Chapter 11: A Russian View of the Mongols

The writer of the Chronicle accounted for what he saw as the disaster of the Mongol invasion by describing the story of the invasion in great detail. While the passage is not necessarily a long one, the Russian writer surely knew which points to touch on in order to show how destructive and harmful the Mongols were towards their people. Basically, the Mongols didn't care about anyone! They raped their women and children and they would kill people by fire or by slaying them with swords. And this is how they conducted their business.
I think that the Mongols were successful for a number of reasons. First of all, they had a very large group of warriors to their advantage. The Russian writer describes them as coming "like locusts." I have never been in a swarm of locusts but I have seen them on TV and in movies and it is extremely frightening and hectic. I can imagine that if the Mongols approached the Russians as locusts do that it was a very overwhelming feeling, to say the least. Especially if the people of Ryazan were significantly outnumbered, which it appears that they were. They called upon Yuri of Volodimir for help but he did not assist them in their battles and so Ryazan went down quite easily. Another possible reason for the Mongol success is that they were "lawless," or so the Russian writer refers to them as. Throughout the document, the Chronicle writer talks about how horrible they were to the Russians. They seem to be fearless as they torch down churches and violated nuns and priests' wives. The fact that they were so demanding and really made it a point to take what they thought should be theirs is a very powerful tool.
I think a major thing that offended the Russians about the Mongols was there inconsideration for their religious beliefs. Time and time again the writer of the Chronicle refers to the Mongols as pagans. By the way that they treat their clergy and their nuns, they burn down their church, and the commit this huge massacre during Easter week. That seemed to be an important aspect of the Mongols that the Russians really did not like, apart from them clearly killing off all of their towns and stuff. But the fact that they disrespected God and their religion was a major offense by the Mongols.
In terms of a clash of cultures regarding the Mongols and the Russians, it could not be more prevalent. As I mentioned before, a major difference that existed was religion and religious beliefs. Influences on things such as language and government were also ways that the two cultures clashed at first and then, as most do in one way or another, sort of assimilated into one another. Russian culture absorbing more of that Mongolian culture, as there are still traces of that culture that are visible in Russia today.

Chapter 9: Reflections on The Voice of Allah

The Quran's understanding of Allah is, in many ways, quite similar to the Christian and Jewish God. First of all, they only refer to on god, not multiple gods. One of the things that I find interesting is all of the commotion over all of these different religions when essentially, they are all kind of saying the same things. Allah is infinitely compassionate and merciful, similar to the Christian and Jewish god. Allah is the one who was never born.. very similar to the Christian god. There are, of course, differences in the three Gods, however none so distinct that it makes them seem as if they are worlds apart. What I am trying to say is that more similarities exist between us and other cultures in regards to religion than our differences.

The Quran seems to have a very kind view of society. A good society is one that treats others with kindness. Even in terms of slaves, the Quran suggests that if they ask to be freed that they should be freed if the owner sees some kind of good in them so that they, too, can experience God's wealth! That's a really nice and open minded thing to say, I thought, especially for the time period. The Quran's view on a good society seems to be one that is quite inclusive and also just very nice. 

Attitudes toward non-Muslims are extremely accepting and open minded! I am not sure why I am so surprised by that, maybe because there is just so much war that has to do with religion. But the Quran states that all believers are brethren. And if someone feels differently than Muslims, then it is okay and there is nothing to freak out about. It stated that God could have created us all the same but he didn't, because he is testing our tolerance. And I kind of love that idea and I wish that everyone sort of followed that rule of thumb. That's fantastic. Perhaps once we all become tolerant then we can move on to the next step, which is to be accepting of other ways of life. 

Of course, there are always problems that can arise from different perceptions of God and stuff. That is just always going to be a problem and there will always be misunderstandings. For example, some people might even think, No! We can't be tolerant of others because my way is the right way! Stuff like that is difficult to combat and we can only hope that people can be as tolerant as their religions suggest that they should be. 

Chapter 7: Reflections on A European Christian in China

In Marco Polo's written travels, we see that he loves China! He seems to describe everything as "fine." But not the kind of fine that's just like, whatever... the kind of fine that would describe fine china. Ironic, kind of. I was referring to fine china as in plates that are used for a nice dinner party but I guess it also literally applies to the country of China in this case. Anyways, Marco Polo begins by saying that China is "the finest and noblest in the world." Clearly, he thinks very highly of it. He notices that both the men and the women are very fine and delicate and that nearly everything is just so great. He loves the silk that they dress themselves in and the quality of food in their markets and the bathhouses that they bathe in every month! Needless to say, he is very impressed. 

