Sunday, October 21, 2012
The Mongols
After what we've discussed so far and what we learned about the Mongols, has your opinion of them changed? Do you think that the Mongols had a positive influence on the world or a negative effect? Also, why do you think the Mongols never kept records of important dates and history or created impressive artwork like European countries? Why do you think Europe's world view of civilization is different from Asia's at the time?
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I defiantly think my opinion has changed. I think that while maybe their influence was not purely positive, I know it is wrong to label them as evil barbarians. They united the world, and encouraged communication between cultures. However, they did kill a lot of people in the process. As to the question of why they didn't keep records, I think that they didn't keep WRITEN records, because they were illiterate. Its seems likely that they had oral records instead. Finally I think it would be impossible to give one reason why Europe and Asia have different world views. Religion, social structure, history- many things about the two cultures were different, which led to different outlooks.
ReplyDeleteIn my opinion, the Mongols had an overall positive affect on the evolution of Europe and China. Even thought they are viewed as evil due to the amount of people they killed and their fighting styles in battle. But as Paige said, they gave Europe and China whole new influences on trade and cultural evolution. There could be more to say about China after the Mongols rein, but that would be irrelevant to the idea that the Mongols had an overall positive affect on the cultural evolution of both Europe and China.
ReplyDeleteMy opinion has changed as well. When we first started discussing the Mongols, I believed that they were people who only cared about power and benefiting themselves. Now, I believe that they were people who strived for power and did whatever they had to do to get ahead, but they also wanted to unite many countries who didn't even know the others existed. Also, the Mongols provided diverse religions for many different people, and established world trade. Because of the points mentioned, I believe that the Mongols had an overall positive affect on the world. To answer the question about keeping records, like Paige had mentioned, the Mongols were not very educated when it came to reading and writing, therefore, they were not able to keep many written records. Europeans, however, were literate causing them to write and create records and artwork. Lastly, I think Europe and Asia had different outlooks on the world for many reasons. One being their different views on trade and international communication. During this time, Europe did not know nearly as much information about other countries as Asia did. Other reasons why they had different views are religion, and their political views.
ReplyDeleteMy view of the Mongols has changed too. Before, I was completely unaware of all the good things they accomplished. Now I believe they had a positive affect on the world because they connected so many civilizations, which allowed them to become more advanced through trade and new knowledge. I would like to disagree with Paige and Nicki when they say that the Mongols didn't keep records simply because they were illiterate. I think they chose not to keep records and make art because that is not what their culture valued. If they had wanted to become literate and make art they could have, but that did not interest them. For the last question, I agree with Paige and Nicki in that you can't point to one reason for these cultures having completely different outlooks. These to cultures are very different, and always have been, so it is understandable that they have different views.
ReplyDeleteGabbi, to clarify, do you believe that the mongols kept no records whatsoever? I would believe that they at least had their own cultural legends and tales to retell history. I don't think that they "chose" not to keep written records, I think they just had a different way of preserving history. Do you agree?
DeleteI do agree with you, Paigykins, that the Mongols probably recorded their history through other methods, such as legends and tales, but perhaps they felt that because they had these, there was no need to write it down as well. So, in a way, they were opting not to keep written records. Does that clarify your question darling? I think we are basically saying the same thing....
DeleteYes, thanks for explaining it. I think we do agree.
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ReplyDeleteMy opinion of the Mongols has also changed. Before actually studying them I thought of them as evil people because they killed a lot of people and destroyed large cities but after taking a closer look my opinion has changed. It is true that the Mongols had killed a large amount of people but every conquerer has done this. To relate this to another reading Machiavelli even stated that some force was necessary to keep control of your kingdom. I believe that the Mongols had a positive effect on the world because they united a large area, together, which allowed for trade, and they practiced religious tolerance. As for the record keeping the Mongols being illiterate certainly was part of the reason but I also think that since their culture was different than the European culture their values were different and they didn't find art as important. It's also possible that they just recorded history orally. I agree with Paige's point, it is very possible that they kept history through stories.
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