Mission to Asia: Missionary accounts

The narratives of   Plano Carpini, William of Rubruck, John of Monte Corvino and several other missionaries are recognized in the book, “Mission to Asia” by Christopher Dawson which depicts their journeys to Mongolia in the early times. The authors were more predisposed towards the nature of political embassies {1} between them and the East, then focusing on their sole purpose. Many missionaries acknowledged in this book had different purposes to their Mission, but John of Plano Caprini’s experience will be emphasized in this paper as he had the courage to embark on the Mission of Asia.

            John of Plano Caprini was sent by the Pope and the Cardinals of the time to diffuse the threat that the Mongols substantiated towards them and as a result he was instructed to examine everything. It was noted that he tends to over exaggerate details which contrasted his belief entirely. His faith in monogamy played a huge role in him having a biased judgement on the Mongolian men having many wives.

            The mode he describes their religion seems very much incontrovertible.  He describes their religion while being very prejudiced and contradictory. Although they believed in one God, they were able to make idols to whom they could worship to and to these they pay great honour {1}. They make offerings andsacrifces to these idols, like in any prehistoric religion. They show no mercy to anyone that steals from their cart; they are put to death without any consideration. John showed an utter criticism towards their religion which is shown in the unenthusiastic undertone in his narration.

            He recorded that they had no body of law involved, which is confirmed when he states that, nothing civilized could be expected from a barbaric group. They had no law concerning the doing of right and wrong or the avoidance of sin {1}. It seems pretty satirical that there killings and committing other crimes were not forbidden in their mandate. When it comes to women they were seen as objects of no use. They were treated so low and their attitude towards them was so debasing. They were sometimes considered as sex-slaves.

            Mongolian men shared great unity amongst each other and they were known for being faithful to their chiefs and emperors than any men in the world {1}. They were very simplistic rather than materialistic.  Yet again, their barbaric nature was revealed with others, which affirms them to be excessively haughty. Their contradictory and egotistical nature shows that they are able to do whatever they want. The only way to peace is to surrender to their divine power. Their ignorant behaviour confirms that nothing good can be seen of this race and that they were meant to be a plague for all mankind.

Mogao Ku Caves

Dunhuang and Mogao Ku

            Mogao Ku is on the five Buddhist architectural sites in the region of Dunhuang, which is northwestern China. Around 1960 to 1970 the remains of this site were excavated and the structure and method of the construction was investigated. In the north-western China region the five most important sites include: the Moago Caves, the Eastern Thousand Buddha Caves, the Wugemiao Caves, the Western Thousand Buddha Caves and the Yulin Caves. Before reading this article, I was unaware of the Mogao Ku caves and most importantly the Dunhuang treasures found in the Dunhuang Library caves caves. Around 1900 a Taoist priest named Wang Yuanlu found the Library caves. The cave consisted of “ ancient cultural relics dating from the third to eleventh century”. “There were scrolls of religious writings, administrative documents, as well as embroidery works and paintings”. Many caves and shrines were found later on that was of great importance. This discovery had a huge impact all around the world and these scrolls came up to be known as the Dunhuang scripts. The scrolls dealt with many sections of social and natural science. After learning the significance of this site many explorers and archaeologists visited the site and ransacked many of its items, which are worth a lot in present time and rests in different corners of the world. Later on, UNESCO recognized the Mogao Ku caves as the World Cultural Heritage site.

            For five generations, the family known as the Cao family held it all together. They helped finance the building of the caves for safeguarding their rule. They supported these important projects and temples at Mogao Ku. “When we talk about widespread dispersal of Buddhism and Buddhist art, we cannot forget to include their name”. It just fascinates me, how at that time people were capable of building such great masterpieces, which till today we are fortunate of and will pass it on to our future generations.

Chang'an

Cosmopolitan Chang’an

Nestorian simply describes the Syriac church, usually people who honored the memory of Nestorious and followed his teachings and concepts. These people entered China through the silk route from the Persian Empire. They came to China as monks and traders during the Tang dynasty and established themselves with their own skill. There is no real information on the Nestorians according to the historians except for some “mythological elements in apologetic or devotional literature” from the medieval period. These are not considered to be erudite and the few unambiguous sources of knowledge would be the eight theological treatises from the Dunhuang manuscripts collection, the stele found in Xi’an and various edicts found in Chinese records. They are considered to be authentic and are strong evidence of their presence. The Nestorians were foreigners trying to blend in with the superior culture in China. Even after facing many racial and cultural differences they tried to establish themselves without any help and was successful in spreading their culture inevitably.

