Forgetting One's Roots

Chapter 55 The Issue of Forgetting One's Roots

Kublai Khan of the Mongolian steppe gullies!

Many Mongols who grew up with Kublai Khan, or even watched him grow up, were heartbroken. They realized that when they played hide-and-seek as children, Kublai Khan always liked to be the one to "it"—it was all premeditated. Kublai Khan's brothers and nephews all looked at him with hostility, their eyes flashing with cold light.

His nephews, in particular, couldn't wait to rush up. No wonder you were put together with Zhu Di; it turns out you both love your nephews!

Kublai Khan retreated repeatedly, saying, "The things of the future don't matter, but you are all my beloved relatives and friends."

"superior!!"

Suddenly someone shouted from the crowd, and everyone rushed forward, some throwing punches and some kicks, all aimed at Kublai Khan, focusing on his face.

"Ouch, don't hit my face!" Kublai Khan shrank back and wailed loudly, enduring the anger from his relatives and friends, especially his nephews, who really hit him hard.

He was in the wrong after all, so let him get a beating. I've already killed them, so letting them beat me up is no big deal.

"Don't grab my crotch!!"

Genghis Khan and the others watched the fight below but did not stop it; it was normal for men on the grasslands to fight.

Tolui was somewhat uneasy. "Father Khan, what will Kublai Khan do in the future..."

Temujin interrupted Tolui before he could finish speaking, "Wasn't what he did later exactly what a true steppe man should do?"

He greatly admired Kublai Khan's ambition, which led him to unify the Central Plains and then the grasslands, establishing unparalleled achievements. He didn't object to Kublai Khan's later adoption of Han Chinese culture, as Han Chinese culture and technology were inherently superior to those of the Mongols. The reason the Mongol cavalry was able to traverse Eurasia was due to the artisans they plundered from the Western Xia and Jin dynasties. Therefore, he didn't have much of an opinion on Kublai Khan's adoption of Han Chinese systems to establish the Yuan Dynasty and his heavy reliance on Han Chinese. He believed that the strength of one's own forces was the most important thing, and this was the simplest lesson the grasslands had taught him.

As for turning against his uncles and brothers, that's no big deal. Blood ties aren't important on the grasslands. He himself was abandoned by his uncle and betrayed by his brothers.

If you can't beat someone, think more about your own problems. If you're bad, practice more. There's nothing to say if you're not as skilled as others. But Kublai Khan's claim to be a descendant of Liu Bang puzzled him greatly. Where did this come from?

After Kublai Khan unified Mongolia and the entire country, his first task was to build the Great Wall to guard against his "poor relatives" coming to Dadu (Beijing) to collect debts. No one understood the threat posed by the nomadic tribes of the grasslands better than him.

[Later, he heavily relied on Han Chinese officials to fight against the Mongols. The Han Chinese were so useful, unlike the Mongols who only knew how to plunder. Kublai Khan really liked using Han Chinese.]

As for the claim that Genghis Khan was Liu Bilie, it is based on some evidence. According to genetic information researched by Fudan University, there is a certain degree of overlap between the genes of Genghis Khan's family and the descendants of Liu Bang. German anthropologists also reached the same conclusion by extracting genetic samples from the tombs of the Qiyan tribe, the ancestors of Genghis Khan, in Outer Mongolia. In fact, this gene can only be found in the paternal line. This means that it is possible that she was not a Han princess who was sent to marry a foreign ruler, but rather a descendant of Liu Bang who came to the grasslands and, generation after generation, formed the later Mongol Golden Family.

There is also a legend about this golden family: the Mongol matriarch met a golden-armored god, was moved by the light, became pregnant, and gave birth to three sons.

The Mingguang Armor, the top-grade heavy armor from the Sui and Tang Dynasties, glitters in the sunlight, majestic and magnificent. Perhaps a Liu family member from the border army at that time, wearing the Mingguang Armor, said, "You are the most beautiful grassland woman I have ever seen."

Of course, this is just a rumor, and there are unreliable aspects to this study. After all, these genetic studies cannot directly prove that the Golden Family necessarily had Liu Bang's bloodline.

After all, Genghis Khan's tomb has not been found to this day; what has been found are only the tombs of the nobles of the Qiyan tribe of Mongolia. However, on the other hand, one should not judge a person solely by their bloodline or how eloquently they speak, but rather by their actions.

For example, Li Shimin had Xianbei ancestry, but we still regard him as one of the greatest emperors of the Han people, while some people of Han descent ended up becoming traitors and oppressing the Han people.

Judging from the actions taken by Kublai Khan after he became emperor, the Sinicization process was indeed very effective. After all, "when barbarians enter China, they become Chinese; when Chinese enter barbarians, they become barbarians."

Anyone who adopts the rites and music of the Central Plains, regardless of bloodline, is considered a Chinese.

After all, during the Spring and Autumn Period, states like Qin and Chu were also regarded as barbarians.

[Your position determines your perspective; when someone is in a certain position, everything they do will conform to what that position demands.]

Of course, this is just a joke; just take it as a laugh.

During the Spring and Autumn Period, Confucius clapped his hands and laughed, saying, "When barbarians enter China, China becomes China."

"This statement is extremely insightful, and I wonder which later generation summarized it."

This statement was originally put forward by Han Yu in "On the Origin of the Way" to summarize the main ideas of Confucius's "Spring and Autumn Annals". Confucius naturally agreed with this statement.

The Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods were a time of great ethnic integration. The original Huaxia people absorbed the surrounding ethnic groups and gradually formed the Han people in our current sense during the Qin and Han dynasties.

During the Yuan Dynasty, the Mongols on the grasslands twitched their lips and said, "Fine, fine, now that you, Kublai Khan, are emperor, you look down on us poor relatives. We've gotten in your way. Why didn't you look down on us for being poor when you led us south to attack the Song Dynasty?"

You're incredibly adept at forgetting your roots.

Temujin and Tolui exchanged a glance. They didn't quite understand what this genetic testing was, but they understood the part about the golden-armored god.

According to this statement, we really are Han Chinese, right? Could the gold of the Golden Family really be the gold of the Mingguang Armor?

"Father Khan, this must be Han people from later generations trying to glorify themselves. We are the descendants of the Eternal Heaven, how could we possibly have Han blood?"

"And that golden-armored celestial being..."

Tolui became increasingly uneasy as he spoke, his voice growing softer and softer. To be honest, he himself felt that this was quite likely, after all, how could there really be a golden-armored god? "Stop talking," Temujin scratched his head, his mind was in a mess. "Whether we are Han or not is not important. We can be Han or Mongol. No matter what our bloodline is, we all live on the grasslands now."

Emperor Hongwu of the Ming Dynasty, Zhu Yuanzhang, and others were astonished by the origin of the Golden Family in the sky. Could things have developed so quickly in later generations?

Is it really possible to verify blood ties from the bones of corpses that have been dead for who knows how many years?

Isn't this much more accurate than blood kinship testing?

As for the Yuan Dynasty, Zhu Yuanzhang himself acknowledged the Yuan Dynasty's rule. He believed that he was the legitimate successor of the Great Yuan, and he also had many Mongols under his command. The war at the end of the Yuan Dynasty was actually a class war. Many Mongols at the bottom of the Yuan Dynasty could not survive at that time and were exploited by the Mongol nobles. The entire lower class of society rose up together to resist the noble upper class of the Great Yuan.

As for whether someone is of Han Chinese descent, that's not very important to the lower classes.

That's enough as long as people can live and work in peace and contentment.