Why didn't the ancient Chinese dominate the world?

perseus

Active member
We all know that the Chinese were responsible for many inventions including gunpowder. What is less well known is that they didn't only use them for fireworks.

From the 9th century onwards, well before being known elsewhere, the Chinese developed gradually more advanced weaponry including flame throwers, rockets, the forerunner of guns and cannons, and bombs.

One such bomb was an advanced biological weapon called the 'bone-burning and bruising fire oil magic bomb' which contained pellets of iron and shards of porcelain coated with a stew of tung oil, urine, sal-ammoniac, faeces and scallion juice. This fearsome weapon was guaranteed to wound the skin and bones and blind enemies. Another weapon was a sort of self-loading cannon which could take on streams of infantry

However, these weapons (and their wall) didn't prevent successive invasions, although those tribes became assimilated and part of the Chinese.
 
I think, putting it very simply that they had enough problems managing their own huge empire without trying to manage more.

Had they have seen enough need I have little doubt they may have tried.

Look at the number of truly advanced civilisations in the past that all just fell in a hole for one reason or another. Egyptians, Mayans, India, ......
 
At one point they explored widely and had troops in Ceylon. Then a xenophobic Emperor called it all off and had long range Junks destroyed. There has been speculation that if not for him a Chinese Junk might have reached England before English ships made it to China.
 
I think they did dominate the world. Their world. Just as the Romans did, or the Aztecs and so many others. At that time no one new how "big" the world really was.
 
Good point, although perhaps I should have said medieval Chinese rather than ancient, since that's the era when gunpowder was developed there.

Perhaps Britain was the right size to dominate, not too big and self contained, although even then there was Scotland and civil wars. Most of the empire was achieved though a strong navy necessitated by being an island, occupying strategic islands and points. The larger lands were conquered through the dominance of primitive natives, with the exception of India which was originally a trading post.

If the Chinese could have prevented frequent invasions, and used their superior shipbuilding and gunpowder techniques they might have dominated.
 
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Want to know the BIGGEST reason the English dominated the world vs any other group? The language :) - English was easy to spread and easy to learn. Even after they would conquer or what not, the locals would easily pick up the English language. Communication like that severely decreases animosity between the conquered and the conquered (Plus it unites the Empire in someways). One of the biggest keys to success of the British Empire.
 
Let us not forget the ever evil Nazi's. Nearly setting the stage for a new dark age by enslaving Slavic Europe and legalizing racial madness, as well as general dictatorial bootstomping. Hitler's empire stretched from the Pyrenees's to the Volga-Caucuses and from the artic to N. Africa which encompassed most of the civilized world at the time.
 
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