HIS391 Reading Report: Was China A Capitalist Society Before The Mongol Invasion?

Reading Report
Name:History
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Was China a Capitalist Society before the Mongol Invasion?
The above question has not left the discussion rooms of many historians. There are arguments for and against the notions. All the arguments are valid. This report builds on this argument and provides the reasons why the sided argument is more powerful than the other. By definition, a capitalist society is a society whose economic systems’ production means is driven and controlled by few private individuals (Peavler, 2017). Production means refers to resources like all the forms of capital. The individuals who operate and own companies are the decision makers when it comes to resources, and they run the economy.
Before the Mongol invasion in 1279, China was a capitalist society. The development of Neolithic agriculture in China happened at around 8000 BCE (Feinman & Fung et al., 2014). By the third millennium, stratified cultures of bronze-age had emerged. Examples of this culture include the Erlitou. It was during this time that there was a huge depended labor force who worked to produce silk and bronze in large scale for the elite in the workshops and foundries. The manorial economy held the agricultural sector. It supported the industries of handcraft as they emerged. It also supported the armies and the urban centers. This was during the 11th-8th century during the times of Western Zhou and 16th-11th centuries during the Shang period (Feinman & Fung et al., 2014).
This feudal system, however, collapsed leaving the economic system of China disintegrated and fragmented. The local kings took power from the nobility. During the Warring States, a stronger class of merchants was produced due to the increased trade. An elaborate bureaucracy was established when the new kings got the power. It was then used to erect large temples, wage wars, and in the enacting public-works project.
The meritocratic system at this time preferred talent to birthright, and they started rewarding it. The agricultural revolution took place in this period due to the increased use of tools. The result was a large population increase. The Qin's king in 221 BCE, declared himself as the First Emperor (Feinman & Fang et al., 2014). With this, China was united into a single empire. The various wall states were assembled into the Great wall. All the traditions and the People were...