Thesis 90
@thesis90.bsky.social
Still mostly over there being malevolent. Will come here sometimes to be nice.
Sources:
Marco Polo & Rustichello da Pisa, “The Travels of Marco Polo” (c. 1300, Henry Yule translation 1905)
Matteo Ricci, “China in the 16th Century: The Journals of Matthew Ricci 1583-1611” (Louis Gallagher translation 1953)
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Marco Polo & Rustichello da Pisa, “The Travels of Marco Polo” (c. 1300, Henry Yule translation 1905)
Matteo Ricci, “China in the 16th Century: The Journals of Matthew Ricci 1583-1611” (Louis Gallagher translation 1953)
/🧵
November 9, 2025 at 1:44 PM
Sources:
Marco Polo & Rustichello da Pisa, “The Travels of Marco Polo” (c. 1300, Henry Yule translation 1905)
Matteo Ricci, “China in the 16th Century: The Journals of Matthew Ricci 1583-1611” (Louis Gallagher translation 1953)
/🧵
Marco Polo & Rustichello da Pisa, “The Travels of Marco Polo” (c. 1300, Henry Yule translation 1905)
Matteo Ricci, “China in the 16th Century: The Journals of Matthew Ricci 1583-1611” (Louis Gallagher translation 1953)
/🧵
I hear there’s a russian prophecy that a great emperor will collect the lands, reunite the brotherly nations, and restore the empire.
Be careful what you wish for. (9/10)
Be careful what you wish for. (9/10)
November 9, 2025 at 1:44 PM
I hear there’s a russian prophecy that a great emperor will collect the lands, reunite the brotherly nations, and restore the empire.
Be careful what you wish for. (9/10)
Be careful what you wish for. (9/10)
When Marco Polo said Kublai Khan’s capital was Cambaluc in the land of Cathay, he meant Khanbaliq in China.
Khanbaliq has had many names. But today we all call it the same name: Beijing. (8/10)
Khanbaliq has had many names. But today we all call it the same name: Beijing. (8/10)
November 9, 2025 at 1:44 PM
When Marco Polo said Kublai Khan’s capital was Cambaluc in the land of Cathay, he meant Khanbaliq in China.
Khanbaliq has had many names. But today we all call it the same name: Beijing. (8/10)
Khanbaliq has had many names. But today we all call it the same name: Beijing. (8/10)
Epilogue: more than 300 years later, an Italian priest named Matteo Ricci realised something important about Marco Polo’s writings: some of his place names were transliterations from Tatar. (7/10)
November 9, 2025 at 1:44 PM
Epilogue: more than 300 years later, an Italian priest named Matteo Ricci realised something important about Marco Polo’s writings: some of his place names were transliterations from Tatar. (7/10)
Imperial descriptions of colonies never change. Generally speaking, the natives are a simple people, our presence is good for them, and moreover we have a right to be there. (6/10)
November 9, 2025 at 1:44 PM
Imperial descriptions of colonies never change. Generally speaking, the natives are a simple people, our presence is good for them, and moreover we have a right to be there. (6/10)
“The first lord of the Tartars of the Ponent was Sain, a very great and puissant king, who conquered Rosia and Comania, Alania, Lac, Menjar, Zic, Gothia, and Gazaria; all these provinces were conquered by King Sain... After King Sain reigned King Patu…” (5/10)
November 9, 2025 at 1:44 PM
“The first lord of the Tartars of the Ponent was Sain, a very great and puissant king, who conquered Rosia and Comania, Alania, Lac, Menjar, Zic, Gothia, and Gazaria; all these provinces were conquered by King Sain... After King Sain reigned King Patu…” (5/10)
“They pay tribute to nobody except to a certain Tartar king of the Ponent, whose name is Toctai; to him indeed they pay tribute, but only a trifle.” (4/10)
November 9, 2025 at 1:44 PM
“They pay tribute to nobody except to a certain Tartar king of the Ponent, whose name is Toctai; to him indeed they pay tribute, but only a trifle.” (4/10)
“Rosia is a very great province, lying towards the north. The people are Christians, and follow the Greek doctrine. There are several kings in the country, and they have a language of their own. They are a people of simple manners.” (3/10)
November 9, 2025 at 1:44 PM
“Rosia is a very great province, lying towards the north. The people are Christians, and follow the Greek doctrine. There are several kings in the country, and they have a language of their own. They are a people of simple manners.” (3/10)
Fun facts about Marco Polo:
