Strayer opens the
chapter with China in the “Golden Age” as the country was unified under the Sui
dynasty. It’s amazing how many dynasties china had such as Tang and Song, and
they formed ever so quickly! If you look back at other civilizations that we
have studied, the other civilizations sometimes took a little longer to reform
their government system/ruling situation. I have heard of the term “foot
binding” before; this is such a cruel crime! Foot binding was tightly wrapping
a young girl’s, which lead to broken bones. Many Chinese mothers encouraged
their daughters to go through this procedure to enhance their marriage. I have
heard in the past that smaller feet looked more graceful and elegant, and big
feet were not as acceptable, so foot binding came into play. China developed
the tribune system, which required non-Chinese authorities to accept Chinese
superiority. Outsiders had to perform the kowtow to the Chinese emperor, and in
return, one was able to trade in China, and the emperor would give one “bestowals”
or gifts to maintain a neutral relationship with them. This was clever because
this would also protect the emperor of possibly getting killed. If he keeps a regulated relationship, he
would not feel threatened that one could possibly rebel against him. Even
though the process is not similar, it reminded me of a foreigner obtaining
citizenship from another country by passing an exam about the country’s facts. Change
is recurrent and has remained constant throughout all of history from the
beginning, and the emerging beliefs of Confucianism and Daoism have shaped
China tremendously.
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