Fact one
Changbai Mountain is Chinese or Korean
Friends who have read a lot have such a question in their hearts: Changbai Mountain is a beautiful mountain range in the northeast of the mainland, but the interesting thing is that the North Koreans call Changbai Mountain "Baektu Mountain", and say that Baektu Mountain (Changbai Mountain) is the mountain range of their North Korea, not only that, but North Korea also educates their children that Baektu Mountain (Changbai Mountain) is the "holy mountain" of their Korean nation and the "birthplace of the Korean nation".
Scenery of Changbai Mountain
As a result, many of our friends have questions: Is this Changbai Mountain (Baektu Mountain) our Chinese mountain or a North Korean mountain? This thing sounds really confusing.
Today, Lao Feng will explain this matter to you clearly.
Here's the answer:
Changbai Mountain is both a mountain in China and a mountain in North Korea
When you read this, do you want to curse, what does it mean to be "both and be"?
Can a mountain still have two nationalities?
Yes.
Changbai Mountain has "two nationalities", it is a mountain with "dual nationality".
A few years ago, Lao Feng read a book and saw this, and I didn't believe it at the time, but later I checked a lot of information and found that it was really the case.
The Korean border monument on Changbai Mountain
To be precise, here's the thing:
Changbai Mountain, the boundary mountain between China and North Korea, is currently the following mountain:
About 3/4 of the mountains of Changbai Mountain belong to China, and on the Chinese side, it is called Changbai Mountain.
About 1/4 of the mountain in Changbai Mountain belongs to North Korea, and on the Korean side, it is called "Baektu Mountain".
Yes. This magical thing turned out to be a fact.
And why is this happening? I won't talk about it today. When I have the opportunity, I will tell you more about it.
Fact two
Half of Cheonchi belongs to North Korea
This fact is actually the same fact as the previous one, but this one is more interesting, so I'll talk about it in a separate section.
We all know that on the top of Changbai Mountain, there is a beautiful "Tianchi", which is a volcanic lake, many of our friends know Changbai Mountain Tianchi, some friends have been there, and more friends want to go, but have never had the opportunity to go.
The scenery of Tianchi in Changbai Mountain
Today, I'm going to tell you an amazing fact:
Half of Cheonchi belongs to North Korea
Yes, you read that right, in fact, only half of the sovereignty of Changbai Mountain Tianchi belongs to China, and the other half belongs to North Korea.
To be specific:
54.5% of the area of Cheonchi belongs to North Korea.
45.5% of the area of Tianchi belongs to China.
As shown in the figure, the border between China and North Korea divides Tianchi into two
Why?
Because of the national border between China and North Korea, it just crossed Tianchi and divided Tianchi into two.
Therefore, the same Tianchi, the Chinese call it "Changbaishan Tianchi", and the Koreans call it "Baekdushan Tianchi".
Reality, that's how interesting.
Fact three
Is it true that North Korean customs confiscated mobile phones?
Many friends have heard that when you enter North Korea, the North Korean customs will confiscate your mobile phone, temporarily store it in the customs, and return it to you when you leave the country.
Excuse me, is this true?
The answer is: really.
However, the information is outdated.
Before 2013, when foreigners entered North Korea, their mobile phones had to be seized at North Korean customs, and when you left the country, they would be returned to you.
However, since January 7, 2013, this practice has been abolished, and since then, foreigners can bring mobile phones into North Korea.
However, although your mobile phone is not suspended, there is still no international roaming service in North Korea, so after you enter the North Korean border, you still need to buy a local SIM card, otherwise your mobile phone is a waste.
Fact four
North Korea used to be richer than South Korea
Let's talk about a little bit of history buffs: In fact, after the armistice of the Korean War, North Korea was once economically ahead of South Korea – more developed than South Korea.
Yes. Although this statement sounds a bit subversive, it is true.
Why? The answer is twofold:
First of all, North Korea has been an industrial base since the Japanese occupation, and North Korea's industrial base is not a little more advanced than that of South Korea, and South Korea only received American assistance and rapidly industrialized after following the U.S. military in the Vietnam War.
The second reason is that the Soviet Union greatly assisted North Korea, so during the period from the 1950s to the 1970s, North Korea's economic growth was "thousands of miles away", and the living standards of the North Korean people at that time were generally better than South Korea's, for example, in 1971, North Korea's per capita electricity consumption was 1,326 kilowatts, more than double South Korea's 521 kilowatts.
However, after the Vietnam War, North Korea's economy was overtaken by South Korea.
Because South Korea helped the United States fight the Vietnam War, after the end of the Vietnam War, South Korea received strong support and assistance from the United States, so South Korea began to take off in industrialization.
By the 1990s, North Korea's economy had been left far behind by South Korea.
South Korean troops in the Vietnam War
South Korea sent troops to help the United States fight the Vietnam War, and it was a beautiful vote, and it was rewarded handsomely after the war
Fact five
The famine in North Korea was associated with the collapse of the Soviet Union
We've all heard that there was a famine in North Korea, but what year was that?
The answer is: from 1994 to 1999, the Korean famine, they called it the "five-year famine", also known as the "March of Suffering".
During this five-year period, North Korea starved to death, but because of the opaque data of North Korea, it has been impossible to know the exact number of starvation deaths, with estimates ranging from 250,000 to 3.5 million starvation, and there is still no accepted answer.
So, what caused the five-year famine in North Korea?
