Han Dynasty of China
The Han Dynasty lasted from 206 BC to 280 AD. It followed on the heels of the short-lived Qin Dynasty and came into being as a result of Liu Bang's victory in rebellion. The Han Dynasty may be separated into two parts: the estern Han, which lasted approximately the first two hundred years; and the Eastern Han, which made up approximately the second two hundred years. In between these two parts, appeared the Xin Dynasty, which existed for little more than a decade. Aside from this interlude, the Han Dynasty had a tremendous stay and its impact on China was considerable. Today, it is remembered as a Golden Age of China. This paper will discuss the Han Dynasty and show what made it so particularly special to the Chinese people.

ith the fall of the Qin Dynasty, China split into warring factions. Liu Bang was "the eventual victor…...

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Works Cited

China: Five Thousand Years of History and Civilization. Hong Kong: City University

of Hong Kong Press, 2007. Print.

Di Cosmo, Nicola. Ancient China and Its Enemies: The Rise of Nomadic Power in East

Asian History. UK: Cambridge University Press, 2001. Print.

Han Dynasty in China
The ise and Fall of the Han Empire

In a country well governed, poverty is something to be ashamed of. In a country badly governed, wealth is something to be ashamed of. --Confucius

The Han dynasty was one of China's longest and most powerful dynasties, spanning a period form 206 BC to 220 AD during which two dynasties were formed. The Western Han took place form 206 BC to 24 AD and the Eastern Han was established in 25 BC and lasted until 220 AD[footnoteef:1]. The Han dynasty was the second Imperial dynasty in China. Twenty-four emperors reigned during the Han dynasty.[footnoteef:2] A number of these emperors contributed strongly to the order and prosperity of the country, of which Emperor Gaozu, Wen, Jing, and Wu are known to have particularly accomplished noteworthy outcomes for their people.[footnoteef:3] However, the ancient Chinese practice of permitting royal juveniles to take the throne,…...

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References

____. (2014). Silk Road. Livius: Articles on Ancient History. Retreived  http://www.livius.org/place/silk-road/ 

____. (2014). Han Dynasty. Travel China Guide. Retrieved  http://www.travelchinaguide.com/intro/history/ han/

Temple, Robert. (1986). The Genius of China: 3,000 Years of Science, Discovery, and Invention. With a forward by Joseph Needham. New York: Simon and Schuster, Inc. ISBN 0-671-62028-2.

Turchin, Peter; Adams, Jonathan M.; Hall, Thomas D. (December 2006). "East-West Orientation of Historical Empires." Journal of world-systems research 12 (2): 219 -- 229. ISSN 1076-156X  http://www.jwsr.org/

For a society whose entire livelihood was tied to the migration patterns of animals, this factor is a vital change (Bellwood, 2004).
As mentioned, the technological advancements required for progress were vast, but were somehow attained by the Paleolithic people. The plow, loom, wheel, clay bricks, and calendars were all developed, despite a lack of knowledge surrounding such technical aspects (Bellwood, 2004).

Perhaps the largest factor in the transition was the changing global climate.

During the late Paleolithic period, the farmers of the Middle East concentrated on grain crops and plants that originated in a wet climate. However, these climates changed drastically, forcing the farmers to develop new farming methods to avoid starvation. As a result, some began to travel long distances to find food, but always remained near a water source. The key factor at this time was the change due to the end of the last ice age. As some…...

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References

Bellwood, P. (2004). First Farmers: The Origins of Agricultural Societies. New York: Blackwell Publishers.

History of China." China Discovery. Travel China Guide. 2004. Obtained April 27, 2007 at  http://www.travelchinaguide.com/intro/history/ .

Mote, F.W. (1999). Imperial China: 900-1800. Boston: Harvard University Press.

Rossabi, M. (1983). China among Equals: The Middle Kingdom and Its Neighbors, 10th-14th Centuries. Berkeley: University of California Press.

How likely, for instance, would it be that someone would give up a great job or a new life in a new place just to remain home with a child? Instead, the modern woman would find day-care and attempt to balance both.
his theme of balance is another predominant philosophy from Ning. When Ning was younger, she deferred to the wisdom of the elders and the ideas put upon her as a youth -- namely that tradition and destiny are predetermined. It was interesting to chart the manner in which Ning grew emotionally as she aged to realize that she made her own existence, her own present, and her own future. As Ning turned from a victim waiting for a husband to bring home money for food to a working woman serving many families, she found she had to cast out any dependence upon others for her own welfare and…...

