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The Great Depression

The Great Depression             The Great Depression is considered as one of the darkest times of American history. It is considered as a traumatic experience of those who lived through it and has a profound impact on the generations after. The Great Depression is also considered as one of the dominant forces that molded the United States into what it is today. According to Himmelberg (2001), the depression brought great hardship and suffering to millions of Americans and it was instrumental in the shaping of America’s economic, political, and social spheres. Himmelberg (2001) adds that “the depression made a strong impact on people’s everyday lives because so many suffered from economic hardship and insecurity”.             The Great Depression can be seen as a “peak” of a business cycle. Depressions occur when there is not enough demand for all the goods and services that an economy produces. Inventories of unsold goods build up, and manufacturers cut production by laying off workers and buying less of the raw materials that they use to make their products. Service providers, from doctors to hair stylists, have fewer clients, and their incomes fall. Most economists believe that such falling demand is a normal part of what is commonly called a business cycle. Demand for two kinds of goods–durable goods and capital goods–tends to fluctuate, and these fluctuations drive the cycle. Durable goods are consumer goods that last a long time, such as automobiles, appliances, and home furnishings. Demand for such goods increases when consumers are feeling prosperous; it falls when they are not feeling prosperous. Many economists also believe that durable goods markets can be “saturated”–that there are, in other words, times when most consumers have purchased the durables that they want and have no desire to buy more. At such times, demand obviously will fall. Capital goods are goods such as factory buildings, machinery, and equipment. These are goods that are used to produce other goods. Business firms invest in such goods only when they feel that consumers will buy what is produced by the new capital goods. When that prospect seems doubtful, demand for these goods falls. Events during the mid-1920s illustrate the high point (“peak”) of a business cycle. In these years, there was a great increase in the number of Americans who bought houses, home furnishings, appliances, and automobiles. Towns and cities were growing rapidly, and state and local governments spent money to provide roads, sidewalks, and water and sewage services. The homes of town dwellers were connected to electricity and telephone services. Spending by consumers, business firms, and state and local governments created plentiful, high-paying jobs. In the late 1920s, demand was beginning to soften for houses and automobiles. Cities and states had completed most of the efforts they had undertaken to provide services for their citizens. In the summer of 1929, total spending in the American economy was falling, and business firms began to cut production. October’s stock market crash–signaling to shareholders that business profits would fall–probably made the recession worse. There was a loss of wealth and, as a result, people spent less, but the crash did not cause the recession. After the crash, the economy seemed to recover and the people were optimistic. However, the recovery of the economy was short-lived. At first, most observers thought that the recession would be temporary. Stock prices began to rise again, and the unemployed, aided by local and private charities, were assured that “Prosperity is just around the corner”–that is, the downward trend of the business cycle would hit bottom and the economy would start to recover. But this did not happen. Total demand stayed low. Business firms continued to lay off employees, and many firms went bankrupt. Then, in 1930, banks began to fail in large numbers, wiping out the savings of potential buyers and further lowering demand. State and local relief funds were soon exhausted, and many laid-off workers and their families, who had only recently led comfortable lives, now faced hunger and even homelessness (Caldwell & O’Driscoll, 2007). The Years before the Great Depression             The Great Depression devastated the whole world in the 1920s up to early 1940s. It is considered as one of the longest and most wide-spread economic depression in the 20th century. The United States, was one of the most severely hit by economic depression that started in late 1920s and ended in the early 1940s.             The onset of the Great Depression came with a shocking suddenness. In the space of a few days in October 1929, values on the New York Stock Exchange abruptly collapsed, wiping out the heady optimism of the “great bull market: of 1928-1929 and the seeming invincibility of Republican prosperity. Several years before the Great Depression, the American economy was doing good, considering that it was recovering from World War I. Stock values had risen steadily and with a nearly unbroken pace since 1922. After the World War I, the United States experienced an economic depression. World War I according to Himmelberg (2001), had placed great demands on the American economy, even before direct American participation began in 1917. Excessive demand led to a steep inflation of prices and set the economy up for an equally sharp deflation when the high rate of government spending rapidly slackened by 1920. By late 1921, the signs of recovery were clear. A long period of prosperity had begun, marred only by brief slowdown in the growth trend and by the failure of certain sectors of the economy, such as agriculture, to keep pace. The economic recovery of the 1920s was seen as a good sign by the people. People from the higher levels of the society as well as the white-collar and blue-collar workers felt the growth of the economy. Production and consumption of the goods that are the stuff of modern industrial economy came into their own in the 1920s.             It was the newer, highly innovative industries that fueled the expansion of the 1920s. During the decade auto registration rose from 9 to 27 million as the automobile industry, led by Henry Ford’s highly affordable Model T, put ownership within the reach of a mass market. Electrical goods too flooded markets from new American factories as refrigerators replaced the “ice-box” in a high proportion of urban homes, brooms gave way to vacuum cleaners, and radios brought entertainment, sporting events, and news into the home. The enormous increase in such products and the rapid expansion of the automobile indicated that higher incomes and more modern consumption patterns were filtering down from the well-to-do through the middle class and the working class. Advertising begun to flourish and adopted newer and more high-powered techniques for manipulating consumers.             Although the people became optimistic for the future, the prosperity of the 1920s was short-lived. National income grew rapidly, but the share of the increase going to those in the upper two-fifths of the income scale was far higher than for those lower down on it. Blue-collar workers enjoyed relatively stable employment, but their wages grew only modestly, and the income of family farmers did not grow commensurately with that of the urban middle class. What Fueled the Great Depression?             In order to understand the cures that ended the Great Depression, it is important that we should first look at the causes of the Great Depression.             Many theories have been developed to explain the occurrence of the Great Depression. One of the most popular among these is the Keynesian model, named after John Maynard Keynes, a very famous economist. The Keynesian explanation of the Great Depression according to Knoop (2004) centered on a major decrease in aggregate demand caused by sharp falls in investment and consumption. The decrease in investment and consumption were the result of a huge decline in expectation. This fall in aggregate demand had real effects on the economy because of wage inflexibility in the labor market (p. 144). According to the Keynesian explanation of the Great Depression, the decline in the total demand was so severe that adequate demand could only be restored only by large increases in government spending (Caldwell & O’Driscoll, 2007).   