Free Republic

Reshaping the economy in Imperial China.For 4,000 years, from 2070 BC to 1911 AD, one imperial family after another ruled China. The longest period in which a single family exercised power was 790 years, while the average tenure was 228 years. Most Westerners are familiar with the Tudors, Stuarts, and Windsors of England, or the Romanovs of Russia, but few are aware of the names of Chinese dynasties such as the Zhou, Han, or Ming, let alone the notable figures associated with them.In this essay, I acquaint the reader with a man named Wang Anshi 王安石. He lived from 1021...

Nevertheless, because of precisely what George Santayana was talking about, we are headed, one unnoticed step at a time, in just that direction It is a no-brainer that we are right now doomed to go through some really bad times. Anybody who tells you anything different is either trying to sell you something or they probably just need to back off on their meds. Nevertheless, Mr. Santayana’s beat-to-death, pure gold adage is about to fall upon us in its full weight because very few around us have even a nodding acquaintance with vital history. I mean, most of the universities...

Germany warned of war in Europe on Monday, with vice chancellor Sigmar Gabriel stating the continent was being “dragged” into a “smoldering conflict” with Russia over Ukraine. Gabriel—at an event commemorating World War I with French Prime Minister Manuel Valls—warned of resurgent nationalist forces both within Europe and “in its neighborhood”. He said that good news several months ago from Ukraine—including an end to bloody violence against protesters—had since given way to “an ongoing military confrontation” and the realization that “Russia is apparently willing to let tanks cross European borders.” …

DENVER - Sen. Joe Biden has no bounce, at least according to the Gallup Daily tracking polls. It's official: Sen. Barack Obama has received no bounce in voter support out of his selection of Sen. Joe Biden to be his vice presidential running mate. Gallup Poll Daily tracking from Aug. 23 to 25 -- the first three-day period falling entirely after Obama's Saturday morning vice presidential announcement -- shows 46 percent of national registered voters backing Sen. John McCain and 44 percent supporting Obama. This is not appreciably different from the previous week's standing for both candidates. This is the...

DENVER -- From the convention hall: All evidence points to a Democratic convention that will have a take-no-prisoners aggressive approach all week, driving home the contrast between John McCain and Barack Obama at every opportunity possible. An official speaking on background said that they were "not going to make the same mistake that we did in '04." Democratic analyst Mark Siegel said, "We begged the Kerry people to make the election a plebiscite on Bush, and make the '04 convention, from beginning to end the Reagan '80 series of questions: Are we better off now than we were four years...