They isolated themselves from other countries; but after their imperialisms in the late 1800s, the countries went on different paths. China remained traditional and denied modernization and suffered because of it, while Japan emulated the imperial powers and became an imperial power themselves. Before the early 1700s and the late 1800s, China was a leading nation. China was fairly strong during earlier periods of history. 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.
That is not to say that any of China’s neighbors in East Asia liked being dominated by China. While China influenced Japanese culture heavily, China ruled both Korea and Indo-China, or Vietnam, directly for centuries. These latter two cultures will be our main focus for this exercise, and while they began as simple agricultural societies, the very sophistication they received from Chinese influence compelled both to strive for independence from China. Even today the modern nations of North and South Korea and Vietnam bear the signs of having fought to maintain their societal distinctions while overawed by their giant ancient neighbor. Chinese influence was nowhere else so long nor so profound as in Korea (even though rule of Vietnam lasted much longer).
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.
When compared to other civilizations in the classical era, China’s culture and politic structures seem to have more continuity than change. From 100C.E. to 600C.E. China experienced much continuity and little changes, which varied from the ideas of Confucianism to the ruling of the emperors’ through the dynastic cycle. Over the years since the classical period, the firm teachings of Confucianism had been kept in the Chinese society and it still is very much part of the culture today.
Propaganda including, pictures of themselves all over the country, forcing people to worship him/her, and controlling what people talked about. Propaganda is used throughout the world in dictatorships, as well as any other form of government. The Han Dynasty(located in China) and Imperial Rome had many similarities and differences, such as: in both dynasties, they had one leader that controlled just about every aspect of the country, however, one of the major differences between the two were that in the Han Dynasty they had a monarchy form of government, where one man/woman is nominated to be the emperor/king, while in Imperial Rome the government was a family dictatorship, that’s a form of dictatorship where the leader has a cabinet of advisors to help him/her, such as a president or prime minister has. The Han Dynasty and Imperial Rome’s government were similar in many ways. Both dynasties made many great advancements, ecological and technological.
Japan however, never succeeded in creating an effective centralized and bureaucratic state to match that of China but they did try to borrow that idea from China and produced it to the best of their ability. China was a major state during the period of 600-1450, therefore many of their ideas, recourses and culture were borrowed by many other states. Because of the fact that many borrowed from China, the state also became greater. Southeast Asia and Japan were two that borrowed heavily from Chinese culture. They borrowed their rituals, religions and
In both Han China & Gupta India, there were some similarities in their imperial governments. Under the rule of these dynasties both of the civilizations had a great advantage of trading because in India the empire insisted on trading and secured the area of trading (Khyber Pass), while in China they were trading through the (Silk Road) with the Roman Empire and the Chinese empire also provided security for the trade route. Both of these civilizations provide security in the trade routes, to prevent any attacks from the huns and have troubles in their trade. Another similarity these two civilizations had was the use of religion/beliefs to gain political power in their regions. As we can see Han China uses the
During this time China created political and cultural forms that would last a very long time even till this day. Though the unified reign of the Qin Emperor lasted only 12 years, he managed to subdue great parts of what constitutes the core of the Han Chinese homeland and to unite them under a tightly centralized Legalist government seated at Xianyang. The doctrine of Legalism that guided the Qin emphasized strict adherence to a legal code and the absolute power of the emperor. This philosophy, while effective for expanding the empire in a military fashion, proved unworkable for governing it in peacetime. The Qin Dynasty is well known for beginning the Great Wall of China.
The Rulers of ancient China and its governments were greatly influenced by the belief systems they were based upon. Confucianism was used in the rule of Han Wudi in the Han dynasty and Legalism was shown in the Qin Dynasty by the ruler Shi Huangdi.The way that a government uses their belief system could help or hinder the way it functions and it could influence the way a ruler acts upon its subjects. Legalism was one of the ways Chinese rulers were able to unite and restore order in China. The Qin Dynasty and its leaders used the teachings of Shang Yang to strengthen their country and unify the people. The legalists believed that having an efficient and strong government would bring social order.
The Chinese Open Door Policy was a major event in recent Chinese history, because The Open Door Policy that was argued for by John Hay’s Open Door Notes, advocated an impartial system of taxation to set up a system of equal trading rights, and prevented European nations from carving China into separate colonies. Although the Open Door Notes was not written with Chinese interests at heart, it greatly benefited China in the long run. The Open Door Notes was a very influential document in Chinese history. Written at the turn of the century by Secretary of State, John Hay, the Open Door Notes was a letter that was sent to all nations with interests in China. After acquiring the Philippines, the United States gained interest in the vast resources of Asia.