The whirling flush of a toilet, the crisp sound of fresh sheet of paper, the delicate surgery of the human skull, and the art of pottery. These are all things we can thank ancient Classical Athens and Han China for. Although both of these nations were some of the best innovators, inventors, and thinkers of their time, surprisingly, the two individual nations were very different in their population size, governmental structure, and religious practices.
First of all, these two civilizations were extremely different in terms of sheer population size. The population of Han China was actually much larger than that of Classical Athens. Han China had a huge population of 65,000,000 whereas Classical Athens had a much smaller population of 315,000.
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For example, Han China believed in the “Mandate of Heaven”.The Mandate of Heaven was basically a system that was used to determine the next ruler of China. The belief was that if negative events such as an invasion of an enemy nation, a natural disaster, a drought or famine(etc.) occurred then the ruling family’s time was up and it was time for another family to rule. However, Classical Athens did not rely on divine judgment, rather they relied on their trusted citizens, with the exception of women. For example, whenever they conducted assemblies, only men were allowed to attend and vote. The governmental structures of these nations were also different in other ways. Han China established a bureaucratic government with the emperor and his appointed officials at the top while Classical Athens ran a much more democratic government. As was stated earlier, the Athens had assemblies that were held 40 times a year, and free males along with councilmen were invited to attend. This council basically ran the Athenian government, however they could only be in office for a maximum of 2 …show more content…
Their most famous gods were Zeus, (the king of gods) Ares, (the god of war) Aphrodite, (the goddess of war) and Athena (the goddess of wisdom), who Athens is named after. Han China on the other hand believed in Buddhism and Taoism. Buddhism’s basic beliefs are based on 4 noble truths: (1) life is full of pain and sorrow (2) the cause of pain and sorrow is non-virtue (3) the way to overcome that pain and sorrow is by overcoming non-virtue and (4) the way to overcome non-virtue is by following the 8-fold path. Han China also believed in Taoism which is also known as Daoism. Taoism comes from the root word “Tao”which means path or way. It was considered the main religion of Han China. Taoism was based on opposites. For example, a common saying was “there would be no love without
The ancient Greeks and Romans were perhaps two of the greatest civilizations of the ancient world. These two civilizations thrived in their ancient environments which eventually led to a vast amount of prosperity within these two cultures. It is because of this prosperity that these ancient cultures were able to make a variety of advancements in literature, architecture, art and a variety of other fields. These two civilizations also produced some of the ancient world’s greatest writers, leaders, and philosophers. The cultures of ancient Greece and Rome made a number of contributions to western civilization in the form of advancements in literature, architecture, art, government, and philosophy.
Religion in Rome and Han China had several similarities and differences. Not only did both their religions support political loyalty, and involvement, but they also played a huge role in society. Confucianism in Han China emphasized how to act towards others, especially parents and elders, and how to know ones place in society. Daoism there also emphasized nature and harmony, as Polytheism in Rome also focused on nature and how to care for and understand it. Polytheism in Rome was truly the center of all Roman tradition, as the gods and goddesses required many sacrifices and festivals in their honor. However, Confucianism was more of a social/political mindset than an actual religion, as it had no true god. Polytheism, however, had an overabundance of gods and goddesses, who were to be feared and regarded as sacred. It did not, however, focus on ethical thought and how to live, as Confucianism did extensively. Both Han China and Rome did have high tolerances for other religions, as long as they did not get in the way of state loyalty. Both societies’ political structures focused on Confucianism and polytheism, respectively, but the people were not
Some great differences between Classical Athens and China are represented by many different documents. They have very unalike categories in which both of the countries can be put in. Athens and China have divergent forms of their governments, the expectations of their citizens, and the arts, ideas, and religion in which they follow and believe.
The Chinese were more orientated to a communitarian philosophy provided by the literali teaching. For the Chinese that would ask the question there was Buddhism.
Three of the major religious philosophies in Classical China were Daoism, Confucianism, and Legalism. Daoism was a religious philosophy that the upper class favored to strengthen their traditional Chinese beliefs, especially those relating to nature. Daoism told people to have harmony with nature by living frugally and with humility. On the other hand, Confucianism was centered around ethics. Confucianism’s main teachings were to treat others based on both of your positions in society and it did not discuss magic or mysteries, but instead made sure that everyone understood their place in society. Legalism, another system of political thought, consisted of an authoritarian state and strict rule. Legalists believed that human nature was bad and needed to be controlled. In a Legalist state, the army was in control while the people worked. Although these teaching were are very different, they were all found in Classical China.
