Mauryan/Gupta India and Han China had similarities as well as differences in the methods of political control. In the Mauryan/Gupta India was highly decentralized while Han China was centralized. However, Mauryan/Gupta India and Han China had similar bureaucracies. There was a bureaucracy present on both Mauryan/Gupta and Han. A bureaucracy is when non-elected officials are in charge instead of elected representatives.
Rome vs. the Han Han China and Imperial Rome, what did these two super nations have in common and how did they differ? As the Han dynasty was the great super power of China and the Roman Empire was the unstoppable conquering European force. Both of these powerful nation existed around the same time period yet there systems of government and political control distinctly differentiated from one another. So what were the differences and likenesses between the two? The Han dynasty was an imperial dynasty in which was ruled by an emperor or a king.
Han China vs. Imperial Rome The methods of political control used in Han China (206 B.C.E-220 C.E.) were similar to that of Imperial Rome (31 B.C.E-476 C.E. ); however, these societies greatly differed on their oppositions of governing and the techniques used in maintaining control over citizens, expansions, and their falls. Han China and Imperial Rome had similar governments because they were ruled under one central leader, however, Han China had an emperor that enforced policies and Imperial Rome had a republic because they felt the monarchy did no good to the people. The Senate of Rome had most control over the citizens.
Both dynasties made many great advancements, ecological and technological. The governments, however, had their own ways of maintain the political control over their regions. The Han Dynasty and Imperial Rome methods for maintaining political control were similar in many ways, such as their uses of the military and their centralized governments. They do this because it makes the most logical sense and is one of the more simplistic, yet efficient ways to keep society in check. The two dynasties are also quite different in many ways, including the roles of the citizens and the governments ways
These regions had many political aspects in common. Both China and Byzantium had rulers with absolute power. In China, the emperor was the head the government and had the ability to impose his rule onto his subjects with complete authority. Similarly, in Byzantium, the emperor had total control over his empire. For example, Emperor Justinian could use the people’s money to expand his empire without relying on his advisors.
It had a strong and peaceful government during the Qing Empire and imperial powers such as Britain and the U.S. were interested in Chinese goods. By the late 1700s, however, China was experiencing internal strains with the population and with the government (columbia.edu). China had often looked down on foreigners and did not accept their cultures, but in 1793, the Chinese emperor agreed to meet with an English ambassador. The ambassador brought with him modern gadgets of that time such as clocks and instruments (Beck 371). The emperor was not interested and then the British realized they would have to find a product to trade with China so they could balance out the trading with China; that product was opium (Beck 371).
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.
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.
Major differences in political culture included the lack of a strong aristocratic class in America, the growing diversity and factional conflicts in different regions of the colonies, and the American view that members of their representative assemblies had the right to make changes in local constitutions. Americans had a long record of disobeying and rejecting acts of parliament. They thought the British discarded this common heritage of liberty that kept the empire together and felt there was a conspiracy to destroy it on both sides of the coin. Before the seven years war, the colonists had set up their own political arena though they were similar to England. When the war was over that is when the issue of taxation without representation started.
The Sui Empire was not able to maintain their authority in China because they could not support the massive undertakings in military expansion and public works that was required. This overextension led to the transition to the Tang Empire. The changes in this period of Chinese history was the reunification of China, and the massive public works projects that they undertook including the Grand Canal, irrigation projects and improvements to the Great Wall. The continuity that took place during this era was a return to the Confucian state philosophy and the strong political influence of the Buddhist philosophy. In 618 the powerful Li family ended Sui rule and created the Tang Empire.