The Dynastic Cycle: The Rise Of Pharaohs In Ancient China

China during the classical period, a span of time stretching from 1000 B.C.E.-500 C.E., was ruled by many families, each having their own dynasty. The very first dynasty of this period was the Zhou, coming into power after overthrowing the Shang. The last Shang emperor, Di Xin, had essentially abandoned matters of the state in favor of hedonistic activities, using tax money to fund them and therefore becoming very unpopular. This caused the Zhou uprising which led to the establishment of the Mandate of Heaven, a concept that not only allowed the Zhou to gain and maintain cultural power of the Chinese people, but led to widespread notions in Chinese society of the validity of autocracy and a need for extremely centralized government that would

From 600 BCE to 600 CE, China experienced changes in its political system in terms of the dissimilar ruling styles of different leaders, the rule under Legalism, and the influence of philosophical thinking like Daoism. These changes, influenced by aspects of the world and its own region, shaped China into its Classical state. In contrast, the concept of the Mandate of Heaven, the civil service system, and the significance of unity through a strong central government remained constant throughout China’s Classical period. These continuities followed through, staying essentially the same as an important part of China’s identity.

Emperor- the emperor was at the top of the entire hierarchy and he ruled over the Dynasty while his family was rich and

As one rises, another falls. Civilizations undulated in historic times more frequently than waves in an ocean; however, most of them are forgotten to this day because of their insignificant impact. The Roman and Chinese Empires were established like any other civilization, but rose to power through proper governing of the people. They later became so successful that they emulated one another in different fields of culture. The Han Dynasty was one of many dynasties in ancient China and it was able to change the outlook on society because of its radical and novel ideology based on Confucianism. During the dynasty, the emperor Wudi pushed borders and trade like no other dynasty of its kind and conquered land past China's century long

Following the collapse of the Han Dynasty in 220, China declined into an elongated term of division. China was divided and in a time of war, with a lack of leadership. It was only in the Sui Dynasty (589-618) reunited North and South China as one. The Tang (618-906) and Song (960 - 1279) Dynasties that followed created the “Golden Ages of China”. Although the Tang and Song Dynasties existed in a similar time and had a similar economy, there are also many differences between the influential dynasties such as certain aspects of their society and politics.

The Han Dynasty and Roman Empire both ruled for considerably long periods, spanning over four centuries around the same time. The Zhou Dynasty, an early Chinese empire, ruled to around the beginning of the Han Dynasty. Their government was based on feudalism; this giving power to the rich in their society. Overextension led to the fall of their rule, leading to the rise of Confucianism and Legalism. These beliefs along with Taoism led to the warring states period, these views leading to the start of the Qin Dynasty and then to the Confucianist Han Dynasty. Like the beginning of the Han Dynasty, the Roman Empire began with nobility rule. A difference would be that the Roman Republic's fall had more to do with the tension between the classes. This leading to Julius Caesar's rule, like Qin Shi Huangdi the Emperor of the Qin Shi Dynasty. Caesar's assassination lead to the rise of the Roman Empire. The beginning of their regions early powers began around the same period and spanned for around the same length, this provided for similarities between the two, such as tension between classes, and expansion of their trade routes, a difference being the succession of leaders in both of their governments.

In the Dynastic Cycle, the Song and Tang Dynasties of ancient China shows similar Period of Decline. The Song Dynasty was defeated by invaders even though the Southern portion of the empire lasted longer eventually the wealthy ways of the leaders led to an end. The Tang Dynasty had a similar experience to what the Song Dynasty experienced. The Tang Dynasty failed to look out for their people and the Song Dynasty did not maintain a strong army, but he did spend most of his money on building projects and other interest. Since the Chinese military had weakened, a group of barbarians conquered part of the Northern China these barbarians were called the Khitans.

