The 1277 Battle Between King Narathihapato of Burma and the Mongolian Kublai Khan
In 1277, a big battle was fought involving over 60,000 Burmese warriors and their war elephants against only 12,000 Mongol horsemen with their metal-tipped arrows and a clever plan. Who would win?

On December 18:

1271  Kublai Khan renamed his empire “Yuan” (元 yuán), officially marking the start of the Yuan Dynasty of Mongolia and China.

Mayflower in Plymouth Harbor by William Halsall (1882)

1642  Abel Tasman and his men had the first known European encounter with Maori.

1707 Charles Wesley, English Methodist hymnist, was born.

1777 The United States celebrated its first Thanksgiving, marking the recent victory by the Americans over General John Burgoyne in the Battle of Saratoga in October.

1778 Joseph Grimaldi, English clown, was born.

1849 Henrietta Edwards, Canadian women’s rights activist, was born.

1863 Franz Ferdinand, Archduke of Austria, was born.

1878 Joseph Stalin, leader of the Soviet Union, was born.

1888 – Richard Wetherill and his brother in-law discovered the ancient Indian ruins of Mesa Verde.

1890  Edwin Armstrong, American inventor (FM radio) was born.

1898  Gaston de Chasseloup-Laubat set the new land speed record going 39.245 mph (63.159 km/h), in a Jeantaud electric car. This is the first recognized land speed record.

1900 The Upper Ferntree Gully to Gembrook Narrow-gauge (2 ft 6 in or 762 mm) Railway (now the Puffing Billy Railway) in Victoria, Australia opened.

 The Monbulk Creek Trestle Bridge.

1905 – Irving Kahn, American financial analyst and investor, was born.

1908  Celia Johnson, English actress, was born.

1910 – Eric Tindill, New Zealand cricketer and rugby player, was born.

1912 The Piltdown Man, later discovered to be a hoax, was found in the Piltdown Gravel Pit, by Charles Dawson.

1913 Willy Brandt, Chancellor of Germany, recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize, was born.

1916  Betty Grable, American actress, was born.

1935  Jacques Pépin, French chef, was born.

1938 Chas Chandler, English musician (The Animals), was born.

1943  Keith Richards, English guitarist (The Rolling Stones), was born.

1946  Steve Biko, South African anti-apartheid activist, was born.

1946 – Steven Spielberg, American film director, was born.

1963 Brad Pitt, American actor, was born.

1966 Saturn’s moon Epimetheus is discovered by Richard L. Walker.

1969  Home Secretary James Callaghan’s motion to make permanent the Murder (Abolition of Death Penalty) Act 1965, which had temporarily suspended capital punishment in England, Wales and Scotland for murder (but not for all crimes) for a period of five years, was carried by both the House of Commons and the House of Lords.

1973 Soyuz 13, crewed by cosmonauts Valentin Lebedev and Pyotr Klimuk, was launched from Baikonur in the Soviet Union.

1987  Larry Wall released the first version of the Perl programming language.

1997  HTML 4.0 was published by the World Wide Web Consortium.

1999 NASA launched into orbit the Terra platform carrying five Earth Observation instruments, including ASTER, CERES, MISR, MODIS and MOPITT.

Sourced from NZ History Online & Wikipedia.

Kochi formerly known as Cochin can be described as the Queen of the Arabian Sea. It is a city in the Indian state of Kerala which is situated on the west coast of India.

A cluster of islands, Kochi is the commercial city of Kerala and is one of the finest natural harbours in the world.

Public transport in the city is largely dependent on private buses. Taxis and auto rickshaws are available for hire. Narrow roads and large types of vehicles have made traffic congestion a major problem in the city.

Mild climates overflowing with bright sunlight and coastlines attacked annually by fierce typhoons, Kochis natural environment has instilled a unique temperament in its people.

The touristy part of this city is called Fort Kochi and practically every building there is European.

Kochi boasts the first Catholic Church in India St Francis Church. Built in 1546 by the Portuguese, about a hundred years later it became Protestant with the Dutch invasion and still about a hundred years later, the arrival of the British made it Anglican. In 1949, the congregation joined the Church of South India. Next to it is the huge parade ground, formerly used for the different armies and nowadays a favourite site for the youth to exercise cricket.

Katsurahama Beach in Kochi is the most famous for moon viewing. People enjoy the beach for long talks while having food and drinks until late at night. There are also a few souvenir shops, an aquarium, a museum dedicated to Sakamoto Ryoma and his statue.

Bolgatty Palace is a Dutch palace situated on the Bolghatty Island. At present it is being used as hotel. The island has a fine golf course and the panoramic view makes it an attractive picnic spot. Frequent boat service is available from the mainland.

The Chinese fishing nets are the only ones of its kind in India. It is believed that traders from the court of the Chinese ruler Kublai Khan introduced these nets here. Between 1350 and 1450 AD traders from the court of Kublai Khan set up on Teak wood and bamboo poles. The best place to watch the nets being lowered into the sea and catch being brought in is the Vasco da Gama Square, a narrow promenade that runs along the beach.

The Dutch Palace was originally built by the Portuguese. In the 17th century, the Dutch modified it and presented to the Raja of Kochi. The place has a fine collection of mural paintings.

WORD

amalgamate [uh-mal-guh-meyt] v. 1. to mix or merge so as to make a combination; blend; unite; combine: to amalgamate two companies 2. Metallurgy. to mix or alloy (a metal) with mercury 3. to combine, unite, merge, or coalesce: The three schools decided to amalgamate 4. to blend with another metal, as mercury

BIRTHDAY

Euripides (480 BC), Kublai Khan (1214), Mary Mallon (1869), Mickey Rooney (1920), John Coltrane (1926), Ray Charles (1930), Julio Iglesias (1943), Bruce Springsteen (1949), Jason Alexander (1959), Elizabeth Peña (1961), Ani DiFranco (1970), Jermaine Dupri (1972), Layzie Bone (1975), Rachael Yamagata (1977), Melanie Oudin (1991)

STANDPOINT

Two things I’ve always been gifted at are (a) making drinks and (b) convincing people I’m actually interested in the words coming out of their mouths. So, I’m a natural bartender.

And I love bartending. For the most part. But there a few annoying people who might appear during any given night I’ll always be unhappy to lay eyes on.

• “The Loud Dude Who Is Totally Fucking Wrong About Pretty Much Everything” – This guy lives in every bar you’ve ever been to. He offers his opinions on just about everything in earshot, reciting  facts and statistics that are completely false. People put up with this kind of guy because, although he’s stupid, he’s no idiot and eventually offers to buy drinks for other customers. Sadly, people accept because, hey, free alcohol. As the bartender, and therefore the only sober person present, I’m forced to listen to the guy’s conspiracy theory about how Jack Ruby didn’t kill Lee Harvey Oswald, despite that being the one fucking fact in the whole JFK conspiracy everyone knows is absolutely true.
• “The Wishy-Washy Individual Hankering For Some Dream World Elixir” – OK, here’s a tip for all you who plan on ever going to a bar again. Don’t pepper the bartender with an endless ingredient list of a drink that could never possibly exist. “Well, I want something fruity, but I don’t want it too sweet, and I don’t want to really taste the alcohol, but I want it to be strong because I’m only gonna have, like, one. Or maybe two.” You might as well ask me to serve that drink in the Holy Grail and have it personally delivered by Brad Pitt. Because that’d be easier than making your fantasyland cocktail. What do you like to drink? Just tell me. I’ll make it. As long as the ingredients don’t involve pixie dust or the breath of an angel.
• “The Ultra-Demanding Dolt Who Doesn’t Truly Understand The System” – If you are finicky, that’s perfectly fine. That’s what I’m there for. If you want what you want the way you want, I’m on board. I’m the same way. However, if you make me shuck and jive, groove and dance, run around like a hopped-up chimpanzee, hey, it’s cool. I’m in the service industry and that’s exactly what I’m there for. But if you run up a tab of, say, $320 and you leave me a $30 tip, I’ll deal with it. Life will go on. BUT, the next time you come and sit at my bar, prepare to be placed at the very bottom of my priority level, somewhere between making sure my floor is clean and checking my cell for text messages. Tip well, and you’re gonna get treated well.

QUOTATION

The sudden disappointment of a hope leaves a scar which the ultimate fulfillment of that hope never entirely removes. ← Thomas Hardy

TUNE

In Philadelphia, there’s not a much greater place to watch a band you love than Johnny Brenda’s. Here’s a video of Rogue Wave’s “Kicking The Heart Out.” I was at the show. My friend Danielle and I were busy getting hammered at the bar. But still, I was there.

