The Most Significant Chinese Dynasty Research Assignment (Essay Sample)

The Most Significant Chinese Dynasty
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The Chinese history is marked with long and complex tales of dynasties that rose and fell through the rich heritage of the world’s most populous nation. The heritage has been attributed to some great inventions that have made the modern life easier. These include the inventions of the compass, gunpowder, paper and printing that have impacted the current universe. The Chinese have been the most economically, technologically and culturally advanced people throughout much of the recorded history. The written history of China shows that there were more than 559 emperors who ruled in the 83 dynasties. Each of these dynasties has a unique place in the history of China. For example, the Zhou Dynasty ruled the longest (1122 to 211 BC) while the Qin Dynasty was the shortest ruling (only 15 years). However, in this paper, the Han Dynasty will be shown as the most significant dynasty in the Chinese history.[Morton, William Scott, and Charlton M. Lewis. China: Its history and culture. Vol. 4. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2005.] [Gernet, Jacques. A history of Chinese civilization. Cambridge University Press, 1996.]
The Han Dynasty is considered the inspiring model of a self-perpetuating government in the Chinese history. It was one of the longest running major dynasties (206 BCE to 220 CE). The period has since been considered the golden age in many of the Chinese developments, especially in technology, arts, and politics. Therefore, the significance of the Han Dynasty cannot be overlooked as shaping the direction that China took in its history. Its impact in China was reminiscent of the Roman effect in the West.[Ibid.]
One of the major technological advancements of the Han Dynasty was the use of wheelbarrows and pulleys to move goods. The people of this time also used water-powered trip hammers to pulverize grains and ores. The device reduced the manual grain pounding and was used to decorticate and polish the grain. The device was used for long periods in history only to be replaced during the industrial revolution when power hammers were developed. Apart from these agricultural technologies, the Han Dynasty is also remembered for one of the most significant learning technologies – the paper. The paper was made by dipping a screen into a vat of pulp that was made of inner back tree and rice straw. The screen was then raised from the pulp. The dripping layer of slush on top of the screen was then pressed and dried. The sheet of paper that was manufactured using this process was dominantly used to wrap fish. Only a few sheets of this paper were used for writing, and those that survived from the Hans times can only be found in tombs.[Aiken, Maxwell, and Wei Lu. "Historical instances of innovative accounting practices in the Chinese dynasties and beyond." The Accounting Historians Journal (1993): 165.] [Ibid., 172]
The Hans Dynasty is also remembered for its written information. Tens of thousands of documents that were written in this period have been acquired since most of the writings were made on slips of bamboo and wooden tablets. Examples of the writings include the government records, pieces of poetry, historical records, a massive dictionary, mathematical problems, and the oldest large-scale census conducted in 2CE. The census reports that there were 57,671,400 people in the Hans Dynasty in the 2CE. The largest work of historiography, “The Records of the Grand Historian”, was written by Sima Qian during the Han Dynasty. It contains a 2000-years history of China which spans to the mythical times of the Yellow Emperor of the Xian Dynasty. In this period, the Chinese calligraphy was also established in an art while Wu Di established Confucianism into the official state ideology. These writings and developments have been crucial to the historians who have been studying history of China.[Loewe, M., 1986. The former Han dynasty. The Cambridge History of China, 1, pp.110.] [Ibid., 112]
The political and economic climate of the Hans Dynasty has also established it as the most significant dynasty. After inheriting the relatively cruel Qin Dynasty, the Han Dynasty established many years of peace and tranquility for its four centuries at the helm. The multi-ethnic country had its greatest period of prosperity that was achieved through the unity the Hans Dynasty established. The dynasty also saw the opening of the Silk Road, which became the hub of econo...