Han Dynasty Changes

The era of the Han dynasty in China, simply referred to as ‘Han China,’ was an extremely prominent one, with power that almost rivaled the Romans themselves. During this period of China, achievements and accomplishments reached new heights as the Silk Road opened, which allowed connection with the western world. However, even with all this, Han China still fell, thanks to opposing forces in the form of nomadic tribes, several natural disasters that were interpreted as angry messages from the gods, and internal/political unrest. During the Han dynasty and the opening of the Silk Road, there were several aggressive, nomadic tribes that centered around the Asian area.

Weak corrupt leaders were a major factor in the downfall of the Han Dynasty (189BCE- 220BCE) and Roman Empire (376AD- 461AD). The Han practice of concubinage led to much strife and even violence within the Forbidden City, causing disunity and internal conflict. Regents often attempted to seize power while the chaos was present. In contrast, love of money led to the precarious situations of Rome’s later emperors, as soldiers demanded gold for loyalty. In the long run, the Roman Empire became overwhelmed in debt as emperors tried desperately to buy the loyalty of the army, and the moral condition of its subjects continued to spiral downward.

For decades people have been wondering if the Han dynasty was effective or not. The Han dynasty was the dynasty after the Qin dynasty. Unlike the Qin dynasty that only ruled a short time of fourteen years, the Han dynasty ruled over four hundred years. So with the evidence that I have read, I believe that the Han dynasty was an effective government for a number of reasons.

The Qin dynasty succeeded the Warring States Period (475 BCE - 221) (Britannica, Warring States, 2014, 2018), and the Spring and Autumn Period (770–476 BC) (Britannica, Spring and Autumn Period, 2017, 2018). During the Warring States and Spring and Autumn Periods, there was a massive power vacuum and several different states were locked in a struggle for control over China. The most prominent state during the Warring States Period was the Qin state, they revised the governing methods of the once influential state of Zhou. They made changes to land distribution, power distribution, education of the common folk, trade, and units of measurement throughout China. The changes made by Qin Shi Huang are what made him successfully unify China.

The upper class of Rome gradually became more selfish and turned away from their jobs that once originally characterized their empire. Cultural decline caused by new commitments of the upper classes and lack of political authority also lead to the downfall of Rome. All these conflicts resulted in a spiral that steadily worsened. Explaining why the fall pf Rome left a bigger impact than the fall of the Han.

The Han Dynasty was a significant time period of great technological, as well as cultural advancements in ancient China, from 206 BCE to AD 220. During this time, the Han Dynasty made significant achievements in technology. The Han Dynasty’s technological advances were numerous and diverse, contributing to its economic prosperity and cultural influence. The Han Dynasty was a society that prioritized and achieved significant technological advances, such as the development of cooking utensils, mirrors, tomb furniture, architecture, pottery, and more, which contributed to its economic and cultural success.

The Sui and Tang dynasties took over as some of the most glorious periods in Chinese history. Rome was supplementary more disruptive than the collapse of Hna China. Due to Rome being incredibly drastic, the civilization left only the memory of the greatest in Western tradition. Another difference arises from the base of the civilizations collapsing. Rome was “human symptom” based; on the tombstones of Roman citizens were phrases suggesting the spread of downfall and defeat that provided a despondency of the afterlife (contributing to the decay of religion mentioned in the previous paragraph).

China, up until the Qin Dynasty, consisted of independent states controlled by kings fighting each other for land and power. This time period was called The Era of Warring States, which lasted two hundred years. After this time, the Qin Dynasty rose to power. They conquered all other dynasties, and established a centralized government, unifying China for the first time. The dynasty that succeeded the Qin, the Han, continued the centralized government and they started a westward expansion that would encourage trade and cultural diffusion.

In various ways, Han China and Imperial Rome were politically similar yet also had their pair of differences. Two very well-known classical empires, both had highly advanced political systems for their time; Han China, lasted from 206 B.C.E to 220 C.E, and Imperial Rome, lasted from 31 B.C.E to 476 C.E. Many think these two empires where built with no previous influence, however; the Roman Empire had retained many aspects from the Roman Republic, and Han China from the Qin Dynasty. During their peaks, they controlled the majority of the world 's population because of their constant expansion of conquered lands, while their structure of administration and rule influenced many empires and future societies around the world. Aspects such as these, ultimately, led these two empires to be, arguably, the most influential societies in the world; as their legacies still live on today.

Japan’s Tokugawa (or Edo) period, lasted from 1603 to 1867. This was the final era of the traditional Japanese government before the modern era. The Qin dynasty lasted from 221-206BC. Thought it was brief, it was very important in Chinese history. The main weakness of the Tokugawa was an internal crisis and Western intrusion.

During the era of classical societies, the Han and Roman empires were two vast cosmopolitan societies which dominated regions all throughout Eurasia. In regards to the fall of the Han and Roman empires, both were similar in that they fell victim to internal government decay, but different in that Rome fell to foreign invasions, while Han suffered from rebellions of their own people. The Han and Roman empires were similar in their fall in that they both suffered from internal decay, specifically of their governments. In the Han empire, land distribution problems that were originally sought to be fixed by the “Socialist emperor” Wang Mang allowed large landowners to become even more influential than they previously were.

Different periods throughout China’s history have different names, known as dynasties, for the diverse positions within its society. Theoretically, all of the periods are similar, with the government and military officials ranking high in the hierarchy, and the average everyday people being under regular Chinese law. Throughout China’s history, the society has been organized into a hierarchic system of socio-economic classes, known as the four occupations. The four occupations system seems to have become distorted after the commercialization of Chinese culture during the Song Dynasty. Even though the social rankings within the country are not as predominant as they once were, the people living within the country still know their “place” within the society.

The Han Dynasty in China and the Roman Empire shared many similarities and differences when it came to political rule and the nature of their political authority. The most significant difference between the two is how the Han dynasty enacted policies that were shaped to counter the wrongdoings of the previous Qin dynasty, whereas the Roman Empire enacted policies shaped to create and promote peace and stability. The difference in the two empire’s coming to power was to account for their variance in political rule. After the Qin dynasty, the Han ruled China for four centuries, enacting numerous political changes and governing one of the most efficacious dynasties in Chinese history.

Qin Shihuangdi ruled with an iron fist because he was a staunch Legalist. After his death, the dynasty fell but not for long. After the Qin fell, the Han came into power and used the Confucian government. This dynasty was one of the longest-lasting in Chinese history, unlike the Qin who didn't even get a second emperor before it broke apart.

Student Name: Morgan Stevenson Geographical Setting: What continent? What Landforms? What important Places? The Aztecs lived on swampy lands in Mesoamerica. They made chinampas on lakes for farmland because their land was mainly lake.