Deity, there is thus perhaps no real Deity with the capital letter to be equated with the God of Western religion. We have seen that Heaven eventually becomes the term customarily used for the Supreme Ruler, but we now know that behind or beyond heaven, there are the workings of yang and yin which have their source in tao (Thompson, 6). There is nothing distinctively Chinese in the way whereby the forces of nature were personified or the heavenly bodies were believed to exercise a direct influence in human affairs, or the way in which otherwise inexplicable occurrences of disease and other misfortunes were attributed to malignant spirits. The deification of human beings characteristic of both family and folk religion is somewhat more exceptional, although not unique (Thompson, 7). The founder of Taoism is Lao Zi and Chuan Tze, the school advocates the doctrine that the Dao is the course, the principle, the substance, and the standard of all things, to which all of them must conform. Based on the Dao De Jing, Taoism promotes the belief that a person should live a simple life, not to strive for wealth, fame or power, which will only give one worries and trouble. The school favors the political principle of “achieving good government through
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.
China tended to focus on creating more philosophical beliefs than full-fledged religions. The first of the philosophies created was Confucianism, which tended to embraced moral virtues and values. For example, it taught to respect one’s leaders, and for the leaders in return to be just and moral in their leadership. Confucius believed that if the leaders set a
China’s government was and empire, and here the emperor, “The Son of God,” delegated leaders who were called governors to their own smaller regions to dictate in. To increase the effectiveness of the centralized form of government The Ancient Chinese focused on having a large central government, and when the Han period ended, it ended with a total of just 130,000 bureaucrats, and which none were women, who represented 0.2% of the population (Doc 7, 3). Much different from the centralized government of China, Ancient Greece’s form of government was a democracy in which they governed themselves. It was said that no man could govern long enough to benefit themselves, but that was possible for the generals of the armed forces who could be elected any number of times. In the democracy there was an Assembly which all free, male, adult citizens could attend and generally talk about anything they would like (Doc 5).
One of the things that makes a nation strong is population size, however common practices of Athenian made it impossible for them to grow as strong as they could be. “For ten days after birth the father could inspect the baby, and if he found it deformed or weakened in any way, he could order it to be exposed in some public place to die.” (Doc N). With this being common practice in Athens, their nation was unable to grow as strong as it could be. The Han Dynasty did not kill their newborns, their next generation, and it contributed to them being the more successful nation. The other important factor in society if the women. This half of the population was treated as second class citizens for centuries, including by the Hans and Athenians. However, there were more oppertunities for women in China than Greece. “Athenian women had few rights under law- like slaves and resident aliens, they were in affect, legal minors.” (Doc Q). When half of the population is treated like slaves, and is not repected by the people around them, it brings down the morale of society, making life more difficult, and the nation less fruitile. In the Han Dynasty, upper class women could be educated, and Ben Zhao is an example of a highly literate woman whose work was read all over China, and was greatly admired. (Doc R).
Mathematics, philosophy, astronomy, and medicine are some of the significant contributions made by the Greeks, and they were also notorious for their cultivated architecture and sculptures. The Greek culture impacted the Roman Empire and several other civilizations; it remains to transform present-day cultures. The Han Dynasty is one of the most remarkable dynasties in Chinese history. This dynasty incorporated about four hundred years of development and strengthening; it coexisted with the duration of the Roman republic and the empire in the West. Momentous developments occurred in the Han Dynasty. Rome advanced form being one of the several city-states to being the core of the most magnificent empire in the world.
Classical Athens and Han China shared major similarities and differences. Han China was roughly four hundred eighty times bigger than Classical Athens in land mass. Han China believed in Buddhism, and Classical Athens believed in a religion of multiple complex gods, they even paid tribute to the gods. One of the best reasons classical Athens is different from Han China is because of their different forms of government. Athens believed in democratic government while Han China believed in an Imperial form of government. The other reason that they’re different from each other is because of the physical distance between the two empires. The distance between the two is roughly 7000 km and they pretty much had no influence over each other, because of the humongous distance (Doc 1).
Taoism is China’s oldest religion. At one time, the land called China was the home of numerous peoples with different racial origins. All these ethnic groups probably had their own special gods and religious beliefs. Over time, kingdoms and empires grew in various areas and started incorporating more and more people into them. One common theme in these kingdoms and empires was a belief in life after death as can be seen in ancient tombs all over China. So people had to pay homage to and care for the dead. Some Chinese have fear of the dead, and they try to obey the dead or appease them. Another idea that is very strong in Chinese philosophy is as Chinese
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
The reforms of Cleisthenes established the basis for the Athenian democracy. All citizens enrolled in ten tribes and each tribe chose 50 members by lottery each year for a new council of 500 people. These 500 people had the responsibility to take care of foreign and financial affairs. There was also an assembly of all male citizens, and they had the final authority in passing laws through free and open debate. In Sparta there were two kings who led the army and ruled their city-state. There were five ephors elected each year and they were responsible for the education of the youth and the behavior of citizens. There was also a council of elders that consisted of two kings and 28 citizens over the age of 60. They decided on issues to present to the assembly who were also all male citizens. There was no debate on resolution to these issues, only voting.