DBQ: The Great Wall

For decades people have been wondering if the Han dynasty was effective or not. The Han dynasty was the dynasty after the Qin dynasty. Unlike the Qin dynasty that only ruled a short time of fourteen years, the Han dynasty ruled over four hundred years. So with the evidence that I have read, I believe that the Han dynasty was an effective government for a number of reasons.

One of the difference between the Qin and the Han dynasty is that Qin dynasty practiced Legalism and the Han dynasty practiced Confucianism. For the Han dynasty, in Document 3, states that they had a exam system of giving opportunities for everyone across the dynasty who has outstanding moral and learning to have a chance to have a role in the government, which shows that the Han dynasty emperor gave more opportunities to the commoners. For the Qin in Document 2, says that the people follow the rules, and there are no trouble because the people understand what happens when they do not follow the rules, which leads to punishments. Which shows that the Qin dynasty had strict rules for people to just obey for the government and have no say. Taking

Does strategy excuse barbaric behavior? The Mongols were powerful conquerors and warriors of Asia, the Middle East, and Eastern Europe. Eight hundred years ago in the 13th century The Mongols gained the name “barbarians” for their harsh battle tactics, laws and punishment. So how barbaric were The Mongols really? The barbarians were a ruthless band of nomads who slaughtered entire towns, enforced strict militia rules, and forced people to submit to The Mongol rule.

The Great Wall of China was built by the soldiers and the peasants, but they were controlled by the Han and the Qin Dynasty. The Wall was meant the keep the Mongols (intruders) out . In fact, however the benefits did not outweigh the cost of The Great Wall of China. According to document C it states " soldiers were forced to leave families and villages for several years" and " tens of thousands soldiers died from hunger, sickness, and extreme heat or cold. " Also because the soldiers worked non stop they didn 't have time to harvest or grow anything so they died of starvation and loneliness, this means that the soldiers were forced to work against their will and were lonely

China, up until the Qin Dynasty, consisted of independent states controlled by kings fighting each other for land and power. This time period was called The Era of Warring States, which lasted two hundred years. After this time, the Qin Dynasty rose to power. They conquered all other dynasties, and established a centralized government, unifying China for the first time. The dynasty that succeeded the Qin, the Han, continued the centralized government and they started a westward expansion that would encourage trade and cultural diffusion. The Qin and Han Dynasties were similar in that they both believed in a strong centralized government, which strengthened and unified their empires, but they differed in that the Qin followed the strict Legalism while the Han followed the more flexible Confucianism, and the way they interacted with outsiders; the Qin tended to be more defensive of outsiders while the Han were more interactive and wanted to build relationships with foreigners.

Were the Mongols as heinous as historians make them out to be? The mongols began as a small tribe in Central Asia that expanded their rule tremendously. They established the largest connected empire in all of the world’s history. In this Data Based Question, there is examples of how the Mongols exemplify leadership but mostly savagery.

Ancient civilizations began in areas that had arable land and other features such as rivers. Civilizations succeeded in these environments because they could settle down and not live a nomadic lifestyle. Because the land was arable, agriculture prospered and people relied on the geography to grant them the elements needed for survival. In China and Egypt, geography greatly influenced and affected the lives of the people living there because of the prosperous rivers and large natural barriers.

The Qing, Mughal and Ottoman empires all had effective administration and victories that allowed them to advance. The Manchu, who ruled the Qing Dynasty, had to assert dominance to control the Chinese people living in the empire, who vastly outnumbered them. They successfully reoriented China after the rocky transfer of power following the previous empire, the Ming. The Manchu had “knowledge of Chinese administration” and a “well organized army” (Bingham, 134), which helped them effectively rule. They made Chinese men shave the front of their heads and wear their hair in long queues, or pony tails (Bingham, 136)” to show control. They made sure Manchu warriors didn’t lose their fighting edge in battle, which was a large part of their identity.

There were many deaths involved in the Great Wall that were not worth it document F, E. There were a lot of deaths because of the Great Wall being built. The wall caused a lot of deaths that wee not needed, document E, F, B. There were over 1 million deaths involved and the Wall was built to protect not to kill. Just think most of the people died building the wall and there could be so many more people alive in that time then there was because if they didn’t build the wall a lot of people could have still been alive and well in that time of the

During the Tang and Song dynasty, China made many new advance things like math,literature,technology,and science. These advancement gave many European empires to struggle for years. Their greatest inventions was the gunpowder,the printer and the compass. Here are some reasons of what was the Tang and Song dynasty greatest achievement of all time

Shi Huangdi was a strong supporter of legalism which caused him to oppress his people. He would punish his people in inhumane ways such as murdering them. In Document Set 3 source B, it shows scholars being executed and their books being burnt, so that there was one central power. Shi Huangdi didn’t want anyone going against him or the laws so he’d penalize people very harshly. According to the article, “Anyone who is not a court scholar dares to keep the ancient songs, historical records or writings of the hundred schools, these should be confiscated and burned...those who in conversation dare to quote the old songs and records should be publicly executed...those who use old precedents to oppose the new order should have their families wiped

The 15th century was the start of many voyages and the popular use of ships for trade, traveling, and exploration. Columbus, de Gama, and Zheng He, were all leaders

The Yuan Dynasty under the Mongol empire has an extensive amount of public works as they built granaries to protect the dynasty from famine, and created large road and water networks. These public works allowed for the people to have large surplus of food and water and also be able to travel in a more organized manner with the road system created (New World Encyclopedia, Country Studies). Everyone in the Yuan dynasty had access to these public works as they were used to the economy and to keep everyone fed. While having these very useful public works the Yuan dynasty also had lots of techniques using technology for warfare and engineering. While using new warfare technology from the Chinese the Yuan were able to create a strategy to take down fortification by studying the way forts were made. The Yuan also discovered purified saltpetre, gunpowder bombs, printing techniques, porcelain, playing cards and medical literature the Yuan leaders were lazy

The government became a bureaucracy he strengthen the military, and made giant technological advances. Qin developed legalism forcing his power of the government on people, only forcing his power that enabled him to build his tomb. If his people did not follow these rules they would have been severely punished. Like other second wave civilizations China absorbed the religion of