Technology: The Use Of Technology In Han And Rome

The Han and Roman empires both feel strongly about the advancement of technology during their time. Though both China and Rome favor technology, they have varying reasons for doing so such as seeing different advantages and disadvantages . Some political leaders and philosophers care and pay attention to different technologies while others’ have a more indifferent attitude towards it. The use of technology is seen in several ways, such as degrading or superior. The effects of technology were often preferred but they were not always positive and beneficial. A helpful document to be included and used to analyze this topic would be a source from the point of view of a common citizen from each society. A peasant’s voice would have shown what the people felt about the technologies that were used and invented.
It can be seen that some care about technology and some don’t when a Roman philosopher talks about their indifference to it or when a high official talks about a leader who was obsessive over certain technologies. In document 7, a Roman philosopher named Seneca says, “I do not believe that tools for the crafts were invented by wise men.” Clearly, Seneca does not care for these advancements. In contrast, a political leader, also from Rome, was described as very anxious about road building going in the

In document 2, a Han government official talks about how the use of iron tools is failing and there are negative effects to their production. A Han philosopher talks about the invention of the pestle and mortar and how beneficial they were in document 3. It says these were invented by Fuxi and they were improved, “Later on… cleverly improved… the benefit was increased tenfold.” Going back to document 7, Seneca discusses how certain technologies are not useful or unimpressive, “The question of whether the hammers or the tongs came first does not seem important to