Discuss the political, social, and cultural developments of China 1500-1900s

The period between 1500 and 1900 encompasses important years that mark the time that preceded the development of modern China. First oppressed by the Mongolian rule in the 14th century, the nation was taken over by the Ming Dynasty that sought out to rebuild centralized control and reunite the country. The Ming Dynasty was replaced by the Qing Dynasty in the 17th century, signaling the start of the Manchu rule. We will discuss in turn the political, social, and cultural developments in China in that time period. Political Life The Ming DynastyComing to the nation as a break from the hated Mongolian dominance, the Ming Dynasty was started by a Han Chinese farmer and a Buddhist monk. In the early 16th century, its heyday when China conducted intense sea expeditions with the aim to conquer the surrounding area and challenge the Mongol expansion was to a great extent over. The Ming Dynasty had to engage in prolonged wars with Mongols to challenge their dominance and protect its borders. In the meantime, its own coastal areas were often attacked by the Japanese pirates that gave Ming emperors a lot of headache.In the north, even the construction of the world’s best known fortification, the Great Wall, did not prevent the attacks of the Mongols. As a result, the Ming emperors in the 16th-17th century were much weaker than their predecessors, like the powerful Zhu Yuanzhang who founded the dynasty in the early 14th century. In addition, internal conflicts were plaguing the court since â€Å"the harassed emperors abandoned more and more of their responsibilities to eunuchs† (Encarta). The Ming started a war with Japan in 1592 when they sent their troops to help the Korean allies to defend themselves against Toyotomi Hideyoshi.This turned into a prolonged warfare that lasted over seven years and dealt a heavy blow to the Ming’s treasuries. The result was an increase in social tensions all over the country. An example is the peasant rebellions in Nor th China that started in 1628. These revolts finally led to the demise of the Ming Dynasty. A hefty rebellion occurred in 1642 when the dikes of the Huang He were cut by a rebellious group, leading to a flood and a starvation thereafter. The assault on Beijing, the capital used by the Ming, in 1644 resulted in the seizure of the city by the rebels and suicide of the last representative of the dynasty.The Qing Dynasty The Ming was replaced by the Qing Dynasty. As is often the result of a politically weak structure, their rule was in fact a foreign invasion since the Qing rulers were not Han Chinese, but Manchu. In order to be accepted by the Han Chinese majority, they retained a lot of customs of the Chinese and even upheld the Confucian tradition, nevertheless they always remained different from the Han Chinese. Thus, they also imposed some of their customs and traditions on their Chinese subordinates.They forced, for example, the Han to pick up the queue in the Manchu haircut style and to dress in their fashion, in this way replacing the traditional Han pigtail. To this day the Chinese wear â€Å"Qipao (bannermen dress) and Tangzhuang† that actually come from the Manchus (Encarta). It is noteworthy in which way the Manchus forced the Chinese to adopt these styles: the penalty for non-compliance was death. In the political system, the two groups were also separate. As the ruling ethnicity, the Manchus outnumbered the Han Chinese in the highest-ranking offices in the capital.However, there were still a lot of Chinese in other offices in the provinces. The Manchus, as mentioned before, were quick to adopt the philosophy of Confucianism that called on subordinates to obey the emperor. With those means, they were quick to bring the nation to obeyance and reinstate order in the provinces. With that accomplished, the Qing Dynasty also took pains to enlarge the empire through conquests and military raids. They attacked the Mongols, conquering the Outer Mongoli a in the 17th century. In the next century, they added to the empire the territory of Central Asia and set up a protectorate in Tibet.With time, they also gained control of Taiwan. With the efforts of the Qing Dynasty, almost all danger to China Proper had been eradicated. In the 19th century, the Qing Dynasty entered a period of steady decline. Their control of the country became weak, and the nation once again plunged into a state of social tension and economic troubles. The Opium Wars began with the First Opium War in 1840, triggered by the desire of Britain to control the lucrative opium trade in China. The desire of the Western nations to control â€Å"concessions† in China led to unfavorable peace treaty following the First Opium War.The Opium Wars resulted in the Treaty of Nanking in 1842 and the Taiping Rebellion in 1851-1864 and the Boxer Rebellion in the same century. As a result of military campaigns and rebellions, the control of the Qing over the country became e ven weaker. Social Life Under the Manchu rule, the nation was dominated by foreign rulers who imposed their rules and traditions on everything. In addition, they also made efforts to keep themselves separate from the mainstream Chinese life. For example, marriages between the Manchus and the Han Chinese were prohibited.The Chinese could not move permanently into the traditionally Manchu lands, and occupations such as trade or manual labor were reserved only for the Han as the Manchus were prohibited to do these jobs. In many administrative positions, the office was taken by the Manchu person and the Chinese counterpart so that the Manchu official could check in on his Chinese colleague. The Qing rulers also imposed some of their customs and traditions on their Chinese subordinates. They forced, for example, the Han to pick up the queue in the Manchu haircut style and to dress in their fashion, in this way replacing the traditional Han pigtail.To this day the Chinese wear â€Å"Qipa o (bannermen dress) and Tangzhuang† that actually come from the Manchus (Encarta). It is noteworthy in which way the Manchus forced the Chinese to adopt these styles: the penalty for non-compliance was death. Cultural Life The years under the rule of the Ming and the Qing Dynasties were an important period in Chinese culture. The Ming rule is marked by the arrival of the Europeans, among them a lot of Christian preachers. Particularly noteworthy were â€Å"Jesuits, members of a Roman Catholic religious order, showed respect for Chinese culture and overcame the foreigners’ reputation for lawlessness† (Encarta).The Jesuits tried to integrate with the local reality, learning the Chinese language and setting up settlements in the nation from which they could disseminate their religion. One of the important leaders in the Christian community was Mateo Ricci who took effort to learn Chinese and settled down in China. In intellectual life, as said, Confucianism was the dominant influence. The government placed emphasis on conforming to the official interpretation of Confucius’ writings consistent with the one provided by Zhu Xi. For centuries, his interpretation was considered standard, and deviation was not permitted.However, in the later Ming period, a few dissenting ideologies emerged, among them one proposed by â€Å"Wang Yangming, a scholar-official who rejected Zhu Xi's emphasis on the study of external principles and advocated striving for wisdom through cultivation of one’s own innate knowledge† (Encarta). Although the Qing Dynasty was of Manchu, not Chinese origin, they also invested effort in the development of the Chinese culture. Thus, they engaged in projects devoted to Chinese literature in history. In fact, their efforts helped preserve a lot of Chinese ancient literary works.An outstanding effort was made by Emperor Kangxi who â€Å"ordered the creation of the most complete dictionary of Chinese characters eve r put together at the time† (Encarta). The project on compiling the list of the important works related to Chinese culture was undertaken in the reign of Emperor Qianlong. Conclusion China in the period ranging from 1500 to 1900 experienced many events that left a deep imprint on modern China. Torn together by many different rulers, it nevertheless managed to maintain its unique culture and build upon it.It remained loyal to the ideals of Confucianism that were consistently implemented by the powerful monarchs who used the ideology to demand obedience. The rise of the Ming Dynasty was followed by its decline, the end of a cycle that opened the way to new rulers, the Manchus. Even being foreigners, they left a great deal of Chinese customs in place and left China even more culturally developed than it was. Even so, by the end of the nineteenth century, the nation was weakened politically and was heavily influenced by European powers.