Another explanation was put forth by the supporters of the Monetarist theory of business cycles. Monetarists argue that the Great Depression was caused by a large decrease in the money supply that occurred because of the Federal Reserve’s ignorance and incompetence. This decline in the money supply reduced the aggregate demand for two reasons – a lower money supply reduced aggregate spending and a decrease in the money supply reduced liquidity in the banking system, leading to banking failures and high real interest rates. The decline in financial intermediation that resulted led to further reductions in spending, investment, and aggregate demand (Knoop, 2004). Caldwell and O’Driscoll (2007) supported this view, arguing that the length and severity of the Great Depression resulted primarily from the unwillingness of the Federal Reserve System to prevent bank failures and to maintain a large enough money supply. According to Gordon and Wilcox (1981) there were different factors that led to the Great Depression. The Great Depression can be traced to a series of domestic spending shocks, both monetary and non-monetary. The initial decline in output during the 1929-1931 period can be traced to a decline in consumption and residential investment expenditures. Friedman and Schwartz (1963) argued that the Great Depression resulted from the perverse actions of the Federal Reserve in letting the money supply decline drastically. Eichengreen (1992) asserted that the Great Depression resulted from a shift of the aggregate demand curve to the left and the impact of the monetary contraction was transmitted worldwide via operation of the “Gold Standard”. The gold standard was believed to provide an equilibrium by means of a simple mechanism which seemed to work as if governed by a law of nature. Two of its supporters such as Hume (1752) recommended the free flow of the precious metals. According to the Gold Standard’s supporters, if precious metals flowed out of a country they would thereby lower the prices and their inflow would increase the prices elsewhere, which would then lead to their flowing back to countries where the prices were lower. This process would work best without any interference. This proved to be an illusion. According to Rothermund (1996) the Golden Standard did nit work automatically at all but depended on the existence of a powerful lender of last resort, an institution which was able to ensure the liquidity and stability of the world market. Another factor that was often cited for the fall of the Great Depression on the United States was the failure of the Federal Reserve System. The Federal Reserve System according to the National Council for the Social Studies (2007) was established in 1913, in part to prevent bank failures by lending reserves to banks that were experiencing unusually high cash withdrawals. On the eve of the Depression, the first concern of the 12 regional Federal Reserve Banks should have been the overall health of the financial system. But the regional presidents of the Federal Reserve Banks were hesitant to lend banks in their districts. In consequence, many banks were allowed to fail, and the failures caused fear among account holders in sound banks, prompting them to panic and withdraw their funds. The Federal Reserve System also raised interest rates in late 1931, which discouraged business borrowing and contracted the money supply. Banks keep some of their reserves in the form of bonds. When interest rates rise, the prices of bonds fall; banks then hold assets that have declined in value, yielding less revenue when banks sell them to raise funds to pay depositors (National Council for the Social Studies, 2007). The First Wave of the Great Depression (1929-1931)             The breath-taking growth of the American stock market became the symbol of prosperity and became a gauge of the capacity of the United States to produce endless wealth. Though limited by modern standards, the number of Americans drawn into stock market speculation grew rapidly and was far greater by the late 1920s that ever before. Indeed, the whole United States was caught unaware when the crash came in 1929. Consumers and investors were shocked and they lost their confidence. This aggravated the economic downturn, which became more and more visible in the months after the collapse of the market. The fall of the market signaled the end of the era of prosperity. It wiped out the savings and confidence of many Americans. The United States did not expect that the economic crash in 1929 only marked the beginning of a decade-long economic depression. Politicians, businessmen and journalists believed that like the economic depression prior 1922, the economic depression of 1929 will be short-lived. According to Himmelberg (2001), there was a deeply engrained belief among business circles that the modern economy, with its immense production and consumption of so great a variety and volume of consumer goods, had become virtually depression-proof. These beliefs and hopes proved vain. Unemployment rose steadily throughout 1930; consumer spending and production of goods and services fell relentlessly, even though gradually; the stock market continued its decline; farm prices collapsed; and many banks, squeezed by the inability of borrowers to repay loans, approached the brink of failure. American exports, moreover, declined sharply as depressed conditions appeared in Europe soon after the American crash in late 1929. The Second Wave of the Great Depression (1931-1933)             The second wave of the Great Depression was more severe than the first. During the second wave, there were banking panics and failures that resulted in the crash of financial intermediation and investment. Because of the banking industry’s failure, the economy contracted rapidly. Industrial production according to Knoop (2004) fell by 43% between April 1931 and June 1932, and unemployment rose to 24%. Recovery from the Great Depression (1933-1941)             When Roosevelt came into power in 1933, the gold standard was abandoned which resulted in the devaluation of dollar. France and other European countries, except Germany, also abandoned the gold standard. All countries that dropped the gold standard started to recover after doing so. Once the gold standard was dropped, recovery was strong. According to Bernanke (1995) non-gold standard countries were found to have higher production, prices, money supplies, employment, interest rates, exports, and stock prices than their counterparts that remained on the gold standard. In the United States, the New Deal policies put forward by Roosevelt were found to be beneficial to the economy. Increase in government spending and reductions in taxes stimulated aggregate demand and raised consumer confidence by creating the impression that the government was doing something to improve the economic situation. While these policies were beneficial, it cannot be denied that these were not enough to solve the big problems brought about by the Great depression. The recovery started in 1933, although this was slow. Output had fallen so far below the natural rate that it would necessarily take a long time for it to recover. The recovery was also slowed by the large decline in the capital stock and the lost job skills and training that accompanied lost job opportunities. Output rose very gradually from 1933 to 1937, followed by a short recession from 1937 to 1938. By the 1940, unemployment was still at 14.6% (Knoop, 2004). What Ended the Great Depression? Keynesian Explanation             The Keynesian explanation is based on the theories of John Maynard Keynes. In his 1936 book entitled “The General Theory of Employment, Interest, and Money”, Keynes put emphasis on the relationship between unemployment and the Great Depression. Keynes held that it was possible for total demand in a modern economy to remain low indefinitely, leading to long periods of high unemployment. People who are unemployed are bound to spend less and because of these, businesses are forced not to produced goods which they think will not be purchased. This will further aggravate the problem as businesses will cut production and displace more workers.             The solution to this problem according to Keynes was to create enough demand to employ the work force fully which will be achieved if the government will increase spending to compensate for the decreased spending of consumers and business firms. Keynes also argued that in order to solve the problems of the Great Depression, the Federal Reserve System of the United States should create new money for the national government to borrow and spend. Rather than raising taxes, the government should take steps to create a deficit by cutting taxes, increasing spending, or some combination.  