Marco Polo describes the city as "the finest and noblest in the world" so that the great Kaan could be aware of how awesome the city was. He did not want the city to be taken over or conquered, he wanted them to know how lovely the city was so that it could be preserved, almost, and saved from destruction and ruin.

It is clear that Marco Polo is a foreigner as well as a Christian in his writings. In one simple sentence, he is talking about how the Chinese eat dogs and other unclean animals and how a Christian would never do such a thing. For reasons like these, it is evident to see that Marco Polo is an outsider, despite the fact that he may have lived there for over ten years. In the last paragraph, he mentions that  the Chinese are extremely friendly to foreigners who come for trade and other such purposes. He knows this because he has been treated as a foreigner himself. He also makes it a point to mention that they hate the sight of soldiers!!

The evidence of China's relationship with the outer world is much focused on trade, it looks like. Marco Polo talks about how the foods that are from the market are the most fresh and how they come from different places. He also talks about how the treat foreigners so well, implying that foreigners do frequent China, especially for their exports of silk! That was a huge thing. China's silk provided for much trade of other goods, which connected them to various parts of the world. 

Chapter 6: Reflections on The Making of an Axumite Empire

In this document, it is clear that Axum has not yet accepted Christianity because of the thanks that he gives to Zeus, Poseidon, and Ares, all of which are Greek gods. Upon conquering all of these different villages and nations, Axum immediately notes that he could not have done so without the help of the gods. 

The point of view in which the document is written is certainly in the first person view of Axum. "I" is used consistently throughout the document and the arrogance and pride that the author has while talking about himself is unmistakeable. Basically, the author (Axum) sounds somewhat conceited and it is easy to see that he is speaking about himself. 

The types of imperial control that the document reveals is that of a very strong handed government. Keywords such as "conquered" and "submission" are indicative of the kind of force that Axum and his empire imposed on others. Practically the entire document consists of telling stories that talk about Axum overcoming others. There really is no other kind of imperial control in this document other than brute force and power. 

In regards to the Greek influence on the document, it may be accounted for due to the fact that it was written in Greek on a slab of stone that was decorated with Greek gods. Also, Axum refers to Greek gods in his writings. The text states that Axumites had their own deities but that they often ams to be Greek deities. One reason why Greece may have had such a powerful impact not the Axumite document is how powerful the Greek empire was. And Axum really responded to power!

A the end of the document, Axum thanks three of the greek gods. The sort of religious take that this empire has is one of power as well. Axum believes that the gods allowed him to take over all these other empires and towns and villages. The three gods that he mentions at the end are all extremely powerful and have control over the sea, warfare, and gods overall! Because their empire was very focused on force. 

Chapter 5: Reflections on Lessons for Women

It is difficult to say why exactly Ban Zhou began her work in such a critical manner towards herself. As we know, women back then were very disregarded and viewed as unimportant so perhaps the beginning of Zhou's "Lessons for Women" was a way of introducing herself in the most humble way possible, as to not upset anyone. In the preface, it mentions that she was very educated and yet she calls herself an "unworthy writer" and "unintelligent by nature."She gives most of the credit to her wealthy family and, back then, women were not considered smart and so if they were even to be considered good at anything it must be due to some external cause.
The Confucian attitudes that I saw reflected in "Lessons for Women" were that of respect and leadership. Zhou emphasizes how women can be the best that they can be in Chinese society (which is pretty depressing to read) and Confucius also emphasized rules of how one can become the best version of themselves. As it says in the pretext, the premise for "Lessons for Women" was to apply Confucianism to the lives and behaviors of women since, in reality, Confucius hardly mentioned women at all.
A perfect marriage is described as one that is a balance between yin and yang. One is powerful and the other yields. Zhuo says that "The correct relationship between husband and wife is based upon harmony and intimacy, and conjugal love is grounded in proper union."She really does stress the importance of harmony in her writing, however for them, a proper relationship is seen as the husband controlling his wife and the wife serving her husband. Today, that is not what we would consider a harmonious relationship but things were very different back then. Statements such as these make it evident how low women were seen. A perfect woman should have womanly virtue, womanly words, womanly bearing, and womanly work. As for the man, they should be in control of their women, however treat them with respect, as she questions how love can remain intact if a man hits a woman.
In regards to education, Zhou questions why only the young boys are taught and the young girls are not. She says that she understands that the boys need to learn so that they can "manifest their authority" but she also says that what the men do not realize is that "husbands and masters must also be served." Zhou believes that they are ignoring the harmonious relationship that men and women are supposed to be sharing. She references "The Rites," a famous text that states that children should be learning at the age of eight. It does not just specify that young boys should be educated, so why are they not teaching the young girls as well? Zhou, being an educated young woman, knows how important and beneficial it has been for her to have had literary training.

