... from The Earth and Its People chapter 6:
- A Republic of Farmers (p. 148)
- An Urban Empire (p. 152)
- The First Chinese Empire (p. 163)
- The Long Reign of the Han (p. 164)
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Carlos De León
Social Studies Department Chair
Luther Burbank High School
32 comments:
I found out about their was a legend about the founder of Rome, Romulus, who was raised by a "she-wolf". (page 148 paragraph 1)
In 753 BCE, Romulus was said to find the Roman City State (P 148). In Rome, wealth was found in the city but was heavily dependent on the rural agriculture production. (P.154) Those who had large sums of land were the wealthy few and were able to run for council. In accordance to tradition it was said that between 753-507 BCE Rome was ruled by seven kings. The tyrant of Rome, Superbus was over ruled by Brutus, who then established the Roman Republic (507-31 BCE). The concentration of power was in the hands of the senate with an annual election of Republic Officials. They maintained law and order and collected imperial taxes from the rural and urban areas of Rome. (P. 148 & 153) Due to the high increase in population, the Roman City-State was hardly a democracy, it would be simply too difficult for people to cast votes over the vast empire, that is why it was more of a Republic, with elected officials. (P. 148) With the large population of the Roman Empire, imports of grain from Egypt and Sicily played a significant role in feeding the people. (P.148) Another result of the growing Roman Empire was the Romanization of the region, the spread of Latin culture and language. (P.155)
In 480-221 BCE a vast majority of Eastern China was in the Warring States Period, but the ruler of Qin united the Northern Plain and the Yangzi River Valley, beginning the creation of China & the Imperial Age. The ruler of Qin took the name Shi Huangdi, meaning “First Emperor”. He and his prime minister, Li Si had great experience from the Warring States Period and governed there people through a totalitarian structure, enforcing Confucianism and legalism. (P.163) Along with this new regime, they abolished primogeniture to eliminate any rival authority of the landowning aristocracy. The Qin also had abolished slavery and adapted a free peasantry whom were small land holders that had to each year devote their time to a state project. In 210 BCE Shi had died and the Qin Dynasty had fallen due to the demands of forced labor and exploitation of financials. But four years later a new dynasty rose up, the Han (206-220 BCE). The Han was ruled by Liu Bang and had a regime similar to that of the Qin, but his imposition of Confucianism emphasized the benevolence of government, rituals, and the behaviors of those in the hierarchy. Then the Emperor Wu expands the empire in 140 BCE and the capitol goes from Chang’an in the Wei Valley to Luoyang. (P.164) In contrast to the Qin, the Han saw their emperor as the son of the Heavens, and were chosen to rule under the mandate of heaven. Therefore, the Han regarded that any natural disasters were proof of the emperor’s failure to manage. In the Han, when the emperor died, the chief widow would choose a male of the clan to inherit rule. Now, the Han government was centralized by 9 ministers, a single prime minister and a civil service director. So, in comparison to Rome and the Han the government both elected officials for administering the empire. (P. 165) Lastly, the Han had a Gentry Class where they had taken a score of young males and educated them both morally and intellectually so that they may take part in governmental services. This Gentry class is the reason why the Chinese society had been more efficient and responsive than it has in the past.(p.166)
I found it interseting how the Roman Rublic essential economic was agriculture
The Roman Repubilc essential economic activity was agriculture
(E&IP Page 148, paragraph 3)
Roman was founded in 753 B.C.E by a man named Romulus. The first inhabitants were the indigenous people located mostly around the penisula. The main way of of economic activity was agriculture. Due to this it land was the basis of wealth. Therefore mostly or all men were rich,political involved and land owning men. The heads of these rich families were part of the ''Council Of Elders.'' They played a big role in the Roman goverment. The people in the group were only rich and wealthy men, they had to be in order to be part of the political enviorment.
Textual Evidence: ''Agriculture was the essential economic activity in the early Roman state, and land was the basis of wealth.As a consequence,social status,political privilage,and fundamental values were related to landownership.''
Page:148
The Earth and Its People.
During the the first 3 centuries of Rome it was an urban empire. Though it was called ''urban'' it didnt mean people were living in cities,it just ment that people lived around the engaged area of agriculture and lived in villages. The main cities like Egypt and Cathrage had hundred thousands of people living in them. Therfore in Rome there was a lower class and higher class. The higher class lived on one of the seven hills and was centered around a rectangular courtyard. While the lower class people lived in crowded slums in the lowing parts of the city.
