But the expansion of land weakened China’s ‘central government’, and made it vulnerable against any disloyal citizens. Because of this, the Zhou began to promote the idea of cultural and linguistic unity. Although a single language was established and cultural creativity flourished throughout, the dynasty was not united enough to prevent the development of independent armies and was eventually overthrown. The Zhou dynasty was followed by the Qin dynasty, which managed to significantly strengthen the weakened government and establish a new form of protection against intruders. The power of the central government increased tremendously when a national census was ordered, giving the government more information concerning tax revenue.
The government would expand as a result of political stability, military strength and advanced urban growth. Trade also helped expand the civilization. Rome’s trade has excess to North Africa, the Middle East and Europe. Han’s trade consisted more of an inland route. These political instruments helped the civilizations control and expand during their rule.
More and more companies are doing business in China due to the lower production costs. When doing business in a different country, they could have some policies and regulations that are different than the ones in the United States. They are many officials in these countries that will take a bribe in order to ensure a fast turnaround time in order for your company to receive a license. The Foreign Corrupt Practices Act of 1977 (FCPA) was empowered by the United States to investigate allegations of bribery anywhere in the world and are stepping up their activities in China (Roberts 2010). Technically, China does have some laws against taking bribes but there is a fine line between bribes and gift giving.
Also in Russia, all of the tax went to Moscow because Moscow was the tax collector because Chinggis Khan did not live directly in Russia, so this helped build Russia’s wealth. In China, since the Mongols lived directly in China, the Mongols could receive all tribute directly from China, which depleted China’s economy. Another way the Mongols affected China and Russia differently was that the tribute they got from Russia they kept but the tribute they got from China they reinvested. In Russia, there was no promotion, but in China the Mongols repaired roads, built and repaired canals and built new cities which helped with trading and economic growth within China. The Mongol rule on Russia and China initially affected both civilizations in a beneficial way, but at times the economies of both civilizations were in devastating conditions.
Zhang’s travels and reports not only gave the Chinese the advantage of having a more knowledgeable and powerful dynasty against the Xiongnu, but it also paved the way for the beginnings of the Silk Road. The reason for Zhang Qian’s movement west to find allies was because of the Xiongnu’s threat to the Chinese. With the Xiongnu’s enemy, the Yue-Chi, out of the picture, the Xiongnu raided and stole from the Chinese Empire. Needing help fighting the Xiongnu, Zhang Qian was initially sent to make an alliance with the Yue-Chi (Yuezhi), where he ran into many different lands, people and customs, but upon reaching the Yue-Chi, they refused to form the alliance. The Yue-Chi people were happy with their peace, and rich and fertile land.
Rome and Han China Rome and Han China were separated by thousands of miles which made them develop independently of each other, but they both managed to flourish at the same time. These Empires have impacted the world around them with their differences in technological developments, other differences they had can be seen through individual economic status and government ideas. A specific example could be the idea of choosing emperors in Rome based on republic ideas versus China which had emperors based on the Mandate of Heaven. While these empires had differences, they also had similarities some examples being agriculture as a main source of income, militaristic views, new religion developments, and patriarchal family structures. Having aggressive neighbors although being so far apart was one similarity in Han and Rome because in order to protect themselves from them they needed a strong military and also needed to build protecting walls.
“Reasons why the CPC took control over China instead of the KMT” Historians throughout the years have argued the point. Why was the CPC able to take control over China? I believe there are a few reasons. The luck factor helped the CPC by giving them time and resources to complete its mission of taking complete control of China. Also, the corruption factor made the KMT look unfavorably amongst its citizens and allies which led to apprehension in the party.
The rule of the Mongol people in Asia affected both Russia and China in many ways both economically and politically, however, because the Mongols directly ruled China, they had a greater impact on the country of China. One economic similarity the Chinese and Russians shared under Mongol rule was that using the rule of the Mongols, the reinventing of the Silk Road helped both countries economically by increasing safe trade between countries, trading mainly silk from China and fur from Russia. The Mongols also affected China and Russia in the new types of political system or the trade of power that occurred: the Chinese created a bureaucracy while the Russians ruled their people with feudalistic tactics such as princes/vassals of the Mongols. The Mongols also created sufism in Russia. The political impact from the Mongols was much more centralized and uncompromising in China rather than in Russia, where political impact was didn’t have as much effect.
The major step towards development of the Silk Road was because of the Chinese Emperor Wu Di. He became interested in developing commercial relationship with urban civilizations around the world and so he was influenced by them. This not only encouraged the Chinese to trade more but also showed them new things they had not seen before. This effected the Chinese civilization because this was a major step toward success in the future and many things changed because of trade. They now had different diets from which they could live a more leisure life.
Lastly, how to reduce the economic gap between coastal regions and inner periphery? In other words, we can learn that this kind of economic of development is not good for China from the texts. In order to know how China’s coastal cities are developing better than inner periphery region, we have to study the open-door policy under Deng’s leadership. “By opening its Pacific Rim to market forces, by exploiting its huge working class, and by encouraging millions of Overseas Chinese…to invest money in their homeland” (Blij 374). This quote is the best interpretation of the Special Economic Zone’s features.