1. He spoke fluent Tatar
2. He was personally close to Kublai Khan, fifth Khagan of the Mongol Empire
3. He lived in the imperial capital Khanbaliq for many years
4. His description of 13thC “Rosia” is almost certainly the official Mongol position
(2/10)
1. He spoke fluent Tatar
2. He was personally close to Kublai Khan, fifth Khagan of the Mongol Empire
3. He lived in the imperial capital Khanbaliq for many years
4. His description of 13thC “Rosia” is almost certainly the official Mongol position
(2/10)
November 9, 2025 at 1:44 PM
Fun facts about Marco Polo:
1. He spoke fluent Tatar
2. He was personally close to Kublai Khan, fifth Khagan of the Mongol Empire
3. He lived in the imperial capital Khanbaliq for many years
4. His description of 13thC “Rosia” is almost certainly the official Mongol position
(2/10)
1. He spoke fluent Tatar
2. He was personally close to Kublai Khan, fifth Khagan of the Mongol Empire
3. He lived in the imperial capital Khanbaliq for many years
4. His description of 13thC “Rosia” is almost certainly the official Mongol position
(2/10)
NOT sourced: this quote! It’s what he’s internet-famous for saying, and it's hilarious, but he never actually said it. It just sounds like him.
Source of debunking: Czech National Library, linked below. Never mind, he's got plenty other great quotes.
/🧵
www.ptejteseknihovny.cz/dotazy/k-h-b...
Source of debunking: Czech National Library, linked below. Never mind, he's got plenty other great quotes.
/🧵
www.ptejteseknihovny.cz/dotazy/k-h-b...
November 9, 2025 at 1:22 PM
NOT sourced: this quote! It’s what he’s internet-famous for saying, and it's hilarious, but he never actually said it. It just sounds like him.
Source of debunking: Czech National Library, linked below. Never mind, he's got plenty other great quotes.
/🧵
www.ptejteseknihovny.cz/dotazy/k-h-b...
Source of debunking: Czech National Library, linked below. Never mind, he's got plenty other great quotes.
/🧵
www.ptejteseknihovny.cz/dotazy/k-h-b...
Sources:
Borovsky’s letters - Michael Henry Heim, “The Russian journey of Karel Havlíček Borovský” (1979)
“Czech and Slav” essay – appendix to Hans Kohn, “Nationalism, its meaning and history” (1955)
(13/14)
Borovsky’s letters - Michael Henry Heim, “The Russian journey of Karel Havlíček Borovský” (1979)
“Czech and Slav” essay – appendix to Hans Kohn, “Nationalism, its meaning and history” (1955)
(13/14)
November 9, 2025 at 1:22 PM
Sources:
Borovsky’s letters - Michael Henry Heim, “The Russian journey of Karel Havlíček Borovský” (1979)
“Czech and Slav” essay – appendix to Hans Kohn, “Nationalism, its meaning and history” (1955)
(13/14)
Borovsky’s letters - Michael Henry Heim, “The Russian journey of Karel Havlíček Borovský” (1979)
“Czech and Slav” essay – appendix to Hans Kohn, “Nationalism, its meaning and history” (1955)
(13/14)
Borovsky returned to Prague, determined to awaken the Czechs from their romanticised Pan-Slavic illusions.
(12/14)
(12/14)
November 9, 2025 at 1:22 PM
Borovsky returned to Prague, determined to awaken the Czechs from their romanticised Pan-Slavic illusions.
(12/14)
(12/14)
In the 1840s, serfs owned by the russian nobility were no less slaves than Black Americans or Romanian Roma were at the time. The difference in russia was that there was no racial basis to it – people were property simply because their parents had been property. (11/14)
November 9, 2025 at 1:22 PM
In the 1840s, serfs owned by the russian nobility were no less slaves than Black Americans or Romanian Roma were at the time. The difference in russia was that there was no racial basis to it – people were property simply because their parents had been property. (11/14)
Prince Golitsyn was among the more progressive nobles of his era. His estate ran a “quit-rent” system: male serfs could, upon guaranteeing to pay their lord a fixed sum of money at the end of the year, leave the land for a year to work in the city. (10/14)
November 9, 2025 at 1:22 PM
Prince Golitsyn was among the more progressive nobles of his era. His estate ran a “quit-rent” system: male serfs could, upon guaranteeing to pay their lord a fixed sum of money at the end of the year, leave the land for a year to work in the city. (10/14)
The last of Borovský’s illusions about a common culture of Slavic peoples collapsed during his 3-month sojourn at Prince Golitsyn’s estate.
