Posts by fulltimestudent

32

A Korean Tragedy

by fulltimestudent in

jw
friends

the modern history is full of deep, dark tragedies.

and, my intention, as i sat down to write of those tragedies for a fb page i look after for a macquarie university student society, was to tell the story of these very dark contemporary events.

but east asia history is complex and i think its helpful to try to have an overview of that history to understand what has happened in the recent past.

fulltimestudent

A Korean Tragedy.

The Back Story. 2. Ming China, Korea and Japan.

Continued.

Additional details in this section go some way to explaining the deep seated hatred in the Korean psyche towards the Japanese. Beginning approximately in the 1559's Japanese raiders began hitting Korean coastal towns and villages.In 1592 a very large Japanese army landed at Pusan, overwhelmed the local Korean forces and commenced a three pronged march toward Seoul. The initial response of the Korean government was weak, and the situation was only partially saved by the spontaneous formation of guerrilla groups known as 'uibyong' (righteous armies). A Ming Chinese relief Army also arrived in Korea and eventually forced the Japanese to retreat. A second Japanese attempt in 1597 was also repulsed, The cost to Koreans during this seven year period national defense was great. There was a marked decrease in the population, due not just to deaths in the war, but also the famine and disease which ravaged most of Korea. So even after a regime change in Japan and the restoration of a relationship between the two states, Koreans generally retained a deep animosity towards the Japanese.

That Korean-Japanese war also caused other problems in East Asia. Its possible to mark the decline of the MIng dynasty in China from that war, so that by 1644, the rising Qing were able to just march through an opened gate in the Great Wall and begin their long-planned conquest of China. For around the next 250 years China was subjected to Manchurian rule.Of course, while many Chinese wanted (and planned) to expel the Manchus, other cultural forces were at work, and eventually the Manchus, became "Chinese," so that today, the former Manchuria, generally known now as the 'Dongbei' (the North east) is just another part of China. During those years of Chinese decline, the Manchu's (the Qing) also commenced forcing the Koreans into a vassal status.

32

A Korean Tragedy

by fulltimestudent in

jw
friends

the modern history is full of deep, dark tragedies.

and, my intention, as i sat down to write of those tragedies for a fb page i look after for a macquarie university student society, was to tell the story of these very dark contemporary events.

but east asia history is complex and i think its helpful to try to have an overview of that history to understand what has happened in the recent past.

fulltimestudent

A Korean Tragedy.

The Back Story. 2. Ming China, Korea and Japan

1. By 1370 the last of the Mongolian armies left China, but did not give up on efforts to regain, at least control of some areas, of China. Because of that constant threat, China under the Ming has been described as an armed camp, with an army of one million. That’s the time when the Great Wall, that was already over 1500 years old (parts anyway) was rebuilt with masonry walls, as you can see near Beijing today.

------------------------

Tomorrow (hopefully)

1. The Qing Empire and Korea.

1. Russia, Japan and Korea

Korea divided

Korea’s darkest time

32

A Korean Tragedy

by fulltimestudent in

jw
friends

the modern history is full of deep, dark tragedies.

and, my intention, as i sat down to write of those tragedies for a fb page i look after for a macquarie university student society, was to tell the story of these very dark contemporary events.

but east asia history is complex and i think its helpful to try to have an overview of that history to understand what has happened in the recent past.

fulltimestudent

The modern history is full of deep, dark tragedies. And, my intention, as I sat down to write of those tragedies for a FB page I look after for a Macquarie University student society, was to tell the story of these very dark contemporary events. But East Asia history is complex and I think its helpful to try to have an overview of that history to understand what has happened in the recent past.

A Korean Tragedy.

The Back Story. 1. The Mongols, Korea, China and Japan

In the first decade of the 13th century, Chingiis Khan and his armies commenced small scale raids into one of the smaller Northern Dynasties of China, but it was not until 1271 that Kublai Khan had conquered sufficient territory to declare himself the Emperor of China.

While attempting to subdue Chinese opposition, the Mongol army first invaded Korea, *in 1231) there was strong resistance and only in 1259 did the King sue for peace with the Mongols. However, some army units continued resistance until 1273. The Mongols, having achieved control of most of East Asia, now sought to invade Japan, using Chinese and Korean resources. In 1274, a combined army of Mongols, Chinese and Korean troops sailed on some 800 ships on the first of two ill-fated invasions. Despite having superior weapons (e.g. poisoned arrows, fire arrows, bow-launched arrows with small rocket engines attached and gunpowder-packed exploding arrows and grenades with ceramic shells thrown by slings to terrify the enemy's horses), the invaders were defeated.

The Mongol military machine was not about to give up. They organised a second invasion force. According to some sources, as many as 100,000 highly skilled warriors and near to 4,500 ships took part in the second invasion. This time the Mongols nearly succeeded. Legend has it that as battle seemed lost, the Emperor prayed to his ancestors who sent a ‘divine wind’ (kamikaze) that destroyed much of the invasion force and drowned near 100,000 men.

The Mongol era in East Asia was not all doom and spilt blood. This was the East Asia that Marco Polo described in glowing terms. With a unified political authority stretching across Asia, East-West trade surged and there were many cultural exchanges.

