DB Question: Was it inevitable that China would be the world superpower?

Could China not have won?

  • Yes

    Votes: 16 61.5%
  • No

    Votes: 10 38.5%

  • Total voters
    26
I've heard it said that because of China's geography, which favored political unification and thus greater populations and greater sharing of ideas, it was inevitable that China would conquer the world as it did during the Xuan Dynasty era.

What do you think?
 
It was inevitable after the Song industrialized. The inferior barbarians would never defeat the glorious empire anyway!
 
Nothing is inevitable, The fact that their even is a unified identity called China around to today wasn't even inevitable. If I were you, I would set up some clearer parameters around your question (ie. was china's rise to a superpower inevitable after X...)
 

jahenders

Banned
Nothing is inevitable, including this.

While various factors might have tended toward unification, China wasn't always unified and could just as easily have wound up as a half dozen independent states.

Portions of China were controlled by more powerful neighbors at different points in history and the borders could have remained thus.

Even if they are unified, they could have been dominated by a more powerful neighbor that kept them down.

Additionally, after Mao, they could have remained in a repressed, backward state for a long period of time.

I've heard it said that because of China's geography, which favored political unification and thus greater populations and greater sharing of ideas, it was inevitable that China would conquer the world as it did during the Xuan Dynasty era.

What do you think?
 
Almost ASB.
Of course, one could construe a scenario where the Xian fall due to some inner revolts when their Empire was nearing overstretched, running all along the Eastern Ocean from the Land of the Long White Cloud to the Bay of Fogs; your best chance would be before the introduction of Harmonious Home Rule. But even then, many unlikely events would all have to come together: an invasion by some nomadic force (Siberians? Mongols? Kyrgyz? They`d have to be much stronger than OTL, though...), utterly dysfunctional economic policies and a handful of incapable emperors....
 
Another thing is that in the early days a lot of the Empire was run by companies from Fujian and Guangdong, I think this stopped and the state took control because of some revolt by mercenaries somewhere IIRC.
 
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