Chinese History : A Old Language

China’s population was growing rapidly, almost doubling between 750 and 1100. Because of this huge population boom, paper money was established, and the trade industry grew. There were many advances that were made, such as technological improvements

During the rule of Justinian (527-565 CE) this empire was expanded to the greatest size that it would ever reach. Because it was so big, Justinian assigned two capitals for the empire, and as this happened, there was transfer of goods and technologies through both capitals. Because the empire was so big and the amount of merchandise and money that was managed through the empire was so broad, Justinian implemented the use of banking, which changed completely the way people earned money, saved their money, and traded goods to get money from them to bank it. As this happened in the Byzantine Empire, China fell into a cultural exchange of goods, technologies, and ideas that came from the Silk Roads. It was during the Tang and Song dynasties that this trade was at its peak. At the time, besides receiving goods from Europe and other neighbors through the complex routes of trading, the Chinese developed their own technologies for their own exportation. Among these technologies there was large metallurgical production, invention of gunpowder, naval technologies, rapid and cheap printing, and porcelain. These technologies enhanced even more trade for China and due to this, paper money was invented for the purpose of controlling trade; the same thing that occurred with the Byzantine Empire and banking. Even though China invented more technologies than the Byzantine Empire, both became major trade hotspots in their own way and invented systems to

- China had the most profitable and wealthiest economy compared to most of the world via their highly export-based trade.

As John Greene states in The Spanish Empire, Silver, & Runaway Inflation: Crash Course World History, uploaded by CrashCourse,” Initially, Chinese coins were made out of copper or bronze, but their economy was so big — they were the leading producer of consumer goods until the 19th century — that they ran out. So they went to silver. ”(Green) China also eventually based their entire economy off of silver as not only their coins were silver, but China’s taxes were eventually required to be paid in Silver. ”In the early part of the Ming Dynasty, Chinese farmers paid their taxes in goods, mainly grain, and labor.

Money, units, measurements, language and even writing was standardized all around China. His idea to standardize money gave the whole nation only one currency so no other currency was valid during his reign as emperor. This was known as one of the biggest currency change around ancient times. The standardization of writing and language allowed China to communicate effectively across one side of China to another. This particularly helped in times of war because messages and orders were able to transport from one side to another very quickly. Shi Huangdi removed 3000 characters from the Chinese alphabet and only placed one main alphabet for people to write with within his nation. All of his standardization from measurements, currency to language and writing all helped in one of China’s major economic income which we all know as trade.

The Tang and Song dynasties have been regarded as the “golden age” of arts and literature, setting the bar high for poetry, landscape painting, and ceramics. When international merchants brought their poetry, the Chinese invention of paper and block printing made poetry widely available in the Tang dynasty. They also invented new styles of ceramics and metalwork, influenced by

The invention of paper really helped calligraphers and communication throughout the Han. Paper became much easier to create because it was much cheaper than what was used before

He introduced a “standardization of coinage ”, which people can now exchange money for goods which is a really good start to improve the economy of China ( Park, 2017). This was at first back then very a huge impact for China because it was the start for money to flow in China. Also another way before they had invented coins for currency the people would exchange goods for other goods especially in the Silk Road. Many of the trading happened in the Silk Road since there was no money to by goods it was the only way people could exchange goods to different places. During Tang Dynasty the invention of paper money was invented by a stamp block in 740 B.C. ( Dumas, 2017 ) The invention of paper money was invented because it was much more easier to use paper money then having to carry coins. It was also very convenient for the people to use paper money because it is not heavy as having to carry a bunch of coins. The economy can now have a proper flow of money currency and the people will now be influenced in using the new technology of paper money. Money has more value than coins and it is much more light and easier to use then carrying a bunch of coins for the same value. Money till this day is something that many countries use to buy goods which is the start for money flow. When there is money flow then there is a start for a strong economy the only way that money can lose value is that if the government prints a lot of money that makes money lose

Former Encyclopædia Britannica editor Kenneth Pletcher described the record keeping of the Han administration, “Han administration required detailed record keeping, which generated a proliferation of documents. Official returns were sometimes kept in duplicate, and each agency kept running files to record its business” (Pletcher 2010, 79). Bulky bamboo or expensive silk were impractical for this kind of meticulous record keeping, but official documents were recorded and stored easily because of the invention of paper. The Han government had also taken an interest in “literary accomplishment” and “scholastic competence” for the Ancient Chinese people, likely as a result of the invention of paper (Pletcher 2010, 79). Alexander Monro wrote about how the books of Han Dynasty “became the guiding stars of Chinese education, governance, and philosophy” (Monro 2016, 44).

