Greece Vs China Essay

The differences between Classical Athens and Han China were major and distinctive. The background information, government, values of the individual, and art of each society show how differently each empire developed.

Born in China, I grew up with Western medicine alongside thousands-years-old Traditional Chinese Medicine. In Traditional Chinese Medicine, diseases are thought to be due to an imbalance of life energy force (qi). While it has curative treatments, such as herbal medicine and acupuncture, there’s a greater emphasis on disease prevention through balanced diet, meditation, and exercise. My upbringing meant I can appreciate that there might different approaches to medicine and healing. I moved to the US when I was eleven years old and quickly became bilingual. Being fluent in two languages makes it easier for me to not only communicate with more people, but also form deeper connections through a common language. I had the opportunity to experience two cultures, whose differences and similarities have only enriched my life. I believe my exposure to a different type of medicine as well as my immigrant experience helped to shape my worldview and can bring educational benefits to Georgetown.

Ancient China and Ancient Greece were two vastly different civilizations with different cultures; they shared a multitude of similar political, economic, and philosophical achievements while also inholding multiple differences. The centralized government of China differed from the independent city-states of Athens. A similarity that both civilizations held in regards to politics would be the role, or lack thereof one, that women played within their respective governments. China’s economy was focused on the internal trade and technological advancements while agriculture, trade, and slavery made the foundation for Greece’s. However, the two shared a link within whom they traded with as well as both

This is one area which contrasts greatly with the native cultures. The Indians of the Americas were far ahead of the Europeans of their time. Because of the closeness and respect for nature, many natural cures were used. The Aztecs had even gone as far as surgery to remove organs and even work on the brain. The Indians also took much better care of themselves pysically. This was done by a better diet and exercise. In some cultures a type of martial arts was taught beginning in adolesence, to keep in shape both mentally and pysically. Despite all of these advancements, they were powerless to the new and unfamilliar European diseases.

Persia (550 BCE-330 BCE) and Greece (480 BCE-323 BCE) were two strong and prosperous empires. For over two centuries, persia and Greece have been waging war on one another. Although Persia and Greece gave men more power than women, both empires developed different social structures and unalike religious beliefs.

Religious Practices between Ancient Greece and Ancient China Introduction Religious practices were important in both ancient Greek and Chinese cultures. The Grecians religious practices were thought far more central to their everyday lives and beliefs. The Greeks believed that the gods affected every part of their lives and relied completely on them for happy and healthy lifestyles. The Chinese also believed that religion was extremely important for living a happy life, but they mainly made their own decisions.

The concept of axial age was introduced into the sphere of philosophical knowledge by German existentialist philosopher Karl Jaspers for characterizing the period of ancient history during about the 8th to the 3rd century BC. In this period of time we have developed a fundamentally new religious beliefs and doctrines that promoted human and cultural values of the era.

The way the ancient Chinese interpreted the body was quite different from how it is in western society. The Chinese believe that illness comes from an imbalance in the body, meaning that if you are spending too much time doing one thing and not the other, your body is imbalanced and that can cause illness.

This emphasis on perception of pattern is based on Taoist thought, which altogether lacks the idea of a creator and the concern of which is insight into the web of phenomena, not a comprehension of the weaver (Freeman, 311). The Taoist doctrine of balance and harmony or Yin-Yang is the primary guideline for Chinese medicine. All existence and activity, including health and disease, can be explained by the interactions of yin and yang (Lu, 7). According to Chinese medicine illnesses are caused by imbalances between the body’s nutritive substances, the yin, and the functionaly activity of the body, the yang. This principle is mirrored in nature except the imbalances between yin and yang manifest as natural disasters instead of disease. These imbalances disrupted the flow of chi along the body’s energy pathways, known as meridians. Chi is believed to be the vital energy or life force that drives every cell in the body. Physical, emotional, and mental harmony rely on the unobstructed flow of chi. The Role of the five elements of nature (wood, water, metal, earth, and fire) is also recognized by Chinese medication. The five elements are a subdivision of yin and yang. Each element denotes a category of related functions and qualities and allows additional tools for diagnosis. The elements allow distinctions concerning the direction of change of the yin and yang. The eight principles must also be comprehended and addressed if the patient is to be made healthy and