The length of the Great Depression in the United States seemed to confirm Keynesian theory. Unemployment remained high throughout the 1930s; the unemployment rate was 14.6 percent in 1940. Under Roosevelt, government spending did increase, but by far too little to achieve full employment. Only when the American government began to increase spending in preparation for World War II did unemployment begin to fall to normal levels. In light of these developments, the Keynesian explanation of the Great Depression was increasingly accepted by economists, historians, and politicians (Caldwell & O’Driscoll, 2007). Keynes had a great influence on the economic thought in America. Keynes’ great contribution was to argue convincingly that, contrary to traditional economic theory, conditions could arise in which natural economic forces, such as the availability of cheap raw materials and labor, could for long periods fail to persuade businessmen to invest in new plants and equipment. Without large investment spending, only large increases in spending on consumption could raise national income and employment, and on consumption could raise national income and employment, and only government could provide for that increase in spending (Himmelberg, 2001). According to Dadkhah (2009), Roosevelt’s New Deal and Keynes’ General theory have a strong affinity. Many believe that Keynes had a great contribution in the creation of Roosevelt’s New Deal economic policies. According to Harris (2005), when the American Government accepted deficit financing and loan expenditures, they have put into practice the theories of Keynes. The American economy also seemed to have become a testing laboratory of Keynes’ ideas. The National Recovery Administration (NRA), the Agricultural Adjustment Administration (AAA), various relief programs, the Social Security Act were interpreted in part as programs which would transfer purchasing power from non-spenders to spenders (Harris, 2005). Again in accordance with sound Keynesian theories, the government, through the Thomas Amendments and the revaluation of gold, prepared the way for monetary expansion and declining rates of interest.             The traditional views of economist was that economy’s production of goods necessarily entailed the generation of income sufficient to buy all that was produced. Keynes did not agree with this view. According to him, a large amount of a nation’s income went to those who spent on investment in new plants and equipments, not just consumption.  If this class felt opportunities to invest in new means of production were insufficiently profitable, they might prefer to keep their money in a liquid (near to cash) form. A “liquidity trap” could develop, in which too much income was saved rather than invested. This would cause an economic downturn. The solution was for government to make up the shortfall in spending by running deficits, by borrowing and spending well in excess of tax receipts (Himmelberg, 2001). New Deal Policies             Based on the arguments of Keyne’s discussed above, he came up with one solution to the Great Depression. This was for the government to stimulate the economy by increasing government spending or reducing tax collections. These moves according to Keynes would lead to budget deficits that could move the economy back toward a new equilibrium in which all resources would be fully employed. Although, the Roosevelt administration was seemingly heeding the advices of Keynes, this is not true, as Roosevelt was following different path in his economic decisions and policies. Reconstruction Finance Corporation             Due to the failure of the Federal Reserve System to prevent the crash of the banking industry, the Hoover administration created the Reconstruction Finance Corporation (RFC) in 1932. The RFC was primarily responsible for providing loans to four thousand banks, railroads, credit unions, and mortgage loan companies to provide assets that would propel commercial lending. Among the most important programs was the provision of loans to troubled banks in an attempt to provide them with enough liquidity to survive bank runs. In the Roosevelt administration the RFC retained its usage. The RFC also became the banker for many New Deal programs, providing loans or startup working capital to the Public Works Administration (PWA), the Home Owner’s Loan Corporation (HOLC), the Farm Credit Administration (FCA), the Federal Housing Administration (FHA), the Rural Electrification Administration (REA), and the Works Progress Administration (WPA). Emergency Relief and Public Works Programs             Federal spending during the Roosevelt administration was largely aimed at solving the problems that had arisen during the Great Depression. One of the central problems was determining how to aid the huge numbers of unemployed and discouraged workers. Prior to the Depression, the Federal government had assumed virtually no responsibility for the provision of relief payments to low-income people and the unemployed. Because of the dramatic increase in unemployment rates, the Federal government was pushed to take a new role. During the Roosevelt administration, the unemployment rate was more than 20 percent. In this time, the government took the main responsibility in the provision of relief. Thus, the Federal Emergency Relief Administration (FERA) was established. The FERA distributed federal monies to the states, which in turn, distributed the monies to local areas, which administered the payments to households. The FERA program offered either direct relief payments or work relief that required a family member to work for the funds. The Roosevelt administration also created Civil Works Administration (CWA) in 1933 in an attempt to lessen, the still large unemployment rate. CWA was established to immediately put people to work on public jobs. The Farm Programs             The situation of farmers was far worse that that experienced by workers cities and industries. An expansion of farms during the World War I had followed a golden era of farm prices in the early 1900s. As the Europeans recovered from the war in the early 1920s, demand for American farm products declined, and the farm sector went through a difficult shakeout in the early 1920s. After a decade of troubles farmers were hit still harder by the Great Depression. The Roosevelt administration responded to farmers’ pleas during the “First Hundred Days” by establishing a series of measures that became the basis for the nation’s modern farm programs. The goal was to limit supply and thus raise the ratio of farm prices to nonfarm prices to levels seen during the golden era just prior to World War I. The New Deal program gave rise to the rental and benefit program administered by the Agricultural Adjustment Administration (AAA). For a wide variety of farm products the AAA offered agreements to farmers that paid them to take land out of production. The funds for the program came from a tax on farm output at the location where it was first processed. Many farmer also benefited from a wide range of loan programs. The Commodity Credit Corporation (CCC) lent funds to farmers for crops in storage with terms that contributed to keeping prices high. When repayment time came, if crop prices exceeded the target level, the farmer would sell the crop on the market and repay the government loan. If crop prices were below the target, the farmer gave the crop to the government as payment of the loan. In the 1930s the CCC set the target prices above market prices, so the program operated as a price support program. National Industrial Recovery Act (NIRA)             The NIRA was the center of the early New Deal. The policy aimed to enhance economic recovery by increasing the public’s purchasing power and by imposing some measured control over the conditions of production and commerce. This act seemed to follow, Keynes’ advice, but Keynes was not pleased with what the Roosevelt administration has done. Indeed, NIRA was declared unconstitutional in 1935, two years after its enactment. The underlying economic philosophy of the NIRA was that the depression was a result of the intense competition in industry and commerce. In order to correct the evil, the act provided for the creation of business codes of fair competition to be promulgated by trade associations and industrial groups and brokered by the administration (Shamir, 1995). The workers, under NIRA were to be protected by minimum wages, limits on hours, and rules related to working conditions. The End of the Great Depression According to Keynesian Views             John Maynard Keynes put forward a new and radical theory (during his lifetime) that will explain the emergence of the Great Depression and will provide a solution to it. According to Keynes the remedies to the Great Depression center on the government’s act to spend a great deal of money in excess of tax revenues. Keynes’s analysis overturned the engrained conclusion of traditional economic theory that the competitive forces of the market economy would inevitably create sufficient demand to buy all that was produced and provide for full employment of resources. Keynes argued that the volume of investment in new plant and equipment was the key variable for maintaining full employment. Circumstances could arise, he held, in which savings would not be translated into investment over a long period and that the result could be a situation, like the depression, of protracted underemployment of resources. Keynes’s analysis provided the theoretical underpinning for the policy that most conventional economic opinion had continued to reject, that the continued state of depression mandated heavy government spending through borrowing.             