BalrogLord, on 25 November 2011 - 01:46 AM, said:
Didnt read more then a few hundred page of Romance, got bored real fast of immortal warriors slaughtering hundreds without problems. That and the entire part about the yellow turbans was hard to take serious at the time (i was 16) . At the same time im having trouble seeing the parralels between the two. If they exist, they're very general similarities, ones that can be made comparing any history. For example:
Massed heavy infantry isnt a uniquely eastern thing in fact far from it considered we developed things like the greek phalanx. Heavy infantry was the way most armies of the antiquity and early middle ages were organised (until we developped heavy cavalry). In fact it was usually the easterners who shied away from heavy infantry and pitched battles (persians, scythians, huns, mongols etc), preffering more open, maneuvering centered warfare, Somethign Sun Tzu wrote at lenght about. Not saying the chinese didnt have heavy infantry but it certainly did not compare to the western version. The availability of iron and the like in the west also facilitated this.
Powerful individuals? Western history is filled with them, people like Alexander the Great, julius ceasar, Charles Martel, jeanne d'arc, napolean, duke of wellington, isaac brock etc.
Concepts such as regional lords? That was ubiquitous during the medieval era, the idea of the nation state in europe didnt emerge till the 19th century with the french empire. Heck the only thing unifying rome (culturally speaking) and all its principalities durings its decline was christianity. The ancient system of greek city states (as well as the italian principalities later on) are also a similar concept.
Well, maybe you should have read more, both the ROTK and european history.
The concept of nation state was very alive in France since ... let's say King Henry V of England. It is because both the lords from the south refusing a foreign monarch (still being french from both father and mother lignage) and because peripherical regions refusing the very same (namely Lorraine that was in holy Roman Empire at that time) that finally the red coats were driven out. Concept of Nation States is far way older than Napoleon or the 1848 revolutions; as the concept of democratie is far older than the US independance declaration (as outlined brilliantly by Mr Jack Straw as United Nation in his answer to the speach of Mr Colin Powell).
Warriors in ROTK are not immortals at all; they all die at one or another moment (even Guyan Yu, as it was captured then decapitated!). They are, such as WiskeyJack, simply very good at what they do, and as Greymane able to win a battle by over spiriting the troops by charging in front of them and cutting down any individual fool enought to attack.
Ancien Chinese have a full developped military : heavy, regular, saper, cavalry (heavy and light), marines (Yang Tse Kiang had an important military fleet with specialised soldiers to keep the place safe as it was the main water way).
Another thing, Sun Zi was at best alive during the Chunqiu period (so called Spring and Autumn period) , so even if he considered as a General of the Wu kingdom; it is not the same Wu kingdom as the one in the ROTK (let say 600 or 700 years after, and most important after a long period of unification under the Han dinasty).
The yellow turban revolt is an historical fact (as much as we can be sure of it); obviously we are in similar position of an historian wishing to learn about the hundred years war and having only Sheakspeare theater as material; even if we can be sure the Azincourt battle have happend; how can we be sure of the words said (if any) by Henry the Vth for the St Crepin' day??????????????
Back to the chinese idea; chinese themself were not nomadic central asian people; I suppose we would agree on that; but were opposed to them most of the time, or were allied. They did have some light cavalry (similar to the Setis, Wickans or even Khundrils) as auxilliary troops (I do believe those kind troops made a huge difference when the chineses had to leave Vietnam) I would even not been surprise if the author got a glimpse to the chinese chronics about it and used it as backbone for the DG, as it was quite epic (imagine going from Hue up to Yunnan while proctecting greedy marchants and being attacked by a vengefull local population!!!!!
On the other hand, it is an idea, a feeling let say; feeling I got after I learned the author went to do some work in the Karakorum desert (Xinjiang I believe) so I supposed he did have some knowledge on that subject and the interaction btw nomadic culture and sedentarized ; btw expending then recessing empire; on historical powerfull individuals mixed with huge armies (Alexander had a small army, the companions were numenbering around 600 hundreds) able to adapt (Greeks or Romans mostly have morons as generals --- exception of very fews--- and did not adapt quickly; those who did not fit that description mostly were assassinated or exiled, or pushed to suicide).