A Foresight to the Education of the Future Essay

At the beginning of the last century, students used to spend many hours at libraries looking for information. It was mostly because there were no other means to obtain the knowledge needed to fulfill the school or university’s assignments. However, for the last thirty or twenty years this situation has been changing, and with it the way we learn or in other words the way we acquire our knowledge. Nowadays, in many educational institutions the web-based research has become the most effective way of gathering information, because it allows us to find whatever we want to know in seconds. Nevertheless, if we leave aside the contribution of technology to the compilation of facts, we can realize that not because we are able to have a quick access to information it means that we understand or learn something. My goal in this paper is to discuss the influence and effects of technology in education by expressing my opinion and my analysis of Anderson, M.T. Feed. Somerville, Massachuset ts: Candlewick Press, 2012. Print. Firstly, from my point of view M. T. Anderson tries to give us a message of how technology is interferes in our everyday life and the role it plays in human communication. Additionally, I can perceive a certain degree of prediction of what the future awaits for us if we do not act to ameliorate our behavior towards the usage of technology. He presents this foresight through many themes. However, as I said before I will be only analyzing education and knowledge. To understand why this theme is important it is necessary to point out that in this futuristic schools students have a completely different education, where subjects are frivolous and do not require students to think by themselves. Additionally, people are said to be smart because the feed provides them instantly with everything they need to know. Therefore, people do not have to make efforts to comprehend and learn collections of factual knowledge. The undemanding acquisition of knowledge may sound fantastic, but if we think carefully about it, we will find that  if we do not use our own brain to learn or to do anything else, we may lose the characteristic that differentiate us from the rest of animals which is our ability to think critically. â€Å"That’s one of the great things about the feed- that you can be supersmart without ever working† (Anderson 47) this was the first evidence that made me realize that Titus, the main character and narrator of the novel, tends to confuse what being smart actually means. The first definition he gives to the word smart is to have access to information. However, this is nothing more than an aid, an element that helps us to be smart. People need to work by themselves in order to analyze and understand their findings only then we can say that someone is smart. For instance: being the owner of a computer with internet access does not make us smart, but what does is to use the information after a thoughtful analysis of it. Titus also define being smart as being fashionable, which in certain situations it is perfectly correct, still this is not the case, given that he talks of Violet creating and using her brain to do what she wanted. This confusion is clearly depicted in this passage: â€Å"I was afraid that she would be too smart for me, but she wasn’t. I don ´t mean she wasn ´t smarter, because she was, but just that there was so much she hadn ´t done† (Anderson 107) Titus define Violet as intelligent, but then he suddenly changes his conception to not smart enough for the reason that Violet had not done some things. In the book people do what the feed suggest them to do which generally involve buying things. Therefore, what Titus meant was that Violet was not smart enough, because she did not have the economic resource s to buy what most people of her age buy. In our society what we buy does not determine yet how smart or educated we are. Notwithstanding, It is not difficult for me to think that in the future smart will mean fashionable in any context, considering that we are already buying the trends on the market to make us feel important, just as important as once was to be smart. Moreover, we learn in the book that education is different because of the progress of technology, Titus states that in the past â€Å"when their grandparents were students they did not learn anything useful.†(Anderson 109) I agree with him to a certain extent, it is true that sometimes we learn things we will never use. Yet everything we learn at school helps us not only to exercise our brain and to be a well-rounded person, but also to the acquisition of essential features that differentiates us from the rest  of animals. Titus’ education has no longer subjects that make students think, the new subjects are all about the extremely consumerist society they live in. Titus express that â€Å"Now that Schoolâ„ ¢ is run by corporations, It’s pretty brag, because it teaches us how the world can be used, like mainly how to use our feeds.† (Anderson 109-110)Even when it is true that they teach useful information to live in their peculiar world, the subjects are completely superficial when it comes to development of people as human beings. I think that the author gives us a clear illustration of what we are currently doing in our everyday life at school or any other educational institution. We look up the knowledge in the web and we use it, but we do not trouble ourselves by trying to understand or analyze whether our findings are correct or not. Additionally, Throughout the book we can find many allusions to problems that our society is facing due to the development of technology.

