The CCP has no idea how much they will miss this incarnation of the DL when he’s gone, because the 14th incarnation is their Arafat.
|
||||
|
The CCP has no idea how much they will miss this incarnation of the DL when he’s gone, because the 14th incarnation is their Arafat. A fortuitous trip into “town” (in this case Zhongdian) means a quick stop in a local Internet Cafe. We’ve been spending the last few days in Napa Village, a small Tibetan (with a dash of Naxi) settlement not too far outside of Zhongdian. The village is on the edge of Napa Hai which in wetter weather is a large, shallow lake but at this time of the year transforms into a broad, green expanse of pasture land dotted with more yak than one would think possible. The villagers of Napa have made several transformations themselves in the last few years, shifting their economy from pastoral agriculture supplemented by quasi-legal logging to ecotourism supplemented by a quasi-legal toll booth blocking the new highway which runs through the area. In fact those traveling in Northwest Yunnan should be prepared for several of these make-shift money-making roadblocks. All over the Zhongdian area local villagers are whacking passing vehicles (even bicycles, one villager proudly announced at dinner) for 30 RMB a pop. My students were a bit perplexed until I reminded them that highway brigandry has long been a staple of the local economy and the new toll both minders are far more polite than their 19th-century In Tuesday’s Pearl Harbor post, I appended a little shout out to my home state’s role in ending the Russo-Japanese War. Well, just when you thought China had a monopoly on specious historical claims, here comes Maine and their splittist propaganda: Really enjoyed your recent post on Pearl Harbor and historical absolutism. It’s somewhat difficult for me to hear anyone even suggest that the number of historical absolutists in America is fewer than elsewhere, because as an American living in the UK essentially all I hear about is how skewed our view of this or that historical event is. It breeds apologists of my fellow American expats, which I don’t love (when do Brits ever apologize for the situation they had such a hand in creating in Africa, to pick an atrocity out of a hat?). I’m writing to note, however, that in fact you New Hampshire people–well, you can try to claim the Treaty of Portsmouth all you want, but the site of its signing in fact is in my home state across the border from Portsmouth. It’s somewhat confusing, but the Treaty of Portsmouth was signed at Portsmouth Naval Shipyard, located in Kittery, Maine. I know, I know, Now mocking Chinese state media for breathless and brainless historical hyperbole is a bit of poor sport, but this little bit from the ChinaTibet portion of the People’s Daily website seemed even more breathless and, if possible, brainless than usual. The article, in theory, is about the opening of a Museum of Chinese Characters in Anyang. So well as that goes, Anyang is known as a place for studying ancient writing and early scripts. But then the article takes a little detour from Henan out to the western steppe. At the top of the page a prominently displayed caption reads: Photo taken on November 16, 2009, shows the silver plates to commend high commissioners sent to Tibet by the Central Government of the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911) displayed in the Chinese Character Museum in Anyang, central China’s Henan Province. They serve as the witnesses to the fact that Tibet has been part of China since ancient times. Leaving aside the question of whether the 18th century qualifies as “ancient,” it’s the desperation and the chronic lack of self-awareness that makes this so sad/funny (Like a drunk baby, but maybe not as funny) and it is this shrillness that tends to make I’m not sure even where to begin with this… The copy alone is simply priceless: “Stubborn and tenacious as a bulldog, fearless and unafraid, doggedly patient, this son of a village merchant is the strongest man China has produced for generations. In 1928, he set out to unify China. He was too successful. Japan attacked. Despite overwhelming odds, despite defeat after defeat, Chiang still fights on, confident in ultimate victory. This great man, a Christian by conviction, is indeed a man of stamina, the heart and soul of the Chinese resistance.”* Yeesh. Who knew Henry Luce wrote trouser ads in his spare time? As my friend and fellow historian Glenn (from whom I shamelessly grabbed this picture and so I tip my electronic hat in his direction) said on Facebook: “Before Bob Dole, there was…” While on the subject of CKS for the moment, I thought I’d also share a little nugget I found while re-reading a speech Chiang gave soon after the Japanese surrender in 1945. Addressing a high-level meeting of the KMT, Chiang ponders what a post-war China would look like, and in this particular section discusses the status of former Qing territories such as Outer Mongolia |
||||
|
Copyright © 2012 Jottings from the Granite Studio - All Rights Reserved
|
||||