"... but none of the passengers can agree. Gradually, she descends into a trance brought on by reading Tungus and Samoyed fairy tales, which cut across the journey like a polar wind. The woman learns from an atlas that Japan is, tectonically, a 'child of Siberia that had turned on its mother and was now swimming alone in the Pacific . . . a seahorse, which in Japanese is called Tatsu-no-otoshigo—the lost child of the dragon.' She begins to dread the finality of arrival."
From "The Novelist Yoko Tawada Conjures a World Between Languages/Writing in Japanese and German, Tawada explores borderlands in which people and words have lost their moorings" (The New Yorker).
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Bruno Maçães discusses the point where Europe becomes Asia in his wonderful book "Dawn of Eurasia". I wonder if Mr. Maçães would have the same feelings if he was writing his book today.
There's an old joke about a Frenchman leaving on a train journey to Moscow, dreaming of the exotic East, at the same moment a Muscovite boards a train bound for Paris, his mind filled with the thrilling promise of the West. Their trains happen to stop in Warsaw at the same moment. The Parisian looks out his window and sees the East just as he'd imagined it, while the Russian does the same and sees the perfect embodiment of the West.
"Tawada explores borderlands in which people and words have lost their moorings" (The New Yorker).
I was going to read that, but it was read that, or shove needles in my eyes, and the needles seemed less painful.
Why does anyone read crap like that?
Continuing. I actually read the review and am very much looking forward to reading her novel.
Regarding borderlands: Ukraine historically is a borderland, and per wiki: Several theories exist regarding the origin of the name Ukraine but the most popular one states that the name originates from the general Slavic word for 'borderland', 'frontier region' and 'marches' which referred, most likely, to the border territories of Kyivan Rus'.Name of Ukraine - Wikipedia
Ha! This has always been the dilemma in defining Europe. I think most have fallen back on linguistic analysis and the history of languages as the basis of delineation of Europe's boundaries. But given the movement of peoples in ancient times, even this approach has lots of exceptions to any conclusions. The issue has played out most prominently in modern times with Russia, which embraced Europe under the Czars. The USSR retrenched to a polyglot identity but Russia under Putin leans toward wanting acceptance as a European country.
India has a greater geologic claim to being a separate continent from Asia than Europe does.
Travel can be a great inspiration toward false profundity.
In mythology, Japan was created by two primordial gods, the divine siblings Izanagi and Izanami. They gaze down from Heaven at the featureless Sea and idly stir the waters with a spear. The drops that fall from its point become Japan.
Now we have another mythological image, a prodigal dragon. Weapons and dragons, dragons and weapons -- rather monotonous Asian images, aren't they? I prefer the older version because in it Creation is fundamentally an accident, a deed without intentionality that more closely approximates our current scientific mythology -- not at all like Genesis or Hesiod or the Norse Eddas.
are the continents on different tectonic plates?
if not why name them separately?
are the continents on different tectonic plates?
Oddly they are on the same plate, but only recently.* The Eurasian plate was formed by the collision of two plates (roughly Europe and Asia), thus the Ural Mountains.
*In geological time, obvi
"Why name them [the continents] separately?"
The names were given ages before Wegener (who was treated like a crank by the experts) realized what was going on beneath the surface.
The triad of Afica, Asia, and Europe is a cultural artefact in more ways than one; any similarity between the conventions of ancient geography and modern science are purely coincidental.
While it's all the same continental mass, I believe the official dividing line between Europe and Asia is the Ural Mountains. I'll let other people debate language or culture divides.
It seems to me that most maps used in schools in the US, at least historically, put the Americas front and center which produces an artificial division of the Eurasian landmass at roughly the India-Pakistan border, and would tend to reinforce the idea that there is some 'border' between Europe and Asia that maybe doesn't physically exist.
Narayanan said...
are the continents on different tectonic plates?
if not why name them separately?
Because culturally Europe and Asia are very different places
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