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Chinese History
There are a number of factors that contributed to the rise of the Mongols in China. Chief among these is that after the Mongols invaded China, they were able to establish strong political control over the area. This was an extension of the Mongol system of governance that had been utilized in many of the lands conquered by the Mongol empire. Marco Polo, who visited Khanbalik during the reign of Kublai Khan, described the system of governance that the Mongols had imposed on China. They "appointed twelve…barons to supervise all decisions concerning the movement of the armies…" Polo noted that this council led to a high quality of decision-making with respect to resource deployment, and allowed for a stronger overall military presence in China as a result. Polo also noted that this tactic allowed the military leaders to identify the stronger soldiers and units, and cull the weak from the military. In addition to having a coherent system that promoted leaders and deployed resources, these twelve barons maintained a reporting system that allowed the Khan to maintain knowledge of and control of such troop movements, while allowed the movements to be conducted in the context of overall imperial strategy.
A similar approach was undertaken with respect to administration in China as well. With 34 provinces under administration, there were twelve different barons who appointed ministers and judges to manage these different properties. Again,...
This worked in combination with loyalty, and a willingness of the different leaders within the system to collect taxes with minimal corruption and to conduct ethical administration. In a sense, it was human resources that allowed Kublai Khan to administer such a vast territory so effectively. One of the reasons that this human resources strategy worked was that the Khan was willing to delegate much of the control over to the Chinese. There were too few capable Mongols to administer such a vast territory, and the Khan was able to find loyal, capable and strong Chinese leaders to help control the territory under the Khan's overall governance.
Another control system that was put into place was the strong communications network. At that time, administration of such a large territory was complicated by the logistical challenges post by transportation and China's sometimes mountainous terrain. If the Khan and his governors are not in communication with a region, there is greater likelihood of unrest in that region. To address the communications issue, the Khan set up a postal system. Polo noted that this system was fast enough to communicate news or orders much more rapidly than could be done in most territories he had previously encountered.
A final element of control that the Khan implemented was just rule. In order to ensure loyalty, the Khan implemented a form of social welfare. "Respectable and honest…
Chinese History The Shang dynasty marked one of the earliest recorded periods of history in ancient China, for which substantial archeological evidence exists. Although Chinese culture did not necessarily flourish during the Shang, a system of writing was first developed, its characters etched on the so-called oracle bones. The Shang dynasty was a bronze-based society that extended from 1700 to 1027 BCE. The form of government practiced during the Shang was
Immigration, Spatial, And Cultural Aspects of the Canadian Pacific Railway At the turn of the 19th century, Chinese emigration began in Canada. The Chinese saw Canada as a place for new and prosperous opportunities in order to send money and goods back to their relatives in China. Voyagers from Hong Kong to Canada would take three weeks on water. Often they left China after being poverty or destitution. From the 1880's up
Chinese History 1100-1500 The Yuan Dynasty only lasted for a little less than a century in China, but has captured the imagination of western historians mainly because it was during this period of Mongol ascendancy that China was first "discovered" by Europe. In part this was a natural consequence of the Mongol invasions, which would extend out of Asia into eastern Europe, sacking the German city of Breslau in 1241 and
"In the period from the late Tang to the end of the Song there was an especially broad distribution of kiln sites and ware types, which supported local economies. International trade in export ceramics, mostly for household use, extended from Southeast Asia, India, and Africa to the Near East and to Japan, where Chinese tea bowls for monastic use were highly prized" (Thorp, and Vinograd 233). Among the main reasons
The most important accomplishments of the Yangshao include silk production, the erection of walled cities, and unpainted pottery made on wheels. Unlike Yangshao pottery, Longshan creations were simple polished black but because of the use of the wheel their design and durability represent technological progress in neolithic China. The erection of packed earth city walls with moats surrounding some of them shows that Longshan society became more urban in
This also shows how women became more active in the national political process, no matter their stance or beliefs. While the more traditional facts about communist China under Mao Zedong are explicated, there are some less horrific details about communist life of which the average American may not be aware. Sexual equality did grow. Food was distributed fairly. These are not the typical details of communist China we learn