10. Although the European sent a steady supply of ships to trade with China, how did the Chinese respond to Western trade?…
The Ming Dynasty was successful because of their relationships made with other nations, this helped them economically and culturally giving them the resources they need. Amy Chua also mentions the Empire’s great use of agriculture which was a benefactor many people. The Ming Dynasty was also had numerous amounts of technological advantages.…
did not need to provide protection for merchants as most trade came by land rather than by sea.…
The Han dynasty was proud of the efficiency of their technology and their ability to prevent natural disasters. The Romans marveled at their technological advancements, but didn’t think it was very enlightening when it came to craft.…
Today, we will be speaking about the legacy of the Qin Dynasty first. Qin Shihuangdi, the king of Qin born a peasant; proclaimed himself the first emperor and what would rule for thousands of generations. Unfortunately, the Qin had a relatively short dynastic cycle, the cycle that every dynasty goes through where it comes to power, rules and the falls apart. The Qin dynasty established a sense of centralized Imperial rule that later set the the foundation for later Emperors to Emulate. Even in that short period of time, they are going to have more of a lasting and have a profound impact on Chinese culture. Legalism, the belief that individuals are born evil, therefore the only way to get them to corporate is to have laws that are so strict…
The Ming and Qing Dynasties had similarities such as social structures and examination systems. Both empires had an upper, middle, and lower level to society. The highest class was composed of the emperor and his family, scholar bureaucrats, and landowners. Below them were peasants, artisans, and merchants, and the last class were slaves, indentured servants, and beggars. Interestingly, the merchants were considered the least valuable of the middle class because the Ming and Qing Confucian principles considered the hard work of the peasants more worthy than the merchants who only sold the items. Merchants were of lower status because they did not produce tangible items, and people believed that they didn’t contribute to the good of society nor help the empire expand, but only worked for their own gain. Another important similarity between both empires was their use of examination systems. These tests required an extensive knowledge of Confucian thought in order to obtain a position in the bureaucracy. The exams were important to the males in these empires because it helped them enter the ranks of the scholar-gentry as well as raise the overall social statuses of the individual as well as their family. These similarities in the social aspects of the Ming and Qing Dynasties were important because it shows how the empires functioned by ranks and social classes, yet provided a motivation for the people to raise their social statuses due to the examination system which was put in place. As a…
Buddhism is known to be the oldest religion to ever exist in China. It gained most of its popularity in the East Asian countries of Korea, Japan, and India where it began to decline in China. The acceptance of Buddhism altered where it was first seen as a method to establish order, and then was recognized by the Tangy Dynasty to be a threat against their rule.…
In terms of religion, once again the Qing proved to sinicize much better. The Qing embraced Confucian models of ethical conduct. In fact, unlike the Mongol Yuan Dynasty, the Qing kept Confucianism as the state orthodoxy, left government and religious institutions intact, and “employed equal numbers of Manchus and Chinese in their government.” This last part about equal representation is of the utmost importance. Because the Qing adopted Chinese ways of governance and included Han Chinese in the government “they became in effect civilized Chinese and their rule was…
Between the times of 1600-1914 the Qing dynasty experienced change from a great deal of power to a devastating decline. The Qing dynasty seized control of China in the mid 17-century. They adopted and retained the Chinese bureaucracy and Confucius beliefs. But their success did not last eventually after many reforms due to land distribution, examinations, and social inequality; the Qing began to lose hold on their once strong control. Events such as the Opium war and the Boxer rebellion damaged the Qing dynasties social order and military force. The systems became corrupt which lead to political and social disintegrations.…
The Qing and Ming dynasties are more similar in their social aspects, such as their conservation of Chinese heritage. Ever since the Ming drove out the Mongols from China, they had been increasingly determined to prevent any invaders or outside influence. They accomplished this by eradicating any influence of the Mongols, such as names and dress, and even built the Great Wall of China as a physical barrier from invaders. They also brought back the system of civil service exams that the Mongols had previously neglected. Similarly, the Qing adapted into the Chinese society and maintained many of the Chinese traditions. They both kept the civil service examinations and both held the concept of “Son of Heaven”, in which the emperor was designated by heavenly powers to maintain order on earth. The Qing were not only conservative of Chinese traditions but their own Manchurian ones as well. They applied strict laws on the Chinese, like forbidding intermarriage between Manchurians and Chinese and the migration of Chinese into Manchuria and even the learning of Manchurian language. Men were also required to wear their hair in the Manchurian style, by shaving the front of their heads in a sign of submission to the Manchu’s rule. Both dynasties, however, were also strict on maritime trade in order to resist outside influence. As a result trade was limited and only happened within the country. Which also resulted in the absence in the exchange of new ideas.…
