Log in or Sign up
Coin Talk
Home
Forums
>
Coin Forums
>
Ancient Coins
>
My First Chinese!
>
Reply to Thread
Message:
<p>[QUOTE="Parthicus, post: 5467502, member: 81887"]For a while, my percentages kept listing a significant (~12-15%) component as "Middle East" or "Turkish/Caucuses". Not entirely implausible for my Sicilian ancestry- there was the period of Muslim rule in the Middle Ages, and later Ottoman raiders, maybe a shipwrecked sailor- it could make sense. But the latest iteration just says 73% Southern Italian/Sicilian and 1% North Italian. Apparently those "Middle Eastern" alleles are just part of the Sicilian background, which is after all an enormous grab-bag of every civilization that has sailed a boat in the Mediterranean over the last few millennia. I also have 25% of mixed Irish, Scottish, and English from my paternal grandmother that I knew about. And the last 1%, in utter defiance of probability, says "Senegalese". That is almost certainly wrong, and I have no idea what glitch gives that readout. North African would be fairly plausible, as part of the Sicilian mix, but there just weren't any significant number of Senegalese folk wandering around Sicily and having children with the locals in 1800. Oh well, these commercial DNA-based ancestry tests can be fun, and can pinpoint your living relatives pretty well (they correctly told me the links and relationship degrees to various relatives who had sent their samples), but the science of human historical geography is still being worked out.</p><p><br /></p><p>I haven't read a whole lot in Chinese history, but from what I have read I can recommend the works of Jonathan D. Spence. He was a historian at Yale, and wrote a number of books on various parts Chinese history. My favorite book of his is "God's Chinese Son", about the Taiping Rebellion. Another book I found informative and enjoyable is Sterling Seagrave's "Dragon Lady", about the Empress Dowager Cixi. Seagrave argues (convincingly, in my opinion) that Cixi was unfairly slandered by her enemies, and that this portrayal of her as an evil, well, dragon lady was uncritically swallowed by foreign observers and later writers. I'd be interested to hear what books others recommend.[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>
[QUOTE="Parthicus, post: 5467502, member: 81887"]For a while, my percentages kept listing a significant (~12-15%) component as "Middle East" or "Turkish/Caucuses". Not entirely implausible for my Sicilian ancestry- there was the period of Muslim rule in the Middle Ages, and later Ottoman raiders, maybe a shipwrecked sailor- it could make sense. But the latest iteration just says 73% Southern Italian/Sicilian and 1% North Italian. Apparently those "Middle Eastern" alleles are just part of the Sicilian background, which is after all an enormous grab-bag of every civilization that has sailed a boat in the Mediterranean over the last few millennia. I also have 25% of mixed Irish, Scottish, and English from my paternal grandmother that I knew about. And the last 1%, in utter defiance of probability, says "Senegalese". That is almost certainly wrong, and I have no idea what glitch gives that readout. North African would be fairly plausible, as part of the Sicilian mix, but there just weren't any significant number of Senegalese folk wandering around Sicily and having children with the locals in 1800. Oh well, these commercial DNA-based ancestry tests can be fun, and can pinpoint your living relatives pretty well (they correctly told me the links and relationship degrees to various relatives who had sent their samples), but the science of human historical geography is still being worked out. I haven't read a whole lot in Chinese history, but from what I have read I can recommend the works of Jonathan D. Spence. He was a historian at Yale, and wrote a number of books on various parts Chinese history. My favorite book of his is "God's Chinese Son", about the Taiping Rebellion. Another book I found informative and enjoyable is Sterling Seagrave's "Dragon Lady", about the Empress Dowager Cixi. Seagrave argues (convincingly, in my opinion) that Cixi was unfairly slandered by her enemies, and that this portrayal of her as an evil, well, dragon lady was uncritically swallowed by foreign observers and later writers. I'd be interested to hear what books others recommend.[/QUOTE]
Your name or email address:
Do you already have an account?
No, create an account now.
Yes, my password is:
Forgot your password?
Stay logged in
Coin Talk
Home
Forums
>
Coin Forums
>
Ancient Coins
>
My First Chinese!
>
Home
Home
Quick Links
Search Forums
Recent Activity
Recent Posts
Forums
Forums
Quick Links
Search Forums
Recent Posts
Competitions
Competitions
Quick Links
Competition Index
Rules, Terms & Conditions
Gallery
Gallery
Quick Links
Search Media
New Media
Showcase
Showcase
Quick Links
Search Items
Most Active Members
New Items
Directory
Directory
Quick Links
Directory Home
New Listings
Members
Members
Quick Links
Notable Members
Current Visitors
Recent Activity
New Profile Posts
Sponsors
Menu
Search
Search titles only
Posted by Member:
Separate names with a comma.
Newer Than:
Search this thread only
Search this forum only
Display results as threads
Useful Searches
Recent Posts
More...