Chinese dynasties rose and fell as a result of internal and external pressures following a pattern of unification and division between the end of the Han Dynasty and the end of the Southern Song Dynasty. Analyze the pressures and patterns that informed Chinese history during this period taking a position on which specific factor was most influential in shaping this history.

Discuss why 1453 CE is a landmark date in world history and whether it represented the death of something old or the birth of something new.