- published: 17 Jun 2010
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The Tangut, identified with the state of Western Xia, were Tibeto-Burman-speaking people who moved to Northwest China sometime before the 10th century. The Tanguts had only one state in their history, the Western Xia or Tangut Empire (1038–1227).
The Tangut is typically regarded by Chinese scholars to represent the Qiang or Dangxiang (党項; Dǎngxiàng). Historically, "Qiang" was a collective term for the multiple ethnic groups who lived on the west of China. The name Tangut first appears in the Orkhon inscriptions of 735. In their own language, the Tangut language, the Tanguts called themselves Mi-niah. "The Hsi-hsia ('Western Hsia') Dynasty, based in the Ordos, owed its founding to the descendants of Tibeto-Burman-speaking Tangut (Miñak) people there, most of whom had migrated from their homeland in West China under pressure from the expanding Tibetan Empire."
The Tanguts divided themselves into two classes: the "Black Headed" Tanguts, and the "Red Faced" Tanguts. The Red Faced Tanguts comprised the commonality while the Black Headed Tanguts were the elite priestly caste. Although Buddhism was extremely popular among the Tangut people, many Tangut herdsmen continued to practice shamanism, known as "Root West". The black caps worn by Root West shamans gave the Black Headed caste its name. According to Tangut myth, the ancestor of the Black Headed Tanguts was a heavenly white crane, while the ancestor of the Red Faced Tanguts was a monkey. Ancient sources describe Tanguts as being short, stocky, dark-skinned, and thick-lipped. They wore their hair in the Tufa style, shaved bald except for a long fringe of bangs that framed the face. Tangut kings went by the title of Wuzu.
Genghis Khan (/ˈdʒɛŋɡɪs ˈkɑːn/, often pronounced /ˈɡɛŋɡɪs ˈkɑːn/;Mongol: [tʃiŋɡɪs xaːŋ]; c. 1162 – 18 August 1227), born Temüjin, was the founder and Great Khan (emperor) of the Mongol Empire, which became the largest contiguous empire in history after his demise.
He came to power by uniting many of the nomadic tribes of Northeast Asia. After founding the Mongol Empire and being proclaimed "Genghis Khan", he started the Mongol invasions that resulted in the conquest of most of Eurasia. These included raids or invasions of the Qara Khitai, Caucasus, Khwarezmid Empire, Western Xia and Jin dynasties. These campaigns were often accompanied by wholesale massacres of the civilian populations – especially in the Khwarezmian and Xia controlled lands. By the end of his life, the Mongol Empire occupied a substantial portion of Central Asia and China.
Before Genghis Khan died, he assigned Ögedei Khan as his successor and split his empire into khanates among his sons and grandsons. He died in 1227 after defeating the Western Xia. He was buried in an unmarked grave somewhere in Mongolia at an unknown location. His descendants extended the Mongol Empire across most of Eurasia by conquering or creating vassal states out of all of modern-day China, Korea, the Caucasus, Central Asia, and substantial portions of modern Eastern Europe, Russia, and Southwest Asia. Many of these invasions repeated the earlier large-scale slaughters of local populations. As a result, Genghis Khan and his empire have a fearsome reputation in local histories.
I was born in a broken down wagonette,
On a far distant Queensland cattle route,
And my shawl was a dusty old saddle cloth,
I'm a dinki-di Aussie no doubt!
I was raised on the milk of a kangaroo,
And my dummy was a rum bottle cork,
And my diet was damper and bully beef,
I'm a dinki-di Aussie called Stork!
Play now.
[Instrumental]
Oh that’s the sound we all like
Way down here.
Now I went to the class of a two-up school',
Where a cockatoo watched for the law,
And my teacher was a bare knuckle pugilist,
I'm a dinki-di Aussie for sure!
Now I work in the country for many months,
And some people say that I'm queer,
With a fat cheque I head for the nearest town,
And I bust it on horses and beer.
hey!
[Instrumental]
I'm allergic to red tape and relations,
No in-laws can yap down my ear,
Oh, I'm often rough, rowdy and I drink a bit,
I'm the cause of that pub with no beer.
Then finally I go to that other land,
A preacher once told me "It's true",
Oh, he said "The reception would be very warm,
To dinki-di Aussies like you."
‘Cause I was born in a broken down wagonette,
And my dummy was a rum bottle cork,
And my diet was damper and bully beef,
I'm a dinki-di Aussie called Stork!