China

Fall of the Han Dynasty in 220 CE led to the era of warring states.

Political: disunion - independent states of various styles

Interaction: competition, frequent warfare between the states

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Social: class divisions (elite, merchants, and then peasants and farmers), continued the patriarchal society and old gender roles

Political: stable and peaceful (finally unified), corps of skilled administrators (hired based on merit), more lenient laws, census, system of militias

Interaction: interaction with nomadic neighbors - founder of the dynasty was actually of  mixed nomad and Chinese ancestry

Culture: Buddhism gained state support

Economy: canal system created and used to increase and conduct trade, taxed goods in the trade network

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Social: Aristocratic society with clear class divisions (emperor at the top and slaves at the bottom of the hierarchy)
Less patriarchal - allowed women to sit for civil service examinations and hold public office, female emperor (Empress Wu),

Political: state structure with six major ministries (personnel, finance, rites, army, justice, and public works), accompanied by Censorate (which controlled the rest of the government), civil service system for bureaucratic jobs

Interaction: had a lot of foreign visitors, alliances and peace negotiations with neighbors,
Example: negotiations with Turkic empires that arose in Mongolia - intermarriage for royal family and trade

Culture: renaissance period, set standard for arts and literature (like poetry, landscape painting, and ceramics), Neo-Confucianism (reviving Confucianism, while adding ideas of Buddhism and Daoism), height of Buddhist influence in China

Economy: trade with neighbors/other civilizations - —Jade porcelain, and silks to Arabia, India, Japan, and Persia

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Social: More patriarchal than other dynasties - foot binding began during this time, women were less active in politics and less commonly seen on the streets, Confucian teaching was against widows remarrying
-Class divisions but more education opportunities

Political: centralized bureaucracy with civil service examination system

Interaction: trade with other civilizations along Silk Road

Culture: Confucianism, Daoism, and Buddhism as the three most important religions, great poetry, landscape paintings

Economy: monetization (paper money used more often), growth in commerce and maritime trade, urban expansion and technological innovations

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Social: Less patriarchal than previous Chinese dynasties - no foot binding, women allowed to ride horses with their husbands and to be at official gatherings, government tradition of relying on female advisers
-Four class system: a caste system in which the people were divided in descending order from Mongolian people, Semu people, Han people, and Southerners.

Political: harsh, exploitative, and resented rule, state officials were mostly foreigners, like Muslims from Central Asia, laws that discriminated against Chinese

Interaction: trade along the Silk Road, welcomed foreigners (especially merchants), government endorsed sea trade (which was at an all times high)

Culture: used traditional Confucian rituals, supported Daoism, attracted to a Tibetan form of Buddhism

Economy: improved roads, canals, lowered taxes, government supported merchants, large circulation of paper currency

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Social: Confucian belief of orthodox gender roles

Political: highly centralized government with a powerful emperor (who had a number of men personally loyal to him who had power, although they weren’t (official bureaucrats) with civil service examination for public office

Interaction: dealt with the arrival of Europeans, tributes from many countries, fought pirates

Culture: Confucian learning and orthodox gender roles, painting, calligraphy, pottery and other arts flourish.   

Economy: rebounded economy, flourishing international and domestic trade, commercial port cities like Suzhou,

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