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This reader was aware of the importance of family in traditional Chinese culture, but not to the extend shown in Ning's life. For her entire lifetime, in fact, Ning's sole purpose was to remain close to her children and grandchildren -- to pass on the wisdom of the elders and to ensure that the lineage of the family was carried to the next generation. Little did her family know just how much Ning gave up just to ensure that her family would have enough to eat and the children could grow up and have families of their own. This, too, is something that is not really present in modern American culture. While families still get together at holidays, and some are closer than others, the idea of "family first" is not a pervasive idea like it was for Ning. How likely, for instance, would it be that someone would give up a great job or a new life in a new place just to remain home with a child? Instead, the modern woman would find day-care and attempt to balance both.

This theme of balance is another predominant philosophy from Ning. When Ning was younger, she deferred to the wisdom of the elders and the ideas put upon her as a youth -- namely that tradition and destiny are predetermined. It was interesting to chart the manner in which Ning grew emotionally as she aged to realize that she made her own existence, her own present, and her own future. As Ning turned from a victim waiting for a husband to bring home money for food to a working woman serving many families, she found she had to cast out any dependence upon others for her own welfare and actively take charge of her life and make the future for her children the way she envisioned it. However, it was this dichotomy between independence and reliance on traditional values that separated Ning from many of her friends and relatives. At the same time, it strengthened her, giving us all a life lesson to contemplate.

Many times during the reading of the book this reader had to stop and realize that this was not fiction -- that the things that happened here were ostensibly real and told to Ms. Pruitt by Ning herself. Too, one must ask why the memoirs of someone born in 1867 who told her story in the 1940s, would have any impact or relevance to contemporary society. In fact, we find ourselves saddened that the book ends in 1938 with the Japanese invasion of Beijing. This is primarily because we have come to know this character like a member of our own family, and taken wisdom, encouragement and advice from her, much as we might our own grandmother.

Han dynasty, Confucianism has been a central and defining feature of Chinese art and culture. It therefore makes sense that Confucian values and ideals would be reflected in Chinese art throughout the past several millennia. Even when Confucian principles are blended or confounded with the principles of Daoism and Buddhism, the Confucian themes of law, order, structure, and hierarchy become salient. Moral rectitude in the Confucian model means ascription to a patriarchal social order, and obedience to authority. Perhaps the most obvious way Confucian moral precepts are depicted in art is through the careful ordering of the world evident in Chinese scroll paintings. "Admonitions of the Instructions to the Court Ladies" is a horizontal scroll painting that accompanies a literary tale with themes related to "wifely virtue," a prime Confucian moral precept (Kleiner, 2016b, p. 473). Yet is more than just wifely virtue that this scroll painting shows; it is…...

Some of the issues that made Liu a favorite of many were the fact that he lowered taxes, he reduced the demand for labor from the state and the origin being from the peasants.
Liu appointed rich land owners as governors because of the distrust he had against merchants, he as well appointed officials that were loyal to him ensuring that he controlled all the powers within the dynasty. Liu died in 195 B.C and left a stable Han dynasty. Though there were power struggles within the dynasty after the death of Liu, they were resolved by capable leadership. The rule of Jingdi, Wendi and Wudi were predominantly peaceful, prosperous for peasants, expansion of China, art and trade thrived as well under Confucianism. The expansion saw northern Vietnam, Korean peninsula come under the Han dynasty. Trade routes to Asia were open including the famous Silk oad.

However, the wars of conquest…...

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References

Cultural China, (2012). The Collapse of the Han Dynasty. http://history.cultural-china.com/en/183History6001.html

Rit Nosotro, (2010). The Decline of the Han Dynasty and the Roman Empire. http://www.hyperhistory.net/apwh/essays/comp/cw07hanromecollapse33100120.htm

Socyberty, (2009). The Fall of the Roman and Han Empires.  http://socyberty.com/history/the-fall-of-the-roman-and-han-empires/

Zhu Yuanzhang: First Ming Dynasty Emperor
Zhu Yuanzhang was founder of the Ming Dynasty, the one dynasty that endured for so long (1368-1644), considering the fact that it was established by a commoner. The reason Ming Dynasty and its first emperor Yuanzhang occupy special place in Chinese history is because this was one of the only lonely two dynasties to have been formed by a landless peasant. It is not everyday that commoner emerges from nowhere, overthrown powerful rulers of the time, establishes his own dynasty that endures for three long centuries. But Yuanzhang managed to achieve this colossal feat and thus his name went down in Chinese history as a competent emperor, second commoner only after Liu Bang of Han Dynasty to rule China.

Yuanzhang's rise to fame and power was simply unprecedented in history. Born to a very poor family in Anhui province in 1328, Yuanzhang was orphaned at a…...