            In the article by Valerie, Hansen, the author describes the environment and people in the city of Chang’an. The city was born during the Tang dynasty and is located at the end of the Silk Road. The city was divided into many sections mainly because of security purpose. The city had curfews for people and the gates opened and closed at certain times. It would be really hard for a person at present to live there as the city lacked freedom for the common people. Many people at that time were fond of literature and poetry and it’s surprising that people at that time were trying to be educated. The city of Chang’an was known to be very beautiful according to Schafer’s article. It also attracted other people to tour the city due to its beautiful landscapes. Even though city had a strict outlook for its people residing in it, it attracted many people to inhabit in its land.

Islam in contemporary Central Asia and Afghanistan

 Islam is considered to be one the most influential religion at present. It was born around the seventh century and after the death of Prophet Mohammed (PBUH) spread all around Asia. Gunn’s article on “Shaping Islamic Identity” shows, how Islam has gone through many stages of decline and how it rose to power. “A vast majority of central Asians consider Islam to be part of their social identity”. But due to rise of Soviet power it destroyed many Islamic learning institutions, leaving many people unaware of Islamic teachings. They converted many of the Islamic institutions to museums and factories, which lead Islam to seek existence. Although the Soviet Union almost wiped out Islamic learning and knowledge, it did not eliminate the population’s self-perception as having an Islamic identity. There are many factors that helped shape Islam including the “Hanafi school of Sunni Islam, Sufism, Shi’sm and other islamist movements”. The conflicts in central Asia are not conflict between civilizations but conflicts with in. “The most salient conflict has been between Islamist and the states that have attempted to suppress them”. Through time everything came back to normal and many institutions that were converted during the reign of Soviet Union were restored back to its original state.

            Hirschkind on his article follows the Feminist Majority's Campaign against the abuse of Afghan women. It shows how badly these women are treated. They forbade women from all kinds of institutions including schools, colleges and any governmental establishments. Many of them were even forced to wear “burqa”, which is covering from head to toe. Freedom was taken away from them and they had no other options available. Their main concern is not just rescuing the women in Afghanistan but to “address the larger set of assumptions and attitudes undergirding this campaign and that are reflected widely in American public opinion: attitudes about the proper place of public religious morality in modern Islamic societies, and in particular how such morality is seen to shape and constrain women’s behavior”. We need to think about Muslim women outside the simple opposition. We should all help them break free from the constraints of political superiors and aid them to find their true self.

Bamiyan Buddha

                                           BEFORE                        AFTER

UNESCO,UN and Afghan cultural heritage

Ellis Cashmore’s article in the Encyclopedia of race and ethnic studies is basically about the history of the two most influential institutions. One of them is known as The United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and the other is United Nations (UN). The both came in role after the Second World War. UNESCO was established around 1946 in Paris and their general task was “to study and collect scientific materials concerning questions of race; to give wide diffusion to the scientific information collected; to prepare an educational campaign based on this information.” UN was set up around 1945, in succession to the League of Nations and they encourage world peace under the Charter in article 55, which says Un will promote “universal respect for, and observance of, human rights and fundamental freedoms for all without discrimination as to race, sex, language, or religion.” They are both providing support for those in need of them.

On Christian Manhart’s article it tells us how UNESCO is taking every possible route in saving endangered cultural heritages in Afghanistan. They are looking at all aspects to preserve and rebuild cultural sites, with the support of other Great Nations. UNESCO is trying its best to build a link between people and their culture identity. They are helping them be responsible and take ownership of their remains, which represents their cultural inheritance. A citation from UN secretary-General’s dictum, “our challenge is to help the Afghans help themselves”. They are trying to make the Afghans understand how valuable their cultural history is and showing them how to preserve them for future generations. At Bamiyan in 2001, UNESCO sent a mission in restoring the remains of the site, but later concluded that around 80% were missing or looted. They have taken actions in safeguarding the remains. They have been continuously funded by many Great Nations, which helps them help the Afghans train and raise awareness of their culture.

The article by Francesco Francioni and Federico Lenzerini is about the deliberate destruction of cultural heritage, which constitutes a violation of International Law. For example the destruction of the Bamiyan Buddhas violate international law even though it was under the Taliban authority, as it took away the pride and cultural identity of al the Afghans. Therefore many actions can wipe out culture and identity of a race and it usually happens after the country has experienced war. As a result many cultural items can be misplaced and lost and an entire civilization can be mislaid.