Pukyong National University

"What happened to Prince of Persia married Princess Silla?"
A review of <Pukyong CEO Happiness Humanities Concert> Lecture 72nd, Professor Lee Hee-soo

△ Professor Lee Hee-soo is giving a lecture.

The second lecture of Pukyong National University was held on October 24 by Professor Lee Hee-soo (Department of Cultural Anthropology, Hanyang University) held under the motto of Knowing Islam.

At 7 am on the 2nd floor of the Somin Hall at Pukyong National University's Mirae Building, the 72nd lecture of the Pukyong National University's Humanities lecture <Pukyong CEO Happiness Humanities Concert>, the world's first sight of Islamic culture and Islamic culture, which was held at the Busan, Ulsan, and Gyeonnam CEOs.

In this lecture, we summarized the Islamic story that we need to know 'urgently' (?) in question and answer form.

Saying "Iran and Korea are in-laws" quickly gets to know each other!

On the day, Professor Lee introduced کوش نامه (Kush Nama), a relic discovered by the Iranian National Museum. Kush nama is said to be an ancient Persian oral epic poetry. But here 'Basilla' appears. It is called 'Silla'.
He said, “The Silla part of the whole 820 pages of Kush nama has 500 pages. Silla of the 5th and 7th centuries lives in this record. This opens up new horizons for the study of Korean ancient history. This is the story of the Prince of Persia (Abtin)'s advance into the Shilla and the marriage to the Princess (Frarang).”
Prince Persia, who fled to Chang'an in China in 651 when Persia of Sasan Dynasty was destroyed, came to Silla and married Princess of Silla. It means Iran and Korea were in-laws.
Professor Lee said, “Islamic culture people are very emotional. They really like Korea. If we talk about this with them, we will soon get to know eachother and our business will be solved.”
The story of Prince of Persia was produced in a play named Basilla at the Jeongdong Theater in Gyeongju and it is said to have been produced as a play and performed 500 times.

How should we recognize the 'Muyoungchong', the hunting scene (Sooryubdo) of Goguryeo?

Professor Lee said, "The Roman-style glassware excavated at Silla tomb is not our own creation, but it is from the Persian period."
“The Muyoungchong, the fifth-century's Goguryeo, this hunting scene shows a typical“ Parthian shot, ”which runs backwards and shoots prey." and he added, "We should not only boast of the courage of Goguryeo, but also talk about the wisdom of our ancestors who have taken up other cultures and melted and upgraded them in the furnace.”

Is coffee the icon of Europe? The Middle East is the originator!

Professor Lee introduced, “Medieval Islamic civilization was the intellectual force that made the European Renaissance possible. A thousand-year-old world empire (651~1683) that has accumulated vast information about Silla.”
He said, “Algorithm,” one of the keywords of the Fourth Industrial Revolution, refers to a set of procedures, methods, and instructions for solving a problem, developed by Persian mathematician Algorazmi 1000 years ago and named after him."
He introduced "Islamic culture affects almost every aspect of our daily lives," he said. "The alchemy's desire to make gold has produced almost all branches of modern science, including chemistry, physics, astronomy and philosophy. The desire to make silver was made of aluminum, and glass was born from the desire to make jewelry. There is a record that glass in Silla era was 8 to 10 times the price of gold.”
In addition to coffee, food terms such as sugar, candy, orange, lemon, caviar, syrup and sherbet, fiber terms such as cotton, gauze and pajamas, and flower terms such as tulip, jasmine and lilac are also common words derived from Islamic culture.

What would happen if I say "I'm unreligious" in the Middle East?

When you visit the Middle East, you may be asked what your religion is. Professor Lee said, “If you don't have a religion then they can think of you as a dangerous person. Middle Easterners will wonder how you can be without religion.
Wouldn't it be hostile to say “Christian”? Professor Lee said, “I feel close to Christians who see the same roots in the Middle East.”, and he stressed, "But missionary work is perceived as a felony. Missions that require a religion to believe in one's own religion are absolutely forbidden because they are perceived as destroying families and communities.”