American Keynesians, accepted this view and warned that the American economy was undergoing a secular stagnation. According to a famous American Keynesian, America was in the grip of secular stagnation because investment had failed and could not recover. The volume of investment would never again be sufficient to create full employment because the major stimuli that promoted investment historically – the need to develop the frontier and a booming birthrate – had now disappeared. Large-scale government deficit spending could provide for employment, but economic controls to prevent interest groups from taking advantage of rising prosperity and causing inflation would be necessary. Deficit spending might cure unemployment, but the cost would be the abandonment of a considerable degree of the freewheeling entrepreneurial capitalism America had always known and relied on.             Although the Keynesian views were rejected by many policy makers and economists, the events in early 1940s seemed to point at the correctness of Keynes’ arguments. Defense spending grew rapidly during 1940 and 1941 but vaulted to previously unimaginable levels after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, drew a united America into World War II. Federal spending on war production now soared. Unemployment vanished, and the standard of living rose, despite wartime scarcity of some consumer goods. By 1944 the total production of goods and services had nearly doubled relative to 1937. The surging economy of the war years served to emphasize the tragic extent of the losses economic stagnation had inflicted on the nation during the Great Depression. To many observers, it demonstrated that America could have escaped those losses. Clearly it was massive government expenditures that brought the economy to life after 1939 and ended the years of economic doldrums. For those who had called for large increases in government borrowing and spending as the way out of depression, the economic expansion and prosperity of the war years was a vindication. The economic revival, moreover, continued after World War II. After a brief postwar recession, the American economy set off on a long period of steady growth, which, with some lapses, as during the highly inflationary and intermittently depressed 1970s, has extended to the present day. High-volume governmental spending continued throughout this period. But most economists attribute postwar growth to a revived capitalism, the processes of economic innovation, and private investment in new industries and new products. American experience during and after World War II seemed to indicate that, first, deficit spending could effectively stimulate employment and, second, that American capitalism was still capable of steadily producing economic growth and a high level of employment of resources. The length of the Great Depression in the United States seemed to confirm Keynesian theory. Unemployment remained high throughout the 1930s; the unemployment rate was 14.6 percent in 1940. Under Roosevelt, government spending did increase, but by far too little to achieve full employment. Only when the American government began to increase spending in preparation for World War II did unemployment begin to fall to normal levels. In light of these developments, the Keynesian explanation of the Great Depression was increasingly accepted by economists, historians, and politicians.             The hesitation of businessmen to invest was also seen as a contributing factor to the emergence of the Great Depression. Although, Keynes pointed out that in order for the economy to regain its strength, the government must increase its spending in order to compensate for the failure of investment, both depression-era Presidents (Hoover and Roosevelt) did not pay attention. Hoover’s fiscal policy was restrained, except for 1931, when Congress enacted over the president’s veto a bill providing for the immediate payment of part of the bonus veterans were scheduled to receive under earlier legislation, in 1945. Roosevelt also practiced a restrained fiscal policy, although he acquiesced in modest deficit spending during 1933–1936 to fund unemployment relief and other programs of recovery. The modest deficits of those years stemmed not from a deliberately expansionary fiscal policy but were incidental to the creation of programs intended to alleviate the depression’s impact. The magnitude of this deficit spending was sufficient to exert some positive force on the economy but fell far short of sparking full recovery. By 1937–1938, however, when the recovery halted and reversed, Keynes’s ideas had taken root and the spending policies of the late New Deal years were influenced by them.             Another view as to the ending of the Great Depression was presented by Peter Tamin. Tamin attributes the downturn of 1929, and the ensuing Great Depression to bad governmental monetary policy. In 1928 and 1929, the Federal Reserve banks, concerned about the soaring stock market speculation, adopted interest rate policies that exerted deflationary pressures on the economy. America’s banking authorities, in other words, set interest rates at a level that slowed the pace of healthy borrowing for business purposes and limited growth of the supply of money below the real needs of the economy. None of this deterred the stock market boom, which during the first half of 1929 became more dangerously speculative than before, but it did succeed in slowing down the economy. This in turn led, in October 1929, to the Great Crash. The downward trend of the economy, once set in motion, had a momentum of its own and was aggravated by a number of circumstances, such as those mentioned earlier in this paper. The Federal Reserve System raised interest rates in early 1928, which discouraged business borrowing and spending and brought about the decline in production that began that summer. Interest rates were raised again in 1930 and 1931. Furthermore, when banks began to fail in large numbers at the end of 1930, the Federal Reserve System did little to assist them. The Federal Reserve System had been established by Congress in 1913 for the express purpose of preventing bank failure caused by a “run” on the bank. A run occurred when many customers withdrew all their deposits in the form of cash, forcing the bank to close when all its cash was depleted. In such cases, Federal Reserve Banks were to supply banks with enough cash to meet the demands of their customers, thus preventing bank failure. But, according to Friedman and Schwartz, the Federal Reserve Banks in the 1930s refused to support banks that they thought were unlikely to repay them, forcing many basically sound banks into bankruptcy. When a bank fails, its deposits can no longer be spent; as a result, the amount of money circulating in society goes down, depressing demand for goods and services. The Great Depression lasted for a long time, according to the monetarists (Friedman and his followers), because bankers were reluctant to make new loans after 1933. Bankers made only the safest and most conservative loans in these years because they believed that the Federal Reserve would not support them if they got into trouble. Furthermore, as the economy began to improve in 1936, the Federal Reserve System actually raised interest rates on loans, fearing inflation. Conclusion             In conclusion, I would like to take the Keynesian and Temin views on how the Great Depression ended. By consulting different works on the subject, I conclude that the Great Depression ended indirectly because of the New Deal programs and policies enacted by Roosevelt which resulted in the abandonment of gold standard, increase in government spending and restructuring governmental monetary policy.                 Credit:ivythesis.typepad.com

