...HUMN432 Week 6 Assignment: Final Draft of the Paper Technology: The Invention of Gunpowder Professor: Adam Ravalovich August 12, 2011 Title: The Invention of Gunpowder A. Introduction: The invention of gunpowder was one of China’s four greatest inventions that made a significant contribution to Chinese culture. Gunpowder in Chinese is called “huo yau”, meaning flaming medicine. The use of gunpowder gave the Chinese a greater ability to protect them from enemies and to conquer and control others. Although fireworks today are used as entertainment, the Chinese used it to scare-off enemies in the time of war. Chinese firearms, fireworks and gunpowder were also popular items of trade along the Silk Road to Europe. As we can imagine this invention had a profound effect on human history and although gunpowder was invented by the Chinese, it gave rise to the powerful western world while it inevitably left China and the Eastern World behind. B. Description of the Chinese Culture (Brandy Miller) 1. Chinese Society: Understanding a people's culture exposes their normalness without reducing their individuality. There are many different realms of Chinese society. China is well known for its centuries of traditional values, customs and beliefs. These beliefs are deeply linked with the language, religions and collective values which have always been the center of traditional festivals, customs and everyday life of man as a collective in harmony with nature...
Words: 4816 - Pages: 20
...institutions and technologies in the Non-Western world (primarily East Asia) and how they pertained to broader social and political developments. Can you discern any particular patterns in how various states responded to particular types of military challenges? Choose a particular place and time (for example, Tang dynasty China) and discuss the relationship between social and institutional developments and the use of specific military tactics and technologies. Nathan Wells While it has long been realized that military challenges were key to the development of Western society; the Non-Western world by comparison has often received short shrift in relation to this subject. This is best illustrated by Kenneth Chase, who begins his work Firearms: A Global History to 1700 with this query: “Why was it the Europeans who perfected firearms when it was the Chinese who invented them?” (1) The underlying message of the statement therefore is that while the region (East Asia) might produce the occasional interesting moment for military history, the real determinants for military theory were occurring elsewhere. Chase’s complete thesis is a bit more pragmatic; hinging on the observation that constant emphasis on steppe warfare led East Asian powers to neglect the increasingly important gunpowder revolution. This seems a bit heavy-handed, however and fails to address the fact that firearms and the gunpowder revolution were not always one and the same; or the fact that firearms were of...
Words: 2747 - Pages: 11
...increase in army size. He declares that these three developments transformed warfare in early modern Europe. Furthermore, I stand by Parker and his argument that artillery weapons, advancement in fortifications, growth in army size, and naval advancements constitute...
Words: 1567 - Pages: 7
...Part 1 -- The History of China Before we discuss individual technological developments, you should read the following three essays that will give you a historic context for these developments. Concise Political History of China, an online article by Paul Halsall compiled from Compton's Living Encyclopedia on America Online, http://academic.brooklyn.cuny.edu/core9/phalsall/texts/chinhist.html Chinese Periodization in Light of Economic Developments by Paul Halsall, http://www.mastep.sjsu.edu/history_of_tech/chinese_chronology.htm China, Technology and Change, an article by Lynda Shaffer, from the World History Bulletin, Fall/Winter, 1986/87, http://academic.brooklyn.cuny.edu/core9/phalsall/texts/shaffer.html China's Gifts to the West by Professor Derk Bodde, for the Committee on Asiatic Studies in American Education Reprinted with permission in China: A Teaching Workbook, Asia for Educators, Columbia University, http://afe.easia.columbia.edu/song/readings/inventions_gifts.htm Part 2 - Science and Technology in China Science in China has a long history and developed quite independently of Western science. Needham (1993) has researched widely on the development of science and technologies in China, the effect of culture, and the transference of these principles, unacknowledged, to the West. The Chinese contribution to Western science is particularly interesting because it serves...