Yet, in China, the Mongols began to lose control with various peasant uprisings demonstrating the dynasty’s growing weakness. Two native rivals fought for political control of China, and in 1363, in a naval battle known as the 'Battle of Lake Poyang' (termed by some historians as the largest naval battle in history) Zhu Yuanzhang eliminated his opponent, and by 1368, his armies were able to control much of China as the Ming (Bright) Dynasty.

7

A cashless society

by fulltimestudent in

jw
friends

for thousands of years some material form of money has been important in daily.

but now, all over the world, there is a move toward a cashless society - a society where out wealth exists in an electronic form.. perhaps, no other country has moved as quickly toward that notion than china.. a report today on china's peoples daily (english) web-site claims that 84% of chinese can now leave home without cash in their wallet/pocket.

as i understand it they will make payments via a smartphone app.. ( see: http://en.people.cn/n3/2017/0924/c90000-9273002.html ).

fulltimestudent

For thousands of years some material form of money has been important in daily. But now, all over the world, there is a move toward a cashless society - a society where out wealth exists in an electronic form.

Perhaps, no other country has moved as quickly toward that notion than China.

A report today on China's Peoples Daily (English) web-site claims that 84% of Chinese can now leave home without cash in their wallet/pocket. As I understand it they will make payments via a smartphone app.

( See: http://en.people.cn/n3/2017/0924/c90000-9273002.html )

An American reporter in China comments:

"Its mobile payment app, Alipay, and WeChat Pay, which belongs to the country's leading social messaging platform, together hold a commanding 90 percent of the market, leaving Apple Pay struggling to make inroads.
I recently spent a day in Hangzhou to see how easy it was to go cashless, and I found it somewhat ahead of other cities, including Beijing. I rode buses and subways, which all accept Alipay. I visited a major Buddhist temple, where visitors can make donations, buffing up their karma with a swipe of their phone.
I even listened to the plaintive tunes of a woman performing music on the street for change — or for a scan of a QR code, placed beside the change box.
Over a plate of noodles, a restaurateur named Ma Zhiguo told me that about half his customers pay for their meals with cellphones, and he uses his to pay most of the time too.
"I don't have to worry about getting counterfeit money, or having to make change," he explained."

Link: http://www.npr.org/sections/alltechconsidered/2017/06/29/534846403/in-china-a-cashless-trend-is-taking-hold-with-mobile-payments

And with a projected middle class population of 500 million in a few years, it would seem that the trend will only grow more popular in China

I'm likely in a (old-age-grin) minority (even here in Aust. where like most western countries, credit cards are in common use) but I'm not sure i'll be entirely comfortable. But thinking about it, I've already gone partly down that road. I pay for my public transport fares with a Govt. transport card, that I have to top up regularly. I could use a smartphone app instead of a card, but I don't want a smartphone. But I do appreciate using a web-based bank account that allows me to make payments directly into the accounts of people like my credit card, water and electricity suppliers and others.

Maybe I'm just a slow adopter.

How about you?

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56

Human Origins

by cofty in

fantastic graphic produced by the smithsonian institute illustrating human origins.

click on any of the group or species labels for more detailed information.. meet your ancestors here....

fulltimestudent

... And then there are inconsistencies that raise all sorts of questions that may challenge current theories,

For example, this report (reported on the Phys.Org web-site).

The image shows human like footprints, thoughts to have been made some 5 to 7 million years ago, a time when our pre-human ancestors are theorised as still being in Africa, with apelike feet.

Human Origins

by cofty in

fantastic graphic produced by the smithsonian institute illustrating human origins.

click on any of the group or species labels for more detailed information.. meet your ancestors here....

fulltimestudent

Not sure of the date that the illustration was created, but it misses another important group that seem likely to be important. That group is the Denisovans, identified through their DNA in a cave in Eastern Siberia in 2008. Their identifiable DNA has been found in Asian groups down to the Melanesians in Papua-New Guinea, and recently by scientists at the University of Wollongong, in Australian Native peoples.

Here's a comment from a National Geographic web-site:

Quote: "According to one theory, Neanderthals, Denisovans, and modern humans are all descended from the ancient human Homo heidelbergensis. Between 300,000 to 400,000 years ago, an ancestral group of H. heidelbergensis left Africa and then split shortly after. One branch ventured northwestward into West Asia and Europe and became the Neanderthals. The other branch moved east, becoming Denisovans. By 130,000 years ago, H. heidelbergensis in Africa had become Homo sapiens—our ancestors—who did not begin their own exodus from Africa until about 60,000 years ago.
By comparing the genomes of apes, Denisovans, Neanderthals, and modern humans, scientists hope to identify DNA segments unique to the different groups. Early results already suggest modern humans underwent genetic changes involved with brain function and nervous system development, including ones involved in language development, after splitting from Neanderthals and Denisovans. Identifying and understanding these genetic tweaks could help explain why our species survived and thrived while our close relatives died out."

Link: https://genographic.nationalgeographic.com/denisovan/

Personally, I would not regard any explanatory information as the last word on the evolution of humans. What we know is based (usually) on quite fragmentary evidence, and only since genetic sequencing became possible have we been able to identify any discovered remains.

