To Use What You Have Learned About The History Of China Before 1800 To Define China

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Definition of China Before 1800
The history of China dates back to the year 1250 BC. Since then, a lot of events have taken place, that are still read in today's world. Such events adequately define the history of China by showing the manner in which it has been advancing politically, economically and culturally. The events contributed to the territorial changes that define the land size of China and the various territories within the country. Each of the events happens independently or were an influence from the previous historical occurrences. Therefore, this paper will define China using the knowledge obtained from various events such as the Confucius, three kingdoms, the journey to the west, water margin, dynasty, and the opium war
China is best known for the application of the Confucianism philosophy which deals with government and personal morality, sincerity, justice, and the correctness of the various social relationships that define the manner in which people interact with one another. This philosophy was put forward by a Chinese teacher, also known as the Confucius. During the “hundreds of schools” era, the Confucius philosophy faced competition form the ideas from other schools of thought. However, they were further developed into the Neo-Confucianism and then into the New Confucianism by receiving an official sanction after the collapse of the Confucianism. The principle played a substantial role in educating people on the importance of family respect since it was the basis for a strong government. As a result, this led to the development of governments whose best interests were serving the Chinese people adequately. The Confucius expounded more on the phrase that a person should not do to other what they do not expect to be done to them. Hence, this helped in the development of a culture whereby people respected one another and were willing to do good deeds to others. In the current history, Confucius is well known for having shaped the human history through his teachings. The teachings not only define the cultural and political nature of China but also has an influence in the whole world. His principles are still being used in today by different cultures across the world. In addition, the philosophy advocates for the fact the best government is one which rule in accordance with the people's rights and does not involve coercion and bribery in its leadership. Before the year 1800, the political world of China was guided by this philosophy, and hence, its political agenda majored on democracy and unity among the people.
In addition, China can also be defined by the three kingdoms because it depicts an influence it's political territories. China was divided into three states namely, Wei, Wu, and Shu. Each of them was headed by an emperor, and the division was done after the end of the Han Dynasty. Scholars refer to this period as the time when the founding of the Wei state took place and the conquering of the Wu state by Jin Dynasty (Kuo 2015). In addition, the period of the three kingdoms was marked by three phases. The initial phase was marked by unrest in different parts of China. This was followed by a stable military arrangement between the three states, and the Jin Dynasty then conquered them. The unrest during this era led to the loss of life and property of the most people in the history of China. The unification of the various kingdoms was a huge step of the Chinese people towards the creation of peace and an empire that they could trust. The census taken in AD 280 indicated a total of approximately 16,163, 863 individuals and 2,459,840 households (Baaquie, Belal and Qing-Hai 2018). However, there were several factors that affected the census since it did not capture the expected number of households and individuals. Besides, the period was marked by advancements in technology since it is during this time that the first form of a wheelbarrow was made. The different technological changes affected the rate at which the Chinese economy was growing. Technology made work easier, and in turn, this means that people became more productive as compared to the absence of technology. For example, Ma Jun is famous for being the first mechanical engineer to invent a hydraulic-powered puppet made for the Emperor Ming of Wei. China was among the first territories to begin the invention of such technologies. These technological advancements mark the basis at which the current technology of China is based on.
As well, the journey to the west defines China before the year 1800 by giving an outline of China during the Ming Dynasty. The novel was written during the sixteenth century, and it was among the four best classical novels written about the literature of China. This novel has a lot of descriptions about the cultural activities that took place in China before 1800 hence being a perfect reference towards the definition of China. The author developed characters to depict the various historical events which were in turn, the basis for its synopsis. Xuan Zang, a monk from Jingu Temple, decided to leave Chang'an in the year 629 because he was not contented about the poor translation that the Chinese had about the Buddhist religion. Emperor Taizhong had implemented travel restrictions, but the monk still managed to leave through the help of various Buddhists. The path through which he followed on his way to India, came to be known as the journey to the west. Therefore, this means that the chines had a religion that everyone was obliged to follow. However, people were misusing the religion by making the wrong interpretations about the events that Buddhism described. Hence, this led to divisions among the people as they tried to interpret their religion. In his stay in India, Xuan Zang spent approximately thirteen years studying more about the Buddhism religion (Baaquie, Belal and Qing-Hai 2018). When he came back to China, the people showed him support by offering money to support his projects regardless of the fact that he had left China against the travel ban. His return played a substantial role in shaping the Chinese religion through the establishment of the Yuhua Gong whereby people could be guided on how to interpret the religion. He also led to the founding of the Dharma character school of Buddhism. Concisely, China had a strong religion which the citizens were willing to go to any extremes in an attempt to interpret it correctly. Thi...