GALLIMAUFRY

→ The video of Will Ferrell and a bunch of other celebrities imploring the American people to help out this country’s health insurance execs was yesterday’s big internet draw. Regardless of you position on the issue, this is some pretty funny stuff. I love Thomas Lennon’s remark at the very end.

→ Apparently, 60% of Americans are now living paycheck to paycheck. Welcome to my world, people. Glad to have you aboard.

→ Dude, are you fucking kidding me? GLENN BECK DAY? Mt. Vernon, you suck.

by Matt Wagner (writer), Amy Reeder Hadlery (art), Richard Friend (inks), Guy Major (colors), and Jared K. Fletcher (letters)

The Story: Madame Xanadu tries to do what little good she can, from Camelot, to the court of Kublai Khan, to revolutionary France, to 1880s London, to 1920s New York; but it always comes with mixed results.  And there’s always that pesky Phantom Stranger to deal with….

The Good: Wow, what a trade.  Ten issues long, this is a big book that’s ’s really a series of two-issue arcs (each in a different time period) that end in a massive change in the series’ status quo; and it feels nothing short of epic.  Not a single page is wasted, either.  There isn’t any treading of water and Wagner’s jumping from time period to time period with equal amounts of ease (and no doubt a gratuitous amount of research) is truly impressive, essentially making this a series of period pieces in the DC Universe that effortlessly incorporates a bevy of historical figures.  Any one of the five time periods here could’ve been the basis for an entire ongoing series.  The scope of the book comes to enormous, but never overwhelming thanks to the cycle of repetition that Wagner shows Xanadu and the Stranger to be hopelessly locked in.  Best of all, the ending of the trade feels natural, grand, and conclusive, which is what you want out of a trade’s ending, not a cliffhanger.

The relationship between Xanadu and the Stranger really is the meat of the book. It’s a highly complex relationship that evolves from lover, to enemy, to source of tragedy. Yet despite this fluidity, the beauty is that much like Xanadu and the Stranger’s existences, the relationship is really just a cycle that continually repeats the same pattern.  A tremendously pained yet beautiful relationship, it’s one of the best in comics.  Best of all is the difference in morality that comes to seperate the two; it’s just so damned hard to side with either one, as neither is wholly right or wrong.  At the very least, the reader will oscillate between Xanadu and the Stranger. I myself spent much of the book on Xanadu’s side, but ended the book on that of the Stranger.

Lastly, Amy Reeder Hadley’s art is fantastic and the woman deserves every Eisner nomination she’s had tossed her way. It’s vibrant, joyful, and full of life. Hadley’s style manages to successfully make use of a Japanese influence, but while that anime/manga feel is definitely there, it’s never overwhelming. Rather, Hadley takes elements of it to create a unique art style, rather than just whole-hog draw a manga. What comes out is not a Japanese-styled book, but rather a look that is all her own.

What’s Not So Good: I don’t say this often, but while this trade was fantastic, I did get the feeling that the series works better in single issue format. Jumping from time period to time period, it just feels a little too compressed when it’s all between the same two covers. This somewhat hampers the Phantom Stranger appearances; it becomes much more obvious that he’s showing up in every single issue when you’re not having to wait a month between Xanadu fixes. As a result, the Stranger’s appearances almost feel too frequent.

Conclusion: A tremendous value for your dollar, fantastic art, and an epic feel make this a trade, and a series, worth checking out.

Grade: B+

-Alex Evans

The 1277 Battle Between King Narathihapato of Burma and the Mongolian Kublai Khan
In 1277, a big battle was fought involving over 60,000 Burmese warriors and their war elephants against only 12,000 Mongol horsemen with their metal-tipped arrows and a clever plan. Who would win?

Uncle Pachyderm
Uncle Pachyderm was one of many elephants forced to be on the front line of a 1277 battle between Burma and Kublai Khan’s Mongols. Imagine his terror when the Mongols dismounted and shot metal-tipped arrows at the most vulnerable spots on each elephant.

It has been 7.5 months since I set off for Haman, with little of any idea of what I was getting myself into. In one of my first posts, I mentioned my intentions of buying a tailored suit — whatever it was I was going to experience, I wanted to look good experiencing it. Well, that dream got sidetracked (perhaps by the fine quality shirts and ties for low, low prices down at the local Trial Mart), but it finally became a reality.

It's not as white as the angelic lighting would have you believe, but it's not too far-off. (mind the lack of socks and shoes)

Boy, whoever steals this is gonna have a lot of s'plaining to do. Aha, aha, aha... (sigh)

“Be there more important things in life

than fancy suits, and shirts and ties?

The world doth feast with hungry eyes,

and all that glitters fuels the fight.”

