China Essay

There were multiple changes and similarities from the time of the Warring States period to the time of the Mongols and the Yuang Dynasty. There were changes between politics and government, but also some similarities that helped China grow while also not maintaining the same structures that were successful, but did not prevail forever, because change was needed. From the Qin, Han, Sui, Tang, Song, and Yuang dynasties, many differences occurred in government and education structures while also maintaining things like Confucianism. Many people were frustrated with the differences some dynasties brought which fueled the revolts against the dynasties, and the rise and fall throughout time.

The similarities are not too common between the multitude of dynasties. The Han improved their own dynasty from Qin’s Legalist principles, while making their own revisions to improve China. The Han dynasty also continued the Qin’s start of building roads and canals for trade. Lastly, the Han dynasty followed in the Qin’s footsteps by sending officers to implement policies and maintain order in administrative provinces and districts. The Sui had connections to the Qin too, imposing tight political discipline and having a very centralized government like the Qin. The Tang did not have many connections to the roots of Qin, Han, or Sui. Tang Taizong wanted to create his own separate, unique dynasty, except that they continued the successful Han educational system, Confucianism.

There are multiple differences between the dynasties. The Qin got China out of the Warring States Period with Legalism, but after not too long, people started revolting against Qin due to the extremely centralized government and tightly structured rules. Liu Bang and the Han dynasty came after the Qin. Liu Bang wanted a “middle government” that was not too much like Legalism, but not too unorganized, since that would bring China back to the Warring States Period. The Han was a very influential dynasty that lasted for a very long time, excepting a short period of time when the government was usurped by Wang Mang. After Liu Bang came a very good leader, Han Wudi. Wudi changed the Han dynasty to a dynasty that believes in success in Confucianism. Liu Bang was never a very big supporter of Confucianism. Wudi put Confucianism in place due to the lack of education in China. While Liu Bang was in power, there were about 3,000 students. By the time Wudi was gone, there were 30,000 students. The Han improved on Qin principles because Confucianism balanced out the Han unlike the Qin, since the Qin dynasty did not believe in Confucianism. Wudi built a bureaucracy out of China, which relied on Legalist principles.

The Sui dynasty was a lot like the Qin, imposing tight political discipline, which is Legalism. Yang Jian was to be in charge of Sui dynasty, and was appointed by a Turkish ruler. Emperors of the Sui dynasty placed a heavy burden on China, making it a very centralized government. While in office, Jian constructed the Grand Canal, which served as a trading route and a communication route between many lands. The Grand Canal made China very rich, due to all the imports and exports coming in and out from trade. Still, The Grand Canal cost a lot of taxes, and forced a lot of labor on the people. Due to that, the Sui got revolted against and did not last as long as other dynasties. Sui also based their education off of the Confucianism system, which worked relentlessly for them, making the people smarter, and a more educated China.

The Tang dynasty survived very long, around 300 years. The Tang was very different than all the other dynasties, and only kept the Confucian based-elections in place from the roots of other dynasties. The Tang dynasty had three main focuses, that kept them effective, powerful, and productive. Those three main focuses were maintaining a well-articulated transportations network, distributing land based on the equal-field system, and relying on bureaucracy. The Tang had fast communications and good trade, due to the high focus on the routes and communication network. Though they thought it would work, the equal-field system did end up hurting the Tang dynasty. The equal-field system stated that everyone would have equal amounts of land, based on their needs. The equal-field system did do a good job of avoiding fighting over land, which was its main focus. The third main focus was bureaucracy, which was to make sure Confucianism stayed around so that the officials elected would be intellectually smart and make the right decisions for China. Tang dynasty also had a very powerful army, taking over lands from nearly every direction. Due to the mass of land size and military successes, the Tang is one of the largest dynasties in history. Han dynasty related to the Tang dynasty because the Tang knew they had to keep strong relationships with neighboring countries, and treat each other nicely.

The Song was like a swing in the direct opposite way. After the fall of the Tang dynasty, Song Taizu came in and made China into a very weak country. Taizu was one of the most powerful landlords which was part of the reason he got elected as emperor. Basing China on civil administration, industry, education, and the arts more than military, the Song dynasty did not have the strongest of armies. The Song did base their bureaucracy off of Confucianism, but took it overboard. Taizu gave the officials very generous pay and benefits, which eventually drained China’s economy since there was a mass incline in officials. Taizu sent many troops out to war, many of which that never came home because of the lack of military experience and knowledge. Song dynasty lost battles to nomadic people at points due to lack of military.

In the long future came along the Mongols and the Yuang dynasty. The Mongols did not like the Chinese, and they were not afraid to show it. The Mongols first imposed that a Chinese person and a Mongol cannot get married. After the ban of marriage, the Mongols then imposed that a Chinese individual is not allowed to learn Mongol, as if trying very much to keep the two cultures separated. Then there were rumors that the Mongols only took China for the need of land for their horses. After all the negatives the Mongols brought to China, they put their own officials into Chinese government so they could financially drain China as a last act.

China changed drastically between the Warring States Period, when landlords owned China, and there were fights based on who gets what land. From landlords to Legalism, to Confucianism and bureaucracy, there was a wide variety of similarities and differences for China throughout time. Though some dynasties were more successful than others, China made it through and is now among the biggest places in the world.