Therefore, the oriental view of good health is when there is a balance between the yin and the yang. The yin is cold, dark and interior while the yang is warm, light and exterior. Despite the fact that they are complete opposites, the Orientals view them as one. " They create each other, define each other, control each other and transform into each other." Health includes one's physical, spiritual and emotional roles. When the yin and yang are in equilibrium, a person is in good health and all systems are functioning normally. However, when they are not in equilibrium, signs and symptoms of illness occur. Oriental medicine says that every illness or discomfort of the body can be interpreted in terms of something not agreeing with chi or the

The Egyptians did mix with early societies such as the Romans and Greeks. During the Greco-Roman period Alexander, the Great dominated Egypt in 332 B.C. and the Egyptians wilfully excepted him as pharaoh. Alexander laid the foundations of a new city which would end up being Egypt’s capital Alexandria. When Alexander passed on the control of Egypt it fell in the hands of one of his generals Ptolemy I Soter.Greek became the official language of the government though there were still a majority of Egyptians speaking Arabic. Religiously the Ptolemies mixed Greek and Egyptian religion and built many traditional temples all over Egypt including Roman emperors as their beneficiaries. The Greeks combined the traditional Egyptian design with modern

Every human body varies in shape and parts, but in general, an individual’s body is remarkably similar to another. In terms of contemporary Western medicine, the human body share alike anatomy, such as organs and tissues. However, medical traditions in China and Greece viewed the human body much differently than contemporary Western medicine. In particular, traditional Chinese medicine is primarily based on the philosophical ideas of Yin-yang （陰陽）and the Five Phases（五行） theory; likewise, traditional Greek medicine revolved around the notion of the Four Elements and humoral theories. Rather than regarding the human body in terms of anatomy, the Chinese’s and Greek’s knowledge of the human body derived from their respective concepts. In traditional

The whole is always present; the yin and yang can only be refined, never abandoned.” ( The Web That Has No Weaver by Ted Kaptchuk – pg. 43). Chinese medicine is something Various elements also help make up the basic beliefs of Chinese medicine. The five elements are wood, water, fire, metal, and earth. These help healers diagnose, treat, and predict disease and ailments. Qi is another interesting aspect of Chinese medicine. Qi is a circulating life force that flows through the body to help maintain health. It is believed that the human is constantly flowing and filled with the energy of moving particles with bind together to form organs and heal. They use three main diagnostic techniques which include observation, auscultation, and observation. Western medicine was introduced into china during the 1800s during the fall of the Qing Dynasty. Chinese practices became less and less common. Finally during the Communist Era traditional Chinese medicinal methods became banned and those who practices it would be thrown in jail or killed. Nowadays Chinese medicine can is still widely practiced but western medicine is preferred by many, simply due to the lack of proof.

The Eastern and Western worlds have often had drastically different philosophies and ideologies. In particular, one difference to note is that of medicine and beliefs about illness. In the East, one is responsible for keeping their mind and thoughts healthy in order to stave off illness. An internal affecting the external. In the West, when the mind and body are altered by the environment in certain ways, this causes illness. External affecting internal. These philosophical and cultural differences stem from thousands of years of separate evolution. Traditional Chinese medicine(TCM) began in the third century BC. Traditional Chinese medicine incorporated the idea of balance with the ying/yang from Taoism and an emphasis on harmony, moral conduct and social ethics from Confucianism. The central dogma is that “the health of each organ depends on its relationship to all other organs, thus nothing changes without changing the whole” (Scheper-Hughes, 12). Western medicine had a very different history. It began in Ancient Greece with Hippocrates, who wanted to eradicate magico-religious beliefs from health practices and make medicine more rational. This became the norm in the West for over a millennium. This form of medicine was further incorporated into western society with Rene Descartes, who described his consciousness as one thing (mind) and his body as a separate other. Since then, science in the Western world has developed around the idea that these two entities are separate

The concepts of traditional Chinese medicine found it’s basis in the philosophy of Taoism, which focuses on balancing the body with environment to achieve optimum health and sustainability as opposed to treating illness by itself. The emphasis on harmony originates from the Taoism concept of Yinyang, which is defined as by the balance between it’s two basic elements where one must contain a bit of the other, and Wu Xing which encompasses five environmental elements: Water, Fire, Wood, Earth, and Metal. These elements are used to categorize organs in the body in order to determine how one organ would interact with another. An example would be if a Fire heart is overstressed or “inflamed”, it can be remedied by strengthening the opposing element of Water in the body through the kidneys in order to rebalance. Each organ, while performing it’s own function, needs to be coordinating with and complementing other organs. This gave birth to the idea that tracking the functions of organs in various states, either by themselves or with other organs, could predict what would cause something to disrupt bodily harmony or the cause of it in the sick.