Eh, that seems a bit of a simplification. If by "we", you mean, the "West", then sure. But if not, as one of the maps alludes to, China was busy building its ow

Eh, that seems a bit of a simplification. If by "we", you mean, the "West", then sure. But if not, as one of the maps alludes to, China was busy building its own empire, and in many respects, in terms of local cultural influence, could be seen as the Greece or Rome of Asia. As Rome still influences Western culture today, Chinese culture heavily influenced Korea, Japan, and Vietnam. They have or continue to use Chinese script, their traditional architecture derives from a Chinese model, heck, the South Korean flag is covered in more Chinese symbols than the current Chinese flag. Except unlike the Romans, they survived their barbarian problems, which is not a small feat, empire management is definitely tricky - just ask England. Arguably China's survival seems a bit awkward - perhaps it's better to go out with a bang rather than dwindle into decline and be spited. Though in the grand scheme of their long history, their current (or past, depending on who you ask) waning is a comparative temporary aberration. Personally, it'll be interesting to see if they'll ever recover from the cultural schism post-civil-war (ask many Chinese people that were on the losing side, and there's a good chance they will distance themselves culturally from "the Mainland", I imagine not too differently from how a South Korean would respond to being called North Korean, but who knows, I'm totally rambling now). Here's what third-century China thought about the Roman Empire: http://io9.com/heres-what-third-century-china-thought-about-the-roman-1253007513 http://io9.com/heres-what-third-century-china-thought-about-... THE STANFORD ANCIENT CHINESE AND MEDITERRANEAN EMPIRES COMPARATIVE HISTORY PROJECT: http://web.stanford.edu/~scheidel/acme.htm http://web.stanford.edu/~scheidel/acme.htm Roads: http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/283915/Imperial-Highway http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/283915/Imperial-Hi... Woodblock printing, paper, silk, porcelain, gunpowder, compasses...