In what periods was China the most powerful country in the world?

中国在哪个时期是世界上最强大的国家？

以下是Quora网友的评论：

Serge Mavrodeo

Short answer. Never in the past.

But the closest to be most powerful is the today's 21st century China. China is best then any country positioned for the future and moving in the right direction.

Long Answer. First take a look at the country that once was the most powerful in the world.

简单说就是：从来没有过。

但最接近你所说的“最强大国家”的就是21世纪的中国。中国是已经为未来做好准备并朝着正确方向发展的最令人瞩目的国家。

详细一点说的话，我们先看看曾经的全球最强大的国家。

Or how about Mongol Empire? It expanded to all 4 oceans!

比如蒙古帝国？它曾经把疆土拓展到了4个大洋！

Even though at times China had arguably the largest GDP, it did not achieve most of these:

尽管中国在某些时期可以说是全球GDP最高的国家，但它并没有实现以下的大部分目标：

1.Largest nominal GDP (China, UK, US, India) GDP alone is not enough. If a very populous country has a high total production of rice and pork, this would not be enough to be most powerful in the world. So other factors must be considered:

2.Largest GDP per capita (like UK, US)

3.Transcontinental domination (like UK, US, France, Spain, Rome and Alexander the Great, Russia)

1.最大的名义GDP(中国、英国、美国、印度)，光有GDP是不够的。一个人口众多的国家即便有很高的大米和猪肉产量，也不足以成为世界上最强大的国家。因此，我们还必须考虑其他因素

2.人均GDP最高(如英国、美国)

3.跨越大陆的统治(如英国、美国、法国、西班牙、罗马和亚历山大大帝、俄罗斯)

4.Projection of power to the world (like UK, US, France, Spain, Russia). This includes Soft power

5.World’s leadership in science and technologies (like UK, the US, Rome, and Greece)

6.Chinese has never been the lingua franca of the world (like English)

7.World’s Principal Reserve Currency (like USD)

4.向世界展示实力(比如英国、美国、法国、西班牙、俄罗斯)，包括软实力

5.科技领域的世界领先地位(如英国、美国、罗马和希腊)

6.汉语从来没有像英语那样成为世界通用语。

7.世界主要储备货币(如美元)

At least 5 out of 7 requirements has to be satisfied in order to qualify for the most powerful country in the world. If you disagree and if have your own list of requirements, feel free to write your own post and proof your case. A few times China was the most powerful country in the continent, but not in the world. China never cloud colonize Japan, Europe, Africa and America. Instead these countries colonized China.

要想成为世界上最强大的国家，必须满足上述7项要求中的至少5项。如果你不认同，如果你有自己的标准，请你自己开贴说明你的标准。历史上，中国在亚洲大陆上称霸过几次，但并不是世界范围内的最强国家。中国永远不会殖民日本、欧洲、非洲和美洲。相反，这些国家曾经殖民过中国。

Hard and Soft Power

When determining the world's most influential forces, we take into account both hard and soft power.

Hard power refers to a country's ability to use force, coercion and project power to achieve its objectives. This often involves military strength, economic influence, and other tangible resources.

硬实力和软实力

在判定全球最具影响力的大国时，我们需要同时考虑硬实力和软实力。

硬实力是指一个国家使用武力、胁迫和军事力量来实现其目标的能力。这通常涉及军事实力、经济影响力和其他有形资源。

Military strength and conquests

Economic strength can be used to support a military

Economic leverage: to influence the behavior and suction of countries.

Leadership in technological innovation and science can give geopolitical advantage

Military-industrial complex, nuclear and aerospace technologies, arms exports

Military installations aboard

Natural resources and arable lands

Wast land mass to control world trade routes and coerce

Financial control over the world reserve currency, banking transactions, SWIFT system.

军事实力和军事征服

经济实力可以支持军事活动

经济杠杆：影响国家的行为和吸引力。

在科技创新和科学方面的领先地位也可以带来地缘政治优势。

军工产业，核技术和航空航天技术，武器出口

海外军事设施

自然资源和耕地

控制世界贸易路线

对世界储备货币进行金融控制，银行交易，SWIFT系统。

In contrast, Soft power is a concept in international relations that refers to the ability of a country to influence through attraction rather than coercion. This can be achieved through a variety of means:

相比之下，软实力是国际关系中的一个概念，指的是一个国家通过吸引而不是胁迫来施加影响的能力。这可以通过多种方式实现：

Culture: language, life style, education, art, history, sport, popular brands and media.

Development aid, Trade, Finance: financial and tech assistance. Financial markets.

Education diplomacy: attracting international students to a country's universities.

Science: cooperating with other countries on scientific research and innovation.

Public diplomacy: public relations campaigns, cultural exchange, humanitarian assistance.

