Comments on: Who’s the most important Chinese historical figure whom most people have never heard of?

By: Frog in a Well - The China History Group Blog

Frog in a Well - The China History Group Blog — Fri, 07 Mar 2008 07:32:19 +0000

[...] Events That Don’t Get Much Attention, (2/ 11/08) which was in turn inspired by Jeremiah Jenne’s piece at Jottings From the Granite Studio about the most important Chinese historical figure most people [...]

By: Jeremiah

Jeremiah — Tue, 29 Jan 2008 12:15:06 +0000

Rickshaw is a good bet. I watched the baseball playoffs there. I like Sammy’s because I like Sammy. He’s a helluva guy, but he also sometimes has trouble keeping his various multimedia equipment working. I’d hate it if we ran into a glitch during the Super Bowl.

I think one reason I was leaning toward Texas Tim’s is 1) the size of the place 2) the Mexican Food buffet after and 3) the prices.

This is a topic though, that definitely deserves its own thread. Perhaps a post on Barstool Blues?

By: Froog

Froog — Tue, 29 Jan 2008 09:01:59 +0000

Schlepping that far across town in the middle of the night is kind of unappealing. I’d rather not go too much east of Gongti.

My ‘dark horse’ nomination (if they’re open; haven’t tried to check yet) would be Kro’s. Other than that, I oscillate between Rickshaw (good crowd) and Sammy’s (CHEAP).

By: Jeremiah

Jeremiah — Tue, 29 Jan 2008 03:14:34 +0000

Froog,

Thanks for the reminder, I look over Hart’s list and I was struck too by the emphasis on religion. I suppose there’s an argument to be made there. I also liked the juxtaposition of Gutenberg and Cai Lun.

Deng versus Mao is a tough call, I suppose it depends how we judge the relative importance of positive and negative effects. On the whole, I’d probably lean toward Mao if only because without Mao there would be no Deng but it’s tough to argue the reverse. Deng’s ideas in the 1980s were first conceived by Liu Shaoqi, Zhou Enlai, and Deng in the 1960s. But it’s certainly a subject open for debate.

As for the Super Bowl…I was thinking G&D but a dark horse has emerged in recent days as I’m starting to lean more toward Texas Tim’s…It may be a game time decision, what are your thoughts, oh Master of the Barstool?

By: Froog

Froog — Tue, 29 Jan 2008 01:36:54 +0000

Have you made your Superbowl plans yet?

Have you taken a look at Hart’s list? I think Marx and Mao should rank much higher than he does.

An interesting question for Chinese students is whether they would place Mao or Deng higher. Almost invariably they will loyally nominate Mao. Founding the nation undoubtedly important, I agree; but freeing it from three decades of turmoil and finally setting it on a path towards modernization and integration into the international community – rather more important, I would suggest.

I think Hart’s list was compiled in the late 70s or early 80s, so he could little guess at the impact of “reform and opening up”.