Re:The Great Chinese Art Heist
by lucozade on Friday August 17, 2018 @01:03PM
(#17784245)
OK I'll bite. So basically you're guessing that an ignorant Indian got suckered into giving up this prized possession to a murderous/exploiting white man?
Had it ever occurred to you that what actually happened was an incredulous Indian farmer was more than happy to take the white man's coin for a pair of buffalo horns that were lying around his farm? I mean, they're not exactly rare, you get a free pair every time a buffalo croaks.
Now, if you're talking about the Parthenon or the Old Summer Palace then fair enough. They were valuable to the original owners (OK not the Elgin marbles but still) and the Brits didn't exactly ask nicely.
But assuming all Indians/Chinese/Egyptians/Greeks/whatever were just credulous bumpkins is a completely unwarranted slight.
Re:The Great Chinese Art Heist
by PakG1 on Friday August 17, 2018 @01:41PM
(#17784500)
It is rather a curious thing that something so simple and not valuable in the past to one person could be seen as so unique and valuable to everyone in the future due to simply surviving the passage of time. See much of archaeology.
Had it ever occurred to you that what actually happened was an incredulous Indian farmer was more than happy to take the white man's coin for a pair of buffalo horns that were lying around his farm? I mean, they're not exactly rare, you get a free pair every time a buffalo croaks.
Now, if you're talking about the Parthenon or the Old Summer Palace then fair enough. They were valuable to the original owners (OK not the Elgin marbles but still) and the Brits didn't exactly ask nicely.
But assuming all Indians/Chinese/Egyptians/Greeks/whatever were just credulous bumpkins is a completely unwarranted slight.