Han China And Rome Dbq Essay

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Attitudes towards technology in the Han and Roman empires differed greatly in terms of importance to life. The Roman Empire thought that technology was beneficial, but not necessary. The Romans were divided by social classes and concentrated more on mathematics and sciences, looking down on people who performed labor and used technologies for laboring. The Han Empire had a more positive attitude towards manufacturing and labor. The Han relied heavily on agriculture and thought that tools and water systems were necessary to reduce labor. Documents 2 and 5 show the attitude of each society towards technological development. Doc. 2, written by a Han government official in the first century BC, demonstrates that the Chinese wanted to improve the quality of the tools to increase the productivity and efficiency. On the other hand, …show more content…

As written in Doc. 1 by a Han government official, China searched for ways to apply their technologies in the most efficient way possible, without much labor, and to benefit the laborers as well. Doc. 4 from a history book sponsored by the Han government, states that China aimed to make work easier for the laborers, to increase the efficiency. Both documents show Han China in a bright light, and that may be because they are written or sponsored by Han government officials. Documents from the laborers would provide information about what the technology was being used for without bias. Doc. 8 by a Roman general, shows that Romans would rather use more labor of the lower classes for regular pleasure of the higher classes. Also, according to Doc. 6, written by a Roman upper class citizen, Romans took more time and manpower to perfect things that were neither efficient, nor productive. Documents by lower class citizens of the Roman Empire would provide more insight into the relationship between higher and lower classes and help understand their uses of