History and the Current Uighur unrest in Xinjiang

 Note: I originally Wrote this a little over 9 years ago, and the situation is still the same if not worse. However the same historical roots apply. Again the causes and roots of the present lie in the past.


FRIDAY, JULY 10, 2009
Uighur and Xinjiang unrest
Look at this map. It's a map of China, right? More specifically it's a map of China during the warlord/ Republic of China era. See Xinjiang? Yes, Xinjiang. That obscure place where the Uighurs live, the place that's been in the news lately. It's up to the northwest on the map, far from the area where the Chinese political events described on the map, the important events of the era, took place. In fact, from a glance at the map one would suspect that Xinjiang is not part of China at all. And if you did, you'd probably be in agreement with most of the people who lived there during the period of history described on the map. 
             

The world, quite frankly, is a mess. It can get depressing. And, all you can do, in my opinion, is pick a cause here and there and work towards making it better.

But be forewarned, when you do, or even if you don't, then someone will bombard you with other causes and new problems.

For the last week or so I 've been bombarded with news of the Uighurs in Xinjiang and the unrest and discontent they express towards the Chinese government. No surprise there. Culturally the Uighurs, a central Asian Muslim people, have nothing in common with the Han Chinese majority. It is only an accident of history that made their homeland part of China. Furthermore, the Chinese have for decades been engaging in a systematic program to reduce Uighur influence in their homeland and more solidly integrate Xinjiang into China, its economy and its society. As part of this program, they have encouraged Han Chinese emigration to Xinjiang, and thereby consciously set out to make the Uighurs a minority in their own homeland.

It's not a nice thing to do. And it's understandably that the Uighurs react. (Just as they have over the centuries.There was a widespread uprising in this region in the 1880s, although in much of the early half of the twentieth century the area was independent. On, again, off-again, membership in the nation of China, with this being part of the result.)

And why mention it here? Well, it ties in nicely with my posts about Burma from a couple months ago.  [Note: I'll post this here eventually. If it takes too long for you, message me.]  If one looks at the map of Burma and Southeast Asia one will see that in the eighteenth century Burma and its neighbors had no borders. Instead it had a civilization and the influence of the civilization faded away the farther one got from the center and the farther out into the so-called "wilderness" you traveled. China's the same way. And Xinjiang, until the 1940s or so, was on the far fringe of its influence, an area that was sometimes in and sometimes out of the Chinese nation's sphere of influence. Again, just as in Burma, we have the same pattern of trying to rectify a modern border with a historical lack of a border and violence erupting on the area in the fringes.

Patterns repeat. Conditions vary. People get stuck in the middle. Its the way of the world.
POSTED BY PETER HUSTON AT 9:54 AM
LABELS: BURMA. UIGHURS., CHINA, CHINESE HISTORY

Pseudohistory, Creationism, and Dinosaurs.

While most are aware that creationism provides an alternative to accepted science, many are not aware that it also offers an alternative to history as well as zoology. But of course it does. If one reads the Bible carefully, and takes the results literally, beginning with Adam and then calculating lifespans and genealogies with great precision, then adding on the known history that takes place after the Biblical stories end, the results reveal approximately 6,000 years of story. And if one takes the writings literally, something I've never seen as either necessary nor as a sign of devotion (nor have I ever seen non-Fundamentalist Bible reading as sacrilegious), that means that there has only been approximately 6,000 years of history since the Creation of the Earth. 

A dinosaur in medieval Europe from "The Great Dinosaur Mystery and the Bible." 

[(What? Have I just questioned the literal truth of the Bible? Does this mean I am saying God does not exist? Come on, do you believe George Washington and Abraham Lincoln really existed? Hmm, I'll reckon a guess that you do. But does this mean that you believe everything that was ever written about them? Probably not. And with that, the analogy is now ended and my theological musings put to rest for the moment. Suffice it to say that I admit my limitations and do not claim to offer easily palatable truth about either God or the nature of the Universe. With luck, if pressed, the best I can hope for is to occasionally share a really, really good question.)]

The Dinosaurs and other animals boarding Noah's Ark

It also means, that not only is your version of the Earth, only 6,000 years old but that those 6,000 years of history must include such important events as the Tower of Babel and the story of Noah's Ark and the Flood. Which is interesting enough, but, well, what about the dinosaurs? How do they fit in? 

I've seen at least four responses to this question. They are: 

1. Dinosaurs were never real. The fossils that look like dinosaur fossils were actually something else, perhaps created by Satan to mislead people and cause them to doubt the reality of the stories in the Bible. 

2. Dinosaurs were real but somehow predated the Garden of Eden and died out long before it. (This one is not very common, but it has had some interesting adherents.) 

