Shang Dynasty Essay

The Shang/Zhou dynasties and the Maya civilizations were both powerful entities built around political control. The two governments power came from religion, as their leaders were viewed to be Gods by the people they ruled over. However, the contrasts between them, such as Shang/Zhou China’s monarchy and the Maya’s warring city-states, defined each cultures varied political advancements.

In bountiful places all over the world during the Post-Classical era, between the sixth and thirteenth century, there were many innovations. Especially in China when the three prodigious dynasties thrived; the Sui, Tang, and Song. The Sui, Tang, and Song bestowed numerous changes, along with continuity. Two of the most evident changes during this dynasties were technology and the repercussion of Confucianism and Buddhism on the empires. There was many continuities within the government, structure and culture. During 581 and 1279, China saw the advances in technology in Confucianism, while controlling alike government, structure, and culture.

The first source directly describes the story of the Qin Dynasty, and its subsequent rise from a group of lowly soldiers in the far-west of the old Zhou Kingdom to its unification of all the Chinese States to become the very first of the Chinese Empires. The mastermind of this unification was Ying Zheng, who would later give himself the title Qin Shi Huang-Di which translates to, “First Sovereign Emperor of Qin.” Ying Zheng, and his short-lived dynasty, would create the foundation of all Chinese administration and government structure for the next two-thousand years. This base included: the abolishment of the feudal system, centralization of state powers, a rigid system of laws, standardization of the writing system, and the creation of provinces

Being one of the longest of China’s major dynasties, the Han Dynasty, founded by Liu Bang, began in 206 B.C. and ended in

Two men, both similar and different, each had a unique governing style. From a time of chaotic strive within their nations; each had a way to subside such conflict. In the Classical Age, Ashoka and Shi Huangdi had similar governing styles, in that they had a similar political and economic vision of success for their empire; however differed in philosophies that influenced their governing styles because Ashoka eventually renounced his brutality and became a peaceful and tolerant ruler.

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.

During China’s warring state period, Shihuangdi Qin, from the western state of Qin and his army conquered the neighboring civilizations to them. He united them together to create China and proclaim himself Emperor in 221 B.C. He vastly expanded the Chinese Empire and standardized Chinese writing as well as created a bureaucracy in China. He was said to be a cruel Emperor he burned all the books that remained from previous Chinese civilizations and killed anyone who differed with his ideas. We know Qin was obsessed with wanting to live forever he constantly was trying to find herbs and resources to extend his life. Archeologist can only

Ancient China was a great and powerful civilization, ruled by many fascinating dynasties. Two dynasties, the Han and the Song, were particularly interesting. During the Period of Prosperity, these two dynasties had a lot in common, but also had many differences. One similarity between the Han and the Song were their increase in trading. The Han used the military to protect their trade routes, so people felt safe and travelled further and more frequently. The Song, on the other hand, created bigger and faster trading boats, which made trade more efficient. Both dynasties found effective ways to increase trading for China. Another similarity between the Han and Song were their beliefs about social status. Both dynasties supported the idea people

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

Describe the key factors in the Sui-Tang era that made for the restoration of a strong, unified Chinese empire after centuries of turmoil?

As China grew with population and technologies, so did their government. Their military was weak but they had the idea to make iron and steel weaponry. The increase of weapons allowed the Chinese military to have more power over the people. Yet, the downfall of their era was their tactics in controlling their army and the rebellious citizens. As China’s economy and population grows, so does the growth of politics and Urban life styles. With the government ruling came the first Lady emperor to

There where many factors that led China to political unification in contrast to India. One factor is, dynasties such as the Zhou Dynasty who kept the same political system as its predecessors, where India had changed many things and continued to change political and social systems. India was very fragmented in political unification because, India was and still is a land of diversity. Ancient India was also not as organized as Ancient China in ruling. When the Zhou kingdom had started to end and break apart into many powerful states a “relativity young state of Qin located in the original homeland of the Zhou, emerged as a key player in conflicts”(p. 78) that would eventually bring down the Zhou Dynasty and give way to the Qin Dynasty where it was ruled with ruthless efficiency(p.79).

The Qin dynasty succeeded the Warring States Period (475 BCE - 221) (Britannica, Warring States, 2014, 2018), and the Spring and Autumn Period (770–476 BC) (Britannica, Spring and Autumn Period, 2017, 2018). During the Warring States and Spring and Autumn Periods, there was a massive power vacuum and several different states were locked in a struggle for control over China. The most prominent state during the Warring States Period was the Qin state, they revised the governing methods of the once influential state of Zhou. They made changes to land distribution, power distribution, education of the common folk, trade, and units of measurement throughout China. The changes made by Qin Shi Huang are what made him successfully unify China.

Japan’s Tokugawa (or Edo) period, lasted from 1603 to 1867. This was the final era of the traditional Japanese government before the modern era. The Qin dynasty lasted from 221-206BC. Thought it was brief, it was very important in Chinese history. The main weakness of the Tokugawa was an internal crisis and Western intrusion. However, the Tokugawa had a great economy, commerce and manufacturing industry. The strengths of the Qing Dynasty were the ability to improve methods of irrigation, which increased farm production. However, the military was still not strong enough to protect against few invasions. In addition, the population was increasing rapidly, and the government was too weak to police and protect all of the people.

China’s Last Empire. The Great Qing. William T. Rowe. The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, 2009. 360 pages including Emperors and Dynasties, Pronunciation Guide, Notes, Bibliography, Acknowledgements, Index, Maps and Figures.