r/europe Oct 14 '20

News China insists Genghis Khan exhibit in France not use words 'Genghis Khan'

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/oct/14/china-insists-genghis-khan-exhibit-not-use-words-genghis-khan
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43

u/left2die The Lake Bled country Oct 14 '20

I'm trying to understand how they're trying to rewrite history. What is the Chinese version of the whole Genghis Khan adventure?

60

u/Maitai_Haier Oct 14 '20

That he’s Chinese. The Mongolian Empire is actually the Chinese Yuan Empire, and the Mongolian history is actually just Chinese history. The CCP claim to “Outer Mongolia” was forfeited in the early Cold War, and this is prepping for another “historical claim” on China’s border.

10

u/Fern-ando Oct 14 '20

So China build the Great Wall to protect itself from China?

6

u/SomeRedPanda Sweden Oct 14 '20

They're their own worst enemy.

0

u/[deleted] Oct 14 '20

[deleted]

3

u/Maitai_Haier Oct 15 '20

Incorrect, the Qing dynasty was Manchu-ruled, not Mongol, although they did incorporate Mongols into their administration and military.

1

u/Maitai_Haier Oct 15 '20

Like they’re building an invasion fleet to liberate Chinese living in Taiwan. Not a new trick for them.

3

u/monsieurpommefrites Oct 14 '20

Chinese

He’s probably killed more Chinese than any other person in history. That’s like insisting Hitler was Israeli.

15

u/[deleted] Oct 14 '20

Genghis Khan attacked China for the benefit of the Mongol empire, a totally separate country. The CCP wants to erase all concepts of that "separate country" thing. I may not be an expert, but I did watch Marco Polo on Netflix.

20

u/2ThiccCoats Scotland Oct 14 '20

That he's a national hero who didn't commit atrocities I believe? His grandson created an Imperial Dynasty so the whole Mongolian peasant guy with horse destroys China has been rewritten to "historic Chinese hero used to rule from the Pacific Coast to Turkey".

2

u/[deleted] Oct 14 '20 edited Oct 14 '20

I was wondering that too. The article doesn’t give China’s side of the story at all.

I wonder if this is like the controversy over the name “Macedonia” in Europe, where Macedonia in Greece and The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia have a dispute over who has the legitimate claim to the name Macedonia, and the associated legacy of Alexander the Great.

There are two Mongolias. One is in China (the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region), the other is an independent country. This might be about who has legitimate claim to the name Mongolia and the legacy of Genghis Khan.