A pterodactyl flying over the pyramids in ancient times

3. Dinosaurs were real but they all died out in the global flood described in the story of Noah. 

4. Dinosaurs were real, they survived the flood because Noah brought them on the Ark with all the other animals, they then got off the Ark with all the other animals, but they have become increasingly rare since the days of Noah's Ark, but are quite real and always have been and still might be encountered today. Interestingly this one seems to be the most common among "young Earth" Creationists (the Creationists who believe the Earth is only 6,000 years old) in my experience. Such a claim, tends to be tied in with cryptologists claims of the reality of the Loch Ness monster as well as Mkele Mbembe, a living dinosaur claimed to still survive deep in the Congo .

And, if you are some kind of Fundamentalist parent, and your kids are going through the Dinosaur phase, --all kids go through the dinosaur phase, don't they-- then clearly the last one has the most appeal for them. 

Which means that, if you have this sort of bent, and are either inclined to lie to children ("for their own good" -no comment) or are so scientifically illiterate that the Loch Ness monster seems provably real to you and the theory of evolution does not, then you can picture a view of human history where dinosaurs interacted with humans throughout known history and believe this is a fine book for you to give to your children. 

Or you can tell them that Truth is important, any meaning to life that is based on lies is fragile and hence temporary, science is a quest for truth, and, if done right, religion too is a quest for truth and real meaning. It's up to you. But either way, dinosaurs are cool.

All illustrations come from the following book and no copyright infringement or ownership is intended. 

The Great Dinosaur Mystery and Bible, by Paul S. Taylor, 1987, 1989, Chariot Victor Publishing, Colorado Springs, Colorado, a division of Cook Communication, Paris Ontario. Copies are easily available second hand. (There are other books on the subject available.) 

  

Dinosaurs in ancient China

Historical Miniature Wargaming --Preparing for a Game

Historical Miniature Gaming and Keys to Good Gaming 

Preparation for the Game

An important part of any historical miniature game is preparation. Experienced gamers know this. (So you guys just enjoy the pictures please. Maybe the less experienced will learn something or get some ideas.) Let me suggest the following as common things to consider when preparing for a historical miniature game.

A large multi-player game of Bolt Action that involved
many players recreating a portion of the World War Two
D-Day Normandy landings. This game took place at the
Schenectady Wargamers monthly game-a-thon.

1. Historical research. 

Historical games are best appreciated by people who know enough history to put things in context. Of  course, imagination is part of these things too, but knowing at least a little of the history of what's being simulated can go a long way to increase appreciation of the game. 

Some games are recreations of actual historical battles but most are imaginary or hypothetical battles set during a particular period of history.

2. Collect and paint some miniatures

A Scottish Highland force from the 1745 Uprising. Figures are Old Glory 25mm painted by Doug Bradt.

To play most miniature games, miniatures are generally required. Of course, some people substitute things like tokens, cardboard counters, clothes-pins, coins, buttons, or whatever seems to be at hand, but I for one, just don't get it. Without miniatures why not just play boardgames?  

And then there are those people who buy expensive figures and put them on the gaming table  without painting them. I for one, don't get it. It's like those people who drink fine wine from paper cups.

No! No! No! If you're going to play historical miniatures games, then it's best to get some historical miniatures and paint them. (Some people hire others to paint them. Enh . . . I'm not sure what I think about that. It's kind of like cheating maybe in my opinion, but, then again, what do I really know?

3. Select and learn rules

A French and Indian Wargame

Of course, to play a game, you need to have some idea of what the rules are. Or do you?

If a historical wargame is using a set of rules that produce a historically accurate result, and you are reasonably familiar with the history and the tactics and troop types of the period being gamed, and there are people present who are feeling friendly and tolerant of new players and who know the rules well, often you can sort of play along when your turn comes by telling the other players what your troops or units of troops intend to do, and then guide them along as they do what their historical counterparts would have done.

Of course, if you don't know the historical tactics and types of units, strange things can happen. I recall once playing a World War Two skirmish game using a set of rules called Fireball Forward. This was a pick-up game played one afternoon at a Boston area store called The Hobby Bunker in Malden, Massachusetts, so new players were welcome. I was not terribly familiar with either the rules or tank tactics of the period and to make it even worse, the terrain was the hedgerows of Normandy, home to some very fierce fighting during the Second World War. ( The Normandy hedgerows were among the most unusal and challenging terrain of word war two. For an interesting PDF on the subject you can click here.  It is intended for American school children taking history classes.)  Not only that the game was set at night and the rules provided for this by giving all the players limited ability to find each other's units.