Words: 2783 - Pages: 12
...| Ancient Chinese Contributions | Humanities 111/Professor Michael Curran | by | Rayshawn J. | 11/22/2011 | Ancient Chinese inventions have had a huge impact on the modern world as we know it. Numerous technological and cultural advancements have spawned off from the inventions derived from Ancient China, which spans over thousands of years ago. A lot of the inventions really attest to how more advanced Ancient China was in science and technology. In the world today, they still symbolize excellence to many of the Chinese people of modern day just as much as they did then. People all over the globe have found many of the inventions to be quite useful, fulfilling several purposes and aiding a number of causes. Although Ancient China is credited for the creation of a large number of inventions, there are eight that are I feel are some of the most identifiable. The inventions are paper making, the woodblock printing technique, gun powder, the compass, porcelain, the spinning wheel, the mechanical clock, and the seismograph. Early on in Ancient China, around 2700 B.C., the Chinese had created a written based language. This language was initially composed on strips of wood and bamboo. They would use wooden blocks and flatten out the bamboo so that they could write on them, but wood and bamboo often used up too much space and them difficult to store up. As a result, a better and more economical alternative had to be made. It wasn't until 105 A.D. that the use...
Words: 1521 - Pages: 7
...MEDIEVAL WEAPONS Other Titles in ABC-CLIO’s WEAPONS AND WARFARE SERIES Aircraft Carriers, Paul E. Fontenoy Ancient Weapons, James T. Chambers Artillery, Jeff Kinard Ballistic Missiles, Kev Darling Battleships, Stanley Sandler Cruisers and Battle Cruisers, Eric W. Osborne Destroyers, Eric W. Osborne Helicopters, Stanley S. McGowen Machine Guns, James H. Willbanks Military Aircraft in the Jet Age, Justin D. Murphy Military Aircraft, 1919–1945, Justin D. Murphy Military Aircraft, Origins to 1918, Justin D. Murphy Pistols, Jeff Kinard Rifles, David Westwood Submarines, Paul E. Fontenoy Tanks, Spencer C. Tucker MEDIEVAL WEAPONS AN ILLUSTRATED HISTORY OF THEIR IMPACT Kelly DeVries Robert D. Smith Santa Barbara, California • Denver, Colorado • Oxford, England Copyright 2007 by ABC-CLIO, Inc. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, except for the inclusion of brief quotations in a review, without prior permission in writing from the publishers. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data DeVries, Kelly, 1956– Medieval weapons : an illustrated history of their impact / Kelly DeVries and Robert D. Smith. p. cm. — (Weapons and warfare series) Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN-10: 1-85109-526-8 (hard copy : alk. paper) ISBN-10: 1-85109-531-4...
Words: 118320 - Pages: 474
...improvement and advancement were different. This of course did not stop change from coming, but it did adjust how it was viewed by these two very different people. The Han were eager about the practicality of new technology, while the Romans had more artistic purposes for it and a more negative attitude towards it The people of Han China often looked toward their government to support the transition of new technology, but even this was not fully agreed upon. A Han government official writes about the role of the government in bringing about revise to the waterways, a step to help prevent flood damage...
Words: 1011 - Pages: 5
...Tim Lerner History 10 November 2012 Midterm Part Two 8) WWI-in reality The first world war was unlike any other war. The living conditions were terrible because they were living in trenches for months. They had to deal with the fear dying from being shot because of the skilled snipers, gases being thrown into trenches, which have never appeared in any other war, and the deaths from diseases. People were dying daily and were in fear of just peaking their heads out side of the trenches but there was also issues with living in the trenches. Soldiers had infestations of rats, lice and other new medical issues come from living in the trenches. First off the rats in the trenches feared because the ate the remains of the others soldiers who had passed. These rats carried many diseases and got into everything. The soldiers were contently trying to fight them off and get rid of them but they populated so quickly it was hard to keep up. Also these rats would get to be as large as house cats from time to time. Lice became another big issue because they spread quickly and caused illness like trench fever which starts of as pain through out the body then a fever. Due to living in trenches the area was always wet and moist. Many soldiers got trench foot, which is a fungal infection, that was caused by their feet consistenly moist and in unsanatary areas. Living in these conditions and being cooped up in these trenches for weeks would make anyone crazy. The trenches were always crowed...
