When you only have a hammer in your hand, you will think that everything is a nail. When you hail national pride every day, if you hear an incomprehensible language and see distorted words on walls, you want to smash them down with the hammer.

Recently, Inner Mongolia schools reduced teaching in the Mongolian language and replaced some classes with standard Mandarin as the medium of instruction. This was met with strong opposition from the Mongols and eventually led to a rare protest to boycott classes. The Disney movie “Mulan” was recently released in theaters and the Chinese nationals were shocked to learn that the woman warrior, who disguised herself as a man to fight in place of her father, belonged to the Xianbei ethnic. The Northern Wei Dynasty was founded by the Xianbei people who occupied the Central Plains and ruled northern China. Japanese historian Masaaki Sugiyama believes that the political turbulence during the period of the Northern and Southern Dynasties in fact took place much longer than we think. Let’s consider the period during the North-South confrontation in the era ruled by Emperor Xuanzong of Tang Dynasty, there were five dynasties and ten countries. Given the Northern Song Dynasty was weak and not considered unified, then the fission during this period spanned 530 years before the northern and southern territories were “unified.” Kublai Khan was the first non-Han, a Mongol emperor, who conquered and united all of China.

In the course of Chinese history, there must have been a lot of question marks in the students' minds. The empire was obviously ruled by the Mongols, why did it become the Yuan Dynasty of China? After the fall of Xiangyang, the Mongols conquest of the Song Dynasty was completed and China was defeated, but the Chinese territory in some books was drawn all the way to West Asia?

In the history of Mongolia written by Masaaki Sugiyama, he tells people not to dwell on the orthodox historical concept of “dynasty rotation” in ancient China. From a macro perspective, the country whose territory extended from the East China Sea to West Asia was called the “Mongol Empire.” The Mongolian empire established by Kublai Khan had three pillars, one of which is the strong economic power in the south of the Yangtze River in China. The Muslim business travel in Central Asia and Persia opened up the overland Silk Road and Maritime Silk Road. The Mongolian military power in the grassland of Central Asia put in motion the communication infrastructure, promoting cultural exchange and integration. Masaaki Sugiyama described that Kublai Khan transformed the Mongolian empire built by Genghis Khan, merging grassland military power, Chinese economic power and Muslim commercial power. Chinese civilization is one of the three pillars.

Also do not forget that Marco Polo wrote about the prosperous China much desired by Europeans. This was the same China ruled by the Mongols. Marco Polo was probably writing about Khanbaliq or Dadu which was the winter capital of the Yuan dynasty. Dadu was the main center of the Mongolian Empire, the future capital of subsequent dynasties, in what is now Beijing, also the capital of China today. Chinese people take pride in Zheng He’s voyages to western oceans in the Ming Dynasty. He inherited the Maritime Silk Road used by the Mongols and Persian merchants. Zheng He himself was a Muslim and his ancestors originated from Central Asia.

The blue and white porcelain, which was sold all over the world and regarded as a gem by Europeans, also flourished under the rule of the Mongols. Originally, Chinese porcelains were not decorated with patterns. The geometric stripe patterns were favored by the Persians and Arabs. The blue pigment, generally cobalt oxide, used to decorate blue and white potteries was not available in China, instead came from Persia. The cobalt dark blue and white are the styles of the Mongolians. It was the Mongols who established the global logistics network, industrialized blue and white porcelains and turned the ceramics into high-end products for global marketing.

Some critics believe that the evidence is not conclusive enough to support the history of Mongolia written by Masaaki Sugiyama. It is doubtful whether Kublai Khan had strategized such a grand scheming. Nevertheless, the reconstructing of the deeds of the Mongols based on this macro-Asian view is no doubt a fresh perspective.

Knowing that nothing originates from ancient times to the present and knowing that history books are written by victors, we will have more respect and humility for ethnic minorities, as well as more fondness and admiration for history.

(Allan Au Ka-lun, veteran journalist)

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