• liskoOPM
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    2 years ago

    This video points out two important things, which is that China is an expanding empire that, like all empires, gained territory through conquest. Many people aren’t aware of this because (second point) they falsely assume or are led to believe that China as a territory is something ancient and simply always was.

    The idea that China is naturally “Chinese” is a product of modern nationalism plus orientalism because Europeans couldn’t tell that large, foreign region over there isn’t one monolithic entity or nation. It’s like if people assumed Europe is just one country of “Europeans” and couldn’t tell a French person from a German person, and thus thinks it’s normal or a fact of nature if, for example, Germany ruled the whole of Europe and tried to make everyone in it German.