Antibodies Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Antibodies - Essay Example It is used in the manufacture of unsaturated polyester resins and is used as solvent for surfactants, paints and cleaning agents1. It is also used as antifreeze for de-icing aircrafts at airports as it lowers the freezing point of water. Recent applications include use as a humectant and a preservative. It is used in cosmetics, pharmaceutical preparations and also in electronic cigars2. The structure of 1,2-Propanediol comprises of three carbons with a stereogenic center at the central carbon3. It exists in two racemic forms: S and R as shown in figure 1 below. Figure 1: Chemical structure (S and R form) of 1,2-propanediol 3 1,2-Propanediol as well as 1,3-Propanediol can be manufactured though bioengineered microorganisms. By turning on and off some genes, it is possible to make the microorganism overproduce a specific metabolic product. As shown in figure 2, the intermediate metabolism of Escherichia coli can be shifted to produce 1,2 and 1,3-propanediol using enzymes such as aldose reductase from rat lens, E. coli glycerol dehydrogenase and Klebsiella pneumoniae glycerol dehydrogenase and 1,3-propanedioloxidoreductase4. There are various biochemical pathways through which 1,2-propanediol can be produced. Figure 2: Metabolic pathway engineering of E. ... It was shown that E. coli can grow on the L-fucose and L-rhamnose deoxy sugars as sole carbon and energy sources resulting in the production of propanediol. The first instance of metabolic engineering to produce 1,2-propanediol was when Altaras and Cameron metabolically bioengineered the 1,2-propanediol pathway in E. coli7. In 1999, they reported that E. coli that overexpressed methylglyoxal synthase gene produced 1,2-propanediol. Expression of methylglyoxal synthase or glycerol dehydrogenase led to anaerobic production of around 0.25 g of 1,2-propanediol per liter. The yield was found to be higher both the enzymes were coexpressed7. The development After their first report of the production of 1,2-propanediol from metabolically engineering E. coli, Altaras and Cameron again in 2000 published another report. This time they reported enhanced production of 1,2-propanediol8. They investigated three methods. First method involved the elimination of lactate byproduct. The second method in volved the construction of a complete pathway from dihydroxyacetone phosphate – an intermediate of the glycolytic cycle. The third method involved bioprocessing improvements through fed-batch fermentation using the best bioengineered strains. They were able to successfully produced a final yield of 0.19 g of 1,2-propanediol per gram of consumed glucose. Many later studies have investigated the production of 1,2-propanediol by metabolically engineered bacteria. Berrios-Rivera, San and Bennett studied the effects of various cofactor manipulations on the production of 1,2-propanediol9. They used sugars that were similar to glucose and that can be fed into glycolysis for pyruvate production. The sugars used had different oxidation

Brand Management for Rolex Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4500 words

