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What Are The Similarities Between Han China And The Roman Empires Dbq

Decent Essays

Allison Sawey
Ms. Rodriguez
WHAP 6th
Oct. 30th 2014
DBQ Essay

In the Classical Era, 600 B.C.E to 600 C.E, the Han and Roman empires thrived in technology. The advancement in technology gave an opportunity for mixed opinions and attitudes throughout both empires. Although technology was viewed as most beneficial to the working class and more advanced than in previous eras, the governments of these societies played a negative role in the advertisement of technology.
Overall, both Han China and the Roman Empire viewed technology as most beneficial to the working class. As written in History of the Early Han Dynasty in 200 C.E, new inventions, such as the water-powered blowing-engine for iron agriculture, were used in the Han Dynasty and ultimately …show more content…

In 20 C.E, Han Philosopher Huan Tan states in his writing, New Discourses, that local workers utilized the power of animals to increase the efficiency of cooking utensils, such as the pestle and mortar. This testifies that developers of his time were able to take beauties of the Earth’s creation and use them efficently, in a way that had not been previously done (Doc. 3). In the first century, Roman Water Commissioner Frontinus heavily compares the beneficial invention of the aqueducts, used to supply water to public baths, private latrines, and fountains, to the beautiful, but useless, works of the Greeks, proving that Romans had completed a standard that the Greek bar had not met. (Doc. 8). An additional document from a Roman citizen in response to the Roman water commissioner, Frontus, would be helpful. The citizen could voice the comparison of Rome’s water system before and after the aqueducts were implemented, thus verifying that the new technology truely was more beneficial than prior. Similarly, in the first century, Roman citizen Plutarch praises the works of second century Roman leader Gaius Gracchus, who focused on the constuction of roads that had distance indicators and a level appearance, thus proving that roads of the Roman time, unlike previously, were not only beneficial to …show more content…

Huan Guan, Han government offical, wrote Discourses on Salt and Iron in the first century B.C.E, and explained that since the state government had monopolized the salt and iron industries, the tools provided by the state, rather than the workers themselves, were difficult to use and not as good quality as the ones made by individuals, implying that the governent put a halt to workers utilizing the more productive tools of the era (Doc. 2). An additional document from a worker from either the salt or iron industry would be helpful. The worker could voice whether the state-enforced tools had negetively effected their work, thus verifying that the government’s ideology of quantity over quality and lack of support in productive technology was detrimental to state wide production. In the first century B.C.E writing, On Duty, Roman leader Cicero expresses that craftsmen take part in vulgur, nonenlightening occupations, thus negetively advertising the practice of the working class as well as the technology the working class utilizes (Doc. 5). The author of the document is negatively advertising the use of new technology because he, as a Roman leader and a member of high society, is widely listened to and can greatly affect the attitude of the citizens towards new technology throughout the Roman

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