文化：语言、生活方式、教育、艺术、历史、体育、流行品牌和媒体。

发展援助、贸易、金融：金融和技术援助。金融市场。

教育外交：吸引国际学生到某个国家的大学学习。

科学：与世界各国开展科研创新合作。

公共外交：公共关系运动、文化交流、人道主义援助。

This Superpower Index illustrates these concepts:

这个超级大国指数说明了这些概念：

Chinese people are very talented and smart. In order to be the most powerful country in the world, China needs to be a leader in technology and financial markets. And it needs to project soft power to the world.

中国人非常有才华，非常聪明。为了跃升为全球最强大的国家，中国必须成为科技和金融市场的领导者。中国需要向世界各国展示其软实力。

Jaydeep Parwan

China was probably the most powerful country in the world during Tang Dynasty. World history scholar Samuel Adshead has adopted the term “world center” to describe China’s position in the world from 400 to 1000 A.D.

It was also the most open period in Chinese history and the Chinese culture flourished everywhere at that time. Historians also considers it to be the longest-lasting period of success in world history.

唐朝时期的中国可能是世界上最强大的国家。世界历史学者塞缪尔·阿德希德用“世界中心”一词来形容中国在公元400年至1000年间的世界地位。

唐朝时期也是中国历史上最开放的时期，中国文化得到了广泛的传播。历史学家认为，这也是世界历史上持续时间最长的鼎盛时期。

David Liu

during the 2000 years from Punic war to industry revolution,China had been one of global most technically advanced/richest civilizations,although it might always be the strongest one…

before that ,china was one of civilization cradles …after that ,china was left behind by industrialized Europe…

从迦太基战争到工业革命的2000年间，中国一直是全球科技最发达、也最富有的文明国家之一，可能还一直是最强大的文明之一…

在工业革命之前，中国是文明的摇篮之一，在工业革命之后，中国被工业化的欧洲甩在了身后。

Nathan James

This is highly subjective. It depends on one’s perspective. It depends on one’s criteria.

Personally, I think China is the greatest country on earth today!

That is, modern China, as defined from 1978 when Mr. Deng ushered in his swee reforms that totally transformed the nation. This is a China like no other China before. It’s also a China like no other nation in history. It’s mind-blowing.

这个问题的答案是非常主观的。取决于个人的观点。取决于个人的标准。

就我个人而言，我认为中国是当今世界上最伟大的国家！

1978年，邓公开启了改革开放，彻底改变了中国。这是跟过往的中国完全不同的现代中国，也是历史上独一无二的中国，令人激动振奋。

7im.97.7 Chen

Pro-China version: From the time history was recorded to the century of humiliation.

Objective version: Han Dynasty(202 BC ~ 220 AD), Tang Dynasty(618 AD-907 AD), Song Dynasty(960-1279), Ming Dynasty(1368-1644), Qing Dynasty (AD 1636-AD 1840)

Anti-Chinese version: Never.

亲华版答案：从有历史记载起，直至百年屈辱。

客观版答案：汉朝(公元前202年~公元220年)、唐朝(公元618年~公元907年)、宋朝(960-1279年)、明朝(1368-1644年)、清朝(公元1636- 1840年)

反华版答案：从来都不是。

Ha Jiang

China was the most powerful nation for almost all the time before the industrialization of Europe. Indian civilization is very wealthy too, but India was not unified as a country for most part of its history.

I will give you a list of all of the Chinese dynasties and the possible contenders of these dynasties.

( I will not mention any dynasty prior to Qin, simply because we still do not know much about that time and its too hard to make a comparison )

在欧洲开始工业化之前，中国几乎一直都是全球最强大的国家。印度也非常富裕，但印度在历史上的大部分时间都不是一个统一的国家。

我会为你列出中国的所有朝代以及这些朝代可能的竞争者。

(秦朝之前的朝代我就不讨论了，因为我们对那个时代的了解还不够多，很难进行比较)

Qin dynasty－Mauryan empire

Han dynasty－Rome

Sui/Tang dynasty－Umayyad/Abbasid Caliphate

Song dynasty－Liao/in dynasty ( in Northen China )

Yuan dynasty－no contenders here, mongols destroied everything……

Ming dynasty－Ottoman empire and colonial Europe

Qing dynasty ( This is considered the weakest Chinese dynasty. The industrilized Europe is much stronger than Qing )

秦朝－孔雀帝国

汉朝－罗马帝国

隋/唐－倭马亚/阿巴斯王朝

宋朝－辽/金朝(中国北方)

元朝－这里没有竞争者，蒙古人摧毁了一切......

