Monday, September 26, 2016

Mongolia



The Spanish-American war of 1898 ended a long period of Global Spanish dominance. Generación del 98 was a group of novelists, poets and philosophers who tried to deal with the blow to the national psyche. The puff of the chest that comes from being the greatest. Mongolia, now very humble, was once the greatest. The Mongol Empire covered 16% of the world's land area, second only to the British Empire at almost 24%. Mongolia is the most sparsely populated fully sovereign country in the world. The horse culture which helped Genghis Khan build the empire is still a fundamental part of society. Genghis's grandson Kublai founded the Yuan Dynasty in China. When it fell, they retreated to Mongolia and a factional and nomadic life returned. Empires come and go. Their legacies are what our art, relationships and collective memory choose them to be.


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