In the three and a half centuries between the end of the Han dynasty and the beginning of the Sui dynasty, China once again found itself in a period of disunity. This period of martial wu was characterized by chaos, division, and warfare between the north and the south. This era, like that of the Eastern Zhao, cherished unity because of its constant state of chaos. Disunity among the Chinese people fostered a diversity of voices and opinions. In 618, the Tang Dynasty came to power and the fusion of Han and Hu ensued.
For the purposes of this essay, 'Han' refers to the Chinese of the Han dynasty. 'Hu' is a term that refers to non-Chinese peoples; particularly those barbarian groups west and north of central China. Hu presence in China between the 4th and the 14th centuries improved Chinese civilization. “Without question, the art, music, ideas, and commerce that spread from the non-Han people of the steppe lands into China, greatly enriched Chinese civilization.”1 Although non-Han groups had a formative impact on the Han, the cultural gap between the groups is never fully breached. In, “The Civil and the Savage”, Mya Opeia states:
The vast cultural gap between the civil Chinese and the Savage barbarians was too great to ever truly breach. Simply put, these are two irreconcilably different cultures with few shared orientations. Never were these social, cultural and intellectual disparities more apparent than during the Tang, Song, and Yuan dynasties. Indeed, when the Chinese realized the breadth of this gap in the early Ming dynasty, they severed maritime expeditions and turned inward.2
This quote accurately describes the relationship between the Han and Hu from the 4th to 14th centuries as well as the effects of their fusion...
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...a Walton, In the Balance: Theses in Global History. Boston: McGraw-Hill , 1998, selections from chapter 11, “Commerce and Change in Asia, Europe, and Africa.”
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There are little to no direct accounts of how individuals’ lives were a couple thousand years ago in Ancient China. With a wealth of information on the rise, decline, and fall of empires, Michael Loewe, a sinologist who specializes in oriental studies and theology, writes an imaginary story about a hero named Bing set around 70 BCE. Bing: From Farmer’s Son to Magistrate in Han China is Loewe’s fictional portrait of life during the Han Empire. It is by no means a comprehensive historical account of Han times, in fact, it was written with those readers who are not familiar with Chinese in mind, however through the life of Bing we can gage how the lives of laborers, those involved in military service, merchants, and government officials might
Han – a period of time in China in which the country was merge together (Dictionary)
Smarr, Janet. “Emperor Wu”. Making of the Modern World 12. Ledden Auditorium, La Jolla, CA. 17 Feb. 2012. Lecture.
During the early Ming Dynasty, China was one of the most economically and technologically advanced countries in the world. As Ebrey pointed out, “Europe was not yet a force in Asia and China continued to look on the outer world in traditional terms.” China was regarded as the center of Asia at the beginning of 15th century and the idea of “Middle Kingdom” (Zhong guo) began to take off at that time. The early Ming Emperors were not interested in promoting commercial trade at all. Emperor Hongwu, the founder of the Ming Dynasty, implemented the Hai jin policy which forbade maritime shipping and private foreign trade outside of the tributary system (Ebrey, p. 209). Emperor Yongle, the son of Emperor Hongwu, lifted this policy to a certain extent when he ordered his eunuch Zheng He’s voyages. However, he was only intereste...
Greenberg, Michael. British Trade and the Opening of China 1800 - 42. New York: Monthly Review, 1979. Print.
The Han Dynasty, the amazing Chinese era to have said to unified China for over 400 years old. This era in China’s history began in 206 B.C when a rebel armies rose up against the Qin army. One rebellion, led by Chen Sheng and Wu Kuang was later joined by Xiang Liang, Xiang Yu, Ying Bu, and Peng Yue joined forces with Liu Bang. The people of the Qin Dynasty were unhappy under the rule of Qin Shihuang who was ran his empire with an iron fist. His rule was absolute and disagreeing was punishable by death, though Emperor Qin was the one who to end the Warring States as well as complete the conquering of China in 221 B.C, thus expanding the Chinese state. After the takeover, Liu Bang took the name as Emperor of China and changed his given name to Emperor Gaozu and the Qin laws were abolished.
Pu Yi, Henry, and Paul Kramer. The Last Manchu: The Autobiography of Henry Pu Yi, Last Emperor of China. 4th ed. New York: Skyhorse, 2010. Amazon.com. Amazon.com. Web. 24 Apr. 2014.
The Han Dynasty and the Roman Empire were two grand empires that rose out of preexisting territories and provided relative peace over wide areas. The collapse of the Qin Dynasty (221-206 BCE), which was the first great land-based empire in East Asia, came after a period of war, confusion, and tyrannical rule. Due to the political disorder that stemmed from the early dynastic activity, the emergence of the Han Dynasty (206 BCE- 228 CE) sprung to focus on restoring order. On the other hand, the rise of the Roman Empire (44 BCE- 476 CE) originated from consolidating authority over aristocratic landlords and overriding the democratic elements of the earlier Republic. Instead, the Roman Empire redefined the concept of “citizen” as subjects to the Roman emperor. Both empires shared similar agendas to exploit their vast territories and resources, which helped them expand their political dominance; however, despite having similar political goals and foundations, their government system, cultural ideologies and imperial expansionist natures diverged.
...ther religions since they never really comitted to one main religion. Han China spread Confucianism by leading Confucius lives, they used Confucius ideas for their law codes and taught Confucius ideas to their children. The Confucian ideas spread by the Han helped rulers like Wudi have long reigns of power by embracing rule by morals and ethics. It also helped spread written exams as ways to determine peoples places and jobs in society based off of merit as opposed to putting anyone anywhere just to give people jobs. China also had a growing population of Daoists who believed in the power of nature. As time progressed both of their societies changed their religions. Rome slowly progressed from a basic Hellenistic polytheism to the once persecuted Christianity. Meanwhile China, which was mainly a Confucian and Daoist led society began to accept and embrace Buddhism.
Gittings, John. The Changing Face of China: From Mao to market. Oxford University Press, 2005.
The Tang Dynasty (618-906) succeeded the Sui Dynasty, who ruled from 581-618 A.D., respectively. The foundation for the development, growth, and expansion of China during the Tang Dynasty’s rule was laid during the Sui Dynasty’s reign. The political and governmental institutions of the Sui Dynasty directly influenced the Tang tremendously. Diplomatic relationships were successfully established during this period, and Tang China took its role as one of the greatest and prominent empires existing in the medieval world. Retail traders, clerics, ambassadors, and convoys from Japan, Korea, Vietnam, and other countries emerged into common members of everyday society in Tang China.
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The Warring States is the subject and title of Griffith’s third chapter, which gives an enlightening look at the life and times in China after the defeat of the rule of Chin at Ching Yang in 453. (p. 20) The country was divided into eight individual warring sects (with the exception of Yen...
The purpose of this paper is to tell the history of the Ming Dynasty’s impact on the Chinese Empire, and to explain why the Chinese Empire was in fact an empire.