The Great Depression

The Great Depression The Great Depression is considered as one of the darkest times of American history. It is considered as...

THE BRIEF CHINESE HISTORY OF GAMBLING

THE BRIEF CHINESE HISTORY OF GAMBLING   Introduction The global gambling industry is huge and is currently valued at one trillion U.S. dollars (2003). Gambling has become a leading leisure activity in many countries. Today, popular games include state-run lotteries, electronic gaming machines (EGM), instant scratch-off tickets, sports betting, keno and charitable gambling. Defined by the (1999) as “staking money on uncertain events driven by chance”, gambling is generally accepted by the modern society. It embraces the essence of risk taking in exchange for something of greater value. Gambling is a part of the human history and performed in many parts of the world today including China. In fact, the very first accounts of gambling were recorded in China. According to a report by  (2002), Keno (a form of gambling product) was first played in China since 3,000 years ago. The basis of many of today’s favorite card games such as blackjack and poker are also thought to have been invented in China. Gambling was very popular in ancient China and throughout Chinese history despite the fact that it was under strict regulatory controls and ban. Today, social gambling in the form of mahjong playing is commonplace in China and among Chinese overseas. Government-approved lottery games are also available to 95% of China’s cities and counties, with a forecasted annual ticket sales approaching US billion by 2006 (2002). In addition, legal racetrack (i.e., horse) betting and casino gambling are available in Hong Kong and Macau respectively. Among all, Macau is perhaps one of the best gaming markets in the world, expected to rival Las Vegas as the biggest casino gaming city in the world by the end of 2005. Given the huge potential that China offers to the global gaming industry, further understanding of the Chinese history of gambling certainly deserves greater attention than it is currently given. Origin of Gambling in China Gambling started as a form of game and entertainment in ancient China. Historically, gambling had been very popular among the rich and the poor as well as all levels within the Chinese society. According to numerous accounts, the wagering of games of chance was founded around the period of Xia (2000-1500 B.C.) and Shang (1700- 1027 B.C.) dynasties. In fact, the wagering of games was already popular among Chinese belonging to the high-class segment of the Shang society. During the Spring and Autumn period (770-476 B.C.), from imperial officials to nomads, Chinese loved gambling and the variety of gambling game expanded. Improved economic conditions, especially in the cities, fueled the proliferation of gambling activities. This phenomenon also appeared during the Warring States period (475-221 B.C.), where gambling spread from inner cities to the rural countryside. During the Han dynasty (206 B.C.-A.D. 220), gambling for entertainment had become a habit among many top imperial officials. Chinese history books recorded the punishment of a number of Han imperial officials for over-indulging in gambling. The culture of gambling among officials grew during this period, along with gambling in the lower-class segment of the Han society. The variety of games further expanded. Many specialized gambling organizations started to appear during the Tang dynasty (A.D. 618-907). These organizations provided a venue for heavy gambling, causing social disorder and dissatisfaction among some Chinese. From A.D. 960 to A.D. 1279 (Song, Northern and Southern Song dynasties), gambling underwent further commercialization, along with the creation of many different forms of gambling games. With increasing prosperity, especially among cities in southern China, gambling proliferated. Some Chinese began to treat gambling as a form of livelihood, often involving the use of deception to win. In the period of Northern Song (A.D. 960-1127), the use of gambling as a promotional activities became popular. During Southern Song dynasty (A.D. 1120), a domino game called ‘Xuan He Pai’ was invented. This game, along with a card game (called ‘Ma Diao Pai’) invented during the Ming dynasty (A.D. 1368-1644), became the basis for the mahjong game that we know today. Gambling among Chinese was also common during the Yuan dynasty despite its ban. Like in the earlier dynasties, even imperial officials themselves were heavily involved in gambling activities. In the Ming dynasty (A.D. 1368-1644), many gambling dens appeared in big and small cities. In big Ming cities, some Chinese relied on gambling as a profession and many rich Chinese (especially merchant) invested in their own gambling dens. Again, from Ming to Qing (A.D. 1644-1911) dynasties, many imperial officials were obsessed with gambling. Some Qing imperial officials saw gambling dens as a good source of tax revenue. Tempted by potentially huge monetary gains, some corrupt officials collaborated with triads that were involved in gambling (and drug smuggling) businesses. Gambling during these periods was mainly concentrated along the coast of China such as Guangdong and Fujian. From the end of Qing to the founding of the People’s Republic of China (since 1949), modern casinos were gradually being formed. At this period, Gambling had become even more public especially in foreigner-occupied special territories in cities like Shanghai. Some gambling dens offered new games from overseas to fulfill the gambling desires of the Chinese gamblers. During the war with the Japanese in the 1930s and 1940s, gambling was legalized in places like Shanghai where the Japanese occupied. After the war, the new government implemented strict ban on all forms of gambling and gambling activities subsided. The Cultural Revolution in the 1960s added a further blow to gambling activities around China. Today, social gambling in the form of mahjong in China is common and public lottery games have proliferated. Gambling in the form of lottery has again been attributed to causing social disorder and problems in modern China. Besides lottery, there are also racetrack gambling in Macau and Hong Kong. Macau, in particular, is the only place in China where casino gambling is legalized. Today, besides the usual card games, popular table games in Chinese casinos include Pai Gow, Fan Tan, and Sic Bo. According to a recent report by  (2002), gambling is now favorably regarded by most Chinese as a national past time. Gambling and Control Many ancient Chinese imperial rulers believed that when gambling became an obsession, it would create serious social problems. Gambling was often associated to illegal triads or secret societies, corruption, and drugs. Hence, gambling had been under strict regulatory control and, often, ban throughout the history of China. To prevent widespread of social problems and to preserve order in the society, many imperial rulers banned gambling dens or any activities that allowed people to gather and place large gambling stakes. The purpose of these measures was to prevent these activities altogether as well as to show the public disdain for such activities. Other rulers often employed traditional Chinese philosophy and education to influence the way Chinese commoners think about gambling. Gambling was painted as a morally ‘bad’ activity that should be avoided in order to preserve social order and integrity. Hence, a compulsive gambler in China is not considered a problem gambler. Such a person is more likely to be labeled by the Chinese as a ‘bad’ or ‘undesirable’ person rather than a ‘sick’ or ‘mad’ person by the Western countries. Confucius had a saying that ‘a gentleman does not gamble’. This yielded a significant influence on the rules and regulations laid down by many Chinese imperial rulers to restrict gambling. The earliest ban on gambling in China’s history was in the Wei kingdom, during the Warring States period. In Wei, the penalty for commoners caught gambling was a monetary fine. However, penalty for heirs to royal titles was much harsher. Those royals caught would receive capital punishment, often in the form of caning. Repeated offenders would stand to lose their rights to become the heirs. The rulers of Yuan, Ming and Qing dynasties implemented nation-wide gambling ban without much success. The punishment for offenders included caning, exile and even execution. Often, imperial officials themselves were heavily involved in gambling. Towards the end of Qing dynasty, wealthy merchant and investors were regular patrons of gambling dens. Perhaps, gambling control was most successfully implemented from the early years of the People’s Republic of China to the Cultural Revolution in the 1960s and 1970s. Over these periods, gambling activities among Chinese practically ceased to exist. Credit:ivythesis.typepad.com

THE BRIEF CHINESE HISTORY OF GAMBLING

THE BRIEF CHINESE HISTORY OF GAMBLING Introduction The global gambling industry is huge and is currently valued at one tril...

