Jonathan Watts in Beijing
Tuesday August 24, 2004
The Guardian
Snip:
Genghis Khan, long perceived as the world's most notorious barbarian, was, in fact, a highly literate scholar of Taoist philosophy, according to a Chinese historian. He claims to have uncovered evidence that the leader of the Mongolian hordes could read and write.
Attempting to debunk previous theories that the 13th-century emperor was too busy raping and pillaging to learn his three Rs, Tengus Bayaryn, a professor at Inner Mongolia University, announced he had found an "autographic edict" written by Genghis Khan in 1219.
In a report on the Xinhua news agency, the academic said the edict, inscribed in a book sent to a Taoist monk, was proof of literacy. "The original message, in Mongolian, was written in a unique style and tone and could only have been drafted by the great ruler himself," he said.
Historians have previously assumed the ruler was illiterate because the Mongolian written language was only created when Genghis Khan was in his 40s and did not have time to study.
More:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/china/story/0,7369,1289618,00.htmlSo how about Atilla the Hun, Trappist Monk and Blairite Thinktank Supremo??????