Attended the ISPD meeting in Istanbul.
I arrived a day before the meeting actually started and joined a local tour. We visited common sight-seeing places like the Hippodrome, Hagia Sophia, Blue Mosque, and so forth. “This is three thousands year-old.” “And this is here since 600 A.D.” The list seemed endless.
I said to myself, “Oh, 600 A.D. is around the time when the Tang Empire was under the reign of Li Shimin (李世民). Where is his palace now ?”
No, there’s not a trace of it – all destroyed during the change of dynasty.
Right, Turks (突厥) were often regarded as barbarians by ancient Chinese, but at least they did preserve most of the things they inherited from the history – not only of their own, but also of the Byzantine Roman that they conquered.
As the traditional Chinese saying: 禮失求諸野.
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1 comment:
Palace of former dynasties were preserved only if the successors were of non-Han ethnic origin. How could the founding emperors justify his people that they inherited the throne from the Heaven if they did not wholeheartedly disapprove their overthrown dynasties? On the other hand, the barbarians were not Confucians!
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