Words: 1690 - Pages: 7
...medical practices that had barely changed in a hundred years; were now treating wounds caused by new inventions. This would be a new kind of war for both the North and South. Prior to the Civil War each side had its advantages and disadvantages. If you were to compare them you would find differences in economic, social to cultural even transportation then any similarities. With so many difference and beliefs it’s no wonder they tore the nation apart, fought against family members and destroyed property. The South was in all aspects following behind the North and did not except or want changes imposed by the North. Regardless of the differences perhaps at the beginning of the war the South was ready to defend its way of life. Their over all differences lead to the Civil War and it was not solely because of slavery, but the right to live as they had for years. Before the war you had the upper and lower South who did not agree to secession at the same time. This caused a dividing line not only was the North and South divided the South was divided between its self. These eight states, Kentucky, Tennessee, Virginia, North Carolina, Arkansas, Maryland, and Delaware held most of the South’s resources. So it was imperative they join with the South. These eight states had the power in deciding the fate of the Confederacy by the side they joined. When Fort Sumter was fired upon they realized a decision must be made soon. One Virginian wrote, “We must either identify with the...
Words: 3685 - Pages: 15
...wealth - leads to formation of new nation-states that can afford to engage in such enterprises (i.e. France emerges as state in 15th century) - costs associated with producing technologies (i.e. gunpowder), building and maintaining armies - many texts recovered after fall of Constantinople to Turkish army in 1453; transferred to Italy and retranslated - Catholic church challenged with Protestant Reformation; increased role of patronage and royal courts - Higher status for role of engineer - change in values: knowledge for wealth, power and status over standard theological considerations and attaining salvation turning point in the story of technology - changes in attitudes toward natural philosophy and technical arts, and change in relationship between science and technology - natural philosophers: justify search for knowledge on utilitarian and not just theological reasoning; this signals a changing relationship between science and technology - another important development was creation of linear (geometrical) perspective: three dimensional images onto two dimensional canvas is new method of drawing and painting images - Leon Alberti (1404-1472) known as “father of perspective”: while he did not invent linear perspective, did help to perfect the art by providing...
Words: 3090 - Pages: 13
...War is a state of armed conflict between societies. It is generally characterized by extreme collective aggression, destruction, and usually high mortality. The set of techniques and actions used to conduct war is known as warfare. An absence of war is usually called "peace". Total war is warfare that is not restricted to purely legitimate military targets, and can result in massive civilian or other non-combatant casualties. While some scholars see war as a universal and ancestral aspect of human nature, others argue that it is only a result of specific socio-cultural or ecological circumstances. In 2013 war resulted in 31,000 deaths down from 72,000 deaths in 1990. The deadliest war in history, in terms of the cumulative number of deaths since its start, is the Second World War, with 60–85 million deaths, followed by the Mongol conquests which was greater than 41 million. Proportionally speaking, the most destructive war in modern history is the War of the Triple Alliance, which took the lives of over 60% of Paraguay's population, according to Steven Pinker. In 2003, Richard Smalley identified war as the sixth biggest problem facing humanity for the next fifty years. War usually results in significant deterioration of infrastructure and the ecosystem, a decrease in social spending, famine, large-scale emigration from the war zone, and often the mistreatment of prisoners of war or civilians. Another byproduct of some wars is the prevalence of propaganda by some or all parties...
