Medieval China–A Great Civilization

Medieval China; a Dominant Civilization

Paul Monheimer (with LOTS of help from KP)

What factors caused medieval China’s civilization to flourish? Trade throughout the Silk Road triggered and spread ideas. Magnificent emperors such as Kublai Khan ruled dynasties with precision and skill. And lastly, medieval China picked only a select few government officials by using the civil service test. In medieval China, the amazing Silk Road, outstanding emperors, and the imperial exam were main contributors to making China’s dynasties successful.

The Silk Road was an intricate and immense marketing system run through merchants and traders. Marco Polo, perhaps the most famous explorer of all time, traveled through all of China collecting ideas and spreading them throughout his travels along this path. The Silk Road also helped spread word of many ideas such as gunpowder and paper from medieval China. Sickness, religion, and philosophy traveled through the Silk Road as well, and that is how Buddhism got from India to China. In summary, the Silk Road started to mix cultural ideas during medieval China, and is known today as “the world’s first internet.”

Without such sapient leaders as the Khan’s, life would have been much more of a challenge in medieval China. Genghis Khan, one of the world’s greatest conquerors, defeated many people through potent army and strategy. Kublai Khan, his grandson, welcomed foreign merchants and enforced trade on the Silk Road. Many powerful emperors used the Yam postal service, an information delivery system run by messengers, during times of combat and battle. The many ways of the mighty emperors in medieval China made their civilizations run more fluently.

For many years, China’s government was formed by royal titles and leadership passing from father to son, but during the Song dynasty that changed. Instead of this, they used the imperial examination; a large test that was used to appoint a select few government officials. There were different stages of this test, so that the examiners could watch, and pull out a few exceptional scholars. Many people studied for years to take this, while only 5% of people passed the exam. These are the reasons why in medieval china the selection process of their government was so strongly built.

Medieval China was such an accomplished time for many reasons, such as trade on the Silk Road, wise emperors, and the imperial exam. They made many new discoveries through the Silk Road. The Khan emperors ruled with grace as they led armies and tested new ways of thinking. And lastly, the imperial exam selected only the most remarkable scholars. Combining all of these great advances from medieval China, one can clearly see how they affect many civilizations today.

Works Cited

Karpiel, Frank, Kathleen Krull, and Grant P. Wiggins. My World History. Boston, MA: Pearson, 2012. 

Print. 

"Marco Polo and His Travels." Marco Polo and His Travels. N.p., n.d. Web. 26 Nov. 2012. <http://www.silk-road.com/artl/marcopolo.shtml>. 

"Silk Road (marketplace)." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 26 Nov. 2012. Web. 26 

Nov. 2012. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silk_Road_(marketplace)>.