The Ming Dynasty

The civil service examination system, which were central to confucian teachings, was present in both the Tang and Song dynasty. Therefore, only the most high ranking officials were scholars who mastered Confucianism the best. The emperor was recognized as the Son of God. According to Confucian teachings, the ruler of the people should be honorable while the citizens should be respectful and obedient in return, but that was not the case. “In reality, however, the system was heavily biased toward the authorities (Littleton 114).” This being a cause that led to the Tang Dynasty follow Buddhism.

In addition, he proceeded to take control of the Heilongjiang region, which is situated around the Amur River. The Qing Dynasty continued to honor and uphold the Ming tradition, which was based off of the Chinese imperial tradition. This continuance of the Ming tradition helped them to gain their own power. The new Qing dynasty rewarded a few of the Chinese collaborators. However, they later rebelled but were suppressed in heavy fighting.

1. Describe the key factors in the Sui-Tang era that made for the restoration of a strong, unified Chinese empire after centuries of turmoil? The restoration of a strong, unified Chinese empire after centuries of turmoil was made possible through the reestablishment of a centralized empire, the revival of Confucian ideas and the enhancement of the scholar-gentry administrators. The creation of a bureaucracy allowed for control from the imperial palace all the down to district level. To have effective administrators to run the bureaucracy, the civil service exam was a must.

The years of the Eastern Zhou Dynasty were a golden age for Chinese philosophy. Confucius lived during this era, teaching his ideals of duty to society, individual virtue, and tradition. Also in this period, a philosopher named Laozi founded Taoism, which emphasized passivity and social inaction to achieve individual peace. On the other hand, philosophers who advocated Legalism claimed that the state was much more important than the individual and that individuals had to conform completely to the decrees of their supreme rulers. Finally, Mohism was a philosophy that advocated equality for all people, as well as merit-based power and universal love.

One reason for the downfall of Timbuktu was the European switch of trade routes from on foot, to over water. During Timbuktu 's prosperity, many of the European trade routes either went through or ended in Timbuktu. However during this time Europe also began to explore new areas throughout the world. In a map that shows European exploration from 1500-1550, all of the exploration routes are along the coast. (Evidence I) This was bad for the city of Timbuktu because it excluded them from being discovered by Northern European countries.

Unit 7 is a rather long section covering both Rome and China 's powerful and expansive empires during the time period 300 BCE - 300 CE. The Han Dynasty and Imperial Rome were very similar in their unprecedented scale and duration. Although they did operate in differing ways, for example, Rome relied on slaves to expand its workforce, while the Chinese 's economy lived off of free peasant farmers. The Chinese benefited from having an overwhelming population that would benefit the bureaucracy and supply political stability for the Hans. When it came to the Roman Empire, religion did not have the same impact that Confucianism had on the dynasties in China.

The Ming Dynasty wanted to revert back to Confucianism because they wanted to get rid of Mongol traces, and Kangxi ruled with Confucius-like policies. Both dynasties also created irrigation systems. Although these two dynasties are similar in some aspects, they also have differences. The Ming Dynasty can be considered Chinese, but the Qing Dynasty is more like an outside dynasty because the highest positions were held by manchus, who were from Manchuria. This means that although the Chinese held high positions in the Ming dynasty, they did not in the Qing

The fact that the wealthy were interested in Daoist morals is quite ironic due to Daoism’s focus on frugal living and modesty. Unlike the other two religions, Daoism didn’t pose any threats politically. Nevertheless, Chinese government convinced Daoist leaders to incorporate allegiance to ones government into their speeches. Daoism had no large impacts on any of the classical Chinese governments but it allowed people to concentrate on their beliefs instead of politics. That being said, Daoism is still practiced in certain parts of the world

After the Manchu-Qing rulers seized control of China in 1644, they moved quickly to preserve their traditional dress and other customs by asserting authority over the dominant Han Chinese. They did this because they were the small population and were afraid of being submerged culturally by the much more numerous Han Chinese. Therefore, the Manchurian-style clothing with short-narrow sleeves was the popular mode

Moksha can only be achieved by Brahmin, the highest caste. The hope of reaching a higher caste in their next lifetime kept the Indian people in order and prompted them to behave in a proper manner. Because the people of Ancient India truly believed that following their dharma would lead them to a better life in the near future, they were more willing to accept the caste they were in during their current life. Unlike the ancient Indians, followers of Confucianism in Ancient China focused more on earthly matters and what was happening in the moment. The Chinese wanted to avoid shame.