The Rise and Decline of Han China
The Han dynasty of China has been one of the longest and most prosperous of the major dyansties with only a few minor interruptions. The Han dynasty is known for its technological advancements, art, politics, and a competent bureaucratic goverment system which led to its many years of flourishing vigor and imperial structure. These accomplishments of the dynasty started with a peasant uprising and an influencal ruler that refined the goverment and established a stable system which eventually ended with internal conflicts and nomadic invasions.
The Han had many inventions that helped their empire prosper. A new mechanical crossbow was invented which shot bolts at high speeds and longer distances. This weapon
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With very able and trained offcials within the government, administration and other tasks were done efficiently and superbly. The Han dynasty’s imperial government system was based off its predecessor, the Qin dynasty. A central control was established, meaning the emperors had full power over China. In theory, the power of the emperor was absolute and unlimited. The emperor is assisted with three councilors of state, the Chancellor over the Masses, the Imperial Counselor and the Grand Commandant. Each counselor had a main responsibility which was to draft the government budget, conduct disciplinary procedures for government officials, and to command the military, respectively. In addition to that, nine ministers, each of them assigned to head a specialized ministry, watched over and trained the lower ministry officials. This system made for a self-perpetuating and stable government system with specialized and well-trained administration to carry out daily tasks of the empire. Having an orderly government intensified the will to govern and live in a refined existence. The Han dynasty relied on the use of princicples or tenets (Confucius beliefs), which did not interfere with the citizens daily lives. This permitted to a very stable and systematic means of bringing authority and governance upon the people and society by giving every social class a role to
Both Han China and Imperial Rome lasted approximately 400 years and spent many of those years expanding their empire through many similar and different methods of political control. For example a similarity between the two empires was that they both were patriarchal and saved political roles for men. A difference between the two empires was that both of their governments were structured differently, Han China’s structure was based on Confucianism values, as Rome emphasized a legal system. Both Han China and Imperial Rome had strong political control which led to their growth two of the greatest empires in the Classical Age. They grew at their own pace, but they shared similar methods of political control.
Political integration was a key in the development of both Imperial Rome and Han China. The organization of government within each empire was similar in that both empires administered its centralized power structure through the establishment of a bureaucracy. The bureaucratic system implemented by Han China was an alliance between the ruling imperial family and a new class, the scholar-gentry. To perpetrate its bureaucracy, the Han established a number of schools to educate the students in the principles necessary for political and social order. Upon graduation, the new
Between the Han Dynasty and Imperial Rome, the dynasty and empire were similar in centralized political systems and common religion activities; however, they were different in their social class structure and trading routes. The Han Dynasty in east China was and absolute monarchy with one ruler, that was led by after the next male in that family member died. The Han Dynasty was the second imperial dynasty of China after the Qin Dynasty. The Han dynasty was considered the Golden Age of China from 206 BCE to 220 CE. Imperial Rome was ruled by an emperor and senate, senate to please the lower class. The Romans were great architects and are known for constructing the best systems throughout the empire.
Comparative Essay Two classical civilizations, the Han dynasty and Imperial Rome, both demonstrated evident methods of political control. Although the Han Dynasty demonstrated political control through the means of a bureaucracy and Confucianism, Imperial Rome portrayed political control through an aristocracy and a polytheistic religion. In spite of their differences, these two civilizations shared characteristics of political control, including the use of pre-existing class structures and the ruling of the empire by a single leader. To begin with, the Han dynasty had a single emperor and a group of bureaucrats. The bureaucrats served to advise the empire and played a key role in running the empire through executive privileges.
In the early years of the Qin Empire, they had formed by capturing over territories from nearby Kingdoms and merging them with lands that were tightly under its presenting rule. “ From such beginnings and accretion, the whole Qin empire was governed as thirty-six, or perhaps forty-six commanders under the control of the governors” (124.) This quote presents us with an argument of since that government was so structurally found, the upkeep and order of the society of the territories acquired was maintenance through an essential government. “The governors of a highly populated commandery might be responsible for a registered population of two and held million registered individual” (125.) This quote is referencing to the Han Empire, and indications here are that with the high population in the Han Empire, it was required to maintain an orderly society it required a complex
The Han and Roman civilizations developed during the classical age with dates, beginning around 1000 B.C.E. and lasting till around 600 C.E.. The Classical age is a period of time in which civilizations unearthed many new ideas and innovations, which stood the test of time, such as Greek and Roman architecture, and influenced many later civilizations through the development of these ideas and innovations in what is called a “Golden Age”. Whenever a golden age happened, it didn’t happen at the same time in all civilizations with some lasting longer than others, and some starting numerous years before another’s. Within the time of the golden age civilizations experienced many new advancements in the arts, culture, and technology. While all of
I believe that the Tang Dynasty was the most successful. This is because of many reasons. But before we delve into the reasons that China was a great Dynasty, we have to define what a great dynasty is. To me, success during a dynasty means having a strong government that has no corruption and having a good daily life. A strong government means having no corruption and having a balanced tax system.
