Another thing the Qin and Han dynasties made was to impress
Honorable Merchants: Commerce and Self-Cultivation in Late Imperial China was written by Richard John Lufrano and documents the culture and lifestyle of mid-level merchants during late imperial China. The book describes the rise of mid-level merchants, who can ultimately be seen as a modern day middle class. During the era of late imperial China, there was an increase in commercialization, which “most members of society…had come to accept commercial activity as a necessary part of life,” causing them to “regard those engaged in commerce as respectable members of society.” With more commerce, Chinese merchants needed to understand how they could operate a successful business, but how would they accomplish a feat like this?
The Qing, Mughal and Ottoman empires all had effective administration and victories that allowed them to advance. The Manchu, who ruled the Qing Dynasty, had to assert dominance to control the Chinese people living in the empire, who vastly outnumbered them. They successfully reoriented China after the rocky transfer of power following the previous empire, the Ming. The Manchu had “knowledge of Chinese administration” and a “well organized army” (Bingham, 134), which helped them effectively rule. They made Chinese men shave the front of their heads and wear their hair in long queues, or pony tails (Bingham, 136)” to show control.
During the era of classical societies, the Han and Roman empires were two vast cosmopolitan societies which dominated regions all throughout Eurasia. In regards to the fall of the Han and Roman empires, both were similar in that they fell victim to internal government decay, but different in that Rome fell to foreign invasions, while Han suffered from rebellions of their own people. The Han and Roman empires were similar in their fall in that they both suffered from internal decay, specifically of their governments. In the Han empire, land distribution problems that were originally sought to be fixed by the “Socialist emperor” Wang Mang allowed large landowners to become even more influential than they previously were.
Though many Western civilizations have influenced the way we live our lives today, many forget the progressive movements of early Classical and Contemporary Oriental cultures. Two of these cultures that are still revisited by historians today were the epitome of early Asian civilization and very influential guides for cultures to come. Han China (206 B.C.E.-220 A.D.) and Gupta India (320 C.E.-525 C.E.) were two dynasty-based civilizations in the early conception of Southeastern Asian rule. Though both had a very similar class based society and both had to endure outside invasions as well as internal conflicts, they both had unique, and future utilized, ways of maintaining their rule. Both of these cultures needed to keep order and stability within their borders to maintain a prosperous society.
The era of the Han dynasty in China, simply referred to as ‘Han China,’ was an extremely prominent one, with power that almost rivaled the Romans themselves. During this period of China, achievements and accomplishments reached new heights as the Silk Road opened, which allowed connection with the western world. However, even with all this, Han China still fell, thanks to opposing forces in the form of nomadic tribes, several natural disasters that were interpreted as angry messages from the gods, and internal/political unrest. During the Han dynasty and the opening of the Silk Road, there were several aggressive, nomadic tribes that centered around the Asian area.
Before Mongol influence, merchants had a significantly low social status in China and were seen as lazy and dishonorable. This attitude stemmed from the belief that merchants weren’t doing any work because they were selling products that others had worked very hard on to make and perfect. After Mongol influence, the outlook towards merchants elevated considerably, no longer having a stigma around their profession and even seen as important to the economy. This change in attitude was because the nomadic Mongols saw merchants as a useful and necessary part of their survival since they were reliant on trade to have all the materials they needed to live. Therefore, after the Mongols invaded China this stance on merchants was promoted by the new states approval, even going so far as to actively endorse the merchant industry by making paper money more available.
The Han Dynasty in China and the Roman Empire shared many similarities and differences when it came to political rule and the nature of their political authority. The most significant difference between the two is how the Han dynasty enacted policies that were shaped to counter the wrongdoings of the previous Qin dynasty, whereas the Roman Empire enacted policies shaped to create and promote peace and stability. The difference in the two empire’s coming to power was to account for their variance in political rule. After the Qin dynasty, the Han ruled China for four centuries, enacting numerous political changes and governing one of the most efficacious dynasties in Chinese history.
This was unprecedented and China had never before been assembled a force like this and soon every province was absorbed. Levathes said, “In the brief period from 1405 to 1433, the treasure fleet, under the command of the eunuch admiral Zheng He, made seven epic voyages throughout the China Seas and Indian Ocean,”(20). This was significant because the Emperor and society put so much emphasis on following the teachings of Confucius, as Levathes said, “Confucius thought foreign travel interfered with important familial obligations and believed that trade was inherently mean and debasing,”(33). At this point in time it is evident that China was starting to become relatively progressive and forward-moving, because they initially went great measures in order to keep the traditional ways. Levathes further supplements this claim on page 33 saying, “from the second Century B.C., with the rise if the Han Dynasty, Confucianism became the moral code for the upper classes of Chinese society and the foundation of the emerging feudal bureaucracy.”
The Qin and Han employed different philosophies on how to run their dynasties. The Qin used controlling Legalistic ideas while the Han used the relationship building Confucianism. The Qin and Han had a different relationship with outsiders because the Qin preferred to keep foreigners out while the Han wanted to build a relationship with them. The Qin and the Han each contributed to the growth of China’s culture and expansion. The developments in trade, foreign relations, and building expansive building projects in the Qin and Han Dynasties effected the design of every dynasty
While Athens and the Greek regime as a whole fell from one state seizing too much power over other states, Han China fell, twice, from corrupt officials seizing power and wealth for themselves while allowing too many citizens to suffer. While the specifics of both civilization 's declines were different, they both had regimes that focused mainly on the benefits of a few at the expense of the majority. Perhaps, had both regimes considered the need to balance
China’s Last Empire. The Great Qing. William T. Rowe. The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, 2009. 360 pages including Emperors and Dynasties, Pronunciation Guide, Notes, Bibliography, Acknowledgements, Index, Maps and Figures.
Trade in the classical civilization was a significant impact that shaped so much of the coming world. China was a strikingly impactful civilization when it came to trade. China used the Silk Road to trade, it connected China to the Middle East and Europe. China’s way of trade began a way for other civilizations to interact with one another. They traded all the goods that they produced such as medicine, silk, pottery, paper, gunpowder, gold, rugs, and more.
Ibn Battuta and Marco Polo are both known for being the world’s greatest long distance travelers, however, because of their different backgrounds it had influenced the way in which each traveler wrote about their experiences in China. This contrast is dominantly believed to have been influenced by their different religious backgrounds, and how each had viewed the world. This was ultimately is influenced by ones cultural and religious background. In this essay I will examine the different experiences that both Ibn Battuta and Marco Polo had experienced during their visits in China. Ibn Battuta, a well-educated Islamic scholar born and raised by a wealthy family in Tangier, Morocco, he had begun his journey at the age of 21.
Different periods throughout China’s history have different names, known as dynasties, for the diverse positions within its society. Theoretically, all of the periods are similar, with the government and military officials ranking high in the hierarchy, and the average everyday people being under regular Chinese law. Throughout China’s history, the society has been organized into a hierarchic system of socio-economic classes, known as the four occupations. The four occupations system seems to have become distorted after the commercialization of Chinese culture during the Song Dynasty. Even though the social rankings within the country are not as predominant as they once were, the people living within the country still know their “place” within the society.