- Kublai Khan, or something

Beijing—capital of China, the country with the largest population on earth. Beijing is one of the world’s great cities and it was made capital of China by a great man. That man was Kublai Khan. Kublai declared himself “Great Khan,” the supreme ruler of the Mongol empire at his palace of Xanadu in 1260. But his main interest was in China where he reigned until 1294 and founded the Yuan Dynasty. This meant he also became a major figure in the history of China.
“Kublai Khan was an extremely significant figure in the course of Chinese history, because he was the first significant non-Chinese ruler to rule over the entire Chinese empire; and, more than that, had aspirations, in effect, to try to rule the entire world.”
Kublai Khan was the grandson of the legendary Mongol warlord, Genghis Khan, who carved out a vast empire across Asia and the Middle East at the beginning of the 13th century. Like his grandfather, Kublai crushed his enemies with brute force; yet he ruled his own lands peacefully, setting up governments, creating systems of taxation and promoting culture and commerce. He made Beijing the capital of the biggest empire the world had ever seen, stretching from the shores of the China Sea to the river Danube in Europe and from Siberia to the Indian Ocean. But his greatest achievement was the unification of China, a unification that survives to this day; and, although he reigned over 700 years ago, his story is one that still has great significance.
“The reason why Kublai Khan is of interest today is because Kublai Khan ruled a great multi-cultural society, a great multi-cultural empire, and he presided over a global economy. And this was globalization in the—in the Middle Ages. And, again, his empire incorporated many, many different cultures and peoples and he was able to unify them, bring them together and do so successfully.”
So Kublai Khan was clearly a man of vision, but what else do we know about him? The Venetian traveler Marco Polo, who lived in Kublai’s court for more than 20 years, described him as a man of middle height with a figure of just proportion and a face that was somewhat red, which may have resulted from his love of food and alcohol. But he was also capable of extreme violence, barbarity and cruelty. He carved out his great empire with one battle after another; and, even though his military career started quite late in his life, his skill in combat was second to none. But there was another, very different side to his character. Throughout his reign, the Wise Khan—as he was known—courted the most sophisticated, intellectual, scientific and artistic minds of the day. And he was very practical, recognizing the benefits that freedom of trade and effective taxation would bring.
“In terms of practical changes, one of the big things you would have seen if you lived through his rule was a massive increase in public works. For instance, China’s canal system was increased during his time through massive use of forced labor. This meant that grain and other important agricultural goods could be transported up and down the country much more conveniently without having, for instance, to use the often slightly dangerous pirate-ridden seas on the Chinese coast. Another innovation of the period, and one that would have great significance later, was the introduction of paper currency—banknotes.”
To understand the full significance of this, we need to know more about the Mongol culture that Kublai Khan came from. Kublai’s grandfather, Genghis Khan, was one of the most violent men in history. In just two decades in the early 13th century, his forces carved out the biggest empire in world history. The Mongolian tribes he led originated from the steppe grasslands in the shadows of the Altai Mountains, in the southwest of the modern state of Mongolia. The Mongols were a nomadic race; they had no towns. Instead, they lived in magnificent, tented settlements. It was a harsh existence, and it produced a race of men and women who were extremely tough. In 1206, Genghis Khan was proclaimed universal ruler of these people of the steppes and he set about organizing his military resources. In a great flurry of violence, Genghis Khan’s campaigns extended from the Black Sea to Korea. Their brutality was legendary.
“If you resisted the Mongols, you were in deep trouble, because once they had laid siege to your town and taken it, you might find that, for instance, every man would have his head cut off. There were famous tales—semi-mythical perhaps but still very indicative—of piles of heads like cannonballs being found in conquered cities. Or they might exercise arbitrary terror. For instance, decide that every man over a certain height in the city was going to be executed, or that everybody in town’s ears were going to be cut off and placed in a big pile. And it was well known also that, by surrendering, you could avoid these sorts of horrors. Therefore, the Mongols managed, through psychological terror and rumors of how brutal they were, often to force cities to surrender without even fighting, because they were afraid of the alternative if they actually tried to resist.”
But as the Mongol Empire spread across Asia, there was one major obstacle they couldn’t overcome. The Sung Empire of southern China had over 50 million people and vast resources. For years, the Mongols tried to conquer this giant of the south but were unsuccessful. It was going to take a warrior of very special abilities to overcome the resistance of the Sung Dynasty, who ruled southern China. This man was Kublai Khan. But it was to be many years before he was to get the chance to prove himself. Kublai was born in Mongolia in 1215 when his grandfather Genghis was at the height of his power. His father Tolui was a coarse, military man, the youngest of Genghis’ four sons by his favorite wife. Kublai’s childhood and early career were unspectacular; they gave little hint of how influential he was to become, not just as overlord of all the Mongol dominions but also as the ruler of his own Chinese empire. His father died from alcoholism when he was 15, but this seems to have had little effect on the young Kublai, because Tolui had been away at war for years at a time and Kublai had hardly ever seen him. His primary influence was his remarkable mother Sorghaghtani. Women enjoyed a prominent role in Mongol society. Regularly, they would fight alongside their husbands; others ruled their own territories. Sorghaghtani was typical of this strong tradition. As a young woman, she was one of the few people to stand up to Genghis Khan; and Genghis had a high regard for her and for her son Kublai. The great warrior was quick to recognize the child’s intelligence. Like most Mongol children, Kublai could ride and shoot by the time he was three, and he was an accomplished fighter. But his mother also pushed him academically and Chinese scholars taught him Confucian philosophy, which was based on principle of harmony in the family, order in the state, and peace in the empire.
“She is credited with having brought all her children up in this rather enlightened way, to realize that there was no use just killing people and enslaving them, taking their things, but if the empire was really going to become a real empire, not simply just a conquest state, you had to respect the traditions of the people you were—you’d conquered and you had to preserve, you know, the wealth that was there, not simply destroy it or dissipate it. So he obviously benefited from wise counsel with his mother, and he was educated in Chinese ways as a younger man and that obviously paid off when he became Khan.”
By taking the time to educate him and expose him to the peaceful teachings of Confucius, without ever renouncing the violent ways of the Mongols, she encouraged the two sides of his nature that was to be the key to his success. The fact that Soghaghtani raised her sons and ruled her lands in such a different way to the male Mongol warlords was to have a huge influence on Kublai. In 1236, at the age of 21, Kublai was granted his own lands by his uncle Ogodei, who had succeeded Genghis on his death in 1227. These lands were in the Hopei region of northern China. At first, Kublai ruled his lands from his Mongolian home. He left day-to-day affairs to local officials, just like other Mongol nobles, who had little interest in everyday issues at local level. But, in his absence, the already poor farmers were heavily taxed or they were taken away from their farms to provide labor for state schemes, like road-building. With his mother’s influence, Kublai decided to change things. He instituted reform that was gratefully received in his lands by the peasants of northern China. Roads and bridges were improved, and he did much to improve the quality of life for ordinary people.
“He was also, in a way that may seem to us rather modern, concerned to make sure that welfare provisions for the destitute and the poor were sufficiently well-arranged. This meant that, for instance, areas which had suffered from war or drought or famine were relieved of their tax obligations for a certain amount of time until they could once again afford to actually pay taxes to the central treasury. And instead of paying taxes, quite often they were given either food or monetary subsidies by the central government to make sure that they got themselves back on their feet.”
So, from an early age, Kublai started to show the qualities of an enlightened and progressive ruler. He extended the Mongol postal system, which was the most advanced in the world. This opened up the area to trade and ensured that his messages reached the most remote areas. But back in the Mongol capital Karakorum, the more traditional families distrusted Kublai and his mother. They thought they were selling out and becoming too much like the Chinese merchants, who the Mongols had always robbed from in the past. What is clear is that, even at this early stage in his career, Kublai was setting the pattern for the way that he was going to rule. One of the most significant things was the fact that he didn’t work alone. Instead, he would always consult a wide range of advisors.
“Quite often when he didn’t necessarily understand an idea—whether it was about warfare or about governance—he would show no embarrassment in calling his advisers and actually asking them what he should do. And, interestingly, one of the most important influences in his life was his favorite wife Chabui, who, in fact, advised him not only on his past conquests of China before he actually got to be the emperor, but also about good governance while he actually set on the emperor’s throne.”