Next you will read my counterclaim on why the Tang dynasty was better than the Han Dynasty. Some may argue that the Han Dynasty was the most prosperous but I don't think so. The han dynasty had a strong army but it was not big enough. They did not have as good weapons either. Also the Han Dynasty didn't get as much trading due to the population.
The Han Dynasty, the second imperial dynasty of Ancient China, was prosperous and innovative. The scientific development was extremely advanced for the time, and inventions such as the seismometer, sundial, and wheelbarrow greatly improved Ancient Chinese life (Cartwright “Achievements”, 2017). However, perhaps the most important invention of the Han Dynasty was paper. Paper affected countless areas of Ancient Chinese life by transforming the way information and art were recorded, consumed, and stored. While the origins of paper are unknown, its predecessors were flawed and in need of a replacement.
Even though the Qin dynasty was seen as barbaric and brutal, the Han did implement some of the old Qin institutions into their new government. One of these institutions were the Commanderies. These were administrative divisions of land in which a governor would be appointed by the government and run it as the government or emperor wants it to be ran. This is institution is very useful for knowing how many people you have. When war comes and you need to draft able bodied men to go fight, you will know just how many you will be able to get. Another reason would be for tax purposes. It is also very useful to regulate the trade and growing of certain crops. Even more in depth than that the government can control what the children in the commanderies are taught and what propaganda they are seeing. Qin law is another thing that the Han used from the former dynasty. One example of this practice was the fact that women could bring up cases against men even though the women did not have the same rights as men. Punishments were also
The collapse of the Han and the Roman Empires during the classical era has some similar factors on the social and economic aspects, namely the decline in the trade and the widespread epidemic disease. However, each faced unique factors contributing to their collapse. In the Han Empire, the weak emperors didn't have a proper position as a emperor while the influence of army generals rise up gradually, whereas Rome’ ineffective later emperors concerned more with a life of pleasure than a desire to rule wisely.
Even though the Qin Dynasty deprived the civilization of education, it created a strong bureaucratic system that limited feudal power and developed a cooperative population. Each Warring state followed a different political system, before it was conquered by Qin. The First Emperor, Qin Shi Huang, felt it was necessary to legitimize his power to unify the city states and for a cooperative population. In the Qin Dynasty, “the institution of emperor had a special meaning in China as the repository of imperial legitimacy” (Feng 2013, 249). In other words, the first emperor was given the title of being a “mythical ruler” that had godly powers and is the righteous leader of the empire based on the Mandate of Heaven
The Han Dynasty and the Roman Empire both had a great influence not only on its people but the world as a whole. The two had similar and different methods of political control. Both ruled their people under a bureaucracy, they had civil servants to maintain their large empires, and their foundations were made of great and strong rulers. Aside from the similarities they also had several differences. Take China for example, they focused more on Confucianism and they had a Mandate of Heaven. Rome on the other hand used entertainment to distract and control the masses of its population.
This government meant diving china up into forty prefectures, and those prefectures were then further divided up into counties. County heads were answered to the Prefects, and Prefects ultimately answered to the central government. This system was considered “impersonal” because everyone was subject to the same laws. Further social changes that helped to unify China during the Quin Dynasty included the building of a road system that radiated out from the capital city, helping to unify the large Empire. Also, the Emperor implemented a uniform system of weights and measures, a standard writing system, and uniform axel lengths for carts. The Emperor and his administration were so determined to have all aspects of China unified that even ideas did not escape their unification plans. Since the Emperor was a Legalist, he allowed the precepts of Legalism and had his advisors launch a campaign that sought to destroy anything, and anyone, who opposed the Legalist
The Chinese Empire was large and controlled most of Asia at one point in time. One of the dynasties that ruled the empire was the Ming Family. Ruling from 1368-1644, almost three hundred years, the Ming Dynasty impacted Chinese history very much.