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Post by ajk on Jun 24, 2009 20:04:43 GMT -5
Two odd references came up in episode 31. One I found the answer for; the other I didn't. Early in the episode a Khitan physician tells the prime minister, who's also a physician, "I do not think even you could fix him with your magical Hua Tuo hands, sir." Had never heard that term before; from its use it sounded like a medical technique or philosophy. But no, turns out, the statement is meant as a complement. Hua Tuo was the name of a famous physician in China around the year 200 AD. He was very accomplished and is well-known today. If anybody is interested, here's his Wikipedia entry along with a very good article I found: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hua_Tuowww.itmonline.org/arts/huatuo.htmLater in the episode, when narration gives us Han Derang's background, we're told that an unprecendented accomplishment of his was becoming prime minister of both the north and south privy councils. Can anybody explain that? I found a reference to a Khitan privy council that directed military affairs, but nothing about north and south. It was presented as a big deal, and I'm curious about why that is.
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Post by Candylover on Jun 25, 2009 0:58:17 GMT -5
Ajk, It may sound strange, but the Khitan established two seperate, not one, administration systems to rule his people: the north and south privy councils. The north privy council directed nomad peoples including the Khitan themselves and military affairs, while the south privy council directed farming peoples of northern China and Balhae both of which had been conquered by the Khitan. It looks unusual, but it seems that the Khitan had such a great self-esteem and identity as a nomad people, that they wanted to fundamentally keep themselves separate from "dirty" farming peoples. According to an American historian whose book ( www.amazon.com/East-Asia-Center-Warren-Cohen/dp/0231101082/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1245910471&sr=8-1) I read years ago, they were "barbarians in the true sense of the word." The wall painting of a Khitan warrior was found in a tomb of the time. senior.khan.co.kr/kh_senior/khan_art_view.html?code=900315&artid=200903111503545Next is a link provided by WangGuhnLives of Koreandramas.net, and very informative about the Koryo-Khitan relation. Many thanks to WangGuhnLives for finding this link. www.koreanhistoryproject.org/Ket/C04/E0406.htm
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Post by ginnycat5 on Jun 25, 2009 18:27:56 GMT -5
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Post by ajk on Jun 26, 2009 12:07:51 GMT -5
Thanks, candylover, you came through again. Much appreciated! It certainly explains why Han Derang was considered so extraordinary. You certainly wouldn't expect one person to hold two posts with such differing responsibilities.
I'll keep an eye on that history project website. Maybe we can add it to the other links in the top sticky thread.
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