The new powerful leader who emerged from that struggle starting in 618 was Li Shimin. Some of the more notable accomplishments of Li Shimin involved restoring stable government, developing technological advances, and by utilizing the "free labor and military service of millions of peasants" he helped bring in enormous tax revenues to the point that the government was "more affluent than it had ever been." Meantime during the time that the Tang dynasty was emerging as the power source, Buddhism helped to stimulate closer contact with other countries and cultures. According to Ping Yao, writing in the peer-reviewed journal Nan Nu, Chinese Buddhism became "instrumental in the development of mothers' identity and in the conceptualization of ideal maternal virtues" (Yao, 2008, p. 57). By examining the epitaphs that are left from the Tang dynasty, Ping Yao has determined that children whose mothers were strong Buddhists mostly complied with their mothers' desire "to leave the household life or to be cremated rather than be buried." Children of Buddhist mothers in the Tang dynasty were also...
Why is this interesting? First of all, it should be pointed out that prior to the Tang dynasty, it was criminal to have a family member created; and the Tang dynasty kept that policy except in cases where the family was "simply fulfilling the dying wish of a parent" (Yao, 59). But moreover, it shows that even though Confucianism was the basic foundation of Tang China, Buddhism was flourishing at the same time. Indeed, the Tang has been called the "golden age" of Chinese Buddhism. Yao explains that the "mingling between Buddhism and Confucianism resulted not only in mutual accommodation and transformation, but also interactions" that ultimately helped to change the Tang society (Yao, 60).
China's massive growth over the last two decades has brought with it a similarly explosive need for energy resources, a need that as of yet cannot be fulfilled by domestic reserves. Thus, China imported 3.5 million barrels of oil per day in 2006, and that number is expected to increase to 13.1 million barrels per day by 2030 (Hanson 2008). Subsequently, "as the world's second-largest consumer of oil, and with
China F/X China faces a tough decision with respect to floating the yuan or not. Ultimately, a float will severely limit China's ability to control the value of its currency. At present, this will be a significant problem because the yuan would likely rise in value. This would be to the detriment of the country's export industries, which are the drivers of the economy and employment. Further, the country may be
Despite the high costs the Four Modernizations implied, China succeeded to enter "into the milieu of international bank loans, joint ventures, and whole panoply of once-abhorred capitalist economic practices." As it might be inferred from above, this task was not an easy one, and China's officials had first of all to convince the rather-conservative part of the population of the necessity of these reforms and of the continuity of the
This is true not only in African countries with "dictatorial or authoritarian regimes but in fact China's […] commonly shared roots with African nations […] has struck a chord even with those democratically elected leaders in Africa," allowing China access to even those countries that might at first glance appear to natural allies to the United States due to their democratic form of government. Thus, Africa's colonial past has simultaneously meant
Study Abroad Sometimes in our internet age it seems that we don't ever need to leave our own homes to experience the world. Google can let us drive in a virtual way down nearly any street in the world. We can chat at any hour of the day with residents from any continent about any subject. We can even craft online selves that allow us to become more interesting, more educated,
In this probably lies the greatest risk of doing business in China as it is difficult to collect full payment in time. The greatest threat to companies with successful products or brand name is from intellectual property pirates. Any organization planning to do business in China is well advised to take adequate safeguards to protect their intellectual property rights. (Look Before You Leap: Essential Advice for Doing Business in
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