls Inner Mongolia. For instance, in popular culture, such as Jinyong's Legend of the Condor Heroes, Genghis Khan is a secondary character, depicted as a smart leader who was shaped by the treachery of his own sworn brother and by the oppression of the Jurchen Jin dynasty. The reader is lead to empathize with Genghis Khan, through the eyes of Guojing, the patriotic Sung protagonist, despite the resentment that exists between him and Genghis Khan, the Mongolian leader who has decided to turn on their Sung dynasty allies. I know Jinyong's work is fiction with a historical background, but I believe his work is a good indication of Chinese sentiments towards historical events and figures.
- astine 9y ago
  I had read that there was resentment against the Mongols and Yuan dynasty in China due to the destruction they caused. It could be that my information is not so current. I'm willing to be wrong on that point.
- cba4321 9y ago
  As a Chinese I don't think he is national hero at all, and most people I know don't regard him as hero, I'm not sure where did you get that idea. He was a conqueror for sure. Chinese suffered as much as other conquered lands, to say to least. The Yuan dynasty lasted less than a century, one of the shortest period in the history. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Genghis_Khan#Mixed https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Genghis_Khan#Mixed Even in the fiction `Jingyong`'s book, I wouldn't say the author had a bias favor Khan, I guess smart readers could read it from the book. The Khan would massacre every one if the be-seiged refuse to surrender, and they usually would drive herds of surrendered to the gate. Not to mention in the book the Kan is Kublai instead, and he is noway the secondary character.
  - k_sze 9y ago
    "Not to mention in the book the Kan is Kublai instead" That's in the sequel, The Return of the Condor Heroes, which depicts events after the death of Genghis Khan. And since you mention Kublai, Genghis Khan only started the conquest of China. He only managed to conquer West Xia before his death. The rest of the conquest of China was done by his descendants, and so I believe most of the atrocities towards the Chinese occurred then.
forkLding 9y ago
Genghis Khan is a conflicting character in China, if at the time when Genghis Khan invaded China, he was likely hated. Nowadays he is like Alexander the Great to the Greeks, despite being a conqueror he is more respected.
- mcguire 9y ago
  There is some nuances to it, apparently. https://www.reddit.com/r/AskHistorians/comments/27mism/how_is_genghis_khan_seen_in_modern_day_china/ https://www.reddit.com/r/AskHistorians/comments/27mism/how_i...
- valuearb 9y ago
  About 1 in 12 Chinese are direct descendants of Genghis Khan, maybe that biases the polls. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Descent_from_Genghis_Khan https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Descent_from_Genghis_Khan
vim_wannabe 9y ago
To be fair there are very few countries, tribes or people that aren't "suffering the consequences" over clashes with their neighbors over the last few hundred years.

by astine 9y ago

k_sze 9y ago

I'm not sure where you get the idea that Genghis Khan is hated in China. As far as I know, he is considered one of the national heroes, I guess partly because China controls Inner Mongolia. For instance, in popular culture, such as Jinyong's Legend of the Condor Heroes, Genghis Khan is a secondary character, depicted as a smart leader who was shaped by the treachery of his own sworn brother and by the oppression of the Jurchen Jin dynasty. The reader is lead to empathize with Genghis Khan, through the eyes of Guojing, the patriotic Sung protagonist, despite the resentment that exists between him and Genghis Khan, the Mongolian leader who has decided to turn on their Sung dynasty allies. I know Jinyong's work is fiction with a historical background, but I believe his work is a good indication of Chinese sentiments towards historical events and figures.

astine 9y ago
I had read that there was resentment against the Mongols and Yuan dynasty in China due to the destruction they caused. It could be that my information is not so current. I'm willing to be wrong on that point.
cba4321 9y ago
As a Chinese I don't think he is national hero at all, and most people I know don't regard him as hero, I'm not sure where did you get that idea. He was a conqueror for sure. Chinese suffered as much as other conquered lands, to say to least. The Yuan dynasty lasted less than a century, one of the shortest period in the history. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Genghis_Khan#Mixed https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Genghis_Khan#Mixed Even in the fiction `Jingyong`'s book, I wouldn't say the author had a bias favor Khan, I guess smart readers could read it from the book. The Khan would massacre every one if the be-seiged refuse to surrender, and they usually would drive herds of surrendered to the gate. Not to mention in the book the Kan is Kublai instead, and he is noway the secondary character.
- k_sze 9y ago
  "Not to mention in the book the Kan is Kublai instead" That's in the sequel, The Return of the Condor Heroes, which depicts events after the death of Genghis Khan. And since you mention Kublai, Genghis Khan only started the conquest of China. He only managed to conquer West Xia before his death. The rest of the conquest of China was done by his descendants, and so I believe most of the atrocities towards the Chinese occurred then.

forkLding 9y ago

Genghis Khan is a conflicting character in China, if at the time when Genghis Khan invaded China, he was likely hated. Nowadays he is like Alexander the Great to the Greeks, despite being a conqueror he is more respected.

mcguire 9y ago
There is some nuances to it, apparently. https://www.reddit.com/r/AskHistorians/comments/27mism/how_is_genghis_khan_seen_in_modern_day_china/ https://www.reddit.com/r/AskHistorians/comments/27mism/how_i...
valuearb 9y ago
About 1 in 12 Chinese are direct descendants of Genghis Khan, maybe that biases the polls. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Descent_from_Genghis_Khan https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Descent_from_Genghis_Khan

vim_wannabe 9y ago

To be fair there are very few countries, tribes or people that aren't "suffering the consequences" over clashes with their neighbors over the last few hundred years.