The game, ‘Ghost of Tsushima’ has received backlash online. Based in the 13th century, the game depicts the Mongol invasion of Japan and shows the former as vicious foreign invaders. The Japanese, on the other hand, are shown as heroes defending their own country. The game is set on the island of ‘Tsushima’.
But why Chinese rage at the game?
Mongols have played a considerable role in the history of China.
They became the first ethnic group besides the Han Chinese to take control over
the country and maintaining it for over a century. The Mongols gave strong
support to the peasants and peasant economy of China, believing that the
success of the peasant economy would bring in additional tax revenues and
ultimately benefit the Mongols themselves. The benefits artisans gained from
Mongol rule include freedom from corvée (unpaid) labour, tax remissions, and
higher social status. Thus, artisanship reached new heights in the Mongol era.
The Mongols, however, had a more favourable attitude towards merchants and
commerce — their nomadic way of life, which is much reliant on trade with
sedentary people, had caused them to recognise the importance of trade from the
very earliest times. Thus, the Mongols worked to improve the social status of
merchants and traders throughout their domains. So it is evident why the
Chinese critics believe that Mongols who occupied China should be now
considered Chinese.
So many users rang in nationalist rhetoric and urged Chinese people not to play the game, and leave it to the foreigners. “Chinese shouldn’t join in on the fun,” a user said.
But many don’t agree to the above! Again why?
Until about 20 years ago, most scholars of Mongol-era China
emphasized the destructive influence of Mongol rule.
One major scholar of Chinese history even wrote, “The Mongols brought violence and destruction to all aspects of China’s civilization. [They were] insensitive to Chinese cultural values, distrustful of Chinese influences, and inept heads of the Chinese government.” This assessment fits in with the traditional evaluation of the Mongols as barbarians interested primarily in maiming, plundering, destroying, and killing.
So contrasting opinions are evolving over ‘The Ghost of Tsushima’. But one of the gamers posted in Zhihu, “We should hate all such war acts instead of targeting just the Japanese people.” That is more than enough, to sum up the real humanity!