Kublai had married Chabui in 1239, and their first son was born a year later. She encouraged men of the arts and science to come to the court to debate with Kublai and seems to have been a moderating force on him. Kublai relied on Chabui throughout his life for support and guidance. In later years, her personality, practicality and interests would influence the fashions and trends of an empire. But Chabui wasn’t his only wife, because Kublai was a Mongol, and this was a culture in which khans traditionally had four wives. Kublai was no exception and ultimately he had four households and a magnificent harem. But, as an ambitious young man, Kublai had more important things on his mind, especially when his brother Mongke was elected Great Khan after the death of their uncle Ogedei in 1251. This was the opportunity Kublai had been waiting for. When his brother became Great Khan, Kublai’s wealth and standing rose overnight as he was granted new lands in northern China by Mongke. What Kublai needed now was the chance to prove himself as a warrior. This was vital. Throughout Mongol history, military success was the key to being seen as a strong leader. His opportunity came when Mongke decided to finish the campaign his uncles had started against the southern Sung Empire. A direct assault on the Sung was risky, unpredictable. Instead, Mongke planned a two-prong, pincer attack. Two Mongol armies would descend on the Sung simultaneously from both the north and west, but the plan had a drawback. On the western route, the independent non-Chinese kingdom of Nanchow stood directly in the way. It would have to be dealt with if the Mongols were to succeed against the Sung Empire. Kublai was selected to lead the attack on Nanchow and received the order to move in July 1252. Conquering Nanchow meant a direct assault on its fortified capital, Ta-li. This invasion was no easy task; massive obstacles had to be overcome. Three great rivers and the rugged mountain ranges of the Tibetan Plateau lay in Kublai’s path. Envoys that Kublai sent ahead to tell the king to submit were beheaded, and the kingdom of Nanchow refused to surrender. After two months, Kublai’s forces reached the banks of the mighty Yangtze River. The critical moment had come, but there were no bridges. On the opposite bank, the Ta-li army slept, confident that Kublai’s army could not cross the river. But Kublai directed his men to make inflatable bags from sheepskins, and they crossed the river late that night in a surprise attack. The Ta-li forces were cut down in their thousands by the Mongol cavalry as they attempted to flee back to the capital. Soon, the Mongol forces were at the gates of Ta-li. Everyone inside knew that Mongol tradition was to slaughter the inhabitants of the first city they took on a campaign as an example to the rest of the country. But Kublai was different; he promised that the city would be spared if they surrendered peacefully. Sensibly, Ta-li opted to do so, and Kublai kept his word. Victorious, Kublai returned to northern China and began to build an impressive new capital city. Called Shang-tu, it was built Chinese-style in the lands between Mongolia and China. The new city, which was later immortalized in European literature as Xanadu, aroused concern among Mongolian traditionalists. To them, it appeared the young upstart had become Chinese. For a Mongol prince to build a city in China was bad, but when reports arrived that he’d rival the Mongol capital Karakorum, it was too much. And, as news arrived that Kublai had overturned Mongol taxation policies, charges of treason were inevitable, as was a family rift that threatened to tear the Mongol empire apart. But after a period of tension, Kublai’s strong relationship with his brother Mongke saved his position. If Mongke was to succeed in overcoming the Sung Empire, he would need his brother’s diplomatic flair and the Chinese allies that Kublai was gathering around him. Kublai was given command over one of four massive Mongol armies, which left Shang-tu in 1258. The Mongol forces made swift progress into central China, but as they reached the banks of the Yangtze River, disaster struck. The south’s warm, oppressive climate made it a hotbed for disease. Mongke went down with a serious case of dysentery and died suddenly. The Great Khan left no successor, and the Mongol world came to an abrupt halt. The Sung campaign was abandoned; Karakorum was in a state of crisis. Who would take up the position of Great Khan? From the four corners of the Mongol Empire, nobles came rushing to Karakorum; but Kublai wouldn’t turn back. It had taken him years to reach this point, and he thought that, with more of southern China under his control, he would have a greater power base than any other Mongol leader. A final conquest of the lands that had eluded his father and grandfather would impress upon the noble families his military prowess and suitability for the position of Great Khan. So Kublai tried to finish the Sung off before he returned north. He continued to fight for two months, severing the Sung’s main supply line along the Yangtze River. The Sung were in panic; they had been taken by surprise in the initial attacks and were in real danger of a complete collapse. But Kublai couldn’t capitalize on his position because, back in the Mongol heartland, there was turmoil. Kublai’s wife begged him to return to the north to face the possibility of civil war, despite the chance he had of smashing the Sung once and for all. The threat in the north was coming from the youngest of Kublai’s brothers, Arik-Böke, who had remained in the Mongol capital Karakorum.
“So there were two rivals and it was important to understand what these two rivals represented, because Arik-Böke was a Mongol of the old school. That is to say, he wanted Mongol rule to carry on in the way that it had always been. He wanted the Mongols to be based in the steppe, which was their traditional homeland; to carry on a sort of a conquest-state, which means that they were conquering, plundering, ruling really as outsiders in a way, just dominating the areas that they conquered. And what Kublai represented was a rather different approach by now; he’d already been in China some years. And he had the resources of a great sedentary civilization behind him. You know, he was the most important figure in what was then just the province of China, the part of the empire.”
But many Mongol families didn’t like these new ways of Kublai and his love for cities and Chinese culture. They saw in Arik-Böke a chance to bring the Mongols back to their roots by opposing Kublai. So a secret council was convened and a rebellion planned. Those who rose up against Kublai included the late Mongke’s sons, his widow and the grandchildren of the former Great Khan, Ogedei. It was a formidable alliance. They declared Arik-Böke the next true Great Khan and began to march on Shang-tu and Chung-tu, the old capital of northern China, both vital cities in Kublai’s domain. Kublai’s wife Chubai and his advisors sent messenger after messenger, impressing on him the danger of Arik becoming Great Khan. Kublai finally had to give in to their pressure and rode north; back over the territory he had fought so hard for. He garrisoned Shang-tu and went into discussion with his favorite advisors on what to do next. It was a critical moment in his life. A great council was held at Shang-tu, at which prince after prince stepped forward and spoke supporting him. Then his other brother Hulagu, who was in Persia, sent a fast rider carrying the vital news that he would back him. This was the news Kublai had been waiting for. Now he felt that he was better supported than his rival Arik-Böke, and on the 5th of May, 1260, he accepted the position of Great Khan, supreme ruler of the Mongol world. He was 44 years old and had just become the most powerful leader the world had ever seen. But with Arik-Böke’s supporters still pressing his claims as Great Khan, Kublai realized, if he wanted to hold on to this position, he would have to fight his brother. His tactics for the war were simple but effective. Kublai cut off Karakorum’s supply lines, leaving Arik-Böke to starve. He then advanced on the Mongol capital with the full might of northern China behind him. Arik-Böke headed southeast to meet him, and, in 1261, the two armies clashed on the Chinese border. Arik-Böke’s forces were outmanned and out-maneuvered, and it soon became clear to him that they were no match for those of his brother. So he traveled to Shang-tu and surrendered. Kublai decided that he would cement rule over northern China by building a new capital called Ta-tu, or great capital. The place he chose is on the site of the Beihai Park in modern-day Beijing. Work began in 1266, and it was to take 30,000 men five years to complete it. But, while it was being built, Kublai’s territorial expansion continued. By now, he controlled the Mongolian heartland and, with northern China under his belt, he set his sights on the prize that had eluded the great khans for generations—to conquer the Sung and unite China under the Mongol flag. But Kublai was a diplomat as well as a great warrior, and, at first, he tried wooing the Sung with promise of self-rule and prosperity under Mongol leadership. But his appeals fell on deaf ears. The Sung had no intention of submitting to a barbarian. In 1265, skirmishes erupted into full-blown battle. It was now that Kublai realized just how tough a challenge he had set himself. His armies had to thrash their way through the humid, enemy-infested forests of the south. It would be a great test of Kublai’s skills as a military leader.
“Kublai Khan as a military leader was both bold and daring. He was trying to put forward one of the greatest military actions that had been seen in history up to that time—in the 1260s—which was to conquer the whole of southern China, in other words, a huge cultural heartland that held something like 50 million people. To do this, he was clearly going to have to use a variety of tactics, not all of which would have been very obvious to someone like him, who came from a northern Asian, nomadic background.”
One of the things he had to learn was how to deal with a completely new type of combat—marine warfare. The Mongols had never been a seafaring race, but Kublai recognized that he would need a navy to keep the Sung from being able to supply its army from the South China Sea. Kublai’s forces captured 150 Sung boats in a raid on the coastal town of Tial-yu-shan. Using the captured ships, Kublai set about transforming the Mongols into a formidable naval power. It was this sort of bold innovation that set Kublai apart as a leader. The Mongols took to battle on the waves at astonishing speed. By 1268, Kublai had himself a navy, and on land, his army rampaged southwards, capturing town after town. By 1271, as Kublai’s armies swept all before them, the construction of his grand capital was completed. The wall of Ta-tu was 20 miles in circumference and was split into two areas. The inner wall held Kublai’s ornate imperial city; inside the outer wall lived the officials and scholars of the court. The ordinary people lived beyond the outer wall. The Forbidden City—which was built later, in the Ming Dynasty—now stand on the site where Kublai wined and dined his court in lavish style. At Ta-tu, Kublai lived in the lap of luxury with attendants and beautiful concubines on hand to service his every need. Following the traditions of Chinese rulers of the past, Kublai proclaimed himself emperor and founded a new dynasty, the Yuan Dynasty.
“He chose the name Yuan as the name of his dynasty very cleverly. Traditionally, the Chinese had named their dynasties after a place or a town from where they originated. Now, Kublai did not do this; obviously if he had called it after Mongolia or a Mongol name, this would have annoyed—this would not have gone down well with the Chinese. They’ve very nationalistic. So he chose the word yuan. Yuan in Chinese means “origin.” So it was a Chinese word. In addition to this, the word yuan occurs in the I Ching, the book of changes, the book of divination. In the I Ching, it means “origins of the universe.” So this was a powerful name he chose for his dynasty.”
But on the military front, there was a setback. On the banks of the Han River, his army came to the impregnable cities of Xiangyang and Fangcheng. Beyond the great fortresses lay the Yangtze River and the heart of the Sung Empire. It took Kublai’s forces more than five years to break this last bastion of Sung resistance. Then, as Kublai’s forces crossed the Yangtze, more and more commanders switched to the Mongol side. In the Sung capital Hangzhou, the royal family were frantic. The Sung emperor at the time was only four years old; affairs were handled by his aging mother and in 1276, the empress dowager finally admitted defeat. The Sung leaders were taken as privileged prisoners to Kublai’s court, but the four-year-old emperor was spirited away. So Kublai sent his forces in pursuit. The last remnants of the Sung leadership put to sea and were hunted down by Kublai’s navy. The last that was seen of the boy emperor was in the hands of a Sung admiral, who jumped into the sea with him, declaring, “The Sung emperor chooses death rather than imprisonment.” It was now 1279. Seventy years of on-off warfare with the south was now over, and the whole of China was in Kublai’s hands.
