05-01-2004, 04:16 AM
Hi
Oops sorry, I should have posted both answers in one posting.
The Portugese were looking for spices and souls, also they still believed in the myth of Prester John, so they were hoping that they could link up with a Christian monarch who was resisting the Moslem hordes :o
They assisted the Ethiopian Empire in several of their wars with Muslim invaders, it seems that they had a real influence in that sector.
Getting back to the original Chinese thread, most of it has been mentioned before. The central bueraucracy, and the normal cultural norms, viewed everything outside the Celestial Kingdom as inferior! If the Chinese lost occasionally to the barbs it was regarded as a temporary misfortune, to be explained by the lacking virtue of the emporer who was at power at that time.
Oops sorry, I should have posted both answers in one posting.
The Portugese were looking for spices and souls, also they still believed in the myth of Prester John, so they were hoping that they could link up with a Christian monarch who was resisting the Moslem hordes :o
They assisted the Ethiopian Empire in several of their wars with Muslim invaders, it seems that they had a real influence in that sector.
Getting back to the original Chinese thread, most of it has been mentioned before. The central bueraucracy, and the normal cultural norms, viewed everything outside the Celestial Kingdom as inferior! If the Chinese lost occasionally to the barbs it was regarded as a temporary misfortune, to be explained by the lacking virtue of the emporer who was at power at that time.
Prophecy of Deimos
âThe world doesnât end with water, fire, or cold. Iâve divined the coming apocalypse. It ends with tentacles!â
âThe world doesnât end with water, fire, or cold. Iâve divined the coming apocalypse. It ends with tentacles!â