Part
3: The Age of Accelerating Connections
For
me, the development of Silk Roads, Sea Roads, and Sand Roads is extremely
fascinating as this was the beginning of what greatly defines our world today.
As mentioned in the text, these roads “linked peoples both economically and
culturally, prompted the emergence of new states, and sustained elite privileges
in many ancient civilizations…they resembled the globalized world of modern
times (Strayer, 2013, pg. 342). It was through the Silk Roads (particularly during
prosperous periods of time) when many particular goods were traded and sold for
high prices due to their rareness in different cultures. Some of these products
were: mirrors, gunpowder, paper, furs, livestock, herbal medicine, dyes,
swords, artwork, and olive oil to name a few (pg. 320). These roads are
responsible for the spread of cultural diversity all over the world. The text
notes that Buddhism was a “cultural product of Indian civilization, spread
widely throughout Central and East Asia, owing much to the activities of
merchants along the Silk Roads. What I also found interesting about the various
roads of transit was the spread of disease. As pointed out in the text, “Each
of the major population centers of the Afro-Eurasian world had developed
characteristic disease patterns, mechanisms for dealing with them, and in some
cases immunity to them” (323). When comparing commerce prior to the 1500s to
commerce today some of the main differences are: prior to the 1500s most people
produced products mainly for their own consumption rather than for the market, “the
world economy of the modern era increasingly had a single center which came to
dominate much of the world both economically and politically…Economic
relationships among third-wave civilizations were more balanced and multi-centered
than those of the modern era” (Strayer, 2013, pg. 342).
From 500-1300 C.E. China witnessed many
changes in society. As pointed out in the text, Strayer believes these changes
were due to internal factors and political conflicts within China. “The
political conflicts of the “era of warring states” provided the setting and the
motivation for the emergence of Confucianism and Daoism…The personal qualities
and brutal policies of Shihuangdi played a role in China’s unification…and the
subsequent creation of a widespread network of canals and waterways as well as the
country’s technological achievements served to maintain that unity for a long
period of time…The massive inequalities of Chinese society generated the
peasant upheavals which periodically shattered that unity and led to new ruling
dynasties” (Strayer, 2013, pg. 392). One aspect that I found particularly interesting
was the relationship between China and Buddhism. It was the Silk Road that
initially brought Buddhism into China, and it was initially only practiced by
the merchants and monks living in China. “In half the millennium between
roughly 300 and 800 C.E., Buddhism took solid root in China within both elite and popular
culture, becoming a permanent, through fluctuating, presence in Chinese life”
(Strayer, 2013, pg. 389).
When comparing the history of China
to the history of Islam, one thing that stands out to me is the comparison of
Islamic law to that of Chinese law and the effect that religion had on these
countries. Both countries have strict rules and regulations that were created
to keep order and deter anyone from rebelling against that order; however
religion has had almost the opposite effect on each country. In China we had
the birth of Buddhism which challenges laws and regulations. In Islam we have
rules and regulations that are supported by the popular religion. Although
Islam encompasses great diversity between the Sunni and Shia understandings of
faith, both are in accordance with laws that are in place (although political
opinions vary). It just amazes me how one single aspect of a country (such as
religion) can change the course of a country within a limited amount of time.
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