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Woah, long title. But the book is easy and interesting reading.
Here's the deal. You know Genghis (that's actually his last name), don't you? He's the dude who started off in the steppes of Asia and took over local clans, then went for empires. He claimed more land than anyone thought possible.
How did he do this?
The book starts out by explaining his family and his history and then goes in to his thought on this subject. The guy was genius.
Here's what he did. When he would conquer some land, he would leave his daughters or his wives (he had 4 at a time) there to rule it. Then he would take the leading men with him to fight and campaign. The bonus in this is that the women have their own power and do not generally seek to usurp more for themselves as they are inherently tied to Genghis himself (and thus intricately tied to the power anyway), which would be a danger in having headstrong and energetic men in charge.
The daughters married tribe leaders so that there would be peace between groups and then those groups would be brought under the ruling power of Genghis. He would then take his new son-in-law (who had no ruling power of his own, he was known more as the prince consort) to battle with him. Won't the group left behind be more likely to adapt into his empire when their own prince's neck is on the line? He quite thought so, too.
The women of the empire (his daughters) didn't sit around in fluffy robes and pick their noses all day. They were in charge, under their father, and at times also took up their bow and arrows to fight. They were not wussy little maidens. Their father charged them to be true to their three "husbands" - their reputation, the land they ruled and finally, the human man he wed them to. He said that they were intertwined and would all be mutually beneficial to them if they were faithful to all three.
I look forward to hearing more about their secret history (apparently someone thought it was needed to cut out a section of the Mongol history - literally - within their records that spoke of women being in a place of power).
Berry eenteresting, no?
Ms. Daisy
This book was an overwhelming example of strong determination and perseverance. The women who trekked thousands of miles and cared for each other and the men were so strong and so devoted to their cause.
I am glad to see that they were so devoted, but their extreme devotion ruined many aspects of their lives (and was horrific and disturbing at times). The women who got pregnant on the Long March were forced to leave their babies behind - some in empty huts, hoping a family would be back soon to help and be willing to adopt the child into their own life; some were left on the side of the road. This is the tragic side of devotion to a cause. Their own family and futures were drastically harmed as they saw the group as more important than their own life and children.
Reading about the Long March did open up that unfamiliar aspect of thought, though. Western society thinks inherently more about the individual than the whole. Each person must fulfill their "own destiny", regardless of what that may come. The people who marched called one another "brother" and "sister" and thought of their own group as a family. This group-think can certainly get things done, but throws your individual life on the altar to the gods of the cause. (Which reminds me of the group-think lauded in books like 1984 and Brave New World , showing the loss of freedom and thought that such a lifestyle brings.)
The physical difficulties are incomprehensible - up mountains in the snow with sandaled feet, shreds of clothing, as the wind and the snow rips through your skin and face. At the end of a long day enduring the tortures, stopping too soon or at the wrong place would leave you dead and frozen by morning.
I cannot think of a more grueling physical and emotional experience than this, as these were experienced along side of all of the perils of war.
If you're looking for a read that will take you to the extremes of human capability, this is a great book for you. It is beyond anything you can imagine.
Keep on reading!
Ms. Daisy
