China & Europe - Contradicting Colonies

China and Europe are both extremely different countries with contradicting political and economic systems, as well as different sets of values, but because of the geography of these countries, China and Europe managed to become dominate world powers and influence the world as it is today.

The land of Europe is a fascinating land with rich history, because although the geography of this land led to fragmented kingdoms and rivalry between rulers, they managed to become leading innovators with new politics, a flourishing economic system which consisted of trade, and their own values. The political side of Europe showed kings and queens fighting to be the best, which has now led to disdain between the fragmented countries. Next, the economics of Europe mainly consisted of trade, and especially the trade of spices with many Asian islands that were renamed “The East Indies”. Finally, because of a prosperous economy, the Europeans made advances in the areas of art and literature, now giving us the great works of Shakespeare and Vincent Van Gough.

Although the Chinese didn’t have famous artists such as Shakespeare and Vincent Van Gough, because this country had a secluded geography that led to limited access from the outside world, they developed an “island mentality” and thrived in their own “Middle Kingdom”. The country was strong in politics and became unified and nationalistic with the help of the “Mandate of Heaven” which allowed a ruler to take complete control over the entire country, and thus lead China to their success as a dominate world power. Secondly, the Chinese monopolized their own natural resources and reveled in their own glory since they had access to all that was needed, and didn’t need to trade with other countries, giving them oodles of power. Finally, the Chinese had a very different set of values from the Europeans and had many different religions and ways of living such as Confucianism, Daoism, and Buddhism which all led to them becoming a dominate world power.

In conclusion, although the geography of these two countries led them to be two of the most powerful lands in the world, at the end of the day, only one can reign supreme. In the end, the Europeans became the world’s modern day America because, since their country was so fragmented and split up, they were able to conquer and colonize more land, and eventually become more powerful. Although now days, the Europeans have failed to continue their rule as a dominate world power, China is bouncing back, and hopefully one day they will take their place as the next major world leader.

An essay I did for Asian Studies.