After reading the Records of the GRAND HISTORIAN on HALL DYNASTY II, I I am horrified by the Xiongnu's barbaric way of life, which contradicts with many traditional Chinese values.…
Qin: The Qin dynasty was right in the middle of the Era of Warring States, a time where China was trying to find their identity. The Qin Dynasty adopted Legalist thinking’s. Legalism was based off the idea that everything needs to run through the government and anyone that believed otherwise or didn’t follow the rules was badly punished. The king of Qin, who was latter named The First Emperor, was Shih Huang-Di. A huge accomplishment of the First Emperor was that in only nine years he captured the six largest states in China. Once he did this that was when centralization got under way. He divided the country into administrative units the remained the same well after his time. He also invented the first standard units of money. The writing system was standardized so effectively that it is almost the same now as it was back then. This was all constructed to make China unified. A problem that kept coming up was that from the north the Mongols were invading. This caused the Qin Dynasty to construct the first parts of the Great Wall of China. Shih Huang-Di also had his bad side, in Legalism if you didn’t follow what the government wanted you got in serious trouble. He got into doing a lot of torture and harsh treatment to people. He could not stand the people who supported Confucsism and because of that he ordered a Burning of the Books in attempt to get rid of Confucsism. Tang Dynasty: The Tang Dynasty was one of the most brilliant periods of Chinese history. The Tang took over after the Sui Dynasty that left China in a terrible place. That was the first problem the Tang had to address, the reconstruction of China. The Tangs first concern was to help out the peasant tenants because the landowners were making them pay way too much. A thing the Sui Dynasty had was the well field system and the Tang adopted that. This really helped the economy get back to where it needed to be. The Tang also recreated a bureaucracy on Confucianerit system. The wealthy people could…
The economy of the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) of China was the largest in the world during that period. It is regarded as one of China's three golden ages (the other two being the Han and Song periods). The period was marked by the increasing political influence of the merch ants, the gradual weakening of imperial rule, and technological advances.…
1. The first thing I noticed that was similar in the writings of these three poets was they all wrote about nature. Wei, for example, mentions nature in every poem that I read. He writes “Ancient trees, the last withered willows.” in Meng Wall Cove (Line 2) and “Man at leisure, cassia flowers fall. The night still, spring mountain empty. The moon emerges, startling mountain birds: At times they call within the spring valley.” in Bird Call Valley. Bo writes, “I raise my cup to invite the moon. He and my shadow and I make three.” in Drinking Alone with the Moon (Lines 3-4) and also “Peach blossoms flow downstream, leaving no trace- And there are other earths and skies than these.” in Question and Answer in the Mountains (Lines 3-4). Fu mentions, “Gems of dew wilt and wound the maple trees in the wood:” from Autumn Meditation (Line 1). Another similarity I found was the writing of feeling alone or saying goodbye to loved ones. Wei writes “And inquire where you are going. You say you did not achieve your wishes” in Farewell (Lines 2-3). Bo writes, “I drink alone, no friend with me.” in Drinking Alone with the Moon (Line 2). He also has poems titled Farewell to a Friend and In the Quiet Night, which leave me with a slight sadness. Fu writes “The bleached ungathered bones lie year on year. New ghosts complain, and those who died before Weep in the wet gray sky and haunt the ear.” in Ballad of the Army Carts (Lines 34-36). There are also ways that the works of the poets are significantly different. For example, the longest of Wei’s poems are only eight lines while the majority of Bo and Fu’s poems are significantly longer. Wei also has more poems about nature like Meng Wall Cove, Deer Enclosure, Sophora Path, Lake Yi, Bamboo Lodge and Bird Call Valley. Bo’s work seems to be more about everyday life things with poems like Drinking Alone with the Moon, The Road to Shu is Hard, Bring in the Wine, Listening to a Monk from Shu Playing the Lute and Question and Answer in the…
The Ming dynasty ruled China from 1368-1644, and it had a large impact on the world economy, especially in Southeast Asia. The focus in China switched to a more global idea. During time between 1200-1750, the Ming dynasty recognized a tribute system that had a large impact on foreign trade by establishing china as an economic powerhouse and they also began many foreign expeditions which brought some smaller areas/empires into the middle of the world’s economy. On the other hand, china stilled relied largely on agriculture and the productions of goods indigenous to China, which kept grains and other food-like goods in circulation and brought plenty of wealth.…