Brief History of USA

Brief History of USA From its origins as a group of obscure colonies hugging the coast of the Atlantic Ocean, the United States has undergone a remarkable transformation. With a little more than two hundred years ago, as called by one political analysts, “the first Universal Nation”. The issues that were addressed in the early years continue to be addressed and resolved in today’s time. Its population of 300 million people represents almost every nationality and ethnic groups. The transitions of life evolved in different stages as the nation endured and participated in different kind of alliances and wars. The Early America lived their life until they were reached the Colonial Period. The return of Independence achieved after many years that turns into a Revolution and formation of the New Government. Their new ideas lead to the Westward Expansion and identification of Regional Differences and Conflicts. As the chain of time continues, the America experienced the Civil War and Reconstruction after the war. Their Growth and Transformation received Discontentment and introduced the Reform. Through their ups and downs, the America also experienced the World War I, Prosperity, Great Depression, Conflicts and many others until they reached the 20th century. It is a nation where the pace and extent of change — economic, technological, cultural, demographic, and social — is unceasing. Events in the United States are often the first sign of the modernization and change that inevitably bring other nations and societies into an increasingly interdependent, interconnected world. Credit:ivythesis.typepad.com

Brief History of USA

Brief History of USA From its origins as a group of obscure colonies hugging the coast of the Atlantic Ocean, the United States has unde...

US History

1.    What specific restrictions are placed on slaves? Slaves were not allowed to own a property, participate in social activities such as elections and were not given a humane treatment. Due to discrimination black skinned individuals who were deemed as free men were given the same restrictions.    2.    How did free blacks respond to the slave codes? Slavery in the Americas introduced the troubling element of race into the master/slave relationship. For the first time in history, dark skin became the social marker of chattel slavery. And, as a means of justifying this new face which is a black face given to an ancient practice, the slavers and their supporters created a race-specific ideology of condemnation. Two and one-quarter centuries of human debasement and degradation denied slaves, not only their basic humanity, but also the opportunity to develop resources that could be used for their own empowerment and later bequeathed to future generations of blacks. Slavery harmed the slaves by creating capital deficiencies or developmental encumbrances within the slave community. These capital deficiencies can be delineated as follows: basic capital, meaning the denial of life, liberty, and human dignity; financial capital, consisting of labor, property, and investments; human capital, denoting formal education, skills, and talent; and social capital, referring to the way in which a group is viewed by other groups within the society. Slavery imposed capital deficiencies on all blacks, not just the slaves. Both the magnitude and details of these deficiencies can be gleaned from a quick look at the legal status and life experiences of slaves and free blacks alike (Finkelman & Urofsky 2002). Free blacks lived in uneasy coexistence with the peculiar institution. Even a free black living in the North was not really free.  His freedom was relative; he was freer than a slave but considerably less free than a white person. Because Northern black communities were embedded in a nation that presumed black people to be slaves, black communities cannot be included in free society. Free blacks were excluded from much of the political, economic, educational, and social life of the North. The irony is that this was a region where slavery over time became less profitable than in the South, and where the white population relative to the black population was numerous and rapidly increasing. Northern whites seemed to agonize over the peculiarity of slavery in the land of liberty more so than southern whites. The overwhelming majority of free blacks in the South, like their brethren in the North, were denied the opportunity to create or develop financial, human, or social capital. They faced racial subordination at every turn, sternly excluded from all social equality with the whites, from all political franchises and most civil rights (Brooks 2004). Free blacks were at first adamant of the slave codes because most of them have learned not to trust the white people. Once they saw that the slave codes benefitted the slaves they reduced the fears against it.   3.    What did abolitionists do in response to the slave codes? World developments created and recreated periods of ideological crisis for the Old South. Crises of confidence in the taken-for-granted productions and reproductions of Southern life exacerbated the ideological contradictions between such concepts as freedom and slavery, setting in motion the dissolution of the dominant discourse that supported the natural order of Southern life. This crisis which detained 90 percent of blacks in bondage; then there was the racialist structure of the society, a moral and social order that privileged whites and stereotyped blacks as either subservient or subversive; and finally, there was the resurgence of the long-held Anglo-American desire for African colonization (McInerney 1994). Alongside their efforts to find their own voice and oppose colonization, free blacks sought to convert white abolitionists from gradualism to a more radical abolitionist program, the immediate end of slavery. With the 1820s social climate favoring reform, blacks had some success with an increase in anti vice activity against alcohol abuse, prostitution, and illiteracy, but the American Colonization Society, too, was thriving with the support of white abolitionists such as William Lloyd Garrison. A byproduct of the emerging radical abolitionist movement was the demise of organized, white public antislavery activity in the South. All this Northern activism, however, emerged against the backdrop of Southern slavery and black agitation opposing it (Gordon 2003). The abolitionists made sure that the slave codes were really beneficial to slaves. If they believe that a certain part of the slave code was causing problems then they had it changed to a better policy.   4.    When and how did the codes change? The codes changed whenever there are threats of slave rebellions and violence. The abolitionists and activists made sure that whenever the slave codes does not bring  benefits to slaves then it must be altered. The slave code was ended after there were laws that protected the rights of individuals. The slave code was deemed as unimportant once there were more powerful and specific laws that pertain to the rights of individuals. This came during the time when laws that practiced the respect of human rights flourished.   References Brooks, RL 2004, Atonement and forgiveness: A new model for black reparations, University of California Press, Berkeley, CA.   Finkelman, P & Urofsky, MI 2002, March of liberty: A constitutional history of the United States, Oxford University Press, New York.   Gordon, DB 2003, Black Identity: Rhetoric, ideology, and nineteenth-century Black Nationalism, Southern Illinois University Press, Carbondale, IL.   McInerney, DJ 1994, The fortunate heirs of freedom: Abolition & Republican thought, University of Nebraska Press, Lincoln, NE       Credit:ivythesis.typepad.com

US History

1. What specific restrictions are placed on slaves? Slaves were not allowed to own a property, participate in social activities such...