After defeating the Sung, Ta-tu became the capital of all of China and would remain so right up to today. One of his first priorities was to improve communications between north and south. To do that, Kublai employed three million laborers to extend the Grand Canal to carry grain from the fertile south up to the imperial city. Kublai could now draw on the resources of the most advanced nation on earth. The Sung led the world in the quality of their goods and their busy trade routes would make Kublai one of the richest men on earth. The Mongol empire now had the largest army in Asia, the largest fleet, the most prosperous people, and the largest city on earth–Hangzhou. It was a spectacular achievement for Kublai, and it cemented his position as Great Khan. Kublai treated the deposed Sung royal family well, and he told his officials he would not tolerate any looting of the south’s riches. Kublai knew he would have to win over the people of the south if he was to lead a united China. To do this, he ensured that south China would receive the same help toward recovery from war that the north had. He introduced schemes to help with economic growth and agricultural development.
“Kublai Khan realized that the constant warfare that China had suffered in the decades before the establishment of his own dynasty had serious disrupted agriculture. Of course, in a large farming-based society like China, this was a great disaster; it could cause disruption, famine and all sorts of social upheavals. Therefore, he made a very active and successful effort to try and reform the way in which agriculture was carried out in China.”
He also treated the Sung nobility well; letting most of them keep their land. Anyone who had surrendered was pardoned, and the different religious groups were treated well. In fact, in religious affairs, he was tolerant of different beliefs all through his reign—Buddhists, Taoists and Muslims all had a place in his kingdom.
“He employed many Muslims in his court, and Muslims considered him sympathetic towards them. The same could be said of the Buddhists. The Buddhists liked him, and the Buddhists considered him one of their own. And the Confucians—the Confucians had great respect for Kublai Khan. Kublai Khan made a point of having Confucians in his administration, amongst his closest advisors he had Confucians, and he encouraged the reading of Confucian classics. So the Confucians were very happy with Kublai Khan as well. So, it many ways he was everything to all men.”
This was particularly true for merchants. Kublai improved their status and introduced measures to generate trade throughout the land. As a result, they turned his kingdom into a global center for trade and commerce.
“Traditionally, merchants have been looked down on by the—by the Chinese, especially the Confucians. Under Kublai, their status was raised. They were called ortogh and merchants and trade was encouraged. This was a boom time for merchants and certainly under the Mongols, their status was considerably raised.”
As the Mongol court became increasingly business-minded, it bore the whole of Asia an incredible period of prosperity. Traders from as far afield as Venice, Germany, Indonesia and Persia all came to take advantage of a great flowering of new ideas in art and technology. Kublai himself became a patron of the arts, and Chinese painting, ceramics, and theater flourished. In seemed Kublai the warrior had turned himself into a civilized, cultured ruler. He recognized that for stability to follow on from his successful conquest, he would have to be seen to be ruling justly. A just legal system in the Chinese style was the bedrock of a stable situation Kublai had in the north, so he implemented the same ideas in the newly won Sung lands. This came as a great surprise to the administration there, who found Kublai a wise leader who truly loved his subjects.
“As a leader, his attitude to the poor, and the peasants and agriculture was perhaps unexpected. He was sympathetic to the peasants and the poor of his empire. It’s often been said that the peasants suffered under Kublai Khan; conditions were very harsh—were bad for them. Well, I think it’s true to say that, for peasants, it made very little difference who controlled them. Conditions were hard, whoever was in control. But under Kublai—he at least seemed to be sympathetic to their plight. He made arrangements for them. For example, he had central stores of grain set up, so when there was—when there was drought, when there were shortages, he could avoid starvation.”
To encourage a sense of easy transition, Kublai made sure he ruled with a system that would be familiar to the Chinese. He also organized a secretariat, which was in charge of civilian issues, and a privy council, which dealt with military matters. Each part of the government had branches in the provinces, to make sure the khan’s orders were carried out. But his implementation of so many Chinese laws and Confucian ideals of peace, order and harmony diluted the Mongol way of life to the point where his grandfather Genghis would no longer have recognized it.
“Kublai Khan is an intriguing figure, because he is one of the rare figures in history who managed to, in fact, overcome his background and actually become a very different sort of person. One would expect from his warrior, nomad background that, in some ways, he would perhaps be someone who was not terribly interested in civilization, in terms of written culture or in terms of living a more sedentary and perhaps in some ways less active life. But, in fact, having conquered China, he gave up a great deal of the nomadic background that had shaped him and became, in some ways, a very typical Confucian-style Chinese ruler.”
It was an incredible example of political expediency; it made sense to Kublai to rule China as the Chinese did. But there was no doubt where the power lay; the Mongols simply inserted themselves at the top of the social ladder. Next came the western and central Asians, followed by the northern Chinese and finally, at the bottom of the ladder, the people of the south. Kublai had reinforced a way of life which promoted an agricultural and city-based civilization and this had been a resounding success; but he was still a Mongol at heart, and he craved new conquests.
Most of the kingdoms of Asia paid tribute to Kublai in order to maintain some level of self-control . They knew there was little point in opposing the massive war machine of the Mongols. But Kublai still thought there was one thorn in his side—Japan. He had sent many requests that Japan accept him as their emperor, but every offer was met with the execution of his envoys. It was the challenge Kublai had been hoping for. He enlisted the reluctant Koreans to crew the Sung ships he had captured and mounted his first invasion of Japan in 1274. An army of 20,000 cavalry and infantry reached the offshore island of Iki and overcame the Japanese forces there. But as the day wore on, the weather began to change, and when a storm broke, the fleet was caught in its full fury and was destroyed. But Kublai wasn’t to be deterred by this setback. The reports he’d received from the first attack showed that the Mongol forces were superior in every way. They had simply been the victims of bad luck. So a second invasion was launched in 1281 with a two-pronged attack from north and south China. The commanders were to meet on the island of Iki and then converge on the center of Hakata Bay. But the Japanese were better prepared than the first time, and Kublai’s forces met with fierce resistance. Fighting went on with little progress for two months. Then, disaster—another typhoon struck and slammed the Mongol boats against the rocks; almost all were lost. The Mongol troops on shore watched in horror, as their only chance of escape sunk. The elated Japanese forces quickly overran them. But, even then, Kublai didn’t want to give up.
“Very stubbornly, after this terrible defeat which was extremely costly in terms of men and equipment, of course, and financially, he was determined to have another go against Japan; but, fortunately, on this occasion, he was just so completely put off it by the advisors and the other military people in the government, it was called off. But I think that shows that maybe his judgment wasn’t so good, and it shows that he was rather anxious to fulfill the ideal image of a great Mongol ruler still, which is very much of the conquering hero, the conquering military chief. Of course, they were running out of neighbors to conquer.”
But after this second defeat and the advice he was given, Kublai decided to abandon his military campaigns and he began to get more and more involved in the decadent pleasures of court life. On feast days, 6,000 people could be fed in a single sitting at his palace in Ta-tu, but then, in 1281, tragedy struck. His beloved Chabui died, followed four years later by his son and heir Zhenjin. It was more than Kublai could bear. He was grief-stricken and never recovered from his loss.
“And it’s notable, in fact, that his rule began to decline in many ways in the last decade or so of his life, after Chabui died. And he began, from reports we have at the time, somewhat morose, inclined to drink very heavily, he ate too much and became very obese, and in some senses seemed to almost lose interest in being that very fulfilled, very active ruler that he had been when he had that favorite wife by his side.”
But, by this time, he hadn’t only lost his wife; the trusted advisors that he had gathered around him long ago had also died of old age. A new generation of Chinese and Muslim advisors were in court and had become corrupted by their power. But Kublai was increasingly preoccupied with pleasure, leaving the bulk of minor decisions to his court. Kublai’s final years were spent in isolation; increasingly he consoled himself with alcohol and food, and he became fat and ill with gout. By 1294, Kublai had withdrawn from public life and lost his enthusiasm for the celebrations he once adored. The court at Ta-tu, once a place of merriment and excitement, became gloomy and depressed. In February, when he was in his 80th year, old age and excess finally got the better of him. The great Kublai Khan died alone in his palace.
Kublai’s great hope had been that the lands he had won would stay in Mongol hands forever, but this was not to be. Chinese rebels rose up and reclaimed their nation. The once mighty Mongols fled Ta-tu and the Ming Dynasty was born. The Mongols were assimilated into the new dynasty, and their star began to fade from Asia. But this doesn’t detract from Kublai’s achievements.
To understand the scale of what he accomplished, we have to appreciate where he had come from.
“He came from a nomadic, warlike people—the Mongols—who had never known a very settled kind of society. And he managed to convert himself into the emperor of one of the greatest sedentary civilizations—Chinese civilization—that the world has ever seen. And he did so in a tolerant and cooperative way rather than through sheer brute force, which is what we might have expected from his own background.”
From the days of his grandfather Genghis, Mongol hordes had struck fear and terror into hearts and minds throughout Asia. But Kublai Khan challenged this stereotype. Tempering tyranny with tolerance, his regime brought a more civilized form of rule. This dynamic and forward-thinking leader turned his back on many Mongol traditions and showed that Mongols were more than savages or barbarians. Yet, throughout his reign, Kublai never forgot his heritage; he remained a Mongol and, like other Mongol leaders, he embarked upon numerous military campaigns. His conquest of southern Sung China was a stunning victory; it was one that his warlike predecessors had never been able to achieve and it ensured his status as a great Mongol commander. And the fact that China is still united today is a direct consequence of Kublai’s vision of completing what his forefathers had begun.

