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October 22, 2007
The Great Game in Rhyming Verse
Another taste of somewhat Xinjiang-related historical material for all you fans of "The Great Game".
The following cartoon and rhyming verse was originally published in Punch, Vol. 101 October 17, 1891. (Accessed via the archives of Project Guttenberg, which seem to be blocked in China today.) The links I've added to the poem are meant to illuminate any potentially obscure references:
["The journal (the Grashdanin) is of opinion that in making common cause with the other European Powers against China, Russia would but serve the ends of ... England to the prejudice of her own interests, which demand that she should not jeopardise the security of her Asiatic shores, or contribute to the complete ascendancy of Great Britain in the Pacific Ocean, by arousing the antagonism of China."—Times.]
"Won't you help me bind the Dragon?"
says the Briton to the Russ.
Oho! ingenuous JOHNNY! I'm opposed to needless fuss,
And have other fish to fry — say near the Oxus! Not a hang
Do I care for what may happen on the great Yang-tse-Kiang.
I approve Non-intervention. 'Tis your favourite doctrine, JOHN,
And you stick to it so closely, and that's just why you get on.
If you think that Dragon's dangerous —
I hold 'tis but his play! —
There's but one thing you've got to do —
clear out of the brute's way.
I am sure he doesn't want you
where you've stayed a deal too long;
He wishes you would up and go to — well not to Hong-Kong,
But the natural home of all such "Foreign Devils," in his view.
Why, he's none too sweet on Me, JOHN; is it likely he'd like you?
Grattez le Russe—et cetera. You are mighty fond, J.B.,
Of quoting that stale epigram. You fancy it riles me.
Not a bit of it, my Briton; Tartars have a thickish skin,
And your foe and I are neighbours, nay a distant sort of kin.
The Mantchus and the Romanoffs are not exactly chums,
And a Tartar insurrection, when that little trouble comes,
As it may do if you press too much at Pekin, well, who knows?
There is always something pleasing in the quarrels of one's foes.
The Mantchus miss a many of once subject Tartar tribes
Who have — gravitated Russwards. Little call for blows or bribes
To make blood-relations mingle. On the Mantchus this may jar,
But we've not forgotten Kuldja, and we recollect Kashgar.
Wheels within wheels, dear JOHNNY! As to missionaries, well,
They are troublesome—and useful; but to put things all pell-mell
On account of priests and parsons, and of quite an alien creed,
That's scarce "diplomatic," JOHNNY; it is not, dear boy, indeed.
A new Tamerlane, my JOHNNY, who could stir the Tartar hordes
To — say "Asiatic Concert," — well,
you know that thought affords
To your talky "Only General" a quite sensational theme.
But prophecy's not "business," JOHN,
and CÆSAR should not dream.
Oh! the world is full of Bogies. I'm the biggest of them all
In the minds of many croakers who ne'er saw the Chinese Wall,
But are frightened at the spreading of my kindred — on the map;
For I'm semi-Asiatic, and half Tartar, dear old chap.
Now put this and that together, think of Pamir, Turkestan,
Of Persia, of the Dardanelles! — I think you'll see, old man,
That though this ramping Dragon you may wish to tie and tame,
A Benevolent Neutrality is rather more my game.
Simply charming verse, wouldn't you agree? And somehow, Russia is still the same thorn in the side of global interventionists that it was more than a hundred years ago. The more things change....
posted October 22, 2007 at 12:44 PM unofficial Xinjiang time | HaoHao This!
Comments
What kind of drug is this guy on? Seeing dragons and stuff I mean...
Cool dragons...
Ninjas?
Posted by: Wha wha wha? at October 22, 2007 02:53 PM
Well, both the Brits and the Russians (well, Tartars) would have had great access to both marijuana and opium... not to mention alcohol. Together, they could throw an awesome party!
Posted by: michael at October 22, 2007 02:59 PM
Ship me somewheres east of Suez, where the best is like the worst,
Where there aren't no Ten Commandments an' a man can raise a thirst;
For the temple-bells are callin', an' it's there that I would be
By the old Moulmein Pagoda, looking lazy at the sea;
On the road to Mandalay,
Where the flyin'-fishes play,
An' the dawn comes up like thunder
outer China 'crost the Bay!
-by Rudyard Kipling
Posted by: ouyang at October 22, 2007 09:01 PM
Russia is a thorn in the side of global interventionalism? Unless you say that imperialism isn't interventionalism that would be a difficult argument to mount.
Clever poem though. Who wrote it?
Posted by: Tiako at October 23, 2007 02:12 AM
@Tiako:
I meant that in regards to Russia's constant opposition to U.S. moves (and potential moves) against Iraq, Iran, North Korea, Myanmar, various African regimes, etc. Of course, the Russians have their own history of international exploits... but their opposition to Britain in the poem above is similar to their opposition to the U.S. today.
Not that I support all of the action the Bush administration wants to take!
Posted by: michael at October 23, 2007 08:45 AM
Forget this, you need to post some more about Shahrizoda dude. How come, aside from this blog, there's almost zero information about them? What are they doing now? What are their names? How old are they? And most importantly, is the brown/tan skinned one married?
Posted by: ChronicProcrastinator at October 24, 2007 04:09 PM
Oh. I thought it would be strange to describe Russia as anti-interventionalist.
Posted by: Tiako at October 25, 2007 08:20 AM