HIS391 Assignment: Dynasties that Existed in China in Ancient Time

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Chinese Political History
Introduction
In the ancient time, China was one of the richest and the strongest empires that existed in the world. It is for this reason that the rulers of the country found it hard to contact the other rulers since they were the most powerful. However, that did not last long, since the power of the country was diminished by the end of the Napoleonic era. Since then, the Chinese political system has evolved in numerous ways. The way in which China as a country was governed in the 19th century is not the same way in which the country is governed in the 21st century, despite the fact that the political structure of the country remains the same. In my research paper, I have chosen to evaluate the political structure of China in ancient times. I will look at the way in which the political system of the country was organized. I will also seek to see whether the people were satisfied with the political system of that time and what were their views towards their government. Lastly, I will study the present system of government and identify whether it is better than the one which was available in the ancient times and aspects that are common for both governments. By studying the present system of government in China, I will be able to identify major changes that have taken place and the factors that contributed to those changes.
Ancient China
The leadership of ancient China was characterized by dynastic cycles. In the dynastic cycles, a family would rule the country for a long period. It was also characterized by chaos when the person who was ruling died and there would be another family that wants to take over the leadership of the familyCITATION Asi99 \p p.22 \l 1033 (Asian Art Museum p.22). The power to rule was viewed by the people to be determined by the mandate of heaven and dynasties tended to be autocratic, and they ruthlessly enforced their rule and had conscripting massive armies and also labor forces. There are various factors that made the dynasties behave in such a way such as the threat of the barbarian invasion, the existence of potential internal rivals and massive rebellions from the people. Different dynasties existed in China.
Dynasties that Existed in China in Ancient Time
Ancient Chinese Warlord Dynasties
The dynasty was ruled by Warlord kings who ruled different states. They were afraid of being defeated by the neighboring dynasties, and they did their best to make sure that they dominate a large number of states so that the rival states and dynasties cannot defeat themCITATION Ker10 \p p.9 \l 1033 (Kerry and Michael p.9). The rulers of the dynasties believed that their mandate to rule came from heaven and it was given to them by their ancestors. The power to rule was only given to the dynastic rulers who ruled the people with success. The other dynasties who were defeated in wars or affected by natural calamities would have the mandate taken away from them, and it would be given to different people. Due to this strong belief in the ancestral gods, the governments would sacrifice the people at times and perform rituals to honor the ancestral kings so that they would not be defeated in a war which would make them lose their rule.
The First Chinese Empire
China became united, and it was ruled by one of the regional kings in 221BCCITATION Joy79 \p p.83 \l 1033 (Joyce, James and Lowell p.83). The first emperor to rule was called Qin Shi Huan, and he ruled for a 12years during which he was able to unite the different regions that were found in China. Emperor Qin Shi Huan was so dictatorial, and he ordered the burning of books as a way of making sure that there was no evidence about the earlier dynasties that had existed in China. He would also burn and bury scholars who tried to write about the previous dynasties that existed in China alive. He had tight control over China, and it is due to this fact that he had a strong labor force supply that he used to build various projects such as the Great Wall of China. There were harsh conditions for the workers who worked at the Great Wall, and most of them died due to the harsh conditions that they experienced. There were the neighboring monadic tribes that tried to protect the workers from the harsh Chinese soldiers. They would engage the Chinese soldiers in a battle and kill thousands of them. The emperor had gained control over the peasants since he abolished all the landowners who acted as the lords of the peasants. He also made sure that all the weights and measures were standardized and as a result, there was an increase in fair trading activities.
Han Dynasty and the rest
After the end of the rule of Qin, Han Dynasty followed, and it ruled over a golden age in the Chinese history. Due to the previous aggressive policy towards the barbarian nomads, they were now spread in different directions, and some of them were pushed into central Asia, and they made contact with the Persians. They also became connected to the Roman, Persian and Chinese trade routes leading to the prosperity of trading activitiesCITATION Han10 \p "p. 18" \l 1033 (Han p. 18). The government held a monopoly over silk and silk making was protected by the law formulated by the government. If one would leak the secrets of silk making, then that would be regarded as a breach of the law and would be punished through canning or by death.
During the rule of dynasties, there were civil wars that occurred and thus altered the development of China. The nomadic tribes created their dynasties after years of fighting, and they were ruled by rulers like Wu Hu, Mongols and Manchu. They took up the Chinese customs such as wearing silk robes instead of the horseman's pants as they used to do. However, they were later swallowed by the Chinese culture, and they became another Chinese dynastic government. The military in China developed firearms and made the dynasties to lose their rule. After thousands of years of dynastic rule, the dynastic governments were overthrown and China became known as the Democratic Republic of China in 1911.
Even though the fall of the dynasties came to an end, other aspects were found in the ancient Chinese government, and they are still common or influenced the modern political system that is found in China. The aspects appear in the present government, although in a different way. In my research, the following are the factors that I found common for both governments.
* Confucianism Philosophy- It was common in the Chinese political system as early as 6th Century B.C.E. The philosophy emphasized the need for order and harmony among the Chinese people and the need for the people to submit to the power of the emperor. It is tied to the idea of the communist which says that a small group of people should lead for the common good of all the people.
* Authoritarian Power- The ancient Chinese government was ruled by emperors who made every effort to ensure that the people that they are leading are his subjects and they cannot take part in political decisions since they are only subjects. The tendency is common in the decentralized system of governance in China where the leaders attempt to control the vast population of people and the numerous policies and programs.
* China as the “middle kingdom” Belief- In the ancient China, the people believed that China was a Zhongguo which means the middle kingdom. The people of China considered all the other civilizations by the foreigners as inferior regarding ethics, power, and quality of life that they led. Even though all the countries are ethnocentric, China was full of itself, and they believed that there was nothing that any other country would be able to offer them.
* Ideologies of Communism- Maoism emerged in the 20th century, and it emphasized on right thinking and the moralism that was found in the ideology of Confucianism. The ideologies appear to have carried on or influenced the formation and structure of the current government regime.
As identified above the reference of China as a middle ground is one of the factors that led to the development of nationalism in the country. I...