Cultural and Political changes in China

China

The Time periods discussed in this essay will be between 200 BCE-1450 CE. The region will be Eastern Asia and specifically China. The changes and continuities in patterns along the Silk Road in Eastern Asia have seen two major periods, one being the ancestor worship and the transition into a way of life and philosophy belief.

As political, economic, and social decay befell Han China, Daoism gained a new popularity. The fall of the Han Empire made it difficult for the Chinese to resist nomadic invaders living along their borders. The Hsiung-nu had for decades been raiding Han China, prompting the Chinese to pay them tribute to prevent further invasions. By the year 220 Han China's strength had deteriorated to the point that it could no longer repel a final thrust by the invading Hsiung-nu who then took over and tore the empire apart. The fall of Han China was followed by centuries of disorder and political decentralization until Chinese rulers in the northern part of the country drove out the invaders.

The cultural changes went from being a mainly an ancestor worship/religion to Daoism and Confucianism. This was mainly brought about because by Zhou Dynasty they rounded up all the ancestor scrolls and burned them. Another cultural change was the population decline from epidemic disease this was caused by an influx of trade. The diseases may have killed certain cultures, religions, and ways of life off that we may never know about. To conclude while both Classical China and Rome had powerful, and rigid political systems, they differed mainly in their variety, outside religious influence, and general power over the populace.