Essay 1: Prompt C China's Shang Dynasty, roughly around 1000-2000 B.C., and Mesopotamia, around 1500 B.C. use Monarchs to control law making as well as economic distribution. In China, Emperors gain power through the mandate of heaven and conquest, while the King competes for the title of ruler through strength. Emperor’s main role in his society is to ensure protection for his citizens against foreign invaders and keeping track of the season in order to ensure plenty of food for his kingdom. On the other hand, The King of Mesopotamia serves to ensure social hierarchy, while competing for resources with other city-states. Although they have different roles within their society, there main focus is to ensure the best interest of their followers. …show more content…
City within China built “defensive walls for protection and dug wells to supply water” (World 70). These cities needed someone of power to build these protective walls to guard its citizens. “The Villages' defensive walls were essential”, therefore, the job of the engineer, which is the emperor, building these walls are an essential task of this society. The task of the emperor is to protect his citizens from savages outside its walls. The emperor also had a mythical duty to control the seasons. “Calculate and delineate the sun, the moon..and respectfully to give the people the seasons” (Canon 204). This quote shows that the Emperor was in charge of giving people the season. But why is the season so important to this culture? “The Liangzhu grew rive and fruits” (Worlds 70). These cities grew their own food and agriculture relies on the weather and the season to produce. “Oh he is plucking southernwood.. it seems like three autumns” (Song #45). Thus, showing that citizens grew certain crops during certain season indicating that season is very important to the people. It is the job of the emperor to control the season by calculating the exact time a certain season begins in order to ensure that the right crop is planted and harvested. Moreover, it is the job of the emperor to ensure the production of food by stating when it is the appropriate time to plant crops. By designing walls and keeping track of the seasons, the emperor ensure the duty of the protector and provider of the Chinese
When most people think of China they might think about the Great Wall Of China, but what they do not know is all the problems China had to build and protect it. The Xiongnu kept invading the Han in 206 BC so the Han decided to build a wall which is now called The Great Wall Of China. In my essay I will be discussing how the Great Wall was not worth the cost because of the high mortality rate, the time and the harsh working conditions, and the continuous tribute paid to the Xiongnu. The first reason the cost did outweigh the benefits is because of high mortality. Many people died in Ancient China when building the wall.
“Qin Shi-huang, the founder, was the emperor who built the great wall of china” (page 4) Curious 1. “Why would he come to us and voice his fears?” (page 57) In this part
During the Classical era, civilizations around the world had to develop and perfect their own methods of governing their empires. Two of the largest empires at the time were Han China as well as the Imperial Roman Empire. As they created their own ways of running a kingdom, they began to create ideas that were comparable, but also had ideas that were contradictry. Both of these kingdons were focased on expansion of their boarders and their culture. These empires had an agricultural base that was the building blocks for their power.
The Great Walls of China was built with the intention of protecting the Chinese people and keeping the mongols out of china . The idea of building a Wall was made by emperor Qin leader of the Qin dynasty in 221 BCE . In his final words before death he ordered a life size terra coat army to protect him in the afterlife and a Grand Wall . He order the Wall to be around 20 feet high , 25 feet wide and 30 feet long .
Also from document 6 “The Yuan emperors built canals to improve transportation and communication.” That was a very positive thing that Genghis khan did. And from document 10. there were many peaceful rules and if you did not follow you had punishments most by death like the rule on adultery.
This shows that although the Empress made reforms they were inadequate and were only introduced to “please both the Chinese people and foreign invaders.” (I) The Empress’ reforms were desperate, limited and failed to positively alter the middle and working class majority in China consequently leading to more unrest. The Empress’ intentions were not to develop the dynasty but to maintain power by gaining support from the internal and external community but she failed to do
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 kept the people of China from ever considering to standing up to their ruler. Whereas the people of India were able to live more lenient lives. Until the death of the ruler Qin it remained this way. The next dynasty was The Glorious Han Dynasty. The ruler of this dynasty was of peasant origin and was not as harsh as his predecessor.
Trade allowed China to thrive and become an economically powerful empire. Emperor K’ang-hsi’s immense knowledge of the world allowed him to be an effective leader, who brought China to
The vegetation myth consists of a yearly cycle with two equinoxes and two solstices. Everyone must maintain their part in the cycle for life to continue. Spring is the beginning of the cycle, while Fall is the end. Winter is the rebirth/renewal period that starts
However, the overall labor force consists of labor of men, who are taken from their families and farms, and forced to work on the Great Wall (Henzel 13). Some dynasties such as the Sui Dynasty used young boys to also work on the Great Wall (Hinsberg 1). Not only did the construction of the Great Wall require a large work force, they also didn’t have enough people to work on it so they required people from all sorts of categories. It’s clear that the Chinese nation was desperate in need of workers. One of the first Emperor’s to assign people to work on the Great Wall is Qin Shi Huangdi, of the Qin dynasty (Henzel 10).
Although many people died while building it, The Great Wall provided protection, helped merchants and travelers and contributed to China’s social rank, beauty, and
Gaozu, the founder of the Han dynasty was the first low-ranked official to found a dynasty in imperial China. In 209BC, Gaozu spearheaded the rebellion against the tyrannical practices of the Qin dynasty. The changes enacted by the Han’s first emperor are central to understanding the political rule and authority in Han China due to the fact that the rulers that succeeded him follow suit in a majority of his policies. Throughout
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.
It was believed that the authority and the power to rule the whole country came directly from god. In other words they were considered as representatives of earth. Absolute monarchs are not judged by the society and also there are higher chances of rebel. Another characteristic is that the ruler rules until his dies, and the throne is passed to their next generation. An