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The questioner asked about sophistication, not size of economy. Chinese technological leadership petered out after the Four Great Inventions ( so around 800AD

The questioner asked about sophistication, not size of economy. Chinese technological leadership petered out after the Four Great Inventions ( so around 800AD ) and the economy grew on the back of trade. The Century of Humiliation took place because China was already well behind the technological edge by that time.

goatlover 6y ago
The belief that they already has achieved the best society and thus there was no need to pursue progress. Combine that with a strong emphasis on cultural conservatism and authoritarian rule.
blackrock 6y ago
The peak of ancient China’s sophistication might have been during the late 1200s, during the Song Dynasty. They achieved all kinds of marvelous inventions in this era. And while they didn’t quite achieve the abstract notions of calculus, they did master systems of equations, which is the precursor to linear algebra. And we know today, that linear algebra is the fundamental foundation of computer science. But, they had a fertile valley in the south, and became the breadbasket of Asia. This was probably what Genghis Khan envied, and why the ancient Chinese spent so much sweat and fortune to build their Great Wall fortifications in the north, to defend themselves. But alas, Khan succeeded, and decimated the Chinese, and set them back a few hundred years. It took a hundred years, until the Ming Dynasty were able to overthrow them. But the Chinese were never quite the same again. The Ming did build the fabled fleet ships of Zheng He, and traded with Southeast Asia, the Middle East, and Africa. Then the Ming faded, and were replaced with the Qing Dynasty. And this dynasty was some combination of the Mongols, so the Mongols eventually ruled China again, by decree. So thus, at this point, they had no need for any more Great Wall fortifications. The enemy was now inside the gates. At this point, the Qing had dominated the local lands, and thus had no further military competition. Until the Europeans and Americans came, and handed their ass to them, and murdered, and drugged, and enslaved them along the way. Thus, their complacency was the downfall of them. Of course, the Qing were also incompetent and did stupid things, like empower a woman as their leader, while the world was undergoing massive shifts in power. And she spent their money on rebuilding the gardens, instead of investing in military armature. But, the Europeans were also to blame for this, because they stole all of China’s money through forced reparations. It’s kinda hard to save money, when the thieves are stealing your gold at forced gunpoint. And the rest is history.
smegger001 6y ago
i have heard arguments that porcelain is to blame. Because their porcelain solved many problems that the west used glass for so they never developed much glass and thus were unable to progress on to making lenses or labware so no glasses, telescopes, or microscopes, also no prisms or high quality mirrors. Without these advances you are unable to study much of biology, chemistry, astronomy, optics and medicine.

goatlover 6y ago

The belief that they already has achieved the best society and thus there was no need to pursue progress. Combine that with a strong emphasis on cultural conservatism and authoritarian rule.

blackrock 6y ago

The peak of ancient China’s sophistication might have been during the late 1200s, during the Song Dynasty. They achieved all kinds of marvelous inventions in this era. And while they didn’t quite achieve the abstract notions of calculus, they did master systems of equations, which is the precursor to linear algebra. And we know today, that linear algebra is the fundamental foundation of computer science. But, they had a fertile valley in the south, and became the breadbasket of Asia. This was probably what Genghis Khan envied, and why the ancient Chinese spent so much sweat and fortune to build their Great Wall fortifications in the north, to defend themselves. But alas, Khan succeeded, and decimated the Chinese, and set them back a few hundred years. It took a hundred years, until the Ming Dynasty were able to overthrow them. But the Chinese were never quite the same again. The Ming did build the fabled fleet ships of Zheng He, and traded with Southeast Asia, the Middle East, and Africa. Then the Ming faded, and were replaced with the Qing Dynasty. And this dynasty was some combination of the Mongols, so the Mongols eventually ruled China again, by decree. So thus, at this point, they had no need for any more Great Wall fortifications. The enemy was now inside the gates. At this point, the Qing had dominated the local lands, and thus had no further military competition. Until the Europeans and Americans came, and handed their ass to them, and murdered, and drugged, and enslaved them along the way. Thus, their complacency was the downfall of them. Of course, the Qing were also incompetent and did stupid things, like empower a woman as their leader, while the world was undergoing massive shifts in power. And she spent their money on rebuilding the gardens, instead of investing in military armature. But, the Europeans were also to blame for this, because they stole all of China’s money through forced reparations. It’s kinda hard to save money, when the thieves are stealing your gold at forced gunpoint. And the rest is history.

smegger001 6y ago

i have heard arguments that porcelain is to blame. Because their porcelain solved many problems that the west used glass for so they never developed much glass and thus were unable to progress on to making lenses or labware so no glasses, telescopes, or microscopes, also no prisms or high quality mirrors. Without these advances you are unable to study much of biology, chemistry, astronomy, optics and medicine.