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Han and Rome

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Submitted By jcthebeast
Words 780
Pages 4
Jonathan Cano period 3
11/26/11
So what were the views of the Han and roman on technology how were they similar? how did they differ? There are many different ways to approach this theme. the government officials of china and Rome have their own views on this idea as the philosophers. These "powerhouses" also have another very important similarity they both were constructed at around the same time but had very little if any at all contact with each other. The way both places think is also a contributing factor on their view toward technology. Han china has philosophers and upperclassmen who don't necessarily advise the emperor but where pro-technology. The Romans also had philosophers and upperclassmen who played a part in describing the technology of this time and were not in the government. But both Rome and Han also had both upperclassmen or philosophers who were in the government that were either pro- or anti-technology. The Han’s view of technology was predominantly self-glorifying; with good reason as the Chinese invented everything from paper to acupuncture. The Han seemed to feel that technology was about helping the people. As demonstrated in the letter in document 1, the first goal of technology is to ward off disaster, in this case a flood. This demonstrates a concern for the people giving the impression that technology is there to aid the Chinese. This impression is increased by the obvious concern shown by Huan Guan in the second document, where he writes about the problems the lack of technology, such as iron plows, is having on the people. Huan Guan points out how technology has become useless as the tools are poor quality and ineffective all around, so the main concern with the Han about technology is its usefulness. Huan Tan begins the hints of self-glorification with statements such as “The benefit was increased a hundredfold.”

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