What Happened Under The Shang And Zhou's Rule Of Heaven?

Ancient China was a highly developed civilization whose many dynasties each had some kind of significant development, let it be in trade, invention, art, religion, government, or architecture. Two dynasties in particular, however, marked the Golden Age of Chinese history. This period is known for its large economic revolution. The two dynasties were called the Tang & Song Dynasty. The Tang & Song Dynasties were experiencing a Golden Age due to the fact that they had a fair system in granting government positions, brought highly advanced inventions to the world, and had very intricate architecture.

The Qin Dynasty he founded only lasted for 12 years but the emperor gained absolute power over all of China. The emperor was very dictatorial, ordering the burning of many books to remove all evidence of any former dynasties and burying many scholars alive by ceiling them in a room. The tight control he had of China allowed him to conduct labor forces, allowing him to construct projects like the Great Wall of China. The workers died by the thousands in harsh conditions, but the nomadic tribes they protected the population. These nomads also killed thousands of Chinese soldiers in massive bloody battles. The Qin Dynasty had gained control over the mass of peasants by getting rid of the lords who they had formerly served. This abolishing also allowed for larger military forces. The Qin also standardized weights and measures, and also standardized axel lengths for carts to ensure their roads were the right width. This had the effect of increasing trade a great

“All the peasants and soldiers to the wall.” Imagine being a laborer and having to contribute in the construction of the wall. During the Qin and Han dynasties, the Great Wall of China was built. The continuous wall protected the dynasties from the Mongols. The benefits of the wall did not outweigh the costs because of the soldiers , the economy that went down, and the forced labor from peasants and laborers.

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.

Ancient Mesopotamia"Land between the rivers" (3500 B.C.E) and Ancient China(as early as 3500 B.C.E) are two of the many civilizations in history. Both civilizations left evidence of their way of life and accomplishment Mesopotamia ranging from the 12- month calendar, plow, cuneiform, ziggurats and number system based of on 60 count. China from ink, pictographs martial arts, great wall of China, and the art of porcelain. Mesopotamia had several civilizations within its own such as Assyrians, Sumerians, Babylonians etc.

Culture is significant in forming our World’s history along with defining what a society is. Cultural impact will always exist due to history and national pride. But what exactly is a culture? To Americans, culture is the everywhere. Within our pop music, fashion, cuisine, and much more. To other civilizations such as Ancient Egypt, culture expresses why the people are significantly different than those in other nations. The culture of Ancient Egypt also sets the norms for current Egypt. In technical terms, a culture displays the arts and other abstract ideas of human achievement deemed, combined over time. Meaning, a culture is that of a group of people’s traditions and acts. Culture is important in defining what a society is as well as

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).

Our government is based on a theocracy. A theocracy is a government in which the religious authority rules. This person who rules Egypt is the pharaoh. The pharaoh is considered to be godlike and have ka, or an eternal life force. Besides being religiously involved, he is also responsible for the government, army, and justice of the kingdom. We believe that he is responsible for the Nile’s flow, sun rise, etc. Famous pharaohs are Tutankhamun and Cleopatra. This government system is better than others because it easier to obtain control, laws or orders are applied more quickly, and social reform can be created more efficiently.

The new themes of encounter and exchange did not come without the warfare, violence and confusion that plagued China as the Sung dynasty struggled to fight back against the Mongols. After the suicide of the last Southern Sung emperor, all of China was united by Mongol rule (Gernet 717). The tragic death of one man marked the beginning of a new era. For the first time ever, foreign people conquered the entirety of China. Never before had the Chinese government been completely replaced by an unknown system ruled by outsiders (Fitzgerald 181). The grandiose dynasty created by Kublai Khan was one of the best in the 13th century. As Marco Polo described it, “I repeat that everything appertaining to this city is on so vast a scale, and the Great

Since human’s earliest years, we have relied on religion to guide us in countless situations; it influences almost everything we do. During the Classical Period in China, religion played large roles in many significant decisions. The three most prominently displayed religions at the time were Legalism, Confucianism, and Daoism. Though their unique teachings separated them from each other, each had equal impacts in the shaping of early Chinese civilization and culture.

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

The Chinese development of technological advances, allowed the era of the Tang, and the Song dynasty to bring about a social, political, and urban change. The Chinese found new techniques in Agriculture and farming rice. This allowed for more growth and spreading of population in the regions. As the population grew, people were interest in new jobs and careers in the markets. So, they sought out jobs such as shop sellers, blacksmiths, metallurgy, fishing, and government work. The developmental jobs and task created allowed for income and market economy to expand for china. They went further as to trade on land or sea throughout the eastern hemisphere. To travel they needed a ship or a boat to trade long distantly over sea. The increase production of trade allowed for China to make a social change.

Since the beginning of early civilization, man had hunted what they needed, fought each other for food and were self-reliant. Then, it all started in the Indus Valley Civilization around 3000 B.C. when man started having the idea of exchanging items with each other. The Chinese were the first people to have one person to lead them and be alongside people. These leaders enforced justice, were wealthy and elite. During China’s first Dynasty, the Xia Dynasty, around 16th Century B.C, when farmers wanted to be united and not fight with each other for their produce, they reached out to wealthier people who owned gold and silver and asked them to be their “leader”. They called these leaders royalty. These leaders who were far more “superior” and powerful than them, referred the people as “commoners”. The Tang Dynasty was full of power hungry leaders. Some leaders abused the poor and asked the people to pay more taxes than the rich while some made the country suffer by subjecting the poor to hard labour. However, there were many righteous emperors during the Tang Dynasty, who followed the teachings of Buddhism, which flourished in China at that time. Xuanzang, a Buddhist monk who travelled from China to India to search for the original teachings of the Buddha was the most famous monk during the Tang Dynasty. He helped restore peacefulness to China after he taught the

It all began with the state of Qin (221 B.C.E-206 B.C.E). After a long and devastating period of constant warfare, they were able to defeat all their rivals using sheer force unifying China once and for all adopting to a legalistic form of government. This

Due to the need to maintain order and organize community projects. The Egyptians soon organized states and recognized official authorities. The earliest states were small kingdoms. The first small kingdoms in Egypt appeared in 4000 b.c.e. In Yangzi and Yellow river valleys the societies that were emerging after 5000 b.c.e. They also developed the need for a recognized authorities. Instead of kings, the Egyptians recognized pharaoh as the supreme ruler.The authorities of the Yangzi and Yellow river valley also maintained order and organized community work projects. A power that rulers in the Yangzi and Yellow river societies has was the ability to resolve disputes. Though it can be assumed that the Nile rulers could too. They did not just have states which had kings, instead they had village level organization. Which worked for the local affairs. When the societies came under a united rule,they had a king and rulers to preside over small territories. During the Shang dynasty the rulers relied on a large collection of political allies.