Does the Olympics marathon run against the spirit of the Olympics?

Professor Lee said, “Every year, Iran has asked the Olympic Organizing Committee to remove the marathon from the Olympic sport. "The marathon with the scars of the Persian War is not suitable for the Olympics, the Great Peace Festival for Humanity." Do you remember the story that Greece won the war with Persia once the messenger ran 42.195 km to give the king a victory?

Why do you need to know Islam?

How do we view Islamic culture in the Middle East, a quarter of the world? Usually, the Middle East is remembered as 'construction', 'oil shock', and 'IS terrorism'. Most of them are people who do not know well and do not try to know well.
Professor Lee said, “Many misunderstood Muslim culture as prejudice, error, and religious dogma. In the global age, we need to know Islam correctly so we can understand the world correctly."
“We learned history only in two ways: Western and Asian history. There are intermediate civilizations and connecting civilizations. "We need to know another Islamic culture that we have missed."

Islamic culture is the central stage of 5,000 years of human history?

Professor Lee said, “The Middle East is the region where three of the world's four civilizations, the Yellow River, Mesopotamia, Indus, and Egyptian civilization, except the Yellow River. It is the home of spirituality of mankind, originated from the world's three religions (Jewish, Christian, and Islam). It is the central stage of 4,800 years of human history.”

I want to know the history of the Middle East.

This is the history of the Middle East, which was introduced by Professor Lee on this day.
Babylonia (BC 1800) → Hittite (BC 1600) → Phoenician (BC 1200) → Hebrew (BC 1000) → Assyria (BC 8th century) → Media (BC 800) → Persia (BC 600) →  Destroyed by King Alexander (BC 325) → Partia → Sassanian Persia (AD 300) → Destroyed by Arab (650) → Invasion of Mongolia (1258) → Appearance of Ottoman Empire (1300) → Siege of Vienna failed (1683) → Defeated World War I.
Professor Lee said, "The Islamic era was opened when the world's first imperial Persia (Iran) was destroyed by King Macedonian Alexander and the Arabs emerged through Partia → Sassanian Persia (650)."


△ 'Blue Mosque' in Istanbul, Turkey

How did Islam appear on the world stage?

Sassanian Persia, who succeeded Partia, also waged a 300 year war with the Byzantine Empire (East Rome) between the Euphrates River.
"In the meantime, Islam from Mecca appears in history, destroying the Byzantine Empire and Sassanian Persia," he said. "They had a capital in Baghdad and thrive for 500 years before the invasion of Mongolia, forming huge powers in the Middle East, Central Asia, India, Africa, Southwestern and Europe. It is the birth of the Islamic empire.”

What is the secret of Islam's success know-how and rule?

Professor Lee said, “Islamic culture germinates from infertile ecological conditions and barren cultural infrastructure. However, for the first time, the land concept was introduced, allowing for the management of self-property under the condition that 30% of the production is taxed. The key to the spread is the policy of protecting existing religions and traditions as a condition of paying tax.”

'No one devalued as much as Muhammad'

Professor Lee said, “The leadership of the Prophet Muhammad, the founder of Islam, is also important. It's hard to see anyone devalued as much as Muhammad. We don't know too much about him and are full of negative images."
"In the most influential figures in history, Muhammad is ranked first among Newton (2nd), Jesus (3rd), Buddha (4th), and Confucius (5th).," he said. "Muhammad's leadership was based on a spirit of emptying that did not leave a legacy, what he left as a human being without deification of himself, a spirit of tolerance and limitlessness, consideration of women, such as recognition of legal inheritance and respect for human rights."

Why do Sunni Muslims and Shiaism fight?

