Trade made China rich, particularly from the 17th century as it absorbed much of the world\u2019s silver <\/blockquote> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>\n<\/div>
In 1600, China was \u201cthe largest and most sophisticated of all unified realms on earth\u201d. So wrote Sinologist Jonathan Spence, reflecting the achievements of the Ming dynasty (1368\u20131644), when China wielded huge influence internationally, in part because of the boom in global trade. But do cultural influence, trade and wealth equate to \u2018superpower\u2019? Historians have used the term \u2018dynastic cycle\u2019 to characterise the waxing and waning of China\u2019s fortunes. This framework may help us probe whether China has always (or ever) been the greatest global superpower.<\/p>\n
Various dynasties have been lauded by different historians. Mark Edward Lewis labelled the Tang (618\u2013907) a \u201ccosmopolitan empire\u201d, while John Fairbank called the Song (960\u20131279) \u201cChina\u2019s greatest age\u201d. The epic voyages of Admiral Zheng He (sailing 1405\u201333) suggested to some that the early Ming was \u201cwhen China ruled the seas\u201d, whereas Charles Hucker concluded that the reign of three great Qing emperors during the late 17th and the 18th centuries constituted \u201cChina\u2019s last golden age\u201d.<\/p>\n
Trading blows: <\/strong>Rana Mitter on the US-China Trade War<\/strong><\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>
One source of power was trade, in three commodities in particular. Silk spread the gospel of early imperial China during the Han\u2013Tang era, through central Asia, the Middle East and Europe. Porcelain defined China\u2019s relationship with the world from the Tang\u2013Song to the Ming\u2013Qing dynastic eras; international thirst for \u2018china\u2019 was boosted in the 17th and 18th centuries when tea was added to the menu of goods traded globally, and Chinoiserie [a style of art, furniture and architecture] swept through western Europe.<\/p>\n
Trade, then, made China rich, particularly from the 17th century as it absorbed much of the world\u2019s silver supply. But it was also trade \u2013 particularly the growing shortage of silver \u2013 that led to the Opium Wars<\/a> and the decline of the Qing dynasty in the 19th century. That marked the end of China\u2019s last \u2018golden age\u2019, and was followed by the so-called \u2018century of unequal treaties\u2019 that led to the concession of autonomy and territories such as Hong Kong.<\/p>\n
Each dynasty, then, rises and amasses power, but ultimately wanes. The post-Mao \u2018peaceful rise\u2019 may have impressed many around the world, but the communist regime is unlikely to escape the inevitable dynastic decline.<\/p>\n
Zheng Yangwen is professor of Chinese history at the University of Manchester, and author of Ten Lessons in Modern Chinese History<\/em> (Manchester University Press, 2018)<\/strong><\/p>\n
Rana Mitter<\/h3>\n

China dominated minds in Asia for much of two millennia because of its ability to shape the way people lived and thought <\/blockquote> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>\n<\/div>
Was China ever a superpower? If you asked many Chinese people, they might say that the Tang dynasty (618\u2013907) would qualify. That dynasty united large swathes of territory, and also saw China influenced by, and influencing, the central Asian states around it, with emperors taking the title \u2018Khan\u2019 to show their dominance over the wider region. Nearby societies such as Japan that were not part of China\u2019s political system were also shaped by language, religion and ideas from the mainland.<\/p>\n
More controversial, but perhaps the most worthy of the title \u2018superpower\u2019, was the Yuan dynasty (1271\u20131368). Founded by Kublai Khan, its rulers were not ethnic Chinese but Mongol. His empire\u2019s control over the states to the west of China was somewhat nominal, but did show how far Beijing\u2019s influence could extend. Even though Kublai Khan was not Chinese, he drew on China\u2019s traditions of Confucian thinking to shape his government \u2013 a sign of the power of that culture, even in the thinking of a conqueror.<\/p>\n
Read more: Why are Marco Polo\u2019s travels so famous?<\/a><\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>
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