I started my day yesterday with a sumptuous breakfast at Chowking with my Besty. He will accompany me at Chong Hua Hospital where I have a DTPA Renal Scan appointment at 9:00am.

Chowking was just a hundred meters away from Chong Hua but we opted to ride a taxi. The taxi meter was not able to move. That’s how near the hospital was. Hahaha….

We went directly to the Nuclear Medicine Department and boy; the room was cold and silent. Good thing that the nurse at the reception area was so accommodating and it made my fear lessen a bit.

I was told to pay the bill first before they will start the procedure. So off I went to the Cashier while Besty watched a playoff at the lobby. There goes my Eight Thousand Two Hundred Pesos!

After that, the nurse started interviewing me. The usual stuff that nurses asked a patient. Then she started scrubbing my left hand with cotton, inserted a one-inch needle and taped it on my hand. Ouch! It hurts! I tried not to lose consciousness. But, honestly, my world was spinning like a ferris wheel. I prayed and asked God for help. Good thing, He answered my prayer right away. I waited for awhile, still grimacing in pain, but acted as if I am okay every time the nurse checks if I am alright.

Then the headnurse handed me a laboratory gown. He told me to just strip off my pants only. I dunno but I felt so sick while wearing that light green laboratory gown. After that I headed to a room where the Infinia LEHR Machine was located. The nurse told me to lie on my back. He covered me with two thick blankets and strapped me on the table. Then the table moved and I found myself under the machine. I had to lie down for 30-40 minutes.

15mCi of technetium DTPA was injected intravenously, static and dynamic images were then acquired in the posterior projection. The only thing that I’ve felt during the whole procedure was the desire to pee! He said that I was supposed to feel that way. Part of the procedure. Then after 30 minutes or so, he allowed me to go to the bathroom and pee. After that, I did the whole thing again but for two or three minutes only.

I was told to have the needle removed. So, off I went to a room where the nurse was waiting for me. It took the nurse a few seconds only to remove that painful needle. Another ouch! I am relieved.

Since it’s almost lunchtime, Besty and I decided to take our lunch first before I will get the result. I begged Dong to treat me and Besty for a lunch at Kublai Khan and without much ado, he said YES! Boy, how wonderful life is for having two great friends!

I picked-up my result at two in the afternoon. I was happy upon reading the result. My right and left kidney were found to have good flow and function. Praise the Lord!

I wasn’t able to share the good news to my urologist because his clinic was closed when I dropped by. So, with a lighter wallet and a smile on my face, I’ve decided to head home and rest!

I still have my gallbladder problem to think about…

1. kublai_khan

Tentu Anda semua kenal dengan Kubilai Khan. Yup, kaisar Mongol yang sangat kejam dan ekspansif ini ternyata memiliki sisi toleransi yang sangat tinggi. Percaya tidak, Kubilai Khan adalah tokoh pemimpin dunia pertama yang menyatakan bahwa hari-hari besar agama Buddha, Kristen, Yahudi, dan Islam dijadikan sebagai hari libur resmi kenegaraan. Asal tahu saja, Kubilai Khan adalah cucu dari Genghis Khan yang sangat legendaris itu yang memiliki kekuasaan yang merentang dari perbatasan Eropa, Timur Tengah, hingga hampir seluruh Asia Timur pada abad ke-13. Dengan kata lain, hari libur resmi kenegaraan pada tiap hari besar agama di dunia memang memungkinkan untuk dilakukan oleh Kubilai Khan karena luasnya wilayah kekuasaannya.

2. Galileo Galilei

memang manusia yang kurang beruntung selama hidupnya. Bahkan setelah mati sekalipun, Galileo tetap mengalami kesulitan. Setelah pandangan-pandangan ilmiahnya soal tata surya membuat dirinya berurusan dengan pihak gereja, kematiannya pun dirundung masalah. Saat kematiannya pada tahun 1642, jasadnya tidak langsung dikubur, tapi tetap disimpan hingga tahun 1737, kira-kira hampir seabad. Tak cukup hanya itu, sebelum dikubur di Gereja Santa Croce, Florence, Italia, seorang bangsawan tega memotong tiga jari Galileo sebagai kenang-kenangan. Dua dari jari itu kemudian dimiliki oleh seorang dokter Italia, dan jari ketiga-sepotong jari tengah-saat ini berada di Museum Sejarah Ilmu Pengetahuan di Florence, Italia, dipajang menunjuk ke langit di atas tiang marmer.

3. al

Siapakah dia? Tahun 1831 dia mengalami kebangkrutan dalam usahanya. Tahun 1832 dia menderita kekalahan dalam pemilihan tingkat lokal. Tahun 1833 dia kembali bangkrut (kasian banget ya..). Tahun 1835 istrinya meninggal dunia. Tahun 1836 dia menderita tekanan mental yang sangat berat dan hampir saja masuk rumah sakit jiwa. Tahun 1837, dia kalah dalam suatu kontes pidato. Tahun 1840, ia gagal dalam pemilihan anggota senat AS. Tahun 1842, dia menderita kekalahan untuk duduk di dalam kongres AS. Tahun 1848 ia kalah lagi di kongres. Tahun 1855, lagi-lagi gagal di senat. Tahun 1856 ia kalah dalam pemilihan untuk menduduki kursi wakil presiden. Tahun 1858 ia kalah lagi di senat. Tahun 1860 akhirnya dia menjadi presiden Amerika Serikat. Siapakah dia? Dialah Abraham Lincoln

Intinya adalah jangan pernah menyerah dengan berbagai kegagalan yang pernah dialami, bahkan seberat apapun cobaan itu. Coba dan coba lagi!

4. Johannes Brahms

Kalau ada yang mengatakan bahwa seorang yang bergelut di bidang seni memiliki perasaan yang halus, maka cobalah baca fakta berikut ini. Johannes Brahms (1833-1897), komposer besar Jerman, adalah salah seorang yang sangat membenci binatang.
Di kala santai atau sedang mencari inspirasi, komposer ini sering pergi ke loteng rumahnya dan mempersiapkan busur dan anak panah.
Di sana hampir tiap waktu ia memanah kucing-kucing milik tetangganya. Kebiasaan buruk ini terus dilakukannya hingga sepanjang hidupnya!

5. Napoleon Bonaparte

Napoleon Bonaparte, saat berperang di Timur Tengah tahun 1799 bermaksud melepaskan 1200 tentara Turki yang berhasil ditawan Perancis, ketika Perancis berhasil merebut Jaffa. Saat itu Napoleon sedang terserang influenza. Saat menginspeksi pasukan, Napoleon terserang batuk berat hingga ia mengatakan Ma sacre toux (Batuk sialan).
Perwira pendamping Napoleon merasa sang jenderal mengatakan Massacrez Tous (Bunuh semua). Akibatnya, seluruh 1200 orang tawanan Turki itu dibunuh. Hanya karena batuk sang jenderal dan kuping perwira yang error!

6. Wilhelm Steinitz

Di masa jayanya, Wilhelm Steinitz adalah salah satu pemain catur paling cemerlang di dunia

Namun saat semakin tua, ia secara perlahan-lahan dijangkiti kegilaan, dan sering merasa bahwa ia dapat menelepon seseorang tanpa menggunakan telepon, ataupun bermain catur tanpa menyentuh bidak. Puncak kegilaannya terjadi saat Steinitz mengumumkan kepada masyarakat luas bahwa ia hendak menantang Tuhan untuk bermain catur. Lebih parah lagi, ia menawarkan fur satu bidak dalam pertandingan ini!

sumber : http://mbakmaya.com

To say that human capital consists of skills, experience or knowledge is correct but grossly incomplete. Yes, skills do contribute to effective group action. But other, and I believe even more important, things also do.

In April 1975, the most powerful nation on earth — economically, politically, technologically and militarily — was defeated by a much smaller, poorer and technologically inferior nation. I refer to the hasty and humiliating retreat by the American forces in the fall of Saigon to the northern Vietnamese army with the aid of the Vietcong southerners. How did it happen?

Leading towards 1975, many American citizens have ceased to believe in the moral rightness of waging war in Vietnam. Hundreds of thousands have been demonstrating in Washington D.C. and many U.S. cities. Maimed American soldiers were coming back home only to face a lifelong agony because their own country men and women doubt or criticize the value of their personal sacrifices. The national will behind the Vietnam War became more and more divided and eroded.

On the other hand, Vietcong guerillas remain committed to their cause — despite the devastating effects of superior American military technology: carpet bombing by B52 bombers, Agent Orange defoliants, etc. Vietcong guerillas, upon waking up in the morning, would embrace each other and say in Vietnamese “One heart, one mind, one mission.” Vietnamese are a proud people (in the 13th century, after China succumbed to the Mongols under Chinggis Khaan, the Mongols under Kublai Khan failed to occupy Vietnam despite three attempted invasions). Vietnamese national will behind the Vietnam War remained strong.

Will is the more important ingredient in human capital. I keep saying in this blog, KM is not enough, because “know-how” without “willing-to” will not result in effective group action. That is why most KM initiatives must incorporate elements of change management; we described our experiences on KM+CM in our website (click the change management block at the bottom of the CCLFI homepage).

Unwilling-to or anti-group-willing-to can frustrate effective group action.

In one of my KM workshops, a participant asked, “If people are our best assets, can people also be our worst liabilities?”

“Definitely”, I answered. A willing skillful person is a big plus, but an unwilling or counter-willing skillful person is a big NEGATIVE (I wrote an article for the next issue of KM for Development Journal where I propose the model for effective action: Know-How X Willing-To = Effective Action). It is all about intent.

Let me give a real world example.

In the 1990’s I was Chair of the National Committee of the UNDP GEF Small Grants Programme in the Philippines. Among the grants we approved was one for a micro-hydropower project for a small community. The project was a failure. The reason is: the community leader who was responsible for the project spent the grant money for his election campaign. His intent was not for the community; his intent was for his personal political gain.