Cultural and Historical

Cultural and Historical INTRODUCTION The China has a long history of the fashion, but the most important is the Han Chinese costume. In 794-897, Japan keep in touch with China, exchange their knowledge, of course the Han Chinese costume fly to Japan which is the Kimono as we known, my purpose of my report is to tell the influence of the Han Chinese costume to the China social identity, and influence of the Japan now a days. 1. The history and development of the Han Chinese costume A. Explain the history of the Han Chinese costume Han Chinese costume or other name is Hanfu which the clothing of the Chinese people. Hanfu refers to the pre-17th century traditional clothing, and thus a group of predominant ethnic in China. By the Han Chinese ethnic group, Hanfu encompasses all types of traditional clothing. Hence, as long as the history of the Han Chinese people, Hanfu has a history. In the 17th century, it was eliminated by Manchu invaders by force. As traditional Chinese clothing, although Qipao and Tangzhuang usually regarded, are not regarded as Hanfu by advocates of Hanfu revival. The reason is that, whom revival advocates accuse of having stamped out Hanfu in the first place, these were introduced by the Manchu’s. Recent clothing styles in China were Qipao and Tangzhuang are also relatively and can’t represent the entire history of Chinese clothing. Hanfu can be keith traced back to the Yellow Emperor, according to Chinese tradition, a great sage king of ancient China whom legend says ruled in the 27th century before Christ. For more than 3000 years, Hanfu itself has a recorded history, and it was worn by Han Chinese people by semi-legendary Xia Dynasty (c. 21st century BC-16th century BC) all the way to the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644). Of more than three millennia, Hanfu has a history and is said to have been worn by the legendary Yellow Emperor. Hanfu especially in the elite circles, from the beginning of its history, was inseparable from silk, supposedly discovered by the yellow Emperor’s consort, Leizu. The Shang Dynasty 1600 BC- 1000 BC, the first solidly historical dynasty known in China, develop the rudiments of Hanfu. The Western Zhou Dynasty, in which the dynasty to follow the Shang, that established a strict hierarchical society as a status meridian that used clothing. Markers included the length of a skirt. Then in Eastern Zhou dynasty, the Deep robe or shenyi is appeared as a combination of tunic and skirt. B. The style of the Han Chinese costume The costume of the Han Chinese, since its commonly assumed beginnings in the Shang dynasty, clothing had changed and evolves with fashion of the days. Many of the earlier designs are more gender-neutral and simple in cuttings. With men commonly wearing pants and women commonly wearing skirts, later garments incorporate multiple pieces. Through wrapping of upper garments lapels or binding with sashes at the waist, clothing for women usually accentuates the body’s natural curves. As they evolved and only few styles are fossilized, each dynasty has their own styles of hanfu. In informal wear, this type includes tops (yi) and bottoms, and one-piece robes that wrap around the body once or several times (shenyi). This set of Hanfu consists of two or three layers. For footwear, obviously white socks and black cloth shoes are the norm. Daoists, Buddhists and Confucians may have white stripe chevrons. Semi- formal wear, is suitable for meeting guests or just going to meetings and thus other special cultural days, worn by nobility, upper class. Formal wear, which is worn only at certain special occasions like religious activities, important sacrifices or just by special people who are entitled to wear them such as emperors and officials. The court dress, in which is worn at very formal occasions, ceremonies that which are in the presence of a monarch. Since there is no reigning monarch in China anymore, the practical use of court dress is now obsolete in the modern age. C. The development of the Han Chinese costume The Chinese people are becoming more aware of this connection between themselves and their ancient culture. There were some people believe that the disappearance of the Hanfu is not abnormal. But there were also who believe that in every ethnic group’s costume is important and a valuable development and piece of the past. Nowadays, there were also people who feel Hanfu is no longer relevant or convenient; hence it is just consigned to China’s historical culture. In practicing of wearing the Hanfu has also had the benefit of development and propagation of the traditional culture of China. Traditional of that group and embodying the culture. Han Chinese traditional costume is Hanfu, thus it is representative of the nations; traditional culture. However, to revive Han Chinese clothing in everyday life, there is currently a movement in overseas Chinese communities and China, thus it incorporate in Chinese festivals or celebration. Today, western-style clothing is worn by most Han Chinese in everyday life. A lot of Southeast Asian national costumes, East Asian such as Japanese Kimono, Vietnamese and the Korean hanbok, were all influences from the Hanfu as historically these counties were part of the Sino sphere. 2. The specialty and modality of the Han Chinese costume A. The specialty of the Han Chinese costume Han Chinese costume or what we called Hanfu was regarded by Han Chinese people as very important part of their culture. The wearing of appropriate styles of Hanfu was an important part of courteous refined behavior.  For Confucius Hanfu is considered a very important part of Chinese ceremony and ritual and many of his quotations contain references to Hanfu. B. The modality of the Han Chinese It varies on region on the clothing’s of china, economic situations and ethnic background. There are many symbols that have been used such as phoenix for decorative as well as economic purposes. As a part of historical reenactment, only Han Chinese clothing is presently worn, hobby, coming of age/ rite of passage ceremonies, ceremonial clothing worn by religious priests, or cultural exercises and can be frequently seen in Chinese television series, films and other forms of media entertainment. 3. The influence of the Han Chinese costume Hanfu had a significant shaped the styles of traditional costumes of many other Asian countries due to the length of its history and China’s overwhelming cultural influence on the region. Before 1884 when the French invaded Vietnam, some countries such as Vietnam, which was frequently either a vassal state or under the direct control of China, have traditional dresses that are exactly the same as Hanfu. Japanese kimono and Korea Hanbok and other Asian countries traditional costumes do have some differences from Hanfu. Korean traditional dress is much more similar to Hanfu, compared with Japanese Kimono. Hanfu had a great impact on Asian countries, of all the traditional costumes in which they get influenced by Hanfu, the Japanese Kimono is different from the most original. Nevertheless, all traditional dresses that were mentioned earlier that was inherited the uniqueness of Hanfu style: Youren and sleeve. For Korean Hanbok and Japanese Kimono, some people in China today also mistake Hanfu. 4.  The relationship between china and Japan (in 794-897) In 749-897, during the early Heian period, the emperors were strong and relationships continued with China.  This time to Heian-ko “the capital of peace and tranquility, the capital of Japan was moved yet again. Then eleven centuries later the name was changed to Kyoto. One family of courtiers and the power of the emperors declined over time. The affairs of the state, the Fujiwara, ended up dominating. Communications with China was suspended in 894 and the time from 897 on is referred to as the late Heian or Fujiwara, period. This was the time for the Japan to enhance and develop its own culture and society. The giants of Asia, China and Japan, account for nearly three-quarters of the region’s economic activity and more than half of the region’s military spending. In the past five years, despite their deep economic ties and a doubling of their bilateral trade, their relationship is increasingly strained, with dangerous implications for the United States and the world at large. Relations between China and Japan historically were clearly structured. One country was always more prosperous or powerful than the other. Before the nineteenth century, since the Meiji Restoration China was usually dominant, in 1868, Japan has generally been preeminent. At the same time has only recently emerged, the prospect that China and Japan could both be powerful and affluent, largely because while China’s economy and influence have grown rapidly, Japan’s have remained stagnant. To World War I, some liken current Sino-Japanese relations to the Anglo-German rivalry. As with the United Kingdom and Germany a century ago, the contest for regional leadership between China and Japan today is creating new security dilemmas, prompting concerns over Chinese ambitions in Japan and fears of renewed Japanese militarism in China. Partly because of rising popular involvement in politics, both the states are adopting confrontational stances, and resurgent nationalism exacerbated by revived memories of World War II. Issues confront to China and Japan, among the most pressing is their thirst for energy. Japan and China have had a long official and non-official relationship. In terms of in writing system, architecture, culture, religion, philosophy, law, and political and economic interaction, China has strongly influenced Japan with it.  