The answer is: the main reason is the collapse of the Soviet Union.
Yes, North Korea was so economically dependent on the Soviet Union that they mistakenly thought that the Soviet Union, the big brother, could not collapse, but it turned out to be a collapse.
After the collapse of the Soviet Union, the economy of the DPRK collapsed, and the people fell into famine, for at least the following specific reasons:
Reason 1: North Korea's oil is mainly supplied by the Soviet Union, after the collapse of the Soviet Union, it is too busy to take care of itself, and it can no longer supply oil to North Korea, and North Korea itself does not have enough foreign exchange to buy oil from other countries, so after the collapse of the Soviet Union, tractors, seeders, and harvesters in North Korea's fields ...... and other agricultural machinery, almost all of which were turned off. You can imagine how much damage this did to North Korean agriculture back then.
Reason 2: When the Soviet big brother was "alive", he supplied various resources such as grain, energy, and fertilizers to the DPRK at very favorable prices for a long time, but after the collapse of the Soviet Union, the supply of these resources to the DPRK also became a problem. Then you may ask: Isn't it possible to reach out to China for help? This brings us to the third reason.
Reason 3: China and South Korea established diplomatic relations in 1992, so at that time, North Korea also had a lot of opinions and dissatisfaction with China, so the relationship between China and North Korea in those years was not as good as usual. China has seen that it has been aiding the DPRK for so many years, but the DPRK still only has Russia in its heart, and does not take China seriously, so China's heart has also cooled, and the matter of assistance has been slowed down.
Poor rural North Korea
Fact six
The United States was once North Korea's largest food donor
It is generally believed that the United States is eager to wipe North Korea off the map, but there is an interesting fact that the United States was once North Korea's largest food donor.
Yes, it was the DPRK's number one mortal enemy: the United States, that has ever been the hardest aid to North Korea.
During the years of famine and emergence, the United States was North Korea's largest food donor, followed by South Korea and Russia.
Why, then, is this happening? Why is the United States aiding North Korea?
In fact, it was through the United Nations Food Program, the United States' aid to North Korea, which is humanitarian aid.
I wrote about this today, Lao Feng is going to rest, during his illness, he is tired, and I hope to understand.
North Korean porters unload flour aided by the United States
Easter egg: The truth about martial arts
When we were children, we all watched Stephen Chow's "Wu Zhuangyuan Su Qi'er".
Many friends also know that in our Chinese history, there was such a thing as "martial arts".
In ancient China, in addition to the imperial examination of liberal arts, there was also the imperial examination of martial arts (referred to as martial arts), but it seems that everyone does not know much about ancient martial arts.
Good. Today, Lao Feng uses the simplest language to give you a science popularization, what is going on in ancient China's martial arts.
First of all, ancient China did have a martial arts examination, and its main role was indeed to supplement the army with outstanding officers, however, the ancient martial arts examination was far less important than the imperial examination of liberal arts, so in ancient times, the martial arts examination was a state of "time and time intermittent", sometimes the examination was opened, and sometimes the examination was not recruited for many years.
Why is martial arts not taken seriously and the examination is interrupted?
The answer can be summed up in a word: martial arts are not scarce.
Because martial arts are not the only source of officers. In many cases, officers can be promoted directly on the battlefield from smart, brave, and meritorious soldiers.
Therefore, martial arts are not so scarce for the imperial court, and the imperial court will look at the actual needs, and when needed, the examination will be opened, and when it is not needed, the examination will be suspended.
So, what were the tests in ancient martial arts?
Speaking of which, do some friends have a picture of martial arts masters gathered in their minds - Shaolin, Wudang, Wing Chun...... The scene of various sects showing their talents?
I've read too many martial arts novels.
The so-called kung fu is basically a lie.
Let's come back to reality.
In ancient Chinese martial arts, the main content of the examination was: horse riding, archery, weightlifting, poke spear, and sword dance...... and other practical combat skills. Among them, the most important ones are horseback riding and archery.
Horseback archery was a key subject in ancient martial arts
Yes, in ancient times, the most important thing to fight and kill the enemy was two points: running fast and shooting accurately.
So, in Chinese history, what are the famous historical figures who were born in Wukeju (Wuju)? Let me give you a few examples:
Guo Ziyi
Qi Jiguang
Wu Sangui
Yes. These three famous generals in history were all born in martial arts.
Among them, Wu Sangui's father, Wu Xiang, was also born in Wuju, and both father and son are from Wuju.
Qi Jiguang, a national hero, was born in martial arts
The last martial champion in Chinese history was a man named Zhang Sanjia, a native of Puyang, Henan, who was the martial champion in 1898, but this person had a hard life, and soon after winning the martial champion, he died of illness in the same year before he had time to serve the imperial court.
In 1901, after the change of Gengzi, the imperial court deeply felt that in the era of hot weapons, the martial artists who danced knives and guns were outdated and of little use, so in that year, the imperial court issued an edict announcing the abolition of martial arts, and the original text of the edict was like this:
"It is said that the way of martial arts, because of the old system of the former Ming Dynasty, has been along for a long time, and there are many drawbacks, and the original bow, knife, stone and horse foot shooting are all related to military affairs, and they are useless today, so they should try to be flexible and strive to be practical. After that, the Wushengtong Examination and the Wuke Township and Hui Examination will all be stopped forever."
So from then on, the martial arts examinations held from the Tang Dynasty came to an end.