China’s defeat in the hands of foreign powers through the Opium Wars proved that neither Chinese technology nor political system was as good as those of the foreign countries (Schell & Delury, 2013). This made China to rely on the technology of outsiders that gradually weakened the Chinese economy. Thus China began to compromise on its own tradition and indigenous knowledge. In fact, China was blessed with vast human capital and traditional wisdom; sadly, the dynastic rulers could not make effective use of them. Instead, they believed that the foreign wisdom was superior and tried to adopt it without realizing it would not effectively integrate with its tradition. This finally led to the decline of the dynastic rule.
The fact that the Ming dynasty ruled China for nearly 300 years, and China prospered through trading with the Europeans speaks volumes about the acceptance of the rulers by the common public (The Ming dynasty, 2015). However, the fall of the dynasty could be attributed to the negligence of the rulers in establishing internal infrastructures and amenities to the common public. For instance, instances of flooding and drought through natural disasters could have been averted had the rulers established good conservation measures to channel and save water for the benefit of the farmers. The dynastic rulers failed to sustain the support of the common public as they concentrated more in establishing trade relationships with the outside world by disconnecting from their own citizens.
Deng Xiaoping did to modern China exactly the same thing China was longing to obtain from the last dynastic rulers. He had his own plans to revive the economy of China, of course through consensus and persuasion (Deng Xiaoping, 2016). Though Deng was criticized for suppressing the student movements, he played a significant role in restoring the democracy and economy of China. He was also responsible for improving the standard of living of the Chinese population besides establishing ties with several foreign economies. Thus, Deng deserves to be called the architect of modern China.
References
Deng Xiaoping (2016). Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved from http://www.britannica. com/biography/Deng-Xiaoping
Schell, O., & Delury, J. (2013). Wealth and power: China’s long march to the twenty-first century. New York: Random House.
The Ming dynasty. (2015). Chinahighlights.com. Retrieved from http://www.chinahighlights. com/travelguide/china-history/the-ming-dynasty.htm