Brand Management for Rolex - Essay Example The essay "Brand Management for Rolex" analyzes the strategies that have made Rolex a famous brand. It is a descriptive case study. In this case study, the qualitative method has been followed. The data that is used in this case study is secondary data and it has been collected through websites and books. Brand management is about developing an image of a brand and also maintaining it. Brand management helps a company to define any product, position the product, and deliver it to the customer. It is an ability to generate and sustain the brand. A strong brand is an asset for a company which discriminates any product from other alternative products. It can set an additional image to the product of the company. With regard to establishing brand image, Rolex always prefers to use certain traveler or singer or other stylish people for advertisement purposes. Rolex seeks selective media for advertising their products which can help to form the image of the brand as well as control the advertisement cost. Rolex is extremely elegant to accomplish multiple factors while spending least amount of money which can help to maintain the balance between optimal cost and profit. Through their good marketing skills, Rolex successfully increases their fans and earn the honor and faith of Rolex user. From the early 1930s, Rolex focuses on product quality. The advertisement of Rolex was limited to just product level and made by using verbal statements and graphics. Rolex depicted that its products are targeted to only high-class customers.

Age estimation based on pubic symphysis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3750 words

Age estimation based on pubic symphysis - Essay Example This paper illustrates that amongst other techniques to estimate the age of the skeleton dentition is also frequently used to estimate age and at times this might be the last resort, given the complete mutilation or decomposition of the corpse This is because in such a situation   it is impossible to base any conclusions pertaining to age or identity upon other parts of the anatomy. Age estimation based on the changes within the surface of the pubic symphysis   is another method which has come to be regarded as as a reliable criterion for the estimation of age which has received much attention with in the field of forensic osteology which relates to the observation of the changes in pubic symphysis, particularly pertaining to the age related changes in adult humans between the ages of   20-50 years, which is a time when the skeleton itself goes through rapid growth related changes. Therefore morphological changes in the symphyseal surface of pubic bones have been evaluated by t he forensic anatomists through methods like Todd’s phase system for White Males McKern and Stewart’s three-component system with five active developmental stages for males Hanihara and Suzuki’s multiple regression analysis and quantification theory model be consistent in the way you list these. Suchey–Brooks phases which are more detailed for the examination of the male pubic symphysis. Based on the above this paper explores these methodologies pertaining to age estimation using morphological features of the pubic symphysis and goes onto evaluate their precision in the light of academic opinion.. Introduction As mentioned above, at the culmination of the growth process which also brings about the full eruption of the dentition growth it is possible to experience complications in the estimation of age , relying on evidence of degenerative processes. (Gilbert and Mckern 1973) .However, age estimation at death can be made from multiple methods out of one of which will be discussed below to be the symphyseal formula technique where as it has been â€Å"found that age estimates based on this single event are more dependable than similar age estimates from other bones. This technique has made age estimation from unknown skeletal remains more realistic, more accurate and more dependable.† (Parikh, C. k., 1990). There a number of techniques available with in the forensic osteology to estimate the survival, social adjustment and age of the populations based on the patterns of morbidity and mortality and these have included techniques like pubic symphysis morphology, auricular surface morphology, age-related size distribution, tooth wear, epiphyseal closure, dental eruption patterns. All these techniques are well utilized if the skeleton is still in its period of growth and development and their use may give very precise results However as soon as the growth and development process ceases. it becomes more and more difficult to give a precise assessment of the age based upon the evidence of the degenerative processes.Thus public morphology provides a good way of establishing consistent findings for the determination of age at death (mostly) of the corpse. Age is thus determined by

Should Animals Be Used In Warfare Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Should Animals Be Used In Warfare - Term Paper Example This paper makes a conclusion that the use of animals for warfare is normally a contentious issue. Proponents of the debate argue that the use of animals for warfare helps to save human lives. They state that human lives are more important than animal lives. Hanson in his defense for the use of animals used the clichà © ‘save people, not pets’ to show the significance of animals in warfare. Due to their well-developed sensory and respiratory systems, animals perform various functions. Some of the common roles or duties performed by animals include the detection of bombs or landmines, and sniffing out the enemy. On the contrary, opponents of the debate cite the concept of animal cruelty as the main reason why they oppose the move. Since there are no laws that protect animals used for war, they are often mistreated. For instance, the American army starves dolphins by tying their mouths. This prevents them from eating food or other fishes. Also, dogs are left behind by tro ops or killed after a war ends because they pose a danger to civilians. In conclusion, animals should be used for warfare because they help save the lives of soldiers and people. When compared to animal lives, human lives are more precious. Furthermore, animals such as dogs have been used for rescue missions to locate lost soldiers or pilots. The use of animals for war fare is contained in the national security exclusions. This gives the military the power to use the animals in any way they like.