Chapter 8

I always thought of China as a powerful force of a country. It was no surprise for me when I read about China's uprising, its "golden age." It was also not that surprising to learn about the role of women in the Song Dynasty. One thing that I also knew about was the practice of foot binding. Even though this was not nothing new that I learned, it still shocks that Chinese women went through these excruciating painful attempts to appear to be beautiful, elite women in Chinese society. Foot binding also reminds me of our society and how some people go through expensive plastic surgery to look better than what they think of themselves or more beautiful than before. Another thing that was interesting to me was how the Chinese viewed the northern nomads. The Chinese people called the nomads barbarians and viewed them as inferior, but they still used them for their own necessities like their military and luxury goods. The building of the Great Wall to keep them out sounds very familiar in today's society in this specific time. I am greatly reminded of issues, ideas, and trends in today's world and society from reading this chapter.