Chapter 4: Reflections from the Hindu Scriptures

In contrast to Confucius and his writings, the Bhagavad Gita has some different ideas on what a good society should be comprised of. In the Bhagavad Gita, Krishna tells that the way to achieve nirvana while still remaining active in the world is to be free of all attachments. This person does not have any desires. This is a very difficult thing and that is why it is very difficult to achieve nirvana. Krishna is somewhat vague when it comes to telling Arjuna why he should perform his duty as a warrior. He tells him that those who fight such battles are given "an open door to Heaven." It is sort of like it is just Arjuna's duty to fight because it is what the higher powers want. He also tells him that if he does not fight, that he is "abandoning his duty and his fame."

Krishna describes the god society as basically being that of a caste system, which was in place in India. The caste system was quite discriminatory and if you were born into a certain caste, it was extremely difficult to leave it. The four divisions of the caste system mentioned in the Bhagavad Gita are the Brahmins, Kshatriyas, Vaisyas, and Sudras. While the Sudras are the lowest class of the caste system mentioned here, they are still higher than the Untouchables, who are not even mentioned in the Bhagavad Gita. Krishna explains that a good society is one in where everyone stays in their own places and does their own duties. He would rather have someone performing their own duty incorrectly than have someone performing someone else's duty perfectly. That's an interesting statement. 

A major theme that I see present in this Hindu passage is conformity. It seems that they liked everyone to play by the rules and not really ask a lot of questions or question why they might be doing what they were doing. As long as you were doing job, regardless of how "defective" it might be, you were pretty much in the clear. Don't rock the boat! Another theme that I found a little bit more comforting was the theme of rebirth. They also talk about how once someone dies, it is certain that they will be reborn, and vice versa. 

Compared to the Analects by Confucius, the Bhagavad Gita does seem very different. Confucius' work appeared to be much more inclusive and focused on being a good person and a good leader. I felt like the Hindu text was less geared towards individuals and more geared towards groups getting their job done. And if they got their job done, everything was going to be okay. However, I do think that one thing that the two have in common is the way the Confucius talked about being the best person that you can be and how Krishna also mentions how you can become the best person you can be (he mentions it is like assimilating to Brahmins, the highest class). Nevertheless, each of the texts provided some sort of groundwork for achieving the best version of yourself. 

Confucius: The Superior Man

Many of Confucius' ideas regarding leadership are extremely profound. What he refers to as "The Superior Man" is, in fact, a sort of paradigm of leadership and greatness. While there are some statements that I did not completely agree with, "Without recognizing the ordinances of Heaven, it is impossible to be a superior man," there were others that I found to be quite inspirational. During the time of Confucius, religion was a much more universally accepted practice. Today, I think that more people would not necessarily agree 100% with the idea that in order to be a great person or leader that you have to believe in God. Maybe I am wrong but that's how it would seem to be. I think that one of his statements that he made should actually be more relevant than it is today: "Riches and honors are what men desire. If they cannot be obtained in the proper way, they should not be held." I like that one. Take blood diamonds, for example. They are certainly not obtained in a proper way and therefore, people should not have them. But we do. In a perfect world, there would be no blood diamonds. One of my favorite quotes that I read was, "When internal examination discovers nothing wrong, what is there to be anxious about, what is there to fear?" I liked this because it tells us that if we look inside ourselves and are content with what we see, then why should we have anything to worry about? Another great one is "The superior man is modest in his speech, but exceeds in his actions." Statements such as these are the ones that are completely applicable today. Leaders should be humble and they should have trust in what they are doing and who they are. Even on a smaller scale, I think that everyone has some kind of leadership within them. If we know in our hearts that something is right, and true, and pure, then it most often is.