Blog Entry #4

New ideas emerge from political, social, or economic stress because of the need for change. When something goes wrong, it means there is some sort of idea that is failing. The emperors went a bit too far at one point and tried to have the eunuchs check the power of their wives' families. A struggle developed between the scholar-gentry, the eunuchs, and the wives' families. It eventually lead to their downfall, but also introduced new ideas. After 400 years of warring states, the Sui dynasty rose to power, some of the most creative and influential people of all human history. If not for the political and social stress in China, the Sui dynasty might never have rose to power. Also, after farming became harder and harder, making more people poor, the Han dynasty created watermills and wheelbarrows. Because of stress like these, many new ideas are forced to be formed, many times creating a better solution than what was previously done.

3. Population Growth

I do not think that population growth was the single most important development during the Classical Period. Network exchange was equally essential. Population growth had its problems like deforestation, overpopulation, famine, loss of many resources, and so on. That's where Network exchange came in. Trading with others created new ways of gaining back the lost needs. Network exchange cannot survive on its own either. It needs population growth so that there actually is trade! Neither can exist without the other.

2. Intro to Classical Period

The biggest change of the Classical Period was the relationship between civilizations and how they influenced one another. Trade became much more convenient. India had the longest trade routes. Nomads would often help out with trades between peoples. Greek science was used all over Asia. Cultures like the Greek's became very popular and spread widely to other civilizations. Many religions also changed civilizations greatly. Confucianism, for example, would spread all over Asia, not just China. These advancements led to many future achievements.