China is and has been a major civilization since the Ancient Era, and has grown into what is now known as ‘the Golden Age’ of China. During the Golden Age, there was significant economic improvement in China. This economic success stemmed from a number of things including: trade, technological innovations, engineering and Vietnamese drought proof rice which sustained the constantly growing population. Also during the Golden Age; there was also a ‘rebirth’ of Confucianism. This rebirth restored order in Chinese society which posed a more negative impact on women; especially women with status, who previously had been given more freedom. Another sign of status for women was foot binding; from childhood many parents allowed for their children’s feet to be broken repeatedly.This was done so that one day when they would get married, it showed that they came from wealth and that they would marry into more wealth. These women had their feet broken repeatedly over the courses of their lives so that they also couldn’t leave their husbands.
China also used a merit system that was based on one exam that was open to everyone but very hard to prepare for. Those that came from wealthy families (males) were provided with the best instructors to study with while those that came from poorer families were unable to study and prepare. This is how China’s political leaders were selected. China also had a tribute system, which served a way for paying respect to others by giving them money. Another way of showing respect to someone was to ‘kowtow’ which came in the form of a bow. This was seen more in political settings or atmospheres.
Despite being disconnected from the rest of the world; China did rather well when it came to trade. Vietnam unlike many other countries wanted to be Chinese; China wanted to claim them but the Roman Empire had already made plans to make them apart of their own empire.
The Golden Age is a befitting name for China because while they hadn’t been so in tune with the rest of the world; they were very successful in the trade industry. They had a strict system in which they picked political leaders and appealed to other civilizations such as Vietnam.
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