Comparison of Roman Empire to Han Dynasty Essay Example
Classical China encompasses three major dynasties: the Zhou, the Qin, and the Han. When Shi Huangdi of the Qin Dynasty was killed in 210 B.C., angry peasants organized massive rebellions. One peasant leader defeated all his opponents and in 202 B.C., he formed the third dynasty of classical China: the Han. The Han Dynasty existed for more than 400 years, until 220 C.E. The rise of Rome was the last phase of classical Mediterranean civilization, after Rome conquered Greece and the Hellenistic kingdoms in 100 B.C.E. The local monarchy that would someday become one of the world's most powerful empires began around 800 B.C. Political institution was extremely important in classical China. Under the Han Dynasty, the power of the emperor and bureaucracy were emphasized. The organized structure of government allowed such a large territory to be effectively governed, even though it was the largest political system in the world at the time. The Han's political framework stressed male dominated families. Han rulers didn't support local warrior-landlords, believing that they were corrupt. Because bureaucracy was so important, civil service exams were first given, a tradition that would be incorporated into modern poli-tics. Not only did bureaucracy effectively govern, but it had a sort of checks and balance on the upper class. Chinese bureaucracy from the Han Dynasty existed well into the twentieth century. The imperial government sponsored intellectual life, such as astronomy and mathematics. Han rulers promoted Confucianism, with the idea that they were in charge of their subjects' beliefs. The administration also took part in the economy. It organized production, standardized currency and measures, sponsored public works like canal sys-tems and irrigation, and tried to regulate agricultural supplies to control price increases. The Roman republic allowed all citizens to meet in assemblies to elect magis-trates. The most important legislative body was the Senate,