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Kublai Khan did what Genghis could not


Eldorado

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"When the fourth Mongol great khan, Möngke, died in 1259, his brother, Kublai, never doubted who was his rightful successor.

"While Möngke had been expanding Mongol rule into Syria in the far west, Kublai had proved to be a brilliant general, conquering a swath of what is now southwestern China as well as modern-day Vietnam.

"He had proved his mettle, but there were others who sought to rule.

"News reached Kublai that another of his brothers, Arigböge, also wanted to proclaim himself emperor.

"Kublai, then age 45, hastily made his way to his residence at Shangdu (later immortalized as Xanadu in Samuel Taylor Coleridge’s famous poem “Kubla Khan”) to decide what to do next."

Full article at nat Geo: Link

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In Xanadu did Kubla Khan
A stately pleasure-dome decree:
Where Alph, the sacred river, ran
Through caverns measureless to man
   Down to a sunless sea.
So twice five miles of fertile ground
With walls and towers were girdled round...
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24 minutes ago, hetrodoxly said:
In Xanadu did Kubla Khan
A stately pleasure-dome decree:
Where Alph, the sacred river, ran
Through caverns measureless to man
   Down to a sunless sea.
So twice five miles of fertile ground
With walls and towers were girdled round...

And if Coleridge hadn't been high as a kite on opium when writing it, he might have actually finished that poem :P

Edited by Orphalesion
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Just now, Orphalesion said:

And if Coleridge hadn't been high as a kite on opium when writing it, he might have actually finished that poem...

I thought it was 'the person from Porlock' 

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1 hour ago, Eldorado said:

"While Möngke had been expanding Mongol rule into Syria in the far west, Kublai had proved to be a brilliant general, conquering a swath of what is now southwestern China as well as modern-day Vietnam

It was actually mommy that was mover behind securing the Middle Kingdom... 

Quote

Description

Sorghaghtani Beki or Bekhi, also written Sorkaktani, Sorkhokhtani, Sorkhogtani, Siyurkuktiti was a Keraite princess and daughter-in-law of Genghis Khan. Married to Tolui, Genghis' youngest son, Sorghaghtani Beki became one of the most powerful and competent people in the Mongol Empire. Wikipedia

~

Then later his consort / wife...

Quote

According to "The Secret History of the Mongols", Chabi was the favorite wife of Kublai and a valued unofficial adviser throughout his reign. She was a patron of the arts and may have played a key role in advancing the interests of the young Venetian traveler, Marco Polo. It is said she was Christian, like her mother-in-law, Sorghaghtani, although Sorghaghtani was also said to be the niece of Chinngis Khan

~

Kublai was thick as wet wool... 

~

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1 minute ago, hetrodoxly said:

I thought it was 'the person from Porlock' 

Nah that's what Coleridge blamed it on, but the reality is that he took two grams of opium, fell into a intense drug high, and started writing that poem. The influence of the opium just just didn't last long enough and was so intense that he couldn't get back into it.
It's now considered very likely in literary circles that the "person from Prlock" was just an excuse Coleridge to cover his opium use and excuse the fragmentary status of the poem. If they existed, at most they might have distracted him long enough for his drug high to wear off.

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