Japan moved towards modernization Meiji Reformation, when Western countries forced Japan to open trading in the mid-nineteenth century. Viewing China as an antiquated civilization, unable to defend itself against Western forces (Opium Wars and Anglo-French Expeditions from 1840’s-1860’s). In China between 1894 and 1945, Japan’s had a long chain of invasions and war crimes, as well as modern Japan’s attitude towards its past are major issues affecting current and likely, future Sino-Japanese relations. Bringing together South-East Asia with themselves and South Korea, moreover, China and Japan are taking part in the effort to launch an East Asian Community. Japan and China share an interest in preventing the dollar from declining rapidly and in keeping the exchange rate between the Yuan and the yen fairly stable. 5. The beginning and development of the kimono A. How the kimono started. The earliest history of kimono is greatly influenced by traditional Chinese clothing called hanfu between China and Japan through extensive cultural adoptions, as early as the fifth century. When Chinese fashions came into style among Japanese, it was during the eight century and particularly on women’s fashion , the overlapping collar is so into it. It has a great impact on the Chinese clothing by which the Japanese get influenced on it. The kimono became increasingly stylized during Japan’s Heian period (794-1191 CE), though one still wore a half-apron, called a mo, over it. The kosode, a single kimono during the Muromachi age (1392-1573) formerly considered underwear, began to be worn without the hakama pants over it, and then it started to held closed by an obi “belt”. Since then, it has remained essentially unchanged, the basic shape of both men’s and women’s kimono. The earliest history of kimono is greatly influenced by traditional Chinese clothing called hanfu between China and Japan through extensive cultural adoptions, as early as the fifth century. When Chinese fashions came into style among Japanese, it was during the eight century and particularly on women’s fashion , the overlapping collar is so into it. It has a great impact on the Chinese clothing by which the Japanese get influenced on it. The kimono became increasingly stylized during Japan’s Heian period (794-1191 CE), though one still wore a half-apron, called a mo, over it. The kosode, a single kimono during the Muromachi age (1392-1573) formerly considered underwear, began to be worn without the hakama pants over it, and then it started to held closed by an obi “belt”. Since then, it has remained essentially unchanged, the basic shape of both men’s and women’s kimono. From the Early Nara period (645–724) to the present, Kimono garment which are worn by the Japanese men and women derived from the Chinese p’ao style robe, the usual outlook of kimono is ankle-length gown with long, expansive sleeves and a V-neck. B. The development of the kimono The wearing of Japan’s traditional clothing has been relegated to a few special events in the last fifty years; however, the kimono still represents the essence and the nature of Japan.  The beauty of the kimono doesn’t only lies on its magnificent artistry of design and decoration but rather it underlining beauty is its ability to display the inner beauty and qualities of the wearer. However, because of the way the kimono is made and worn, it requires the wearer to move with grace and thoughtfulness, thus demonstrating the wearer’s inner qualities. Kimonos are made of silk and are usually very expensive. Kimono nowadays they are worn at formal or traditional occasions such as funerals, weddings or tea ceremonies. Only rare kimono can still be seen in everyday life. As we can see in Japan nowadays we can see the people adapting the clotting of western people. 6. The specialty and modality of the kimono A. The specialty of the kimono The kimono communicates personal and social messages of gender, status, and aesthetics through subtle variations in style and materials. In terms of their clothing, Japanese people wear kimono, the meaning of kimono is something one wears, and that it is their traditional garments. B. The modality of the kimono The purpose of wearing the Kimono is to deliver and send information, what I mean is such as personality or age or marital status of the wearer. The choice of the fabric which is also conveying some information, color pattern and forms. Kimono, everything on it symbolizes something. Like the younger the women, the more higher the pattern reach in the hem of the kimono. Kimono signifies and reaffirms fundamental Japanese cultural values. 7. The influence of the kimono to the china social Such as the kimono in Japan, many traditional costumes of Asian countries along with the traditional dresses Korean Hanbok and Vietnamese ao dai, are derived from Hanfu and have the same style as Hanfu. In contrast to China, Japanese traditional dresses have been preserved over the centuries, and are close to what pre-Manchu Hanfu looked like. 8. The influence of the Han Chinese costume to the china social identity, and influence of the Japan nowadays. It is so interesting to think and to realize that it was the women who did the work of adaptating the Chinese influence and developing kimono towards its present form, men wanted to stick with the original Chinese form. From Chinese Han Dynasty approximately 200 BC to AD 200, it appears that there was influence. During the glorious days of the Sui and Tang dynasties, after all the model of civilization in Japan was provided by Chinese. Researchers today but there is no way of telling for sure believe that leaders in Japan got influence from aristocrats in China during the fourth century. With courtly styles of Sui and Tang dynasties, that period’s clothing, art, and hairstyles all seem to match. It has been already in early Heian period that clothing reflected marital status of a woman. Although, Japanese kimono was influenced in China, there is difference between Chinese Clothing and Kimono. However, on normal Chinese clothing of the Wu, the kimono was modeled in Japanese. Wafuku is the inflexion of WU FU meaning the clothing of Wu in Chinese. As they are neighboring countries, they should be united and in peace, each represents a good feedback on each ones side.  Although the clothes of China and Japan is similar but the characters of people differ, and that the suit can changed in countless ways.  It doesn’t only represent Chinese female costume but also it becomes a symbol of the oriental traditional costume. Conclusion The Han Chinese costume and Kimono as in the same period, in that social has the similar influence, but we can see today, the kimono has preponderate over the Han Chinese costume, not only in Japan but also in the world, the Kimono has a huge force, but nowadays some Chinese feel the Han Chinese costume is very important and rising so quickly, so the fashion not only influence the development of the social but also the people’s life.     Reference:   Dalby, L.C. (1993). Kimono Fashioning Culture.  New Haven, CT: Yale University              Press. Dix, Monika. (2004). Kimono: Fashioning Culture. Pacific Affairs. University             of British Columbia. vol. 76,  2, 308. Dalby, Liza. (2001). Kimono: Fashioning Culture. Washington, USA: University of             Washington Press. Hindell, Juliet. (2007). World: Asia-Pacific Saving the kimono. West view Press. Martin, richard. ( 1995). Our Kimono Mind: Reflections on Japanese Design A             Siurvey History. Vol.8, 3 pp. 215 Stevens, R. and Wada, Y.I., eds. (1996).  The Kimono Inspiration: Art and art-to-             wear in America. University of Delaware Theodore, D.B. ( 1960). Sources of Chinese Tradition. Columbia University             Press. New York. p. 3                   Credit:ivythesis.typepad.com

Cultural and Historical

Cultural and Historical INTRODUCTION The China has a long history of the fashion, but the most important is the Han Chinese costume. In ...