What a wonderful resource this is.

[triarius]

"The Roman Empire did not."

You never heard of Charlagmane?

"A very small legacy,"
What? Latin is the foundation of several languages. You, yourself admitted to studying Latin in School and if you were a linguist of any sorts, you could learn 4 other languages in less than 1 year after knowing Latin.

"People living in China today have more in common with their distant ancestors than we do with ancient Greece or Rome."
Genocide is a such a great legacy to hold onto. Whereas at least the Roman Empire allowed countries to assimulate and still keep a sense of culture.

The Roman Empire conquered so many diverse lands and cultures and allowed them to retain their artistic style, language, food, every sense of their culture. They just had to follow Roman law, and of course be subservient.

China forced all regions in the area to give up all aspects of culture or be eliminated. Even today the people in China that aren't part of the Genome get treated differently.

Trust me, there is little unity in China accept for a sense of nationalistic superiority.

You really make a lot of assumptions. In order to be accurate in writing, you really should go to China and study there. It sounds like your Wiki research isn't quite cutting it.

I usually don't reply to ad hominum attacks, even if subtle. However, if you think Charlemagne was a continuation of the Roman Empire, you know little of real western history.

Yes, the Romans were better than any other western civilization in terms of toleration—never mind the millions they made slaves and worked to death. However, prejudice against anyone not born a Roman was strong until very late in the Empire's history, when most of the effective people were "barbarian" imports. Roman law was as harsh as any. A current resident in the PRC would find it very familiar.

Whether the ancient Chinese were tolerant of conquered peoples depended largely on the dynasty. Yes, the Chinese may be somewhat xenophobic—but one can hardly blame them. So I ask you: How many different cultural ethnicities survive in China today, officially recognized or not? Don't bother—you can look it up on Wikipedia.

Sure, I'd love to spend a lifetime studying ancient China, but mine is too near its end. I do not presume to write accurately about ancient China. Rather, I take elements of its history and culture for inspiration—along with those from other Asian peoples and cultures.

I think it funny that your apparent opinion of the ancient Romans is so like what we know of the Han attitude. If it's any consolation, the ancient Romans returned the compliment. Neither apparently had a clue what the other was really like.

However, this is not the place to discuss, debate, or bloviate about history, the current state of a sovereign nation, or anything but cartography. I will no longer respond. I don't feed trolls, at least not anything digestible.

[zeichen]

What a vicious personal attack. i was really trying to help you, not trying to enter a ****ing contest or debate as you call it.

You made a lot of generalizations that I found offensive and quite inaccurate.

As for my knowledge of medieval history, you really don't want to go there. Yes, Carolongian and Ottoman Empires built upon the Roman Empire and used it as a foundation to spread their culture. Hence the term HOLY ROMAN EMPIRE. The simple point, I was trying to make that culture and influence spread throughout Europe, Latin was used throughout Europe and understood by many.

Similar to what Azelor said that the influence transformed regions and still have modern impact, which is no difference than China's influence. There are many coexisting influences.

As for cultures in China, Xenophobia implies people from other regions. I am talking about cultures that live in China that have for 1000's of years that have no rights and are forced out of their native homes. Or the 100's of displaced cultures that fled to other regions of SEA like Homng, Dai, etc.

[Diamond]

That's quite enough, zeichen. If anyone was engaging in personal attacks, it was you. As I said previously, perhaps you were only trying to help, but you came across rather harsh. Triarius only defended himself, and in a reasonable manner.

This latest post of yours leaves no doubt - you are coming across as offensive, unreasonably angry, and trollish. Really, if you found any of the innocuous comments triarius made to be offensive on a personal level, you're being a little too sensitive. If you want to educate someone in a pleasant and calm manner, go for it.

This is not that way. Consider this a warning.