Dbq Han and Roman Technology

Han and Roman Technology DBQ
There were a lot of different attitudes towards technology between the Han and Roman Empire, even different opinions within the empires themselves. During the Han Empire, some believed that technology was a very important part of an empire and requires government intervention, while others thought it was just a gift from enlightened leadership. During the Roman Empire, some believed that technology was necessary, but not necessarily enlightening, while others saw it as showing that they were the best civilization during this time period.
The first document from the Han Empire was written by a government official. According to his writing, he wanted to prevent the flood with the establishment of water conversation offices. In addition he talked about how many people he need for these offices and in which areas. I see the creation from these offices as a gift from the government, because it brings new jobs to the population and you can control and prevent the flooding better. This document showed that the government wanted to help and make steps towards newer technology. The second document was written by another government official from the Han Empire. He is talking about that, at first, the quality of tools for salt-boiling were well made, because they were made by individual families. Later on with the intervention from the government, the quality of these special tools declines rapidly, because these tools were produced by the state that used convict labor to create them. For the reason that that the quality declined, good implements were hard to find and the common people couldn’t afford the high prices by the government. The government did not make the best step to take over the production of these tools. These interventions from the government led to a significant decline in the quality of the tools and raised the prices. The government looked very selfish with this action and did not even think about the people, because the state monopolized this area and got an extra money income. A third document was written by Huan Tan, an upper-class Han philosopher. He is talking about how the mythological wise emperor Fuxi invented the pestle and mortar for the people. Through new technologies the people could improve all these tools and even used the help of animals. The invention of the pestle and mortar was a gift from a wise emperor and because of the good attitude towards technology, these tools were improved a lot. The last document was a piece from “History of the Early Han Dynasty” and talks about the governor Tu Shih who invented a water-powered blowing-engine for the casting of iron. It helped the people with their agriculture work for more benefit and little labor. It was really a great intervention of Tu Shih, who loved the common people, and helps them with the future invention of this remarkable machine. It was a good sign that he liked to discover new technologies and support the people. In my opinion, this documents point of view was influenced by the fact that it is a government-sponsored piece of history. The government wanted to look good in history and as a government, which helped their people, so maybe the document does eventually not express the truth.
The first document in this group is by Cicero, an upper-class Roman political leader who said in the document that labor and jobs, like crafting, are vulgar and about the people who are do these jobs, “labor is purchased rather than their skill.” He was really thinking that there is an improvement of technology necessary in this area of labor and that the Roman Empire definitely needs more skilled labor. He was overall really unhappy with the whole situation and how the distribution of skilled and unskilled labor was. His point of view was marked by his position in life. He is an upper-class political leader, who probably never had to work and never had to earn money on himself to survive in this hard time with separation between the different stands in the society. In addition, I would like to see an additional chart which shows the spread of skilled and unskilled labor within the Roman Empire, so I can better imagine how many people really did unprofessional work, and who did not. The second document was from Plutarch, a Greek-born citizen, who wrote a paper about the Roman political leader Gaius Gracchus and talks about his genius. It describes that Gaius Gracchus was very excited about his roads and they are the best constructed roads he have ever seen. The roads stood out because of its unique construction, like an equal and parallel height of both sides with a result that the road had a very beautiful appearance. Plutarch seems to be really proud of this advanced technology of road building, because he talks about the roads very highly. It was the big showpiece of Rome in this time period and showed that Rome is one of the leading cities with its advanced technologies. The third document is from Seneca, an upper-class roman philosopher and advisor to Emperor Nero. Seneca said that tools for crafts weren’t invented by wise men and that everybody with a nimble and sharp mind could have invented it. He thought that tools like the hammer or tongs were necessary, because without them they could not have all these overwhelming craft works all over the Roman Empire, but he also said that these tools were not an invention by a great or elevated person and that it was not important enough for him. The fourth and last document was written by Frontinus, a Roman general, governor of Britain, and water commissioner for the city of Rome. Frontinus talks about the Aqueducts which are another genius and complex construction from the Romans. He accurately explains where the Aqueducts are getting their water from and who is going to use the new invention of running water. Furthermore, he expresses that the romans are the superior nation by comparing it with the “useless” works of the Greeks. This document shows that the people were really proud about their engineering. I would question the credibility of this document because he is the water commissioner and he has to say positive things about his work. If he said something negative, he would probably lose his job as commissioner. The first century C.E. in Rome was one of the biggest centuries in the history of this city. Two of the most significant creations of the first century were the well-constructed roads and the Aqueducts of Rome. The roman roads were a masterpiece of engineering during this time period. They especially attracted attention because of their beautiful appearance and useful use. Stones on either side of the road at lesser intervals were placed, which made it easier to mount horses from the stones. Furthermore, the roads revolutionized the trade for the Roman people. With the new roads is it possible to trade easier and faster to specific destinations. Another revolutionary creation was the Aqueducts which were distributed to various destinations inside and outside the city Rome. It was an ingenious idea to lead the water from the source through a kind of gutter, with continuous slope to Rome. Not just the upper-class and rich people benefitted from the Aqueducts. The water was led to basins, fountains, public buildings, and to multiple public uses. It made the city of Rome a better place for its citizens. Romans could feel really special and proud because of these inventions. It changed the way of living for them completely and these things have still impact to the world today. Throughout the first century B.C.E and C.E., technology improved, advanced, changed, and diffused. Some people took pride in this. Others didn’t see the importance in it. It is the point of view of the person that determines whether pride or indifference was felt. In the documents, the Han and Roman empires used technology to better the civilization. But the Han Empire was more appreciative of technology, and thus emphasized their appreciation more than the Romans did.