明朝－奥斯曼帝国和殖民欧洲

清朝（被视为中国历史上最弱的王朝。已经实现工业化的欧洲列国比清朝强大多了。）

Pun Anansakunwat

This is a tough question. I have four candidates, Zhou, Han, Tang and Ming.

这是个很难回答的问题。我想到了四个时期，周朝、汉朝、唐朝和明朝。

Zhou Dynasty was the longest dynasty of China. However, the dynasty only had the real power only in the early period or Western Zhou Dynasty. During Western Zhou period of almost 300 years (1046BC–771BC),

Ancient Egypt was in intermediate period.

Ancient Greece and Ancient India still had not developed advanced civilization.

The only contender to Chinese global superiority would be the Neo-Assyrian Empire (911BC - 605BC), which ruled all of Egypt and Mesopotemia. It is therefore debatable, which empire was stronger.

Furthermore, after the fall of Chang’an to the nomadic people, the Zhou lost all its power to feudal warlords.

周朝是中国持续时间最长的朝代。但王朝只在西周初期拥有真正的权力。西周的持续时间是公元前1046年-公元前771年。

古埃及出现于西周中段时期。

古希腊和古印度还未进入先进的文明社会。

中国全球优势的唯一竞争者是新亚述帝国(公元前911年-公元前605年)，它统治了整个埃及和美索不达米亚地区。因此，哪个帝国更为强大，人们对此存在争议。

此外，在长安被游牧民族攻陷之后，周朝失去了封建军阀的所有权力。

Han Dynasty was indeed a strong dynasty because of territorial, trade, and cultural expansion. However, the Roman Empire was also at its prime. It’s thus debatable which empire is stronger.

Tang Dynasty, during the Zhenguan era (626AD–649AD) in the reign of Emperor Taizong, was indeed the most powerful country in the world. The empire greatly expanded the territories, crushed the Gokturks, and korean kingdoms, and dominated the Silk Road.

At that time, Europe was in the dark age, so no country in Europe would be stronger than the Tang. Umayyad Caliphate was a possible contender, however, the Tang dynasty ruled more lands, more people, were richer. I don’t think the Umayyad Caliphate can stand against the Tang in Zhenguan era.

由于领土、贸易和文化的扩张，汉朝确实成为了一个强大的王朝。但当时的罗马帝国也处于鼎盛时期。因此，哪个帝国更加强大，人们对此也存在争议。

唐太宗贞观年间(公元626年 - 649年)的唐朝，确实是世界上最强大的国家。这个帝国极大地扩张了领土，粉碎了突厥人和朝鲜王国，并控制了丝绸之路。

当时，欧洲进入黑暗时期，所以欧洲国家不可能比唐朝更强大。倭马亚王朝也许是一个竞争者，但唐朝统治着更多的土地，更多的人口，经济也更富裕。我不认为倭马亚王朝能匹敌贞观年间的唐朝。

Ming Dynasty. In the first hundred years (1368 AD- 1468 AD), the Ming was indeed powerful. The Empire has just repelled the Mongol Yuan Dynasty from China. Ming technology at that time was ahead of the rest of the world. It possessed both strong navy and army. A possible contender would be the Timurid dynasty, by Timur, who planned to invade China.

However, despite Timur being military genius, I don’t think Timur could defeat the Ming. This is because

明朝。在明朝建朝后的第一个百年内(公元1368年- 1468年)，明朝确实非常强大。大明帝国把蒙古人建立的元朝政府赶出了中国。明朝时期，中国的科技水平领先于世界其他国家。明朝拥有强大的海军和陆军。只有帖木儿的帖木儿王朝有可能与之竞争，帖木儿曾经觊觎过中国的领土。

虽然帖木儿是个军事天才，但我认为帖木儿无法打败明朝。这是因为

The Ming had more manpower than Timur, and they were experts in crushing nomads. They had just repelled the Mongols out of China, and even went further north to sack the Mongol cities of Shangdu and Karakorum.

The Ming also had better military technology. Furthermore, Yongle Emperor, who lived at the same time as Timur, was a skillful and experienced general.

However, as time passed by, the Ming dynasty declined.

As a result, I can safely conclude that in the Zhenguan era of Tang Dynasty, and the first hundred years of Ming Dynasty, China was the most powerful country in the world.

明朝拥有比帖木儿更多的人口资源，而且他们擅长对抗游牧民族。他们刚刚把蒙古人赶走，甚至还继续向北挺进，洗劫了蒙古城市商都和喀喇昆仑。

明朝的军事技术水平也更高。此外，与帖木儿生活在同一时代的永乐皇帝是一位战术出众、久经沙场的将军。

但随着时间的推移，明朝慢慢走向衰落。

因此，我可以很有把握地得出一个结论，在唐朝的贞观时代和明朝的第一个百年间，中国曾经是世界上最强大的国家。