I figured that it woul dbe a good idea to send some of my tanks forward at high speed to scout out the situation and find the enemy. Unfortunately what I learned is that people who were inside a world war two tank travelling at high speed at night can not see or hear much of the world outside the tank. The result was that I learned nothing and soon got ambushed and lost the tanks. Oh well. Not good, but probably a mistake more than one naive, inexperienced American takn commander of the time made as well. (Again, consider reading the above linked PDF on the subject.) .

A quick game without scenery. This was just to try out some ideas for a set of rules I am writing to simulate Kung Fu movie action. The figures come from a variety of manufactures, Hasslefree martial artists, Obelisk Tong gangsters, Wargames Foundry Taiping War figures and Frontier Boxer Rebellion figures. 

4. Acquire scenery 

This is another area where some people skimp. On the other hand, good scenery can make or break a good gaming experience. Model trees, model houses, terrain, and other pieces of scenery are an important part of the hobby. 

  

Probably the most elaborate piece of scenery I own. a home-built gaming model of a Roman Gladiatorial arena. The photos are of a game using Habet, Hoc, Habet rules simulating four condemned men (miniatures from Crusader Miniatures) fighting a lion (I'm having time remembering who made this. If someone recognizes it please let me know.

General Tso's Chicken and Jennifer 8. Lee's Chinese food presentations

Quick post. A few years ago, I stumbled across an interesting book called The Fortune Cookie Chronicles written by Jennifer 8 Lee. Although not a complete and comprehensive history of the subject, this interesting work includes a lot of interesting insights and vignettes about the history of Chinese food (or Chinese-American food) in the USA. The author is a Chinese American journalist with a long interest in subject and experience writing for The New York Times. 

The author, Jennifer 8 Lee, has also given an excellent Ted Talk on the truth and fiction of Chinese and Chinese American food as well as Chinese food around the globe today. It's fun and informative. 

But it's her documentary, The Search for General Tso's Chicken, where the history of Chinese food in the USA and of this one dish in particular begin to come to light. Definitely worth watching if you are interested in history and the interaction of two cultures over a period of almost two centuries, and if you like Chinese food, well, it's a must see. 

Historical European Martial Arts (H.E.M.A.), the Rondel or medieval dagger, and the Fiore Dei Libri manuscript

The study of history need not be a static, sedentary thing. For one thing, there's a lot there, like everything that ever existed, and much of it involved doing things.

Which brings us to the modern activity of "Historical European Martial Arts" (Also Known As "H.E.M.A."), a 600 year old book called "Fiore Dei Liberi's Armizare", and a medieval dagger known today (but not in medieval times) as "the Rondel." 

Late Medieval European daggers 

Going in reverse order, the Rondel is the modern name for a medieval dagger that resembled a large ice-pick more than it did a modern fighting blade. While most modern fighting knives are designed for slicing and cutting, techniques that can be deadly in most hand to hand combat situations, the rondel was adapted for fighting opponents in plate mail. A modern sharp bladed dagger would not do much damage against an enemy encased in medieval plate armor. Attempts to cut the plate would most likely do little damage to the person inside, while dulling the blade. By contrast, the long, narrow, sharply pointed rondel, if stabbed forcefully had a better chance of both piercing the plate than a wider knife, it also could slide through the cracks and joints in the armor, thus reaching the person inside. The rondel was a common weapon in the days when Europeans fought in heavy armor.

An excellent book on the use of the medieval
dagger as taught in the Fiore Dei Liberi
manuscript aimed at a modern audience.

But how exactly did people fight, or train to fight, with the rondel? How did they move? How did they hold their hands and move their fight when they did? Were their techniques and movements, or series of movements and techniques, which they practiced during training?

Although much of the details are conjecture, speculation, and, at best, educated guesses, we do have some information on these matters due to the existence of a 600 year old book known as Fiore Dei Liberi's Armizare. This was a hand drawn, Italian book dating from 1410 on fighting from the time, and it is often considered the oldest known comprehensive manual on hand to hand armed and unarmed combat in the European tradition. Four copies of the book, each slightly different, have survived and are located in museums around the USA and Europe.



Although the Fiore Dei Liberi manuscript describes

a good quality plastic reproduction of a
medieval dagger from the Cold Steel
company built for safer training

 techniques for unarmed combat, swordsmanship (using the hand and a half sword of the time), axe, spear, as well as other weapons, a large portion of the work covers techniques for attacking with the rondel. For each of these techniques there is then a counter, called "a remedy" in the terminology adapted for the book, and then each of these counters has its own counter, charmingly called "the remedy master."