Words: 7890 - Pages: 32
...WESTERN CIVILIZATIONS Western Civilization HMS 301 1 WESTERN CIVILIZATIONS Main Topics The Black Death The Effects of the Black Death The Rise of Constitutional Monarchy The Hundred Years’ War The Decline of the Church The Renaissance Italy: Birthplace of the Renaissance Italian Renaissance Humanism Machiavelli and Power Politics Leonardo Da Vinci Global Travel and Trade The African Cultural Heritage West African Kingdoms The Europeans in Africa Native American Cultures Maya Civilization The Empires of the Incas and the Aztecs The Spanish in the Americas and the Aftermath of Their Conquest The Impact of Technology Christian Humanism and the Northern Renaissance Luther and the Protestant Reformation The Spread of Protestantism The Catholic Reformation 2 WESTERN CIVILIZATIONS The French Revolution Napoleon Bonaparte The Industrial Revolution Advancing Industrialism Colonialism China and the West Social and Economic Realities Nineteenth-Century Social Theory: conservatism, liberalism & socialism The Radical View of Marx and Engels Picasso and the Birth of Cubism Futurism, Fauvism and Non Objective Art The Birth of Motion Pictures Freud and the Psyche Total War and Totalitarianism The First World War The Russian Revolution Nazi Totalitarianism The Second World War Identity and Liberation: Gandhi, Martin Luther King and Malcolm X 3 WESTERN CIVILIZATIONS The Black Death ...
Words: 16933 - Pages: 68
...started in America in the 15th century until early in the 19th century (Tmh, 2010). It primarily involved the colonization of the Americans by the Europeans. The second extensive phase of European exploratory ventures and colonization was primarily focused on Asia and Africa. It was also known as the era of new imperialism. History of Colonialism in Africa and Asia by the Europeans Between the historical times of 1450 and 1750, Europeans widely traded with Africa and very few colonies had been set up. By the year 1850, only countable colonies existed along the coastline of Africa. After the ban of slave trade, free states in Africa continued in the exchange of goods between them and Europe. In the mid-19th century, startling changes occurred when the Europeans began exploring Africa’s...
Words: 2886 - Pages: 12
...by threatening her in order to be respected and obeyed. In the opening scene, Lewis Prothero a TV host, announces that their successful country works through ‘Strength and Unity’, which is why immigrants, Muslims, homosexuals, diseases and terrorists all had to go, based on a ‘better’ judgment of their government’s religion, which in this movie is some sort of Christianity. ‘Strength through Unity, Unity through Faith’. The movie shows how government can manipulate its people, from fear to hope, Chancellor Adam Sutler was elected after a bioterrorist attack occurred which killed many. A cure for the virus getting discovered shortly after his election shows it was a plot engineered by Norsefire to gain power. The film makes plenty of political points and affronts the American government of today by making certain references about the war on terrorism and quoting the film “People should not fear their government. Government should fear its people.” As V hacks into the censored TV broadcasting system and plays his message, he raises the issues of how the government wants conformity and control, as TV, radio, books and else is all filtered and censored. He mentions the freedom of speech, and remarks that words hold power and the truth is that “there’s something terribly wrong with this country”,...
Words: 3158 - Pages: 13
...He is a recipient of a MacArthur Foundation Fellowship and was awarded a 1999 National Medal of Science. He is also the author of The Third Chimpanzee. SUMMARY The book asks and attempts to answer the question, once humankind spread throughout the world, why did different populations in different locations have such different histories? The modern world has been shaped by conquest, epidemics, and genocide, the ingredients of which arose first in Eurasia. The book’s premise is that those ingredients required the development of agriculture. Agriculture also arose first in Eurasia, not because Eurasians were superior in any way to people of other continents, but because of a unique combination of naturally occurring advantages, including more and more suitable wild crops and animals to domesticate, a larger land mass with fewer barriers to the spread of people, crops, and technology, and an east-west axis which meant that climate was similar across the region. The book is well written and contains not only information about the history of cultures around the world, but excellent descriptions of the scientific methodologies used to study them, from how archeologists study the origin of agriculture to how writing evolved to how linguistics can trace the movements of peoples across huge geographic areas. There are useful examples, maps and charts throughout, which make principles discussed in the body easy to visualize and compare. The appendix includes a chapter by chapter list of further...
Words: 18440 - Pages: 74
