FriedRiceNSpice
Captain
Many of you have cited the unification of China as Qin Shi Huangdi's greatest achievement. This is true, for it is in fact one of the monumental milestones of not only Chinese, but world history.
First let us take a look at Rome. Rome had been one of the greatest powers on earth, in command of vast resources and masters of upwards of 50 million people. Having developed one of the most efficient and powerful war machines the world has ever seen, Rome had managed to defeat all civilized opponents it has been in contact with. However, once in that position, Rome stagnated and Roman society as well as the Roman military began to decay. The Romans fell to decadence and indulgence, and its political and military institutions fell prey to corruption and nepotism. The Romans would stay in a period of stagnation for around two centuries, before new barbarian hordes managed to overrun the empire, thus brining an end to one of the greatest states to exist on this earth.
Now let us turn our eye to the rise of Europe and the Renaissance, the general trend that can be seen is competition among states. The various kingdoms and principalities of Europe were in near constant conflict, and it was not unusual for millions to be killed in conflict annually. As has been said many times, the battlefield is the best classroom, and over the course of the centuries the European states made rapid advancements in strategy, tactics, technology, logistics, and organization. Inevitably, the competition would mean that the more adaptive states would eventually edge out the ones less receptive to change. Even states that had been formally powerful, such as Poland and the Ottoman Empire would find themselves unable to compete with newer powers such as Great Britain and Prussia as the centuries passed. Furthermore, the colorful institution of patronage led to a flourishing of the arts and sciences during the Renaissance. As various courts attempted to woo the most promising young artists and thinkers, culture and learning began to spring up throughout the European continent. Economically powerful states and those that invested more in developing the sciences and arts such as France and the Italian states would therefore have great cultural influence. Thus when East met West in the 19th century, the European nations had already been tempered and strengthened by centuries of competition.
China, on the other hand, has been a largely stagnant society since the latter half of the Ming dynasty. Shockingly introverted, the Ming and Qing exhibited a phobia for change, and did whatever they could to maintain things the way the were. Politically, socially, and militarily, the main institutions of both the Ming and the Qing would show decay and corruption, and would be slowly eroded after decades of stagnation. The civil service examinations that had been used to supply the governing bureaucracy with the brightest young minds of the nation were hopelessly outdated and extremely prone to corruption. Furthermore, the Chinese upper class was decadent and incapable of providing the nation with leadership, as was the imperial government, headed by incompetent emperors who only cared for the pleasures offered by their extravagant palaces. Chinese scholars and thinkers of the period were also very backwards, who continued to follow old paths of Confucian thought. Unlike their European counterparts whom looked back upon Greek and Roman principles before developing them further and advance new schools of thought, Chinese were unwilling to budge from millennia-old Confucian philosophy. Believing themselves to be the most advanced civilization in the world, the Chinese became complacent and failed to innovate. Under the Qing, the Chinese military organizations would fall to shambles, with the banner armies growing lazy and fat and reliant on obsolete weaponry and tactics, while the Chinese militia system was hoplessly inadequate when confronted with the professional armies of Europe. Thus when the Europeans finally clashed with the Qing, the result was the complete destruction of the Qing armies, as well as an end to Chinese cultural and political hegemony over East Asia
However, one could only speculate what would’ve happened if China was not united under Qin Shi Huang. It is very possible that if China remained a collection of small states throughout its history, the effects of a competitive environment under the premises of social Darwinism would’ve created much more modern societies that would’ve been able to compete with European societies on an even playing field. After all, China enjoyed its greatest philosophical and cultural flowering during the Warring States Period, under which there were hundreds of schools of thought, as opposed to one (Confucianism) afterwards. Perhaps China would have been more willing to explore the world and visit new lands. If you remember, China was at the world’s forefront of naval and navigation technology as well as enjoying an impressive lead in oceanic voyaging and exploration during the early decades of the Ming. The Zheng He expeditions far outstripped any European explorations at the time. In fact, there is evidence that the Chinese have landed on the Americas. Think of how the world would be different if that was the case. The states of China would be a counterbalance to the states of Europe, and war among the states of either side would be unlikely due to the threat of the other side. Also, the current superpowers of Russia and the United States would not be. Due to the timeframe of Chinese exploration and European colonization, it would be extremely likely that the Chinese and Europeans would began colonizing the Americas at the same time, and the continent would most likely be split between the two civilizations. Similarly, Russia would not have been able to dominate so much of the Russian Far East if a powerful Chinese state to the North had been there to counter Russian expansion. However, this is pure speculation, for a lot of factors would come into play during the shaping of civilizations. This is nothing but a mere indulgence I have allowed myself into the realm of alternate history and a whole range of infinite what-ifs that exist in history.