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REFERENCES

1) David Curtis Wright; John E. Findling-editor, Frank W. Thackeray -- editor THE HISTORY OF CHINA, Greenwood Press. Westport, CT. 2001

2) Michael, Franz; China through the Ages: History of a Civilization. Westview Press: Boulder, CO. 1986.

3) Edward Thomas Williams: A Short History of China. Harper & Brothers. New York. 1928.

power of China from the Shang Dynasty to the estern Han. There are eight references used for this paper.
China has seen a number of changes in terms of history and power over the years. It is interesting to examine the changing nature of the association as well as explore the relationship between history and political authority from the Shang Dynasty to the estern Han.

Political Power

China's history has been documented in a number of ancient writings.

Centuries of migration, amalgamation, and development brought about a distinctive system of writing, philosophy, art, and political organization that came to be recognized as Chinese civilization (Shinn, 1991)."

The fact that this civilization has continued over 4,000 years provides it with a unique position in world history.

Until the twentieth century, members of the ruling scholar-official class were responsible for documenting the history of China, which was "meant to provide the ruler with precedents to guide or…...

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Works Cited

Ancient Dynasties. (accessed 06 October, 2003) ).

Birdwhistell, Anne D. 1995. Medicine and history as theoretical tools in a Confucian

Pragmatism. Vol. 45, Philosophy East and West. 01 January. Pp. 1 (28).

HIGHLIGHTS OF CHINESE CULTURE AND HISTORY. (accessed 06 October, 2003) www.chinatown-online.com/cultureeye/highlights/bronze.htm).

Chinese History
Zhou (or Chou) dynasty, arising to power after defeating the Shang Dynasty in China in the mid-1000's C, was the first dynasty to move the people groups which lived in the area currently known as modern china toward a common civilization.

Under the Shang, the Chinese people were no more than a collection of family tribes scattered throughout the region. At the beginning of the Chou dynastry, the region still felt little cohesive cultural unity. It wasn't until the 6th and 7th centuries C that archeological designations begin to appear that signify the people were collecting under a common identity. The early forms of collectivism appeared in the form of tribal heads marrying daughters of neighboring tribes. At this time, the term Hsia appeared, and was used as a designation for the people of the region who had the common experiences of living under a number of dynasties. The term…...

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Bibliography

Benn, Charles. 2002 Daily Life in Traditional China: The Tang Dynasty. Connecticut: Greenwood Press.

Ebrey, Patricia Buckley.1993. "Religion and Society in Tang and Song China." Hawaii: University of Hawaii Press.

Gernet, Jacques 1998. Buddhism in Chinese Society: An Economic History from the 5th to 10th Centuries. Coilumbia University Press.

Keightley, David (ed.) 1983. The origins of the Chinese Civilization. California:University of California Press.

New Culture May 4th movements. Why considered important modern Chinese history? 2. What Han synthesis? Who principle figure process elements bring create ? 3.
As suggested by the terminology, the New Culture movement refers to the attempt to rise against traditional Chinese culture. The movement was initiated by various Chinese intellectual circles around 1916 and was related to the perception that Confucian tradition contributed to the country's stagnation and national weakness and inhibited the development of China. The May 4th Movement, part of the overall Chinese cultural reform, refers to the day in 1919 that marked the immense popular protest against some of the terms that the treaty of Versailles included. The population reacted against Japan receiving territorial rights in China which had been previously owned by Germans. The Chinese intellectuals deemed the imperious need of a cultural movement that would enable China's adaptation of norms to those of the…...

Olmec
Although scientists found artifacts and art objects of the Olmecs; until this century they did not know about the existence of the Olmecs. Most of the objects which were made by this community were associated with other civilizations, such as Mayan, Toltec or Chichimecan. The Olmec lived between 1600 B.C. And 1400 B.C. In South Mexico. The name of this tribe comes from an Aztec word "ollin" which means "land of rubber."

At first they ate fish and they later start to farm, and that made it possible for them to "develop the first major civilization in Mesoamerica." (The Olmec Civilization) Thanks to the steady food supplies the Olmec population grew and some came to have other occupations. "Some became potters or weavers. Others became priests or teachers." (Ibidem) Once the population grew, so did their farming villages which developed into cities. The present-day city of San Lorenzo was built…...

