Change Over Time Essay During the time period of 300-1300 CE, the Sui, Tang, Song, and Yuan empires had all come to power in China. All of which contributed to the changes and continuities that occurred in China during that time period. The Sui Empire (581-618 C.E.) of China was very important because it sprang from the political diversity of the period of disunion. After the fall of the Han Empire there was a vacuum of political instability.
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.
Jonathan Fenby argues that the revolution of 1912 brought great opportunity for the prospect of a turning point but the regimes that came directly after “lacked the tools with which to bring about the scale of change required”. The fall of the Qing impacted on a social, political and economic level, not always in a positive fashion but great decisive change nonetheless. Qing China was a time of great political and social repression. However there was some attempt within the Qing period to reform, for instance in the year 1905 the degree system was transformed, ending a thousand-year tradition. Examples like this and the introduction of provincial assemblies in 1909 indicates that social and political reform was happening under the Qing.
They also borrowed the system of a bureaucracy from China. Chinese-style court rituals and a system of court rankings for officals were also borrowed by SouthEast Asia and Japan. In SouthEast Asia, they found the Chinese aporoach to government useful and made use of Chinese court rituals. Both SouthEast Asia and Japan borrowed Buddhism and Confucianism from the Chinese. Tolerance was showed in bothe for each religion.
Enormous construction projects took place, such as the resurrection of the Great Canal and the famous Great Wall. The Ming was also responsible for establishing the Forbidden City in Beijing. The Qing’s success did not last eventually after many reforms due to land distribution, examinations, and social inequality; the Qing began to lose hold on their once strong control. Events such as the Opium war and the Boxer rebellion damaged the Qing dynasties social order and military force. The systems became corrupt which lead to political and social disintegrations.
They extended throughout the present Shaanx and Gaansu provinces which menaced the Shang Dynasty causing the conflicts to intensify . The Shang dynasty ended in 1046 BC and the Zhou dynasty was established by Zhou Wu with Haojing (the present Chang 'an County Shaanxi Province ) as its capital . The dynasty can be broadly classified into three categories.Western Zhou (ca 1046-771 BC During this period , the Zhou was based along the Wei River in Shaanxi Province . Their territory included much of the Wei and Yellow River valleys as well as portions of the Yangzi and Han river systems . The rulers were kin-based , and the society was strictly tiered with a strong aristocracy in place Eastern Zhou (ca 771-481 BC The period about 771 BC is also called Springs and Autumns (Chunqin The Zhou leaders were forced eastward out of their previous strongholds near Mount Qi and into a reduced area near their capital city of Luoyang .
The British government retaliated with much force, resulting in Chinese defeat, which then forth became the Treaty of Nanking. The Treaty of Nanking is labeled as one of the “Unequal Treaties” for many reasons. When Britain implemented the Treaty of Nanking, much of the life that China knew would soon be no more, the island of Hong Kong was forced over to British ownership and control, rights were taken away, tariffs implemented, and the destruction of Opium by Lin caused a six million dollar “refund” to England. Since China was a closed nation, with an old-fashioned way of life and military technology, this caused a great disadvantage for them, trying to fight against what British was doing to their country. China had no say or control to what Britain was doing to them, and no way of fighting back or retaliating.
But because of the rise of empires and increase in trade people began expand their trade routes. Traveling on the Indian Ocean trade route, which branched from china through India and the rest of the Middle East was very difficult. Mostly because of the monsoon seasons that steered them off their route and caused their ships to become damaged. With the creations of new technologies, ships, and the learned ability to predict the right weathers to sail made trade easier and less dangerous. Great changes in the use and development of navigation tactics and method occurred during 600 C.E to 1750 C.E that changed oversea trade in the Indian Ocean dramatically.
Though the Zhou dynasty was filled with continuous warring and unsteady governments, a numerous amount of philosophies began to materialize; Confucianism, Daoism, and Legalism being the most known as they largely impacted both China’s society and politics. Each philosophy had their own distinct idea as to what an exalted political society should be, however there were similarities and a common ground on certain areas. After the death of Confucius, Confucianism came to be one of the most influential philosophies throughout Chinese history with the help of his devoted disciples who helped to continue his work. Confucianism stressed the importance of achieving total harmony, obedience and order. As shown in Document 1 which is an excerpt from Confucius’s “The Small Analects”, Confucius states that a gentleman should learn to be faithful, trustworthy, and be able to take the blame for their mistakes.
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.