The work and its illustrations give clear descrptions of what each technique is supposed to look like at various points in the process.  However, there is some debate over what happened or should have happened at the points in between the illustrations. Furthermore, as the art and techniques described in the book died out at some point centuries ago, unlike some Asian martial arts, there does not exist a lineage of living masters of the art who passed the teachings down from one student to another.

The author on the left preparing to defend
himself from a simulated medieval dagger
attack at a training session in the Boston area.

Nevertheless, some people today, in organized groups or as individuals, do attempt to recreate and practice the techniques in this work. For obvious reasons, what they are doing is an interpretation and may or may not be what the author of the book intended when he wrote and taught in the fifteenth century. But in most cases, students of the art have put much time and effort into learning what they can about body mechanics as well as fighting techniques, in order to try and achieve recreated techniques that are reasonably sound in practice and thus more likely to be close to what the original practitioners of this art did.

Such groups fall under the umbrella term of "Historical European Martial Arts" or H.E.M.A. I've participated in a small way with two different H.E.M.A. groups and enjoyed the experience. They were fun people and their gatherings were both fun and good exercise.

More on the Rondel and how it was used as taught in the Fiore Dei Liberi's Armizare is below.

An Excellent Series of Training Videos from the North West USA

Further Reading

http://myarmoury.com/feature_spot_rondel.html

Gwar Miniatures

This blog is intended to be about history and historical miniature wargaming, from time to time, when the miniatures are there, non-historical wargame miniatures will be featured. Or is Gwar, the surreal speed metal band of the 1990s and beyond somehow history?  (the band has been performing for over thirty years, since 1984, but still performs today although the line-up has changed with the death and retirement of different band members as well as the characters they portray.)

Three band members of the 1990s in 28mm scale miniature, from Left to Right, Oderus Orungus, Balsac -the Jaws of Death, and Beefcake the Mighty  (All figures on this blog were painted by yours truly.)

More 1990s era Gwar band members in 28mm miniature. From Left to Right. Flattus Maximus, Slymenstra Hymen, and Jizmak the Gusha. These three and the above figures were the band line-up at the time the figures were released. 

According to its own mythos and band background materials,  Gwar had originally been a band of galactic mercenaries and space pirates called "The Scum Dogs of the Universe." They had come to Earth millennia ago, killed the dinosaurs, destroyed Atlantis, and accidentally set the template for the Roman Empire when primitive humans had copied Beefcake the Mighty. Ultimately, however, the Scumdogs of the Universe had become frozen for centuries in the icy wastes of Antarctica. 

Somehow Sleazy P. Martini, down-on-his-luck band manager, stumbled across them, thawed them out, and convinced them to form a band and create music and bloody spectacles for the people of late 20th Century Earth. 

Sleazy P. Martini, band manager extroadinairre

The result has to be seen to be understood. As someone once wrote, "skip the recorded music. Just go to the videos." 

And thusly I offfer you . . . 

I saw them live myself twice in the 1990s and even wrote a write up and review of the show in a local publication called The Source, --not to be confused with the later hip-hop publication, the source. You find a copy here: https://web.archive.org/web/20030905065751fw_/http://capital.net:80/~phuston/GWAR1.html

In the 1990s, a company called Demon Blade Miniatures released the Gwar Miniature and Role Playing Game (really a miniature skirmish game) and it included a rule book and the above figures (minus Sleazy P. Martini who had to be bought separately) and many figures to represent the Gwar Slaves. Mindless and unimportant human scum who the band brought with them from place to place to work as roadies or be killed on stage for the entertainment of the crowd,

Gwar Slaves in 28mm scaled. 

The Rule Book

Of course, a band needs opponents to fight. One of these was Cardinal Syn, a giant robot who worked with the Morality Squad, a group that, within the mythos, tried to put an end to Gwar and force the closure of their stupid and gratuitously violent shows. Sometimes during a Gwar show these enemies of Gwar would invade the show and need to be dispatched in a violent fashion as fake blood sprayed all over the audience.

Cardinal Syn and Oderus Orungus in 28mm scale.

Other enemies of Gwar of the period included 

Enemies of Gwar in 28mm scale, from Left to Right Scroda Moon, Techno-destructo, and the Sexecutioner. 

The figures and the rule book are now long out of print and fetch collectors prices on ebay. Exactly how this strange range of miniatures came to be is uncertain, but rumor (unconfirmed rumor) had it that one of the band members took a job sculpting figures for Demon Blade Games (a company that has closed its doors sadly) and this range grew out of that collaboration. Regardless, it's kind of cool how the Gwar Miniatures range was released and thus the world became a little more interesting.