''At Rome the upper classes lived in elegant townhouses on one or another of the seven hills. The house was centered around an atrium, a rectangular courtyard''
''The poor of Rome lived in crowded slums in the low lying parts of the city.Their wooden tenements were subjct to frequent fires and must have been damp,dark,and smelly, with few furnishings.''
Page:152
The Earth and Its People
Before an empire would have risen in China it was divided among rival states who would fight constantly. But during the second half of the third century B.C.E Qin suddenly rose and and took over thse states one by one. The ruler of Qin took the name ''Shi Huangdi'' which ment first ruler, had established his land in the tributaries of the Yellow River. It was less urbanized than the east. Every empire had an army therefore Qin did too. It was made of poor people and peasents.
Shi Huangdi and his advisor created a structure to the individual needs of the state. The amount of land you had determined what kind of person you were. The Qin abolished slavery and became a free peasentry. The people in this groups were landholders that could not escape the goverments demands for taxes and would serve in the army to devote a portion of labor to the states projects. All the govermnet wanted was troops and money.
''Shi Huangdi and Li Si created a totalitarian structure that subordinated the individual to the needs of the state.''
''The Quin abolished slavery and took steps into brring a free peasantry.The members in this group numerous small landholders who could not evade the goverments commands for taxes and who would serve in the army and devote a portion of their labor each year to the state prjects.''
Page 163
The Earth and Its People
After the dust cleared the Han dynasty was born. They established a confucianism to address the new circumstances. The first 80 years was a period of consolation then later in the second century Emperor Wu est. a period of miltary expansion. Han was in Chang'an in the Wei Valley. Then a set of powers had emerged; Zhou and Qin. Chang'an was protexted by rings of hills but had a very fertile plain. It was filled with merchants, craftsmen and foreign visitors. They were very serious about connecting with heaven. For example when a natural disaster would happen they would say it was because of the mismanagement of the emperors.
''Chang'an well protected by a ring of hills but having ready acces to fertile plains...''
Since the Chinese believed there was a strong correspondence between events in heaven,in the natual world, and in human society,they regarded on natural disasters...''
Pge: 164
The Earth and Its People
Unlike the Roman Empire which was ruled by landowning aristocracy, the Chinese Empires decided to get rid of aristocrat landlords which.Both Chinese and Roman Empires expanded in a similar fashion and depended in local officials to collect taxes.They enforced a central government and expanded in similar fashion.(pg 148 and pg.64) Also unlike in the Roman republic, hierarchy was rejected during the the Han dynasty when Daoism became popular.(Pg. 149 and pg. 168)
I found the four sections quite interesting. The first two were about Rome and the last two were about China. In "A Republic of Farmers", I learned about the life of the early Romans as well as their political system. They were dependent on agriculture as a part of their economy and they had a Senate, also known as a Counsil of Elders, that played a dominant role in politics.
In the "Urban Empire", I learned that Rome's urban empire lasted for the first three centuries. It had a huge population as well. Romanization also took place. Romanization is the spread of latin language and the Roman way of life. In the urban empire, trade played a major role in the economic system. The wealthier Romans lived in elegant houses while the poor Romans lived in "crowded slums in low lying parts of the city"
In "The First Chinese Empire", I learned that eastern china was divided into several rival states. It went through that period also known as the Warring states period from 480-221 BCE. The name of the first Chinese empire was the Qin empire. Its emperor was Shi Huangdi. The Qin empire created many roads for uses such as connecting the empire.
In "The Long Reign of the Han", I learned that the Han dynasty took place from 206-220 BCE and that the first eighty days of the Han Empire was a time of consolideration. The capital of the Han Empire was located in Chang'an in the Wei Valley. Chang'an was protected by rings of hills. The populations was around 246,000 people and it was also protected by high walls. The central government was by the Prime Minister and the civil service director.
