Egypt vs China
Throughout history, from as early as 3000 BC there have been many urban civilizations that started from dry land, and a water source. Two civilizations that specifically have been remembered for their long lasting monarchy/dynasty are Egypt and China. Egypt a very dry and sandy environment had the gift of the Nile river their main water source. While China a fertile area with multiple rivers such as the Yellow river and the Yangtze river had an easier time farming crops. The two had completely different belief systems, with Egypt believing in multiple gods, while China believed in Confucianism. Two very similar but very different civilizations that had a lot of success in keeping their strong social organization. Egypt
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The Chinese Dynasty believed in Confucianism; “One of the underlying ideas is that people must be virtuous, especially rulers. Self-virtue, expressed in modesty, truthfulness, loyalty, charity, and learning, were essential requirements for all. The sum total of this social virtue is often referred to as the Jen”. Confucianism was said to have shaped China and many other countries around it, but Confucius didn’t refer his teachings as a religion. Confucius just wanted to focus on; “to help the people achieve social and personal perfection and reestablish the ordered society that had supposedly existed before this period of internal warfare”. Very similar to Egyptians having to have pure souls that didn’t sin a lot. Egyptians believed in polytheism where they had multiple gods for many different things such as; Egyptian God Akiratyn: the god of light. Egyptians were very ritualistic and had pyramids and monuments dedicated to their gods for their afterlife. The wealthy were more connected to making it to the afterlife because they had the power, to build and sacrifice for the gods. The god Osiris was honored in Egypt because he opened the door to the Land of Two Fields. To reach the Afterlife you had to do good deeds, live a
The first civilizations and the rise of empires began with small groups or villages existing with the use of hunting, fishing, and foraging. (William J. Duiker and Jackson J. Spielvogel, World History, vol. 1, 1) Within a few thousand years, people learned how to cultivate food crops and this led to an increase in population. Increased food production resulted in larger communities. The cities began to expand their cultural and religious developments leading to the beginnings of civilization. (Duiker, World History, 1) The first civilizations emerged in Mesopotamia and Egypt during the fourth and third millennia B.C.E and had various components in common. Each of these civilizations was established in a river valley so they were able to provide and produce the agricultural resources needed to survive and uphold the population. (Duiker, World History, 1) Mesopotamia developed in the valley between the Tigris and Euphrates River known as “the land between the rivers.” These rivers provided irregular and catastrophic flooding for the city-state. They created an intensive irrigation system to improve their agriculture. The first people to create Mesopotamian civilization were known as the Sumerians. These people were the first city builders and created the major city’s named Eridu, Ur, Uruk, Umma, and Lagash. These cities were built with surrounding walls and defense towers. A six-mile-long wall enclosed the city of Uruk. Mesopotamia lacked
Confucianism has been a part of Chinese culture for over a thousand years. Many who have studied Confucianism would say that it is not a religion. It is better described as a philosophy or moral code. The philosophy of Confucianism comes mainly from the speeches and writings of Confucius, a great Chinese thinker and educator. He believed that Humanity, Rite, Neutrality, Virtue, Education, and Cultivation were the basis of human behavior. In addition, Confucius felt that this philosophy was the best way for people to behave and interact with others in society.
Confucianism is a system of social and ethical philosophy rather than a typical religion. It teaches China about how important correct relationships are between couples such as husband and wife and father and son. This in forces how ancient china was a respectful and humble nation while the countries around it were at war. This shows that China was way ahead of its time and was a civilised nation, this all proves that ancient China was a very successful ancient society. China did not just flourish on successful religions it also created some of the world's most common and used inventions of all time, some of which are still considered modern today such as
The religion of Confucianism begins, of course, with Confucius whose Chinese name was Kong Qui and who lived from 551 B.C. to 479 B.C. Surprisingly Confucius was merely a low level government worker. He did not exactly view himself as the founder of a school of thought. Regardless, Confucianism is the most influential belief system in Chinese culture. It provides the rules which govern the social behavior of the individual. The basic teachings of Confucius are grounded in the Five Constant Virtues: humanity, righteousness, propriety, wisdom, and faithfulness. Confucius went on to define five basic human relations and
Ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia present a valuable area of historical research. They are of great importance mostly because of their ethnic kinship (Watson, 2017). In such case, comparison and contrast essay is very promising as causal relationships can be formed based on a mutual starting point. This comparison-contrast essay focuses on differences and similarities in these societies’ economic, political and cultural life in order to make further implications regarding the circumstances the peoples of ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia faced.