Professor Lee said, "Muhammad created a successor (Kalif) argument because he did not name a successor."
He explained “Ali (the fourth son and son-in-law of Muhammad), who appeared as the fourth caliber, was killed, and Ali's followers left Mecca and formed Shiite, and the remaining group was Sunni." He added, "Therefore, the Shiite Sunni conflict we encounter is not a cult struggle, but a national relation. In this regard, Saudi (Sunni) and Iran (Shiite) are hard to harmonize.”
     
Do they think Arab dress is a heathen symbol?

Professor Lee said, “Arabic at the time was an expression of scholarly dignity and status. The Arab costume was a code of pride that symbolized high-end culture at the time. Thomas Aquinas's teacher, Albertus Magnus, and Michelangelo, the greatest painter of the Renaissance era, showed that the Arab costume was the code of pride that symbolized high culture at the time."

Are Allah and God Different?

Professor Lee said, “Islam is a religion that believes in Allah (Arabic notation of God). Proclaiming equality and peace, Muhammad is revered as the last prophet sent by God after Jesus. Allah is believed to be the Absolute, omnipotent, one and only god in the world, and the Creator of the universe.” He said, "Judge each other whether the Allah of Islam is the same as the God of Christianity."
 
What is the difference between Islam, Christianity, and Judaism?

Professor Lee said, "The biggest difference between these three religions is the difference in how you accept Jesus," Professor Lee said. “Jewish is the Old Testament center before Jesus, forsaking Jesus. Christianity sanctifies Jesus, and Islam accepts Jesus' personality as the best person without respect and error.”

Why did we not know Islamic culture?

Professor Lee said, “Arab boasted 500 years of history in Baghdad until it was destroyed by Mongolia (1258). After the Mongolian rule, Chinggis Khan's death, the Ottoman (Turkish) Empire, the largest empire of mankind, emerges. As it was pushed back in history, the culture and history of Islam have been undervalued.”
"The Persian empire is a large country with 28 countries in 480 BC, about 50 million people, 44% of the world population," he said. "The Persian Empire, which links Persia, has a history of 471 years. Partia between Rome and the Euphrates conquered Rome and served as a cultural bridge not only in Rome, but also in East Asia, such as China and the Korean peninsula in the east.”

Why do we know Alexander the Great who ruled for 13 years but don't know Partia of 500 years?

He emphasized “The Western-centered view of history is so great that Alexander the Great, who has been in power for thirteen years, knows the Partia of 500 years of history. A proper understanding of Partia offers new implications for our historical perception.”
He said “In the meantime, we have learned history with a focus on winners. Culture should not be viewed from the perspective of the global age, winners and losers. We need to change the way we perceive history. There is a need for a universal, insightful view that is free from Western-centered perception. We have only seen Western-style frameworks and we have to fill in the rest.”

Shouting “The future of mankind is Africa” but no expert on Africa

Professor Lee said, “The curriculum of more than 200 universities nationwide is organized in Western history, Asian history, and Korean history. I don't remember much about Southeast Asian history and culture. Emphasizes the upcoming Eurasian era, but does not properly teach Central Asian history at school. You need to know what's underneath the empty relief. Although Africa is mentioned as the future of humanity, there are very few African experts in Korea. The Chinese Academy of Social Sciences has 2,000 African experts. We have so much to fill in.”

Islam, what if we approach culture rather than religion?

“Religion has a good and evil composition. So it is very difficult to find inter-religious contacts. Therefore, we must see and approach Islam as a cultural cooperative partner,“ professor Lee said. "There is no good or evil in culture. It is a matter of equality and difference. The other is not wrong. It's just different. Understanding this and reducing misunderstandings and raising empathy is a multicultural era. This is not a matter of choice but of survival.”
He emphasized "The same to Africa, Southeast Asia, and Latin America. We must continue to work independently of the historical perception that the West has unilaterally made from the perspective of rulers, superpowers, and colonists." <Pukyong Today>


△ Participants in the Pukyong CEO Happiness Humanities Concert, including President Kim Young-seup, are taking a commemorative photo with Professor Lee Hee-soo.