Local officials played a large role in the governments of both Rome and ancient China. In Rome, cities political organization was modeled after the government of the capital city and thus included a town council with two annually elected officials. These “prosperous members of the community maintained law and order and collected the imperial taxes from both the urban center and its agricultural hinterland.” (Earth and its people pp.153) During the Han Empire, the central government also depended on local officials who were responsible for collected taxes, protecting the area, and keeping order. (Earth and its people pp.165) Without these local officials, both these empires would have fallen a lot sooner because they wouldn’t have been able to control the vast area under their rule.
Agriculture was the essential economic activity in the early rome state. Thier land was thier wealth. The urban Empire of Rome was The first third century empire. The most of all people lived not in the urban but the rual areas of rome. The first chinese empire was Qin. Qin was an empire that worked its way up by taking out every state one by one. The Han empire was Began the new dynasty. Its emperor launched a period of military expansion. Its capital was very protected through. IT stayed the capital till the dynasty fell.
Eventhough Rome was a republic, it wasn't exactly a fair one. the rich and powerfulmen
,paterfamilias,had more power in decision making than others.Inequality in Rome became a system of mutual benefits and obligations. the Roman republic was, in a sense, a game of political chess. people used others to gain power and protection.
The Roman empire was a network of small towns which benefited an urban populus. It was heavily dependant on trade and agriculture. in china,shi huangdi and li si created a totalitarian structure, and cracked down on confucianism because it didnt go with the way they governed their followers.the qin goverment was commited to unifying the chinese civilization.in the han dynasty,the hankept some customs of legalism and adapted confucianism to adress the new cirumstances of a large centralized political enitity. whereas daoism emphasised the value of harmonizing with nature, unlike other religions it urged acceptance ofthe disorder of the world.
The foundation of Rome was a good thing because Rome had a good system of government, the only negative out of it is that women were not treated the way that they should've been treated. the dynasties of Qin and the Han was intresting especially in the fact that the people belived that natural disasters were happening because of the emperors effors. That thought is really wrong.
A Republic of Farmers- After ending a period of many Kings in 507 BCE, Rome became a Republic.(the earth and its people, chap 6 page 148)The form of governing used by the Romans demonstrated that everyone was equal and should have a voice in their government. Having equality lowered the chances of conflict, which meant advancement in improving ways of life.
An Urban Empire- The Roman Empire's main focus was trade, and although most of the population lived in rural areas, the center of commerce was at cities.(the earth and its people chap 6, page 152) Commerce with several areas meant more communication, which brough mixing of cultures and spread of "Romanization". This lead to a rise of religions, such as Christianity and also an advancement in technology and available resources.
The First Chinese Empire- After hundreds of years of being divided, China became an empire ruled by Shi Huangdi. (the earth and its people chap 6, page 163) The empire demonstrated and brough leadership and change that influenced the government and the way life was live.
The Long Reign of the Han- A new dynasty was established in China. (the earth and its people chap 6, page 164) The Han dynasty was very important to China's history. It is symbolically a standard of government. It set a system of government that would be used for later ages.
In my opinion, I would say that the Urban empire was pretty harsh for some of the lower class and specially for the people that lived in the countryside because of all the hard work and the encounter with bandits, wild animals, and other hazards. I think that there was a huge change when Christianity started in Rome because of the fact that its was a sign of disloyalty towards the king, in the end, Christianity had spread more.
I did not like the Roman Society because of the fact that everyone in the family was under the absolute authority of the oldest male…What made it so wrong for the family to have rights? I also didn’t like the fact that women didn’t play a public role, they were still bossed around once they got married however, I did like the fact that women did help shape Roman history and over time made a difference.
I couldn’t believe that the Qin dynasty was brought down over a series of rebellions, my opinions on the abolishment of slavery were that it still continued because of the fact that some people were involved in forced labor so they can create walls and roads. In my opinion, I would say that when the Qin dynasty was brought down when they changed their form of government
To me, the Han dynasty is more better that the Qin dynasty because it had a better government. I think that by the Han dynasty having a better government, it lasted longer than the Qin dynasty and it was able to grow more
These readings consist of the foundation and establishment of Rome and China from the early ages of Rome and the Qin kingdoms. These readings specialized in having documentation and textual evidance that helped me understand these civilizations better
-Juan Chavarria 5th
Most of Rome's Senate was made of rich farmers and they played political roles in Rome."The heads of these wealthy families were members of the Senate-a "Council of Elders"-that polayed a dominant role in the politics of the Roman state.