And now things will get dark, for we must turn to his study of 1840s russian serfdom… (9/14)
And now things will get dark, for we must turn to his study of 1840s russian serfdom… (9/14)
November 9, 2025 at 1:22 PM
The last of Borovský’s illusions about a common culture of Slavic peoples collapsed during his 3-month sojourn at Prince Golitsyn’s estate.
And now things will get dark, for we must turn to his study of 1840s russian serfdom… (9/14)
And now things will get dark, for we must turn to his study of 1840s russian serfdom… (9/14)
Borovský tried to embrace russian literature, but apart from Gogol (whom he adored and later translated into Czech) he just couldn’t bring himself to like it. (8/14)
November 9, 2025 at 1:22 PM
Borovský tried to embrace russian literature, but apart from Gogol (whom he adored and later translated into Czech) he just couldn’t bring himself to like it. (8/14)
Borovský was also troubled by the russian Slavophiles’ acquisitive enthusiasm for Czech history.
(Note: all parties here are exaggerating in calling presumably the 1500 Czech codification of land laws a “constitution”) (7/14)
(Note: all parties here are exaggerating in calling presumably the 1500 Czech codification of land laws a “constitution”) (7/14)
November 9, 2025 at 1:22 PM
Borovský was also troubled by the russian Slavophiles’ acquisitive enthusiasm for Czech history.
(Note: all parties here are exaggerating in calling presumably the 1500 Czech codification of land laws a “constitution”) (7/14)
(Note: all parties here are exaggerating in calling presumably the 1500 Czech codification of land laws a “constitution”) (7/14)
He found the Muscovite intelligentsia to be very enthusiastic about Pan-Slavism – but a version of it very different to his own… (5/14)
November 9, 2025 at 1:22 PM
He found the Muscovite intelligentsia to be very enthusiastic about Pan-Slavism – but a version of it very different to his own… (5/14)
Although only 21 years old, Borovský arrived in Moscow with Pan-Slavist intellectual credentials. The russian historian Mikhail Pogodin found him work as a tutor; he mixed with the Slavophile intelligentsia; and he spent a season as a guest at Prince Golitsyn’s estate. (4/14)
November 9, 2025 at 1:22 PM
Although only 21 years old, Borovský arrived in Moscow with Pan-Slavist intellectual credentials. The russian historian Mikhail Pogodin found him work as a tutor; he mixed with the Slavophile intelligentsia; and he spent a season as a guest at Prince Golitsyn’s estate. (4/14)
Historical background: in the 1830s-40s, the centre of Pan-Slavism was Prague. This was a Czech reaction against what was happening next door: Pan-Germanism. Czechs, not wanting to be part of any proposed German unification, began building ties with other Slavic nations. (3/14)
November 9, 2025 at 1:22 PM
Historical background: in the 1830s-40s, the centre of Pan-Slavism was Prague. This was a Czech reaction against what was happening next door: Pan-Germanism. Czechs, not wanting to be part of any proposed German unification, began building ties with other Slavic nations. (3/14)
Borovský really, really wanted to like russia. He intended to write only positive things about it. Letters written during his stay document his decline into disillusionment; his later commentaries are lacerating. (2/14)
November 9, 2025 at 1:22 PM
Borovský really, really wanted to like russia. He intended to write only positive things about it. Letters written during his stay document his decline into disillusionment; his later commentaries are lacerating. (2/14)
🧵Great russophobic writers in history, pt 2:
Kume Kunitake (1839-1931)
In the spring of 1873, a Japanese delegation arrived in St Petersburg. Some were diplomats. Others were there to study russia… 1/12
Kume Kunitake (1839-1931)
In the spring of 1873, a Japanese delegation arrived in St Petersburg. Some were diplomats. Others were there to study russia… 1/12
September 2, 2025 at 9:28 PM