Hobbit
Senior Member
Zhukov said:The fact that they take place in the west makes them more significant because Western Civilization dominates this world.
A battle that occured in Thailand a thousand years ago that may have been a pivotal event in Thai history may be important to Thais, but since Thailand itself is a relatively insignificant world player, the event would not rank very high with respect to historical importance.
If Hu Lao Gate was a pivotal moment in the unification of China, then yes, that is certainly historically important considering the importance of China, as a global power, in the world today.
Most of what I know of Asian military history is limited to Japan, so I can't directly comment on Hu Lao Gate, but it only doesn't seem that significant the way you described it.
What do you think would have happened had Duong won?
Wasn't China unified under the Han dynasty?
How did the fracturing of China lead to a sense of unity?
If Dong Zuo had not been overthrown then, he would have been overthrown later. His rule led to ultimate poverty in the lower class. As far as unification and historical significance, it's huge. Before, China was divided into kingdoms. All the kingdoms served the Han Dynasty, but didn't really feel like they were part of the whole empire. If you had asked what nation they were from, they'd have said Wu or Shu or whatever of the smaller kingdoms they were from. When all the land was eventually conquored by the Wei kingdom, all the Chinese were under one kingdom that developed a strong sense of nationalism that exists even today. It's the same way as it was with the American Civil War. The country got split in two, and by it being reconquored and soldiers having seen more of the country, people began to think of America as a whole rather than unified parts. Pre 1860, people said "The United States are..." After the war, they said "The United States is..."