Rome was strongly runned by agriculture and farmers. You can highly say that the wealthy and powerful had control over Rome because the Senate and the consuls were chosen from generation. "Roman society was unashamedly hierarchial." Page: 149 Paragraph 2 Sentence 1
It was also an urban empire, not in the fact that it had cities and such, but they were really adavanced in other aspects like the way the ran and administered other towns.
Rome was strongly runned by agriculture and farmers. You can highly say that the wealthy and powerful had control over Rome because the Senate and the consuls were chosen from generation. "Roman society was unashamedly hierarchial." Page: 149 Paragraph 2 Sentence 1
It was also an urban empire, not in the fact that it had cities and such, but they were really adavanced in other aspects like the way the ran and administered other towns.
On The Earth and Its People chapter 6, the main topics talked about were the Roman and Han China Empires. These two empires had many differences. The Empires both were at one point very strong but had a very different way of doing things such as the way that agriculture was viewed and how the landowners worked. In Rome the farmers were only workers that worked for the owner that owned the land. The owners lived in the city, which is why the Roman Empire was more viewed along the lines of Urban, even though the majority populations were farmers. In china farming was a very important part of the way they lived because of the system established during the first Chinese Empire. The systems, rules, and points of views were the major thing that had an impact in the way these Empires grew.
My thought on Rome and China is that tey both had their own personal weapons like armies to keep strong. They also started up vey rapidly. This goes to show anything small can become something big. Both very succesful yet different. ROmes's technology was a bit more of religion while China's was of culture. The recipe for success isn't the same for all, it just depends how well you work with what you got.
The empires of Rome and China both lasted quite some time. The way they ran their governemnt had its differences but they both treated their people the same. Higher classes had their benefits and lower classes were much worse. Their rulers were respected and thought of as great rulers. The governemnt systems were what helped them last a long time.
Earth and its People
In Earth and its people, i found it interesting that, The farmers republic failed, because it unleashed powerful forcs that eventually brought down the government. in the italian present farmers were away at hoome, most generated from conquest of upper classes. Julius ceaser's nephew and dear fiend took over the conquest.When Agustus died one of his family became the emperor.
the first roman Empire was an urban empire. there were thousands of inhabitants, many cities. Rome was a vast land with a upper class, that was taken care of, and a lower class that lived in old damp houses. Living in the countryside was really tough. indipendent farmers were replaced by tenaent farmers and were able to live off the land.
Rise of christianity brought alot of bad mojo the roman empire had to worship the king alone, but christianity only worships one god. Paul was the one who helped spread christianity.
thrid cenury crisis was political military and economic crisis and nearly destroyed the roman empire.
Constantine became ruler after his father and became a christian, a strong cristian faith.
the kin dynasty had a ruler with two titles the government is noted in the cha[ter and the dynastys king had died before he died his people had to give him labor to make roads and walls to protect them from invaders.
after the kin dynasty had fallen the han dynasty began , it stood for along time, they had a upper and lower class upper class was contained of palaces an administrator office a stone wal and the emporer was surrounded by his chilren and his plenty wifes. the han empire wasnt controlled by the emporer but by the administrators. the han empire died because, it was non chinese people raiding across the frontier.
the status of rome was very solely located in the wealthy (upper class) mostly in the senete and consuls who did eventually grow greedy of this power which eventually turned it into an empire where they now had a king but was catestrofically ravviged by civil war in pursuit of the thrown.
In both the Chinese and Roman empires there were good things and bad things about them. In Rome, the rich were the land owners and the only ones able to run for the counsel.They also had paterfamilias which meant the men rule the households. During the first Chinese empire farming was started and used greatly. They had a patriarchal empire where a man dominated. I think for the time period and the issues they faced, both empires lasted a long time and did well.
i thought these articles were interesting because it talks about how Rome was a republic. but most of the power went to the wealthy men. The middle-lower class people were the farmers and people who owned small farms and the wealthy people were the ones who owned the really large farms and basically had people working it for them.
Agriculture was essential in the Roman Empire. Although the Chineese were not in favor of Agriculture aristocracy. Both civilizations revolved around a central government. The Roman Empire being a Republic, and the Han Dynasty favoring Daoism.
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