It can be seen that both of these societies shared quite a few cultural similarities. For example, in Egypt, as well as China, polytheism was a dominant religious belief. Also, they were both primarily well-developed in technology and tools. Egypt had developed many apparatuses such as the 365 day
The Warring States, from 403 to 221 B.C.E. divided ancient China. There are many similarities and differences between ancient Egypt and East Asia. Ancient Egypt had many similarities compared to East Asia. One similarity between the civilizations was the power of the rulers. In both civilizations, they were treated as they were gods and had heavenly powers.
Ancient China and ancient India are both important and interesting ancient civilizations. They are alike and unlike in many ways. Some significant ways in which ancient India and China are similar and different are religion, art, economics, politics, and social structure.
Ancient Egypt and Early China, though continents and ideologies apart, both depended upon a king leader to rule over those in their territories. Despite fundamental differences, each society developed a clear social hierarchy with the foundation of advanced civilization being the lesser educated workers or slaves, and being lead by
A civilization refers to “a particular and distinctive type of human society” (Strayer, pg. 90). Civilizations aren’t always different from one another nor are they the exact same. Each civilization has some form of a unique characteristic that differentiates itself from the rest. For example, the Ancient Egyptians and the Hindus from Ancient India. They both have a permanent arrangement of societal roles, yet they aren’t constructed or operated in the same manner. These two locations are the main topics of this discussion/comparison.
Early civilizations started to form beginning from the fourth millennium B.C.E. such as ancient Egypt and early China under the Shang and Zhou. Geography had significant influences on the development of economy, religion, society, and culture in these two civilizations. While both ancient Egypt and early China were isolated by natural borders and thrived on their great river systems, Egypt and China had access different natural resources which affected their culture and religion.
Politically, China and Egypt were similar and different. China and Egypt were similar in their type of government because both civilizations had dynasties. Dynasties were a type of government where a civilization only had one leader who when they died would pass on the title of leader to a family member, usually a son. A great example of this in the Egyptian civilization is the Egyptian ruler, the Pharaoh. In the ancient Egyptian government, Pharaohs were their leaders, and was also a title passed down through the family as the previous one died, in fact, ancient Egypt had 31 different dynasties from 3000 BCE to 332 BCE. Just like Egypt, China was ran by a dynastic government, which was made up of a family that rose to power by claiming that they had a “Mandate From Heaven” which was a belief that the leader or family had their gods approval to rule. China and Egypt were different in how they governed their lands because in Egypt, the Pharaoh was the supreme leader and ruled with a cabinet of advisors and helpers who worked together
It seems that the Egyptian culture focused more on intellectual contributions, while China focused more on farming and weapon contributions.
Religion plays a huge role to their strict teaching principles. The most common religion in China are Confucianism, Taoism, and Buddhism. It was considered as a harmonious collection. Confucianism is a school of thought, revolving around the principles of the Chinese philosopher Kong Zi. Confucianism is illustrated through the five main relationships and is the core of society.
Confucianism The religion of Confucianism is and interesting and unique religion. The various parts of this belief system deal more with humanity than with deities or supernatural occurrences. It is this fact that leads many to believe that Confucianism is more a philosophy or way of life than a religion. There are, however, various ceremonies and beliefs that those who follow Confucianism observe. In short, Confucianism has had more impact on the lives of the Chinese than any other single religion. Confucius was born in the province of Lu (now known as Shantung), in 551 BC, the youngest of eleven children, in the period of China's history when the nation was divided into feudal states. Confucius saw the time in which he lived as a low