The Chinese people have experienced rapid change, in government and culture in the 20th century. Although the common people seemed to have risen up against oppression from the ruling class, liberty and equality often remains out of their grasp. For centuries the dynastic cycle has dominated the culture and collective consciousness of the Chinese people. This process is characterized by unification, followed by prosperity and success, followed by corruption and instability, and finally rebellion and overthrow. This gives way to a new dynasty that was said to have received the mandate of heaven. This cycle, in some ways, ended with the fall of the Qing dynasty. This marked the end of over 2000 years of

There was many dynasties and empires to come about between 200 BCE and 600 CE. One specific dynasty was the Han dynasty. This dynasty was involved in the unification of China. This dynasty was formed by Lia Bang and lasted from 206 BCE to 220 CE, with an interruption phase from 9 CE to 23 CE.The Han dynasty was between decentralized and centralized. Han Wudi was the greatest emperor of this dynasty, who pursued centralization and expansion. There was constant attacks from Xiongnu nomads of C. Asia; however, Han Wudi briefly came to control Xiongnu. Wang Mang, the regent for a two year old emperor, took power himself. He tried to redistribute land, but the wealthier people that did not want to get some of their land taken away assassinated him. In the later Han dynasty, emperors manage with struggles to control resentment. Another succession to come about was the Roman empire. The Roman empire started out as a republic, but soon Julius Caesar Seized Rome in 49 B.C.E. Julius Caesar centralized control but was eventually assassinated in 44 B.C.E. After Julius came Octavian, who ran a monarchy that was disguised as a republic. Octavian continued expansion and integration of the empire. There was an extreme amount of poor people; in fact, one third of the population was in slavery. One of the only things that was attempted was giving them bread and circuses to distract them. There was no policy developed for them. The Roman empire went through many rulers. Although these

There was always a cycle of decline in the dynasties after a beginning period of prosperity and power. Historians, both inside and outside of China, could recognize this pattern. A pattern of prosperity, with decline right along side the "Mandate of Heaven," was the familiar way. The people were immediately pleased with their government body, but as the government made poor choices, placed unequal taxes on the poorest people, and interfered with others,

Ancient China’s rich history directly influenced China of the 21st century. The cultivation of rice became a staple source of food in China for centuries. The primary source of accounts of ancient china come from the Shujing, which spanned the Xia, Shang, and Zhou empires. The role of women's reached its heights during the Shang empire, with Fu Hao, and underwent a downward trajectory from the Zhou empire and the beginnings of confucius. The regime changes are unique in China due to the “Mandate of Heaven” which gave new regimes the control over the civilians of the conquered empires, such as the Zhou when it conquered the Shang empire. The decline of the Zhou came about from the various rulers who began seek their local interests. Ultimately,

as a series of social disarray. Each Dynasty resulted in slightly different reforms, but it seems as

Chinese Dynasties: 1. Shang: Also called Yin, dynasty that was China's earliest historically verifiable state 1766 B.C. to 1122 B.C. A. Reason's for Rise: Unlike the early accounts of history by the Chinese, there is archaeological evidence of the Shang, who built their cities in northern China around the eastern parts of the Yellow River. For this reason they are called the Yellow River civilization. They were a bronze age people; bronze-working seems to have entered China around 2000 BC (about one thousand years after its invention in Mesopotamia). B. Territorial Location & size at height of power (map): The Shang ruled the area from the North China Plain northward into present-day Shantung Province and westward to the tip of Honan

Politically, China and Egypt were similar and different. China and Egypt were similar in their type of government because both civilizations had dynasties. Dynasties were a type of government where a civilization only had one leader who when they died would pass on the title of leader to a family member, usually a son. A great example of this in the Egyptian civilization is the Egyptian ruler, the Pharaoh. In the ancient Egyptian government, Pharaohs were their leaders, and was also a title passed down through the family as the previous one died, in fact, ancient Egypt had 31 different dynasties from 3000 BCE to 332 BCE. Just like Egypt, China was ran by a dynastic government, which was made up of a family that rose to power by claiming that they had a “Mandate From Heaven” which was a belief that the leader or family had their gods approval to rule. China and Egypt were different in how they governed their lands because in Egypt, the Pharaoh was the supreme leader and ruled with a cabinet of advisors and helpers who worked together

Throughout most of its long history, China was ruled through a series of dynasties characterized by alternating periods of unity and fragmentation. After the Chinese people overthrew the Qing dynasty in 1911 during the Chinese Revolution, China became a republic, known as the Republic of China (Gay 14). In 1921, Mao Zedong became one of the founding members of the Chinese Communist Party. Through a series of military and political successes, The Chinese Communist Party grew in power until 1949 when Mao Zedong proclaimed the People’s Republic of China, a communist party led country with himself as its sole ruler.