Corruption is a skill that destroys group effectiveness and frustrates group value creation. It happens in small communities as well as in big nations. Corrupt national leaders amass ill-gotten wealth (personal value creation) and hide them safely away in Swiss banks — which in turn use Swiss privacy laws for their corporate value creation through secret bank accounts.

From Economics 101 we learned that there is no such thing as “negative human capital” or even “negative capital” because the factors of production — land, labor and capital — in the production function are always positive. And so we turn to the Accounting 101 framework, where an entry can be an asset (positive) or a liability (negative). In this sense, we can say that corruption — or unwillingness or anti-group willingness — is a “negative metacapital” (see previous blog post on metacapital). It is negative because it destroys group value and frustrates group value creation. Corruption is the use of knowledge that results to costs to the group.

What do you think?

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Seven hundred years ago, the Mongolian Khans had conquered most of Asia and extended their empire into parts of Europe. What started with the famous/infamous Genghis Khan ended with his grandson Kublai Khan, who started the Yuan Dynasty in China. Though their reign was relatively short, these Mongolian kings exerted a huge influence during their time of power.

Kublai Khan, like the other Khans, was open to the influence of different faiths, and he once sent the explorers Niccolo and Maffeo Polo (father and uncle of Marco Polo) to Pope Gregory X to ask him to send one hundred Christian missionaries to come minister to the people of Mongolia. Specifically, his request asked the Pope …

…to send 100 persons well skilled in your law, who being confronted with the idolaters (i.e. Buddhists) shall have power to coerce them, and showing that they themselves are endowed with similar art… When I am witness of this , I shall place them and myself to be baptized. Following my example, all my nobility will then in like manner receive baptism and this will be imitated by my subjects in general; so that the Christians of these parts will exceed in number those who inhabit your own countries.

It was an incredible and unprecedented request, but for whatever reasons, Pope Gregory X only sent two friars and some lamp oil. In fact, the friars never made it. Experiencing some warfare as they passed through Armenia, they turned back. Niccolo, Maffeo and Marco Polo continued on to deliver the oil, but it was an empty gesture.

Who knows what could have happened had Pope Gregory X sent the full 100 invited missionaries to win the hearts and minds of the Mongols. Christianity might have spread strongly throughout all of Asia.

Fast forward. Handfuls of missionaries and missionary groups tried to reach the Mongolian people over the centuries, but they experienced little lasting success. Mongolians were nomadic people, and it was difficult to reach them for Christ as they moved all around the vast country. Even today, Mongolia is the most sparsely populated independent country in the world, with 2.9 million people scattered over 1.5 million square kilometers.

The Communists eventually came into power in Mongolia and declared it an atheist nation. For approximately 65 years, the borders of Mongolia were closed to God and His followers….or so the government thought. Several seemingly unrelated events were taking place that would set the stage for massive spiritual change.

During the 1980’s, the government sent some party-loyal Mongolians to study at universities in other nations. During that time, several of these Mongolians heard about Jesus, and while they didn’t necessarily give their hearts to Christ at the time, seeds had been planted that would one day grow into faith.

At the same time, an Englishman by the name of John Gibbens was working on translating the New Testament into one of the Mongolian dialects. He was assisted by a woman named Altaa, a Mongolian university student, who later became Gibbens’ wife. They finished the translation in 1989, just as the walls of Communism were coming down. Then in July 1990, the first free elections took place in Mongolia, opening the door to religious freedom. Thirteen days later, the first 5,000 copies of the new Mongolian Bible were printed in Hong Kong, ready for immediate shipment.

Even the demographics of Mongolia were changing. More than one-third of the population of Mongolia had come over the years to reside in Ulaanbataar, the country’s capital city. With so many Mongolians so close together, it was much easier to establish churches and spread the Gospel.

The first Christian church (after Communism) started in Mongolia in 1991 with just a handful of believers. (Local Christians can name all four or five of them.) Since then, over 500 churches have been planted and over 60,000 people have given their lives to Christ. Mongolian Christians fan out over their large country taking the Gospel to its most remote places. Mongolian missionaries are even leaving their country to take the Good News into Russia, China, and the “-stan” countries (Afghanistan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan…). All this has happened in just seventeen short years. It’s nothing short of a miracle!

Centuries ago, Pope Gregory X missed an opportunity to join God in this great work, but God is not dependent on us to accomplish His purposes. He is working powerfully in Mongolia and through the Mongolian people. They may again be on a conquest of the magnitude of the conquests of the Khans, but this time they will be winning spiritual territory throughout Asia and into Europe. I’m excited to say that there is once again a Mongol King, and His name is Jesus Christ!

Worship in Ulaanbataar - March, 2008

Se vi trovate a Torino in notturna vi capiterà di andare ai Murazzi. In questo periodo, alzando un po’  la testa vi imbatterete in Doppio passaggio, opera di Joseph Kosuth che fa parte dell’iniziativa Luci d’artista.

Dando le spalle alla Chiesa della Gran Madre potete leggere il dialogo tra Marco Polo e Kublai Khan, tratto da Le città invisibili di Calvino.

Marco Polo descrive un ponte, pietra per pietra.

- Ma qual è la pietra che sostiene il ponte? – chiede Kublai Kan.

- Il ponte non è sostenuto da questa o quella pietra – risponde Marco – ma dalla linea dell’arco che esse formano.

Kublai Kan rimane silenzioso, riflettendo. Poi soggiunge: – Perché mi parli delle pietre? È solo dell’arco che m’importa.

Polo risponde: – Senza pietre non c’è arco.

Calvino mi perseguita. O, meglio, io non smetto di inseguirlo. Questa frase era parte importante della mia tesi di laurea. E un paio di anni fa l’ho ritrovata a Madrid, insieme a molte altre e ai disegni di Pedro Cano che accompagnavano l’edizione spagnola di Las ciudades invisibles.

Sarà mica un segno?

I could quote from Invisible Cities by Calvino  all day. Just finished reading it again. Here’s a bit of imaginary conversation between Marco Polo and Kublai Khan:

“I have neither desires nor fears,” the Khan declared, “and my dreams are composed either by my mind or by chance.”

“Cities also believe they are the work of the mind or of chance, but neither the one nor the other suffices to hold up their walls. You take delight not in a city’s seven or seventy wonders, but in the answer it gives to a question of yours.

In the end, the city is all one city, and we’re all one traveler. 

On a more pertinent note, the Cavs and the Nuggets are playing, so I have to go.

Marco Polo Lesson Plan
Follow the 13th century trail of Marco Polo into the legendary Mongolian kingdom of the Kublai Khan and discover the wonder of spice, silk, tea, ivory, jade and porcelain as well as the hospitality of a true oriental nobleman.Games, crafts, lessons, activities, printables. Includes literature, poetry, science, economics and social studies lessons.
View more »

Marco Polo Lesson Plan
Follow the 13th century trail of Marco Polo into the legendary Mongolian kingdom of the Kublai Khan and discover the wonder of spice, silk, tea, ivory, jade and porcelain as well as the hospitality of a true oriental nobleman.Games, crafts, lessons, activities, printables. Includes literature, poetry, science, economics and social studies lessons.
View more »

For Part 2 of this special post, here is Simon Wickham-Smith sharing how he became involved in things Mongolian, along with a little information on translating literature from one language into another. His comment about the number of precise words that exist in Mongolian for some parts of their world and culture reminds me of hearing that the Inuit have 37 names for snow, but no generic term as occurs in English.

Gandan Monastery, Ulaanbaatar 2006

Simon Wickham-Smith: My own involvement with Mongolian literature started when I was a Tibetan Buddhist monk in Scotland during the 1990s.  I became interested – obsessed might be a better word – with the life and writings of the 6th Dalai Lama and, during my research, came across a reference to Danzanravjaa, a nineteenth century nationalist, scholar, poet and Buddhist monk.

I had already studied Mongolian for some time during the early nineties, and now I started to read and translate Danzanravjaa’s collected works.  When I finally finished this work, in 2005, I felt that, really as a matter of courtesy,  I should write to someone in Mongolia and let them know what I had done.

Thus it was that I came into contact with Gombojavin Mend-Ooyo, one of Mongolia’s most famous literary figures, who invited me to Ulaanbaatar the following year and for whose Mongolian Academy of Poetry and Culture (www.poetry-culture.mn) I have now translated ten books, with at least four more in the pipeline.

The act of translation from any language is a subtle and nuanced negotiation, but when dealing with a source culture which is so very different from the target culture, a number of problems appear.  And so it is with Mongolian.

