While emperor Taizong inherited his thrown direct from his father, Hongwu had to start from scratch. Taizong became his father’s successor, after an attempt on his life by his brothers that ended in their deaths at the hands of Taizong soldiers. This is the Xuanwu Gate Incident. Hongwu started as a peasant who later became a Chinese rebel, out of his great military strategies he was able to rise to the
Tang and Song Dynasty The Han Dynasty declines in the A.D 200’s and china separates. In 600’s a young general names Tang Taizong came to power and created the Tang Dynasty, which lasted from 618-907. The Dynasty built a vast empire very quickly. Tang rulers forced Vietnam, Korea, and Tibet to be their tribute countries. They stayed independent, but in order to do that they had to pay tribute or extra tax money.
After the fall of the Han Empire there was a vacuum of political instability. In less than forty years the Sui rulers reunified China. They reestablished Confucianism as the central philosophy of government. The Sui period is also distinctive because of the strong political influence of Buddhism. The accomplishments of the Sui Empire were the 1,100 mile Grand Canal that linked the Yellow River in Northern China with the Yangzi River in Southern China.
He considered agriculture and commerce crucial and developed them concurrently. The tax system, monetary coinage and meteorology were all standardized. In culture, the emperor unified the Chinese characters in writing, which promoted the development of the Chinese culture. However, he also suppressed scholars who were not to his liking. Consequently, many opposing scholars were killed in Xianyang.
Throughout history their have been many different ways in which people want their societies and and empires ruled. In document "Sima Qian: The First Emperor" The chief minister Wang Wan states "The states are newly defeated and the terrotories of the Yan, Qi, and the Chu are distant, so if we do not establish kings for them there will be no means of bringing order to them. We beg to set up your sons in authority, but it is up to the supreme one alone ti favour us with this agreement. "Meaning that now that their are new terrotories that have been defeated and taken over such as the Yan, Qi, and Chu, they should now assign each terrotory with a king or leader to put order and prevent problems. The only worry now is if the "supreme one" agrees with this request for he is the emperor and the one that makes the final decision (Sima Qian: The First Emperor).
Legitimacy of central power was established by the emperor using Han Feizi’s method of rule “shi” which incorporated Daoist spontaneous actions and wu-wei emptiness while knowing the true nature of reality. Han Feizi advocated in his 7 Statecrafts that a strong ruler speak in opposites and act in contradictories to manipulate orders and rule on a whim. Aggressive war was supported for bringing merit through danger, uniting people under the emperor and expansion to bring economic prosperity to advance power of the state. After unifying China and defeating all six other Warring States, the Qin state was divided into 36 commandaries and counties, abolishing Zhou feudalism and priveleges of the nobility system. The emperor ruled using officials and ministers through civil governors, military governor and oversears.
1. Compare and contrast the Roman and Chinese empires. Which do you find more striking their similarities or their differences? After hundreds of years fighting the Qin dynasty defeated everyone which unified north China and created first Chinese Empire. During this time China created political and cultural forms that would last a very long time even till this day.
CAC China Between the years 500 and 1750, China’s involvement in trade and decisions regarding global trade greatly affected their economy. China has always participated in local trade amongst Chinese societies, however new technologies brought change in the trading system and the people the Chinese traded with. There were also time periods of isolation from other countries that were established in order to have less western influence. Transitions with new rulers, advancements in technologies, and expansion of their empire caused for Chinese economic growth or continuance. Many foreign invaders tried to conquer the empires of China for thousands of years, one of which was actually successful.
Around 1000 BC the Shang Dynasty collaspsed. The last Shang ruler was a man of great personal strength and eloquence, but he had allowed his court to become so corrupted that it engaged in indecent, naked revels. It was thought that such decadence was an indication that the spiritual power of the line had been used up, and finally the king, abandoned by heaven, burned himself in his slendid palace. The Shang was a great literate and artistic culture. For centuries the dynasty had ruled the core Chinese cultural area.
After several victories and captures of cities by the Taipings the Chinese government eventually got tired of it and sent out for help from the west. They contracted a man named Frederick Townsend Ward and another named Henry Andreas Burgevine to form a mercenary force of people to assist the Chinese government force (FTW). With the help from the west, the Chinese government was able to stop the Taiping Rebellion. But what if the west hadn’t of helped? If the west hadn’t of helped I think that the Taiping Rebellion would have continued to take over provinces and eventually the Chinese government.