Jenna Smith
CP World History
Mr. Yeatts, Period 4
30 October 2018
The Foundations of Civilizations: Ancient China and Ancient Rome
The flowing water of the Yellow and Yangtze Rivers and the rolling hills and shining waters of the Mediterranean offered home to two of the most outstanding empires in history, Ancient China and Ancient Rome. Both were foundations of their respective places in the world and gave inspiration to many of the empires, cities, and countries that would follow. Though their similarities seem more apparent, their cultural aspects and influences were unlike each other. Nevertheless, their difficulties with governing and their economic structures prove that Ancient China and Ancient Rome were more similar than different.
Though the two ancient empires have many more comparisons than contrasts, China and Rome differ in their cultural aspects and influences among other civilizations. The empires spread over a vast area of land, ultimately meaning that they had many neighboring amenities.The difference, however, lay in the way that they influenced those places. Ancient China, specifically throughout the Qin and Han Dynasties, had a huge impact on the border states such as Korea, Vietnam, and Japan. Some adopted the written language of Chinese, such as Vietnam and Japan, others learning the bronze and iron technology of weapons and farming tools, such as Korea and Japan. Ancient Rome, on the other hand, had a lesser impact on the civilizations surrounding them, more so having the biggest influence on the city-states within the empire. Ancient Rome mainly focused on the almost two-thousand states inside the domain. The Romans were not focused on turning everyone into a Roman citizen. On this note, another contrast between the two civilizations was the diversity they had. In Ancient China, their main goal was to become one unified place, starting with the emperor Shi Huangdi and his standardization and unification of China through common laws, weights and measures, and languages. Unlike this, the Roman Empire was many different cultures in one. There were city-states that spoke and wrote in Latin while others used Greek. Because they did not force their way of life onto the conquered peoples, their empire resulted in being much more diverse. Lastly, a further difference in their cultures was their form of language. In Ancient China, they were very focused on written languages, poetry and storytelling being the most common. On the contrary, Ancient Rome was more oral speaking of the language. Men would often stand in front of crowds of people and give speeches.
These two ancient civilizations may have a few differences but there are many more similarities to pay attention to, the first being in their difficulties in governing their empires. Both empires had periods in which army generals led the country, the most famous being the emperors of the Qin, Sui, Tang, and Han dynasties and Julius Caesar and his successors. Even with strong military men as their leaders, both empires had problems with revolts from the lower class people. In China, during every dynasty listed above, there were peasant uprisings. This contributed to the fall of the Han Dynasty in 220 A.D. after the empire was so severely weakened that it ultimately fell. In Rome, the slave revolts were also the general cause to the fall of the empire. The revolts at Bagaudae led to a gain of territory for the slaves and eventually the fall of the mighty empire. Along with the difficulties and rebellions from the lower class people, both empires also had a problem with the barbarian tribes on their borders. Ancient China, specifically in the Han empire, had many problems with the Xiongnu, more commonly known as the Huns. They were north of China and often led riots and destruction in China due to trade problems, eventually leading to a violent war against Emperor Wu. Much like this, Ancient Rome also experienced barbarian problems with the Huns. They invaded from the east and ultimately began the domino effect that contributed to the fall of the Roman Empire.
Another aspect that shows Ancient China and Ancient Rome were more similar than different lies in their economic structures and uses. Ancient China and Ancient Rome were both large centers for trade. They were connected by a route called the Silk Road, a trading network that connected the East and the West. One of the most traded items on the Silk Road that both China and Rome exported was materials, China being silk and Rome being wool, gold, and silver. Rome highly valued silk from China for it was seen as an elite and wealthy symbol. As well as trade along the silk road, another similarity was within the empire's use of money. As do many countries currently, much of their money went to the military efforts of the empire, as the military was how they expanded their territories. The rest went to public works projects. Ancient China was and still is home to one of the wonders of the world, The Great Wall of China. This wall began during the Qin Dynasty and offered protection along the border of the empire from barbarians and other unwelcome people. Much like this, Ancient Rome spent money on the Aqueducts, an astounding water system that brought fresh water from miles away to the people of Rome. They were built throughout a number of emperors reigns, including Caligula and his successor, Claudius. Lastly, another similarity within their economic structures was through the unified currency. Ancient China used the copper coin, invented and put into use during the reign of Shi Huangdi, the first emperor of the Qin Dynasty. Likewise, Ancient China, although diverse with many cultures and city-states, also had a unified currency. This consisted of gold, silver, bronze and copper coinage, first introduced during the Roman Republic.
Both of these ancient wonders, China and Rome, were home to some of the most outstanding civilizations in world history. Whether you look at the incredible architecture achievements they had, ones that are still standing today almost 300 years later, or the written language they created, everything about these empires is amazing. Although Ancient China and Ancient Rome show a difference in their cultural aspects and impacts, they are more similar than different due to their governing difficulties and economic structures. No matter, both remain everlasting, historic fascinations to the world.