Painting seen at the Mongolian Artists' Union gallery, Ulaanbaatar 2006

The number of words used to describe the natural landscape, animals and animal products, and the movement of the heavens are so detailed and precise as to be effectively untranslatable into English, short of adding phrases or entire sentences to the mix.  This, together with the morphology and structure of the language, means that simply recording what is said in the original becomes a restructuring of thought and a reinterpretation of culture.  Once these concerns are settled, then the literary work can begin, and the rhythm, sound and development of the text finessed.

Over the next five years, the Mongolian Academy of Poetry and Culture intends to publish more translations and to encourage scholarship in both Mongolian and English.  As for me, I am soon to embark upon postgraduate work at the University of Washington’s Jackson School, with an emphasis on Mongolian literature.  Moreover, I am also co-director of the Center for Central Asian Literatures in Translation at UW (www.depts.washington.edu/ccalt), which is hoping to increase the profile of literature from across Central Asia.

I’d like to thank Susan for letting me benignly invade her blog.  I hope that the work that she and I, along with many others, are doing, will encourage people to investigate Mongolian culture and, in particular, its literature.

Statue of Chinggis Khan, Government House, Ulaanbaatar 2008

You’re very welcome Simon! It’s a pleasure and a privilege to have you participate here. The following poems are a little on the longer side, but I think that they really show a side of the Mongol people that Westerners, raised on the idea of Chinggis Khan and his Horde cutting a path of destruction across a large chunk of the world, don’t realize exists. If nothing else, it demonstrates our common humanity across time and space. Not a bad thing these days.

Jargalant at sunrise, Khar Us Nuur National Park 2006

A DELUDED ASCENT OF MOUNT CHUN SHAN
Khubilai Khann (1215-1294) (Yes, that Kublai Khan)

One a day blessed by good fortune,
I climbed up a blue bluff.
I stepped carefully on the ground,
So as not to destroy the landscape.
The flowers glowed red,
Like rainbows.
A beryllium light glistened like mist or smoke or blue haze.
The bamboos along the streams grew green from rain fall and spring water.
The wind blew through the mountain pines with a wonderful fluting melody.
I paid my respects
At the sacred temples,
And returned with the aid of Indra.
And controlled the dragons.

Western Mongolia 2006,"expedition" group shot; two German graduate students, myself, the American, and the Mongolians who made it happen; Jargalant in the background

LOVE ONE ANOTHER, MY PEOPLE

Love one another, my people, while you are alive.
Don’t keep from others whatever you find beautiful.
Don’t wound my heart with heedless barbs, and
don’t push anyone into a dark hole.
Don’t mock someone who has gotten drunk,
think how it could even be your own father.
And, if you manage to become famous,
open the door to happiness to others!
They should also not forget your kindness.
To someone who is lacking a single word of kindness,
you should search for it and speak it out.
Whether outside the sun or at home when it’s mild,
don’t spend one moment at rest.
Don’t use harsh words to complain, you women,
about the young man you remember.
Speak lovingly of those who loved you!
Let them remember you as a good lover.
Our lives are similar,
our words constrict our throats the same way,
our tears drop onto our cheeks the same way-
things are much the same as we go along the road.
Wipe away a halt woman’s tears without a word,
talk your lover up when she’s tripped and fallen!
Today you’re smiling, tomorrow you’ll be crying.
Another day you’re sad, and the next you’ll be singing.
We all pass from the cradle to the grave-
if for no other reason , love one another!
People must not lack love on this wide earth!
I grasp happiness with the fire of my human mind,
the golden shines lovingly upon us all the same, and
so I think that loving others is the path of life,
I understand that to be loved is a great joy.

O Dashbalbar (1957-1999)

Buddhism by Niki

Buddhism is simply the worshipping of this enigmatic Hindu gure, called the Buddha, which means incredible mind in Sanskrit. In the midst of his education and training to continue in his father´s footsteps as king, Bodhidharma encountered the Buddha´s original teachings. Buddhism teaches that we act either out of insight into the truth of cause and effect (or the truth of the interconnectedness of all things) or we act out of ignorance to these truths. Once we realize the relationship between cause and effect, and the true interrelatedness of all things, we act out of insight or wisdom. Buddhism has spread to so many countries and cultures that people who might call themselves Buddhists might also call themselves Japanese or American or Christian. Buddhism was first introduced into Tibet in the latter part of the seventh century, but it did not begin to thrive till the ninth century. In 1260, the Buddhist conqueror of Tibet, Kublai Khan, raised the head lama, a monk of the great Sakja monastery, to the position of spiritual and temporal ruler. Buddhism regards the Universe as a harmoniously functioning whole with a unity behind its diversity. Man was created by the laws of nature; the world was not created for man. Buddhism was less antithetical to Taoism, the other major religion of China. Indeed, upon first encountering Buddhism, many Chinese scholars regarded it as merely a foreign branch of Taoism. Buddhism not only affected the lives and cultures on those regions but also left us with a world of wonders in arts and literature. After Sakyamuni entered nirvana, princes of different Central Asian states gathered to express their grief, crying, beating their chests, piercing themselves with swords or knives, or cutting off their noses or ears. Buddhism, as we have learnt from the wonderful writings of Schopenhauer especially, contains much stronger elements of it. The religion of the future will he a cosmic religion. Buddhism is thus guilty of a capital crime against nature, and in consequence does injustice to the individual. All legitimate desires must be repressed. Buddhism acts as a philosophy that regulates a persons place in the world, and the universe. Buddhism may have spread only slowly in India until the time of the Mauryan emperor Aoka the Great, who was a public supporter of the religion. The support of Aoka and his descendants led to the construction of more Buddhist religious memorials and to efforts to spread Buddhism throughout the enlarged Maurya empire and even into neighboring lands. Buddhism uses the middle path to develop both. The highest wisdom is seeing that in reality, all phenomena are incomplete, impermanent and do no constitute a fixed entity. Buddhism is a wonderful religion socially, participating as a principle player in all forms of global peace stability movements, very environmentally aware and an intelligent force for good in world politics. Historically it has contributed much less inhumanity to the world than have all other religions of similar stature. Buddhism offers neither assurance of forgiveness or eternal life. Buddhists hope to enter into the state of Nirvana, but there is no clear, objective proof or teaching on what occurs beyond the grave. Buddhism is a major global religion with a complex history and system of beliefs. The following is intended only to introduce Buddhism’s history and fundamental tenets, and by no means covers the religion exhaustively. Buddhism offers, as integral to its path, a profound philosophy, an intricate analysis of the mind, lofty ethics and well-tested methods of meditation. Buddhism is based on the teachings of Siddhartha Gautama, who came to be called the Buddha or enlightened one. Gautama was born into a wealthy family near the border of modern India and Nepal in 563 BC. Buddhism raises radical questions about our inner and outer reality, but it is finally not radical enough to accommodate science’s disturbing perspective. The remaining question is whether any form of spirituality can. Buddhism is built on truth and honesty, and lying would only bring about bad karmic fate. Fifth is to refrain from intoxication. Buddhism came to Tibet in two waves. The first occurred in the 7th to 9th centuries during the height of its empire, when Tibet dominated vast tracts of central Asia. Buddhism is the religion of earnest, undaunted effort. Buddha demands from you faith in your own Self, in your own latent forces. Buddhism is a path of practice and spiritual development leading to Insight into the true nature of life. Buddhist practices such as meditation are means of changing oneself in order to develop the qualities of awareness, kindness, and wisdom. Buddhism is an ancient tradition, a spiritual path, which was discovered nearly two thousand six hundred years ago by the great sage, Buddha Shakyamuni. He was born circa 563 BC in Lumbini which is in modern-day Nepal. Buddhism lost its influence in India by the 8th century, partly because its ideas were absorbed into Hinduism, and partly due to the rise of Islam. Buddhism is a major religious and moral force in the world, but it has been all but unknown in India for over one thousand years. Buddha counseled his followers to realize perfect freedom from suffering by irreversibly dispelling all the afflictions and obscurations of the mind. The ideals of personal liberation and perfect enlightenment have been pursued by Buddhist contemplatives over the past 2,500 years. Buddha did not answer–perhaps because it is unimportant. When you are in a burning building you do not need to know metaphysics. Buddhas spread their influence over a system of worlds in which they teach Dharma and exert their benevolence. Shakyamuni is the Buddha of our own world system. Buddha stated that only karma passes from one life to the next, determining a new configuration of the five aggregates in a new existence. Therefore samsara works without the need of a self, relying only on a causal chain of determination. Buddha also spoke of pursuing balance, rather than extremes. Buddhas don’t keep or break anything. Buddhas don’t do good or evil. Buddha taught that the cause of suffering is craving and attachment. Therefore, letting go of our tight-fisted grasping is in our own self-interest, as it helps erode our wellspring of dissatisfaction and anxiety.