The earliest printing in China was the block printing method in the first Century B.C., where the individual sheets of paper were pressed against wooden blocks that had text and illustrations carved into them. This process could print hundreds and even thousands of copies, this technology played a significant role in promoting the spread of culture. A block carver named Bi Sheng made movable types with clay during the period from1004 to 1048. This method each type was carved with one character and the types could be set independently according to contents of different articles. After printing, the movable types could be reused and this improved technology is called movable-type printing. (LAN, 2008)

Synopsis Chinese culture has been evolving for more than one thousand years with one of the most significant influences being the development of the Han dynasty. This paper analyses the ways in which the development of the Han dynasty influenced Chinese culture and to what extent. Knowledge of the Han period’s impact on Chinese culture, is obtained through the analysis of written and archaeological sources depicting the Western Han dynasty (206 B.C.–9 A.D) and Eastern Han dynasty (25–220 A.D). Research related to Chinese art and literature was conducted in order to gain information on how they evolved as a result of the Han dynasty. Closer analysis of primary sources, written and archaeological, provide insight into the mindset of the time

One of the most important inventions that the Chinese made was the magnetic compass. It had been known before that a magnetic needle will point north, but the year 1119 AD was the first time it was used for sea travel (the needle was attached to a stem and it was covered by a protective glass case). The Song Dynasty was also the first to ever print something. Of course it was nothing like it is today, but it was a remarkable achievement for that time. One kind of printing was wood-block printing. They would carve a page of characters on a wood block, put ink on it, and then press it onto a piece of paper. Another way of printing, discovered during the Song was movable type. Movable type was first created in the 11th century by a man named Bi Sheng. Movable type is one character on a piece of wood or clay. The Song also invented many other things that we use today in our everyday lives. Ceramics were made by the thousands in Chinese kilns. Ceramics were so identified with china that today we call our glassware “china.” The Chinese also invented paper money, which started officially being used by the government in the 1120s. Gunpowder, a resource that was used extensively throughout history was also discovered by the Song

The Han dynasty was China’s second. It lasted for 400 hundred years, from approximately 206 BC to 220 AD. The Han Dynasty arose mainly when the Qin empire was still in control. During this time, people were rebelling against the Qin, due to it’s harsh rules. This is when rebel Liu Bang, took control of the Han kingdom, conquered the Qin in war, and created the Han dynasty. When it was rising, the Han rulers began to change the way China was governed.

Chinese currency changed numerous times before finding a stable method of money. When “medieval” China was growing too fast for both political establishments and metal inventory, it became a basic problem. For centuries the Chinese used copper, bronze, and gold (though it wasn’t used often), but the rapidly changing “medieval” Chinese economy meant that too many trades were occurring for the fund of available coins to be efficient. Though there was an extraordinary increase of the annual output of government mints, plus lots of exclusive coinage, during the eleventh century, it still was not enough to replenish the supplies of coins. Locally, lead and iron were used where those metals were prolific, despite their inconvenience. Silk, tea, and

In the next room I came across a very unique and interesting collection of pieces. If you especially like or have any interest in calligraphy, then you are going to love what Hongmo Ren has done. Calling it REN-script, Ren has created what he calls a calligraphy and linguistic “experimentale.” Consisting of seven English and six French pieces, he has combined the art and beauty of calligraphy with writing of equal stature. In ten of his pieces he elaborates on the beauty of nature during various seasons and includes a complete verse from the Book of Genesis. The rest of the pieces are large single word depictions again in calligraphy with intricate detail.