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References:

1. The Olmec Civilization, Retrieved December 14, 2012, from the Pleasant Valley School website:  http://www.pvsd.k12.ca.us/180120521134440680/lib/180120521134440680/11-2_SG_7th.pdf 

2. Villeacas, Daniel, Mother Culture of Mexico: The Olmecs, Denver Public Schools, 2005, Retrieved December 14, 2012, from the Denver Public Schools website:  http://etls.dpsk12.org/documents/Alma/units/MotherCultureMexicoOlmecs.pdf 

3. Olmec -- Masterworks of Ancient Mexico, Retrieved December 14, 2012, from the Los Angeles County Museum of Art website:  http://www.lacma.org/eduprograms/EvesforEds/OlmecEssay.pdf 

4. Hansen, Valerie, Curtis Kenneth, Curtis, Kenneth R., Voyages in World History: To 1600, Volume 1, Cengage Learning, December 30, 2008

The more important someone's rank in society was, the bigger the obligations became and thus, the responsibility increased.
Mesopotamia was a region between the two rivers Tigris and Euphrates where the swing of world's first civilization emerged. Various cultures occupied the region and were brought together solely by their customs and religion. Trade came in as the result of agriculture, it brought prosperity and urbanization. The rise of cities led to economic and political developments, one city being conquered by another until the establishment of the first Mesopotamian empire by Sargon that lasted about 150 years until outside powers such as the Hittites (who raided Babylon) gained control over some areas. During the Middle Bronze Age, the Assyrians conquered much of Mesopotamia and, with the rise of the Babylonian dynasty, trade was once again favoured and brought along warfare.

The Alexandrian Empire was favoured by a number of its king's dispositions:…...

In this sense, "During the 1950s and 1960s, especially after the falling-out between hina and the former Soviet Union, the hinese government actively relocated Han hinese to frontier provinces such as Xinjiang, Inner Mongolia, and Heilongjiang, in order to consolidate the border in light of possible military threat from the Soviets"
. Therefore, the decision to intervene in the ethnic composition of the region was not only a choice related to the national identity of the country but also to geostrategic aspects.

After the end of the old War, the region remained of importance for hina form the perspective of the national identity as well as crucial natural resources, which include oil reserves. From this perspective, massive investments have been conducted in the region, stating the official reason to be the reduction of the disparities between the regions of hina. In this sense, "Rich in natural gas, oil, and warm weather…...

Both Spartan men and women exercised together in the nude, and both were "encouraged to improve their intellectual skills" ("omen in Ancient Greece"). Being a woman in Sparta certainly ensured a greater sense of gender equality -- but that does not necessarily mean Sparta was the preferred residence of women in Greece. After all, Sparta did without a lot of the creature comforts that other city-states like Athens took for granted as essential to civilization. There is a reason the phrase "Spartan living" has come to be synonymous with the bare necessities.
As for variance in the social structure of the various states, democracy prevailed in Athens for a time (but so did tyranny and corruption as well). Thebes also had its monarchy and later on its heroic warrior citizens. Sparta had two kings who ruled simultaneously. But its social structure was also more slave-based than anywhere else. In fact,…...

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Works Cited

Haaren, John. Famous Men of Rome. NY: American Book Company, 1904.

Johnston, Sarah. Religions of the Ancient World. Harvard University Press, 2004.

Kyziridis, Theocharis. "Notes on the History of Schizophrenia." German Journal of Psychiatry, vol 8, 42-48, 2005.

Sikora, Jack. Religions of India. Lincoln, NE: Writer's Club Press, 2002.

Confucianism in Pre-Modern China
Confucianism comes from the Chinese philosopher Confucius, after whom the philosophy takes its name. Confucius lived from the middle of the 6th century BC to the first part of the 5th century BC and was a teacher of the values of those who lived in the days of Chinese antiquity. For Confucius, the greatest years of the Zhou dynasty had come in the three centuries prior to his birth. The dynasty itself lasted for centuries following Confucius' life, though in a much different form from what came before. Confucius viewed the lessons of the early Zhou dynasty as containing valuable nuggets of wisdom. Confucius' teachings carried on well after his day as did many other schools of thought in China, where philosophy and wisdom were highly prized and sought after by many Chinese leaders from Confucius' own time till the end of the 3rd century BC. The…...

Chapter 1: Ancient Civilizations

The Rise and Fall of the Sumerian City-States
The Indus Valley Civilization: Unraveling the Enigma
The Ancient Egyptian Civilization: Pyramids, Pharaonic Power, and Daily Life
The Minoan and Mycenaean Civilizations: Maritime Masters of the Aegean
The Zhou Dynasty and the Birth of Chinese Civilization

Chapter 2: Classical Civilizations

The Athenian Golden Age: Democracy, Philosophy, and the Arts
The Roman Empire: Conquests, Governance, and the Pax Romana
The Mauryan Empire: From Chandragupta to Ashoka's Legacy
The Hellenistic World: A Syncretic Blend of Greek and Persian Cultures
The Han Dynasty: China's Ascendancy and Technological Innovations

Chapter 3: Medieval Civilizations

The....