Bit what we know, is sufficient to blow the biblical story out of the picture and reveal the Genesis myths for what they are - one small group of modern humans attempting to explain how they came to be - in other words it a 'foundation myth.'

Also see: http://news.nationalgeographic.com/2015/11/151116-denisovan-human-anthropology-ancient-dna/

4

How Jesus Became Christian

by EdenOne in

just wanted to share an interesting read.. i have purchased the ebook "how jesus became christian" by historian and philosopher barrie a. wilson.. it's a book by a scholar but it's not written in dense academic language, thus, is easily readable by the general public (unlike, for example, the incredibly dense "james, the brother of jesus", by robert eisenman).

in this book, wilson invites the reader to inquiry how the 'jesus movement' and his early followers, entirely part of the jewish framework, became metamorphosed into the 'christ movement' that rejected the torah, and was much more related to mystical religions of the greco-roman world.

how did this change came about?

fulltimestudent

Great topic, EdenOne. Thnx for posting information about Wilson's book.

Anyone interested in the topic, may also find Geza Vermes' book, "Christian Beginnings: From Nazareth to Niceaea, AD 20-325" (Allan Lane, 2012) helpful.

Many academics think that Vermes was one of the really great experts on the historical Jesus and the development of early christianity, and the Dead Sea scrolls.

Vermes was one of the first 20th century scholars to write clearly on the Jewish background of Jesus. His 1973 book, "Jesus the Jew," changed the course of scholarship and other books by Vermes, like "The Authentic Gospel of Jesus" will also be of interest.

When you put the evidence presented by all these scholars together, we can appreciate that most religion in the west is deceptive. We may choose to follow a particular religion (as does Wilson in converting to a from of Judaism) because it helps adjust behaviour (which may be a reason many in the west convert to a form of Buddhism) but that doesn't mean that there really is an imagined being in the sky who can help us when we need help.

9

The end of a Chinese 'nail' house

by fulltimestudent in

disputes between residents of resumed property in china, often become dramatic, as in these two cases.. .

these problems are not unique to china, but can arise in any society when the community (government) wants to use the land on which a house stands for somethings different (e.g.

a new school, roads, railways, etc).

fulltimestudent

cofty : By the way I have just finished reading a brilliant three-part history of Mao Zedong by Frank Dikotter. I would love to post some of my thoughts on it soon and would appreciate your ideas.

Sure! As usual, I would like to contribute - if I can illuminate some point.

I have not read Dikotter's books on Mao, but I am familiar with his claims. The difficulty (of course) often lies in the 'evidence' some of which may not be easily accessible, and even if it is accessible, may be subject to controversy over translation.

1

Is the Divine Council, Sons of God, on earth or in the heavens?

by I_love_Jeff in

in an interview by our radio station called watchtower of babel, we ask dr. heiser (skip to the fiftieth minute of the interview (50:47).

it is about 5 minutes long) about the parallel passages: psalm 82 (sons of god) and psalm 89:5-7 [6-8] (sons of the most high) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uq_phnl1... “psalm 82:1 is perhaps the best example, as it employs the expression ʿdt ʾil(m)(divine council) (hebrew: ףֲדַת־אֵל ) for the council, along with a transparent reference to gods under the authority of israel's god: ‚god (אֱלֹהִים ) stands in the council of el/the divine council (ףֲדַת־אֵל ); among the gods (אֱלֹהִים ) he passes judgment.‛ the second occurrence of אֱלֹהִים (gods) must be semantically plural due to the preposition ‚in the midst of.‛ (deut 32:8-9 (lxx, dss).

a parallel passage, psalm 89:5-7 [6-8], places the god of israel ‚in the assembly of the holy ones‛ (בִקְהַל קְדֹשִים ) and then asks ‚ [for who in the clouds] (בַשַחַק ) can be compared to yahweh?

fulltimestudent

I_love_Jeff : "is the Divine Council, Sons of God, on earth or in the heavens?"

Very esoteric topic! But thnx for posting, its interesting.

As to the answer to the question you posed.

I would answer: Only in the fertile imaginations of some humans.

9

The end of a Chinese 'nail' house

by fulltimestudent in

disputes between residents of resumed property in china, often become dramatic, as in these two cases.. .

these problems are not unique to china, but can arise in any society when the community (government) wants to use the land on which a house stands for somethings different (e.g.

a new school, roads, railways, etc).

fulltimestudent

The UK's BBC's website today reports on the demolition of another famous 'nail-house,' this time in Shanghai.

For fourteen years the owners of this house had refused offers by the Shanghai City Government, so for fourteen years traffic on four-lane street had to go around this house, as in the image below.

The BBC report states that the owners of the house finally accepted an offer** and shortly after, in just 90 minutes, this famous nail-house was gone, probably to the joy of some of the 200 million cars in China.

** Land in China is owned by a either a state authority or a village commune and occupied on what we call 'leasehold.' So ( I guess) in effect the price stated in the report is the value of the unexpired portion of the lease.

Link to the BBC report: http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-china-41303312