>>326870That's the hard truth bro. Go to these places, and you'll realize it, even today.
Mongols and Chinese disagree on pretty much every single point surrounding this subject. Their secular argument over dogs could be a reason alone to start a war today: the Chinese eat dogs, and "dog" is an insult for them, while Mongols love their dogs, along with their horses, their sheep, their cows, and even wolves even though they decimate their herds, which they take as a sign from nature that they had grown too large.
Their use of night soil is certainly not a declaration of love to nature, simply a more efficient way to do things, and that's all they care about. Don't even get me started about how night soil is unhealthy compared to proper compost.
And the part of Mongolian steppes that's been ruined is, ironically, the Chinese part, thanks to intensive farming and overgrazing. Indeed, the Chinese used to live in inner Mongolia just like Mongols did, and this had nothing to do with their climate, but because they knew they couldn't leave their herds in the same place for too long. Because they're fully aware of what overgrazing is. Mongols are some of the earliest ecologists, they've been aware of the importance of this thin layer of soil that prevents steppes from turning into a desert for centuries, and as of today, if you dig a hole deep enough to expose the sand beneath in front of a Mongol, which might be a mere 20 centimeters below, he'll kill you on the spot.
But hey, the Chinese government said they needed food, so they proceeded to ruin Inner Mongolia. Don't take this as a generalization of the fact that everyone did this, this is certainly not the case. Just last year, I was in Mongolia, and you can believe me, there was plenty lush grazing everywhere despite the gigantic herds. Yet for some reason, all of neighborhing China is a desert.
Maybe you should drop the history books and get your feet in the dirt. This is /out/ after all.