First let us take a look at Rome. Rome had been one of the greatest powers on earth, in command of vast resources and masters of upwards of 50 million people. Having developed one of the most efficient and powerful war machines the world has ever seen, Rome had managed to defeat all civilized opponents it has been in contact with. However, once in that position, Rome stagnated and Roman society as well as the Roman military began to decay. The Romans fell to decadence and indulgence, and its political and military institutions fell prey to corruption and nepotism. The Romans would stay in a period of stagnation for around two centuries, before new barbarian hordes managed to overrun the empire, thus brining an end to one of the greatest states to exist on this earth.
Now let us turn our eye to the rise of Europe and the Renaissance, the general trend that can be seen is competition among states. The various kingdoms and principalities of Europe were in near constant conflict, and it was not unusual for millions to be killed in conflict annually. As has been said many times, the battlefield is the best classroom, and over the course of the centuries the European states made rapid advancements in strategy, tactics, technology, logistics, and organization. Inevitably, the competition would mean that the more adaptive states would eventually edge out the ones less receptive to change. Even states that had been formally powerful, such as Poland and the Ottoman Empire would find themselves unable to compete with newer powers such as Great Britain and Prussia as the centuries passed. Furthermore, the colorful institution of patronage led to a flourishing of the arts and sciences during the Renaissance. As various courts attempted to woo the most promising young artists and thinkers, culture and learning began to spring up throughout the European continent. Economically powerful states and those that invested more in developing the sciences and arts such as France and the Italian states would therefore have great cultural influence. Thus when East met West in the 19th century, the European nations had already been tempered and strengthened by centuries of competition.
China, on the other hand, has been a largely stagnant society since the latter half of the Ming dynasty. Shockingly introverted, the Ming and Qing exhibited a phobia for change, and did whatever they could to maintain things the way the were. Politically, socially, and militarily, the main institutions of both the Ming and the Qing would show decay and corruption, and would be slowly eroded after decades of stagnation. The civil service examinations that had been used to supply the governing bureaucracy with the brightest young minds of the nation were hopelessly outdated and extremely prone to corruption. Furthermore, the Chinese upper class was decadent and incapable of providing the nation with leadership, as was the imperial government, headed by incompetent emperors who only cared for the pleasures offered by their extravagant palaces. Chinese scholars and thinkers of the period were also very backwards, who continued to follow old paths of Confucian thought. Unlike their European counterparts whom looked back upon Greek and Roman principles before developing them further and advance new schools of thought, Chinese were unwilling to budge from millennia-old Confucian philosophy. Believing themselves to be the most advanced civilization in the world, the Chinese became complacent and failed to innovate. Under the Qing, the Chinese military organizations would fall to shambles, with the banner armies growing lazy and fat and reliant on obsolete weaponry and tactics, while the Chinese militia system was hoplessly inadequate when confronted with the professional armies of Europe. Thus when the Europeans finally clashed with the Qing, the result was the complete destruction of the Qing armies, as well as an end to Chinese cultural and political hegemony over East Asia
However, one could only speculate what would’ve happened if China was not united under Qin Shi Huang. It is very possible that if China remained a collection of small states throughout its history, the effects of a competitive environment under the premises of social Darwinism would’ve created much more modern societies that would’ve been able to compete with European societies on an even playing field. After all, China enjoyed its greatest philosophical and cultural flowering during the Warring States Period, under which there were hundreds of schools of thought, as opposed to one (Confucianism) afterwards. Perhaps China would have been more willing to explore the world and visit new lands. If you remember, China was at the world’s forefront of naval and navigation technology as well as enjoying an impressive lead in oceanic voyaging and exploration during the early decades of the Ming. The Zheng He expeditions far outstripped any European explorations at the time. In fact, there is evidence that the Chinese have landed on the Americas. Think of how the world would be different if that was the case. The states of China would be a counterbalance to the states of Europe, and war among the states of either side would be unlikely due to the threat of the other side. Also, the current superpowers of Russia and the United States would not be. Due to the timeframe of Chinese exploration and European colonization, it would be extremely likely that the Chinese and Europeans would began colonizing the Americas at the same time, and the continent would most likely be split between the two civilizations. Similarly, Russia would not have been able to dominate so much of the Russian Far East if a powerful Chinese state to the North had been there to counter Russian expansion. However, this is pure speculation, for a lot of factors would come into play during the shaping of civilizations. This is nothing but a mere indulgence I have allowed myself into the realm of alternate history and a whole range of infinite what-ifs that exist in history.
Last edited by a moderator:
I know that Qin is not the worst